Games. News and Reviews Words: Kingsley Marshall
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Games. news and reviews Words: Kingsley Marshall ancy yourself as a Lex Luther Remember ‘GamesMaster’; Channel 4’s your eyes over ‘Kingdom Under Fire: The or Professor Tyrell? Need an games show which featured Patrick Moore as Crusaders’, a game that celebrates big, F outlet for your megalomania a cyborg from the future? Well, the show’s bolshy medieval battles where over 150 that doesn’t involve living in a presenter Dominik Diamond is to appear on characters hit the screen at once! First volcano? Then ‘Evil Genius’ for the PC may ‘When Gamers Attack’, an all-new TV show promised close to three years ago, the game UK SALES CHART 1. BURNOUT 3: TAKEDOWN (ELECTRONIC ARTS) Outrun 2 Evil Genius Kingdom Crusaders 2. CONFLICT: VIETNAM well serve your dastardly requirements. for Bravo, which replaces ‘GamePad’ on the is finally due to hit Xbox and PC screens (SCI) Sierra’s malevolent management sim requires station and launches in November. in November. 3. SHELLSHOCK: NAM '67 you to build secret bases, gain notoriety, One of the first titles to emerge for Sony’s The unique selling point of forthcoming (EIDOS) recruit minions and develop evil super- highly anticipated handheld, the PSP, has racing game ‘FlatOut’ (for PS2, Xbox and PC) weapons in order to repel action heroes and been confirmed as ‘Metal Gear Acid’. is its open-ended approach; expansive tracks 4. SECOND SIGHT government agents. Recently released screen grabs of the latest allow the player to roam freely around the (CODEMASTERS) Who’d have thought it? Sega is to incarnation of the Solid Snake title are course, while damaged roadside furniture 5. SPIDER-MAN 2 resurrect the ‘Outrun’ franchise, 17 years after looking pretty impressive. (each environment includes over 3000 smash- (ACTIVISION) the game made its first arcade appearance, Fed up with stealthing and sneaking in able items!) and mangled car parts clutter the with an Xbox title due in October. one-to-one first person shooters? Then cast track through each race. KINGSLEY MARSHALL - thumb numbers - nov. ’04 PREVIEW: HALO 2 highly anticipated, with previews at all over it, from the Danny Elfman to sunlight and scars are gained quite like lobbing a tear gas Format: XBOX Game Stars Live in London in theme to the astonishing graphics. through battle, while both the player grenade into a room and clearing it Available on Microsoft in November September wowing those who had At its heart, ‘Fable’ is a role-playing - and all those within the environs of of terrorists while safely tucked Like ‘Doom’ for the PC, queued for two hours in order to get action adventure, but distinguishes the gaming world of Albion - age under an infrared-enabled gas mask ‘Timesplitters’ on PS2 and Nintendo their thumbs on the title. The itself from the others that populate over time. - while the enemies have enough AI 64’s ‘Goldeneye’, the release of gaming engine has been rebuilt, the genre - whether the ‘Forgotten ‘Halo’ in 2002 effectively redefined with enhanced enemy intelligence, Realms’ series or the more recent REVIEW: RAINBOW SIX 3: BLACK ARROW the parameters of the first-person destructive environments, ‘Sudeki’ - with a neat twist. In Format: XBOX shooter. Its exquisitely detailed customisable characters, the ability addition to the draw of open-ended Ubisoft, RRP £29.99 graphics and thunderous sound to wield two weapons and cadge adventuring, your character is Perhaps disappointingly for some effects showed off the power of vehicles and, as is de rigueur in gamers, Team Rainbow is not a Microsoft’s Xbox console, while the 2004, is equipped with full online camp dance troop; rather this well considered levels kept players compatibility for those multi-player, unfortunate moniker masks the engaged for months. international frag fests. Can’t wait! team’s crack anti-terrorist duties. As such its follow up has been This second Tom Clancy title to PREVIEW: FABLE appear on the Xbox changes little of Format: XBOX the superb gameplay which defined to offer a realistic sense of Available on Microsoft in October its predecessor. challenge, calling in the cavalry or preview The first title to emerge from The player equips their four- decamping when outnumbered. The legendary games designer Peter man squad according to an initial 10 scenarios - including a cracking Molyneaux - who lists ‘Populous’, moulded according to the players briefing and tasks said troops introductory mission on the London ‘Syndicate’, ‘Theme Park’ and actions, so muscles grow through through an intuitive command Underground - and sound effects ‘Black & White’ on his gaming CV - activity, gluttony sees you gain system. As before, the weaponry is are terrifying; however it’s the online preview has high production values stamped weight, skin is tanned with exposure cracking good fun - there’s nothing environs where Ubisoft has done 100 KLUBKNOWLEDGE NOVEMBER 2004 GAMES most of its work, with a slew of unfair advantage, restricting the the player in the position of rookie a thrill a minute, with plenty of cars REVIEW: FUTURE TACTICS: THE UPRISING multiplayer maps and Xbox Live gaming environment and virtually driver, who is tasked to accrue and tracks to unlock and some ace Format: PLAYSTATION 2, XBOX, PC, options to keep you engaged ensuring you send Jackie tumbling driver points and select the rallies in multiplayer modes with which to GAMECUBE for months. from cliffs and boxes. which you’d like to take place thrash friends and foes alike. JoWood, RRP £29.99 before ultimately battling with ‘Future Tactics’ takes its turn-based McRae himself. structure from strategy games, REVIEW: JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES REVIEW: COLIN MCRAE RALLY 2005 REVIEW: OBSCURE while retaining character Format: PLAYSTATION 2 Format: PLAYSTATION 2, XBOX, PC Format: PLAYSTATION 2, XBOX, PC development elements more typical SCEE, RRP £39.99 Codemasters, RRP £39.99 REVIEW: BURNOUT 3: TAKEDOWN Ubisoft, RRP £29.99 to role-playing titles, for a hybrid. Although you could make excuses Despite Sony’s recent efforts with Format: PLAYSTATION 2, XBOX For those seeking a return to the Set in a future where Earth has for a game aimed squarely at kids - EA, RRP £39.99 cinematic horrors of the ‘Resident based as it is on the animated The original release of ‘Burnout’ Evil’ series or Vivendi’s superbly incarnation of Jackie Chan - turned the racing genre on its head atmospheric ‘The Thing’, ‘Obscure’ pitching this title at full price really through a combination of eye- will come as a welcome breath of tests the patience of parents. The blistering speed and thumb-ruining fresh air - albeit the kind of fresh air game looks great, echoing the gameplay, which relied on making polluted by the stench of rotting cel-shaded sketched cartoon style dangerous manoeuvres in order to zombie flesh. of its namesake, while including build up a blast of all-important Occupying the interestingly nifty character movement and some nitro. The game’s sophomore outing monikered subgenre of teen great, if simplistic, battling action as incorporated a crash mode that survival horror, French Jackie and his niece Jade take on developers Hydravision have gone ninjas and an assortment of all-out to spook players with jarring demons and ghouls. the rally realism of its ‘Richard sound effects and creepy locations been overrun by creatures from Burns’ title, McRae’s latest set within an American high school another dimension, in the reinstates him as king of the muddy that has been seized by legions of time-honoured gaming tradition that hill. Equipped for online play, the the undead. When within the extends right back to ‘Space game is loaded with over 30 cars - vicinity of other characters the Invaders’, the player is assigned the the usual vehicles from Toyota, player is able to switch control to task of blasting these ne’er do wells Lancia, Audi and Mitsubishi finding one of five characters, each of back to the dark ages. Though themselves supplemented by whom is equipped with unique initially only equipped with options McRae’s grisly looking Paris-Dakar skills - the quick-on-his-feet jock to move or launch attacks with a Nissan Pickup, the frankly funny- demanded the player affected and the lock-picking sneak are just variety of armoury - from line-of- looking VW Beetle RSi, and a Mark multiple car pile up hara-kiri when sight weapons to ballistic 1 Escort and Mini Cooper included things became too hairy. hardware called up using an for your dad. This third version picks up the innovative targeting system - the Eye Toy compatibility is an extra Although some of the stages speed still further, and adds an unfolding story mode opens up bonus for those suitably equipped, have appeared in earlier intoxicating bullet time sequence at more and more options. It’s good, but these few pros are far incarnations, the graphic engine the time of crashes. The developers clean fun for a while, but is let down outweighed by the many cons. Cut has been breathed on, and purists call this ‘after touch’, an achingly by the tactical element, in that it has scenes and frozen sections commit will be more than pleased by the simple function that enables you to less to do with deployment of the cardinal sin of breaking up and inclusion of the new German rally delicately steer your burning, characters and use of the weaponry detracting from the gameplay, but within the nine countries on offer. tumbling wreck right into the path of than in a fairly straightforward best that’s not all. The camera - With the cars almost infinitesimally your panicking, swerving two - all of which assist in solving use of the battle zone, blasting ‘controllable’ on the second damageable - the most serious competitors for power ups and other puzzle, with the ultimate aim to rid craters and buildings in order to analogue stick - is unwieldy at best smashes will leave your vision bonuses.