Reviews by bluberry

Reader Arcade Review of the Week HG exclusive

Final Fight review

I don't spend nearly enough time with beat-em-ups and I'm probably a worse person for it, but even I love Final Fight. Then again, everybody loves Final Fight. It's just one of those ideas that's perfect, even on paper. You and a friend…

bluberry · September 27, 2008

Reader PlayStation 2

SpyHunter review

I'll admit it. I was skeptical when I heard of Spy Hunter, developers had been butchering arcade classics since back in the PS1 days. Frogger? Tedious platformer with atrocious controls. Contra: Legacy of War? Dull action game with awkward…

bluberry · June 26, 2008

Staff PlayStation 3 HG exclusive

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots review

Not to make excuses, but I somehow doubt that any of the issues I've mentioned—the sometimes less than brilliant story, the shift away from gameplay toward the end, the lack of challange—will be a surprise or an issue to any long-time fan…

John L · June 23, 2008

Reader PlayStation 2 Review of the Week HG exclusive

Devil May Cry review

Talk of Devil May Cry being a Resident Evil sequel may seem less ridiculous in light of the fairly slick RE4, but even then it's a bit of a stretch. It's tough to imagine that the game was originally set to be a slow trek through cramped…

bluberry · March 1, 2007

Reader GameCube HG exclusive

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess review

Twilight Princess' design is often so well thought-out that I have to wonder why Nintendo gave it much of a story at all. Link is transformed into a wolf the very first time he pokes his head into Hyrule Castle, and it's a fantastic moment…

bluberry · January 16, 2007

Staff PlayStation 2

Sniper Elite review

It may not be your cup of tea if you're a fan of manic action games like Devil May Cry, but if you don't mind the idea of leisurely capping people from afar then it's definitely worth a shot.

John L · December 30, 2005

Staff PC HG exclusive

Quake 4 review

There are big alienss, and there are big guns; I wouldn't have it any other way.

John L · December 18, 2005

Staff PC HG exclusive

Serious Sam II review

Muscular, axe-chucking barbarians twice the height of poor Sam... zombified businessmen with shotguns... football-outfitted dinosaurs that sport manly tackles and downright explosive passes... and they'll all be attacking you by the dozen!

John L · November 7, 2005

Staff Xbox HG exclusive

Breakdown review

I love Guilty Gear as much as the next guy, but there's just something more viscerally thrilling about actually flying across the room and knocking some poor sap in the gut rather than just watching your fighter of choice do it from the…

John L · October 14, 2005

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening review

The rest of it rules, save possibly the atrocious vocals in the background music (TO TAKE ME DOWN YOU MUST FIGHT LIKE A MAN!), but the lacking opposition is a flaw that can't possibly be understated. Most every battle in the original was…

John L · October 14, 2005

Staff PlayStation 2

Katamari Damacy review

Fortunately, the gameplay takes itself about as seriously, featuring diverse wackiness ranging from haddocks that flop about inside of your doom sphere to innocent bystanders that run away screaming as if they'd just seen Godzilla. Who…

John L · October 14, 2005

Staff DS HG exclusive

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow review

A wooden puppet master whose chamber is lined with several iron maidens for you to be trapped in and a clawed wall-hopper eerily reminiscent of Street Fighter 2's Vega are two of the many highlights within Dawn's impressive bestiary.

John L · October 10, 2005

Staff Saturn HG exclusive

Shienryu review

Even thinking about the genre-defining Thunder Force IV was more exciting than playing this, the most forgettably average vertical shooter ever created.

John L · September 3, 2005

Staff Game Boy Advance HG exclusive

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow review

I can't copy-paste on Dreamcast so no excerpt for you. Just click the review out of pity spawned by the fact that I am, in fact, typing this review on a Dreamcast.

John L · August 6, 2005

Staff PC HG exclusive

Doom II: Hell on Earth review

Halo can match the scale of its battles, and Doom 3 can copy as many of the tricks as it wants, but no game since Doom II has struck a perfect balance and I doubt that any other game ever will.

John L · July 30, 2005

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

Metal Slug 4 & 5 review

Metal Slug 5 is certainly worth playing through a couple times for the splendid sightseeing, and once again after that for the stupendous boss battles; as a fraction of a larger compilation, it'd be great. As the saving grace of a $40…

John L · May 30, 2005

Staff GameCube

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes review

With the exception of a crate here and a computer there, not a single aspect of the original's outdated design has been altered; you can execute far more complex maneuvers now than you could during MGS1 Snake's hide-and-seek antics, but…

John L · May 4, 2005

Staff Dreamcast HG exclusive

Chaos Field review

From your very first encounter with a narrow warship to the nondescript battle station that kicks off your last hurrah, there's a distinct lack of anything noteworthy, let alone inspired.

John L · April 29, 2005

Staff Xbox

JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future review

It's easy to lose yourself in the game's enormity, frustrated at your inability to find the deviously hidden final tags or even simply at the fact that you have to backtrack halfway through all creation to reach them.

John L · April 24, 2005

Staff Nintendo 64 HG exclusive

Perfect Dark review

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Perfect Dark's wicked multiplayer mode, one packed with enough depth and nuance to make bland crapfests like Timesplitters 2's (admit it, you only liked playing as the monkey) squirm. The design is rad…

John L · April 3, 2005