Reviews by Rob Hamilton, page 28

Staff NES

Totally Rad review

And so, young and awesome Jake sets off into the wild blue yonder, endeavoring to complete five whole stages of magic and mayhem, rescue Allison, rescue Allison’s father (no clue how he fits into things, other than to give Jake another…

Rob Hamilton · June 30, 2006

Staff SNES

Plok review

The final area’s penchant for giving Plok strange tools and forcing him to use them to overcome obstacles reaches its peak at the very end of the game, as he must fight the final boss wearing a pair of spring shoes that force him to bound…

Rob Hamilton · June 23, 2006

Staff Genesis HG exclusive

Sagaia review

Due to the path I'm taking, my objective is the sea urchin-like monstrosity known as Leadain — a foul contraption with multiple deadly attacks and seemingly more lives than a cat. It kills me, forcing me to re-enter the fray with only a…

Rob Hamilton · June 21, 2006

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

Metal Saga review

I had no reason to go anywhere other than to get in fights and earn money to buy better equipment for my characters and their tanks. With no motivation beyond personal gain, everything I accomplished in Metal Saga seemed hollow — a…

Rob Hamilton · June 9, 2006

Staff Genesis

Shining Force review

During the game’s final battles, I didn’t have the courage to send Max into the heart of conflict. Why? Because if he gets defeated, the game ends and I found out the hard way that one unlucky confrontation can accomplish that in the blink…

Rob Hamilton · June 8, 2006

Staff NES HG exclusive

Formula One: Built to Win review

There wasn’t much of a difference between the first few Formula One races and the last few American ones, so I jumped out to a hefty lead in the points standings over real-life drivers of the time (with slightly altered names, such as “A…

Rob Hamilton · June 5, 2006

Staff NES HG exclusive

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! review

France’s most stalwart athlete, Glass Joe, quickly finds out his career is heading for a humiliating end, as his punches are easily dodged by Mac, who then responds by sending jab after jab into Joe’s face. The fight is short and brutal —…

Rob Hamilton · June 1, 2006

Staff NES

Faxanadu review

However, one cannot simply loiter near town enriching themselves through the lucrative practice of repeated suicide. The regions of Faxanadu are loaded with dungeons, as well as hostile, mutated dwarves that mean business! Considering the…

Rob Hamilton · May 21, 2006

Staff Arcade

X-Multiply review

One memorable section sends the player down a long corridor to a vast chamber while dodging deadly drops of fluid dripping from the ceiling, leading me to believe my travels had taken me into the depths of the digestive system, where…

Rob Hamilton · May 4, 2006

Staff PlayStation

Medal of Honor review

In his briefing, Jimmy is given authorization papers to show guards. He’s told to AVOID combat, sneak around, do what he has to do and get out as quickly as possible. And when he does that, the one-star (maybe two) rating he’ll get upon…

Rob Hamilton · April 27, 2006

Staff NES HG exclusive

Monster Party review

Most disturbing of all, the head of an Egyptian pharaoh greeted me with the gleeful exclamation, “OH BOY! MARK SOUP!” Trust me....when you knock on a stranger’s door, that is NOT what you want to hear.

Rob Hamilton · April 21, 2006

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence review

As a guy who broke his teeth on the old-school games of past generations, I was ecstatic to learn that Konami included two Metal Gear games originally released for the eight-bit MSX computer gaming system. The first game (featuring Snake's…

Rob Hamilton · April 16, 2006

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

Suikoden III review

Minor battles are boring and tedious — winding up as nothing more than bland interludes between plot points. One minute, I’d be watching treaties get broken and villages get torched — the next, I’d be battling bunnies, spiders and beetles…

Rob Hamilton · April 6, 2006

Staff Game Boy Advance HG exclusive

Fire Emblem review

Fights consist of more and more enemy troops, many of which can pop up anywhere at any time as reinforcements, while many factors make picking your group of heroes for each battle a decision to not be taken lightly. Units with heavy armor…

Rob Hamilton · March 30, 2006

Staff TurboGrafx-16 HG exclusive

Final Soldier review

I was disappointed to have to play through seven levels that didn't get challenging until the end neared. Enemies were only aggressive in a few parts of Final Soldier, while most bosses went down in flames before I got overwhelmed by their…

Rob Hamilton · March 20, 2006

Staff SNES

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past review

It’s hard to imagine that great fights against Turtle Rock’s three-headed dragon, the near-invulnerable Moldorm or evil ol’ Ganon, himself, could be in the same game as a giant moth whose main threat is caused by its good fortune to reside…

Rob Hamilton · March 17, 2006

Staff NES

Zunou Senkan Galg review

To be honest, I got my first hint that Galg might become a thorn in my side as soon as I started up the game. As the first level began, I was informed I must collect 100 parts to destroy someone or something known as Dragg. Not five parts…

Rob Hamilton · March 9, 2006

Staff Genesis HG exclusive

Traysia review

I tried to pay attention to the game’s muddled plot and it seemed that much of it revolved around an evil group of wizards trying to take over the world. To back up that theory, as my characters explored different lands, they saw evidence…

Rob Hamilton · March 6, 2006

Staff TurboGrafx-16 HG exclusive

Bonk's Adventure review

I don't often randomly boast about particularly sweet things I pull off in video games, but I have to say I had an ear-to-ear grin after utterly destroying one boss with a perfectly-executed chain of attacks. The poor guy never had a…

Rob Hamilton · March 2, 2006

Staff SNES HG exclusive

Addams Family Values review

Or you'll become befuddled by your umpteenth encounter with one of Addams Family Values' favorite underworld "puzzles" — the games of "Guess Which Teleporter Won't Move You Back Eight Rooms" and "Randomly Push These Switches Until You Do…

Rob Hamilton · February 20, 2006