Review Archives (Staff Reviews)

You are currently looking through staff reviews for games that are available on every platform the site currently covers. Below, you will find reviews written by all eligible authors and sorted according to date of submission, with the newest content displaying first. As many as 20 results will display per page. If you would like to try a search with different parameters, specify them below and submit a new search.

Available Reviews
	Draglade review (DS) Reviewed on December 04, 2007 You can choose from four characters. Each has a separate plot, but they all go through the same checkpoints. Once you've finished one tale, the only reason to brave the massive amount of recycled material is the character you'll unlock for versus mode. From locations to bosses to key events, almost nothing is utilized only once. This probably isn't a huge surprise and it wouldn't even be so bad except that there are only a few places to visit in the whole game!
	Monopoly review (N64) Reviewed on December 03, 2007 I'd meant what I said about the iron. He's easily the most expressive of the available choices. When you land on his property and have to pay rent, he'll chuckle silently but deviously. When he arrives on a space that is to his financial gain, he'll pump his arms enthusiastically. Even when he's standing still, he looks just maniacal enough that you can't help but root for his success.
	Painkiller: Overdose review (PC) Reviewed on December 02, 2007 The game does a lot right, and is worth a playthrough just to see what each level has for you. They all have a similar feel, but at the same time are all very different. Enemies aren't reused. There aren't any palette swaps in this adventure. An impressive line is walked in that aspect. Unfortunately, all is not well in purgatory. While all of the aesthetics are in order, problems come up in the mechanics themselves.
	Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends review (DS) Reviewed on December 01, 2007 Sit back, let the timer run out, and you will still end up with a perfectly presentable dish and one of 68 new recipes for your lack of effort. Doing well gets a good score, but I’m not really the kind of guy who calls up friends to brag about my delightfully moist, and let’s not forget virtual, chocolate cake.
	The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass review (DS) Reviewed on December 01, 2007 Things starts how they always start in the Zelda multiverse, with the kidnapping of that dappy bint of a princess whose only point of existence is to be spirited away by dark forces at the start of every new adventure. In a new development twist for the series, Phantom Hourglass is a direct sequel from Wind Waker on the Gamecube, meaning that it inherits the THE BIG TWO flaws that chapter suffered from
	Trauma Center: New Blood review (WII) Reviewed on November 30, 2007 With two doctors available for each stage, you can partner up with a skilled buddy to zap viruses and set bones. As the timer ticks down and you combine your skills, you'll be sharing an experience unique to Trauma Center. It's fantastic if you can manage it, but let's face it: not all of us have friends, let alone talented ones. For such individuals, there may be times when the game feels nearly impossible.
	Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord review (NES) Reviewed on November 30, 2007 You’ll open the battle against a shadowy figure with an vague name like “unseen entity” and have to wait a turn or two before the foe’s real name is revealed. And that can be dangerous, as this “unseen entity” could be a Murphy’s Ghost, which primarily exists to give young parties a high-experience foe weak enough for them to beat without much risk OR it could be any of many undesirable level-draining undead.
	Luxor: Pharaoh's Challenge review (PS2) Reviewed on November 29, 2007 If you've played a lot of puzzle games besides Tetris, you've probably encountered one where your goal is to stop colored marbles from rolling too far along a winding track. This is typically accomplished by tossing a few marbles of your own so that three of a single color end up next to each other, flash and then disappear. Sometimes, a chain reaction is possible, with multiple groups vanishing at once. Sound familiar?
	Time Crisis 4 review (PS3) Reviewed on November 28, 2007 Time Crisis 4 doesn't stray far from the formula its predecessors embraced. There's really no reason it should. As your characters walk into an airport, someone tosses a smoke bomb their way and just like that, the action has begun. From that lobby, you'll make your way through all sorts of chaotic events that range from a gunfight in the streets to a stroll through a dark cave to a helicopter ride where you're causing everything but the towering skyscrapers to explode in a fiery inferno.
	Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock review (X360) Reviewed on November 28, 2007 Guitar Hero III is the best game in the series by far, and a great game in its own right. Prior experience with the series isn’t necessary because anyone can pick the game up and have fun. The range and quality of music helps in making it accessible to everyone, and this will be reinforced with the post-release stream of downloadable content.
	Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker review (DS) Reviewed on November 27, 2007 Just as the upgrade and customization features abolished everything Pokemon has shown us in the past five years, DQM scores another point for monster synthesis. You could literally spend hours testing monster combinations and still have only scratched the surface.
	Uncharted: Drake's Fortune review (PS3) Reviewed on November 26, 2007 Of course, Uncharted is a game. It's not a perfect one, either. That means that for all of its visual splendor and for every moment you're so immersed that you'd jump out of your skin if the phone rang—and really, that side of things can't possibly be emphasized enough—the title sometimes pulls you out of its version of reality and unceremoniously dumps you in mediocrity's lap.
	Strawberry Shortcake: The Four Seasons Cake review (DS) Reviewed on November 25, 2007 Of course, whether or not little girls are ready to solve some of the challenges here is a matter that's up for some debate. There's nothing particularly taxing until right near the end, but at the same time, sometimes the answer might not be clear. Believe it or not, the game eventually gets rather rough and actually requires a bit of platforming skill.
	Luminous Arc review (DS) Reviewed on November 25, 2007 The more ‘professional’ reviewers out there have all led their reviews by saying something along the lines of “It’s no Final Fantasy Tactics” and I fully agree with them. Luminous Arc isn’t a dull, monotonous trek through a featureless and overly-convoluted series of caves: it’s an explosive rocket bungee through a gallery of neon-lit wonderment.
	Condor review (PC) Reviewed on November 25, 2007 Condor deals only with gliding and it does so extensively, but as long as you're interested, you don't need to have previous flight-sim experience. But get used to the ground. You'll be seeing a lot of it.
	Assassin's Creed review (X360) Reviewed on November 23, 2007 When you first enter a city, you'll generally follow the same process: climb a tower to reveal more of the map, visit your guild, investigate until you have enough clues to find your target, then take his life. Along the way, you can stop soldiers from picking on unlucky citizens and you can scale the tallest structures to aid in your search, but a lot of that is unnecessary and time-consuming. Even the investigations themselves grow old, since they almost always involve punching someone a few times, picking a pocket or sitting down on a bench to eavesdrop on suspicious characters.
	Clive Barker's Jericho review (X360) Reviewed on November 21, 2007 Clive Barker's Jericho is a tale of tremendous promise. This first-person shooter's storyline — penned by the author of Hellraiser and Candyman — follows the final voyage of seven futuristic warriors, seven warlocks and witches who comprise an elite commando squad armed with machine guns and magic missiles.
	Rayman: Raving Rabbids 2 review (WII) Reviewed on November 20, 2007 Regardless of the game type you choose to play, you can't lose. That's literal, since your goal isn't to survive, but to rack up the highest possible score. If your Wii has an Internet connection, you can then check online leaderboards to see how you rate compared to other gamers throughout the world. Even if your only competition is the game itself, though, you'll find that achieving a gold medal is a nice challenge (particularly in some cases).
	rFactor review (PC) Reviewed on November 20, 2007 It’s a little unfair to hold rFactor’s lack of accessibility against it as it has clearly set out to be a simulation racer. It does a fine job of that, but those who don’t demand flawless simulation are better served looking elsewhere.
	Screwjumper! review (X360) Reviewed on November 19, 2007 The best way to keep the score rising is to keep your jet-boots burning. As you charge through columns of pads, avoiding a circle of mines, the walls vibrate with a cacophony of multiplier-inducing explosions. You ignore the searing flames that wrap around your hurtling body. You might disintegrate at any second, but you push it to the brink for that next line of pads.

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