Reviews by Jason Venter, page 43

Staff NES

Karate Champ review

When you see the title screen, you might have reason to be optimistic. It shows that two people can play (though I later learned that even a single person wasting time with the game is a small miracle), and the letters that make up the…

Jason Venter · November 2, 2003

Staff NES

Muppet Adventure: Chaos at the Carnival review

Each level is distinctly different from the next, meaning there are basically four little mini-games you must pass on your way to the grand finale. The first of these is a kayaking trip down a little river. Kermit is the guy in charge, and…

Jason Venter · November 2, 2003

Staff NES

Super Sprint review

A typical race is going to involve flooring the accelerator, dashing to the first corner, then swinging wildly about it like a drunken ballerina and hopefully aligning with the rails on the next turn so as to avoid smashing into a barrier…

Jason Venter · November 1, 2003

Staff GameCube

Tony Hawk's Underground review

At first I thought this new feature might be a lame addition compared to the revert, the invert, and the manual. Then I had a chance to get used to it and decided it might not be so bad after all. Unfortunately, by the 'end' of the game I…

Jason Venter · November 1, 2003

Staff PlayStation 2

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence review

Try not to stare as you walk through a chapel and see some benches upright, some tossed to their sides, and still others draped by cobwebs. Everything looks so tremendously organic. There's also a lot of color variation. Even though…

Jason Venter · October 25, 2003

Staff PlayStation 2

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness review

In short, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness is the sequel that might have happened if Square weren't developing for the Game Boy Advance at the time. Then again, it may not have. You see, the game has all kinds of personality that we haven't seen…

Jason Venter · October 18, 2003

Staff GameCube

SoulCalibur II review

Rather than force you to face nine million matches to unlock all the hidden characters and their alternate weapons, Namco went the story-based route. When you first begin this mode, you appear on a map and get to read some text. This leads…

Jason Venter · October 6, 2003

Staff PlayStation 2

SoulCalibur II review

When playing in Extra Arcade, you can change what weapons your characters use in battle, provided you have obtained new ones. This can greatly affect how balanced a fighter your character is. Tamil can find a weapon, for example, that lets…

Jason Venter · October 5, 2003

Staff Xbox

Enter the Matrix review

To be fair, the Focus idea is cool. It's a great way to put the player in control of what feels almost like a superhuman character. In this one regard, the game succeeds. The problem is that there's not much to do with it. You're just…

Jason Venter · October 3, 2003

Staff Xbox

The Simpsons: Hit & Run review

In the later stages, in the interests of raising the difficulty bar, the developers force you to drive from point A to point B in almost perfect form, then probably to point C in even less time, and perhaps even to point D. Sound tedious?…

Jason Venter · September 29, 2003

Staff Xbox

Pirates of the Caribbean review

Or if you're feeling particularly daring, you can find contraband on one island, then head to the tavern on another and set up a secret liason with some smugglers. Here, your luck comes into play, and perhaps your ability to handle…

Jason Venter · September 8, 2003

Staff PlayStation

One Piece Mansion review

Each such room represents an apartment within the complex, and you'll see the occupants doing their thing. Of course, their thing might interfere with the something the guy to the left or right enjoys. That's what One Piece Mansion is all…

Jason Venter · September 5, 2003

Staff NES

Gemfire review

In any other game, sitting around waiting for a chance to cultivate your fields might not seem all that interesting. But in Gemfire, it can quickly become an obsession. Then you realize you were a moron to plant so much corn because it…

Jason Venter · August 17, 2003

Staff Xbox

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder review

The end result was that I was skirting this level or that for quite some time, trying to find the path the arrow thought was there, and I never really did. This is a problem that was present in the first game, too, but this time around it…

Jason Venter · August 13, 2003

Staff NES

Puss 'N Boots: Pero's Great Adventure review

Just when you're starting to really enjoy yourself, you realize that you've reached its conclusion. Then you look back and realize with horror that it only took you perhaps 15 minutes to do so. From the first stage to the last, they are…

Jason Venter · August 8, 2003

Staff SNES

Faceball 2000 review

The system simply wasn't made to handle three dimensions, and that's all there is to it. Really, Faceball 2000 is quite the impressive technical feat. Even though the floors are featureless, and the walls, and even though the balls look…

Jason Venter · August 6, 2003

Staff NES

Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers 2 review

The first level is pretty good, a promising start for the game. The heroes run through a restaurant in an effort to diffuse a bomb someone has set in the building. It's not a match for the first stage in the first game, but it's good, a…

Jason Venter · August 4, 2003

Staff SNES

Ys III: Wanderers From Ys review

Every time you complete a dungeon, you can count on an interesting plot twist, some new items, and a sense of accomplishment that should be at odds with your realization that the dungeon you just conquered wouldn't have puzzled a…

Jason Venter · July 29, 2003

Staff PlayStation 2

Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color review

In case you haven't heard, Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color is a role-playing game that eschews the massive world, grand storyline, and extensive inventories so many consider staples of the genre. Instead, it embraces a system through…

Jason Venter · July 10, 2003

Staff GameCube

Mega Man Network Transmission review

By the time you reach the end of the game, you'll be quite familiar with most of those skills. There are 137 in all. You gain these by defeating enemies, who sometimes leave behind bits of data. It pays to continue defeating the same…

Jason Venter · June 21, 2003