Reviews by Jason Venter, page 28

GRID review

Cars simply don't handle the way they ought to. Any slight bump, any slight deviation from the road, spells disaster. Let's say you're racing along an enclosed track and one of your tires strays over the line. The second you touch dirt…

Jason Venter · June 25, 2008

Staff PSP HG exclusive

Space Invaders Extreme review

Special weapons add a lot of strategy to the game and are perhaps the most exciting change. Any time you slaughter four aliens of the same hue in succession, you'll receive a corresponding special shot. This is attached to a meter that…

Jason Venter · June 23, 2008

Staff Arcade HG exclusive

Gals Panic S Extra Edition review

One of the most striking differences actually won't impress a lot of folks: there are fewer bared breasts to see. The highlight of the original Gals Panic was that you could clear stages three times to finally uncover a drawing that…

Jason Venter · June 22, 2008

Staff DS HG exclusive

Summon Night: Twin Age review

Even the concern that she'll run out of magic is nullified by a skill that allows her to regenerate it on the fly—only a few seconds of charging are required, which is inconvenient but generally not lethal thanks to the…

Jason Venter · June 21, 2008

Staff Arcade HG exclusive

Time Soldiers review

Unfortunately, every Time Soldiers triumph is canceled out by a flaw. If you don't know what you're doing, you'll find yourself repeating some areas more times than you'd care to count. That's because there are frequent warp points between…

Jason Venter · June 17, 2008

Staff Wii HG exclusive

Emergency Heroes review

Well, the way this works is that you have one of three districts—later all combined into one—where you drive through crowded traffic to find glowing columns of light that represent missions. The time spent between said missions is mostly…

Jason Venter · June 9, 2008

Staff PlayStation 3 HG exclusive

Kung Fu Panda review

Fans of more demanding gameplay will be sad to hear that there's not really ever a moment—even at the very end—where the game grows challenging enough to test veteran gamers. There are three difficulty modes so that you can push yourself…

Jason Venter · June 7, 2008

Staff Xbox 360 HG exclusive

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian review

At first, I stupidly tried to battle everyone. This is a waste of time. Instead, you need to work actively on the current objective, whatever it might be. These can range from destroying siege engines, bashing stone pillars with your club…

Jason Venter · May 20, 2008

Staff DS HG exclusive

Toy Shop review

While it's true that a lot of games of this type bury you in menus, they at least have other things going on so that you can remain entertained throughout the process or there's a sense of urgency. With Toy Shop, I would frequently set up…

Jason Venter · May 19, 2008

Staff Wii HG exclusive

Speed Racer: The Videogame review

Speed Racer: The Videogame is fast. Really fast. Early circuits are mellow and you won't have the beefier vehicles available, but that changes quickly enough. Each completed championship yields you another driver with new stats, until…

Jason Venter · May 16, 2008

Staff Wii HG exclusive

The Dog Island review

Some of that innovation should have instead been saved for the different missions you'll attempt. These regularly amount to nothing more than running back through several areas to someplace you've already been—just to sniff out some secret…

Jason Venter · May 11, 2008

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

SNK Arcade Classics: Vol. 1 review

SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 collects 16 arcade classics, which doesn't sound like a significant number until you realize that a lot of what's here is much beefier than the norm. There's nothing wrong with a bunch of puzzle games, something…

Jason Venter · May 10, 2008

Staff Wii HG exclusive

Emergency Mayhem review

Crisis City is swarming with activity. Pedestrians crowd the sidewalks. Traffic is thick and boasts a pleasing variety of vehicles, while the scenery is frequently beautiful with great draw distance. There's definitely a pleasing artistic…

Jason Venter · May 9, 2008

Staff PSP HG exclusive

R-Type Command review

As the game's packaging indicates, there are more than 80 different units available. These fall into several categories. You'll choose from agile jets, slower support vehicles, Force pods, carriers and an assortment of other units. It…

Jason Venter · May 7, 2008

Staff NES HG exclusive

1943: The Battle of Midway review

The game treats you much differently depending on the choices you make and it never coddles you. Souping up your special weapons right away so that you can fire amazing rapid-fire bursts or shell your enemies relentlessly with a barrage of…

Jason Venter · April 26, 2008

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Volume 2 review

It seems unusual to see the high-quality backgrounds swapped out from one game to the next, rather than simply finding them supplemented by a few new ones. Just the fact that things work like that, though, is a point in this compilation's…

Jason Venter · April 25, 2008

Staff Wii HG exclusive

Dream Pinball 3D review

When you're playing and the ball is moving too quickly, it seems like the camera just isn't ready to follow it appropriately. The developers chose a default perspective where not everything fits all in one screen and thus the view will…

Jason Venter · April 25, 2008

Staff Wii HG exclusive

Battle of the Bands review

That will then send your chosen projectile toward your opponent, who should deflect it. If he doesn't, you score a lot of points and bragging rights. You're also rewarded by the sound of your own band singing. In heated matches, gangsters…

Jason Venter · April 24, 2008

Staff PlayStation 3 HG exclusive

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue review

In Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, you're given the chance to drive an impressive array of vehicles. There are more than 60 in all. While the final package will no doubt increase that number substantially—and though a lot of the choices here are…

Jason Venter · April 21, 2008

Staff DS HG exclusive

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword review

Dragon Sword sports a three-dimensional feel that is one of the game's most striking elements. Ryu ventures through a variety of hauntingly beautiful environments. Team Ninja does here what Capcom did with the Resident Evil games and that…

Jason Venter · April 14, 2008