Staff reviews, page 212

Metroid: Zero Mission review

With that said, I was also happy to see that this game doesn't lead you by the hand to the same degree that Metroid Fusion did with its 'computer' set-up. It's still quite possible to get lost and wonder where you should head next. The map…

Jason Venter · February 14, 2004

Staff Genesis

Verytex review

Area three takes us back 'outdoors', over Earth perhaps, high enough to skip through the clouds, but low enough to witness clearly the wake of alien conquest. Surely this 'ravaged metropolis' scene is shooter cliché, but decent execution…

Marc Golding · February 10, 2004

Staff Genesis

XDR: X-Dazedly-Ray review

XDR stands for X-Dazedly-Ray. I couldn't have made that up if I tried. I mean, dazedly? What the hell is that all about? And I love how designers Unipac hyphenated the parts, as if that makes the whole somehow make sense. They would have…

Marc Golding · February 2, 2004

Staff PlayStation 2

Activision Anthology review

Activision was kind enough to include scans of original instruction manuals, and it's fun to see the lame covers that decorated these early classics, if you're not lucky enough to own them yourself. Not only that, but I guess back in the…

Jason Venter · January 31, 2004

Staff Game Boy Advance

WarioWare, Inc: Mega Microgame$! review

If there's one flaw in the whole presentation, it's that sometimes the games begin so quickly, you don't really have time to react to your surroundings. You'll start to mess up more than you would if you had time to get your bearings. Of…

Jason Venter · January 30, 2004

Staff PlayStation Review of the Week HG exclusive

Bushido Blade review

Imagine two swordsmen facing each other across the moonlit pagoda courtyard. The older man holds his blade steady in a frontal kendo stance, and the younger brandishes a sabre above his head. As the silence of the night punctuates the…

Zigfried · January 30, 2004

Staff Turbografx-CD Review of the Week HG exclusive

Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo review

Just watching someone play through a level, PC-Engine Dracula X looks damned good, as any Castlevania would, but might not appear to be the holy grail of gaming as some have hyped it. Spend one night with Dracula X — one night exploring…

Zigfried · January 24, 2004

Staff Xbox HG exclusive

Dead or Alive 3 review

It's true that only a superhuman could endure brainbusters, dragon's palms, and ten-story drops from skyscraping towers (breaking a few neon signs in the process, no less). But, beyond the beastly stamina, this game sets a benchmark for…

Zigfried · January 22, 2004

Staff Game Boy

Tetris review

To summarize the Tetris experience is to quote Maynard James Keenan of the great rock band Tool -- as I am often wont to do: I know the pieces fit!

Marc Golding · January 21, 2004

Staff Saturn HG exclusive

Sexy Parodius review

The "bad" endings for each level are very bad. While a good ending might reveal a picture of sexy women in suggestive poses, the "YOU SUCK!" ending might show your character crying or, even worse, a 70-year-old hag in the nude. GROSS!…

Zigfried · January 16, 2004

Staff Sega CD HG exclusive

Earnest Evans review

Vampire bats EXPLODE in waves of blue. Giant naked earthworms stroke the hero to death. Priests hurl Kris daggers across the screen, ceremonial knives whose length put even Shaq to shame. The designers even incorporated the best part of…

Zigfried · January 16, 2004

Staff Sega CD Review of the Week HG exclusive

Lords of Thunder review

With stylish (if less-than-stellar) graphics, solid and smooth gameplay, variety within each level, and throngs of demonic enemies, Lords of Thunder stands tall as one of The Great Shooters. Definitely worth owning.

Zigfried · January 16, 2004

Staff SNES

Super Castlevania IV review

The game exhibits useless imagination from the very beginning, with two-tiered levels (walk through a gate and traverse the background — pass back through the gate and you're in the foreground again) and new enemies such as a skeletal…

Zigfried · January 16, 2004

Staff Turbografx-CD HG exclusive

Final Zone II review

The hilariously incomprehensible cinematics and the ill-fitting CD music bring the game down. Yes, thanks to the extra space afforded by the CD medium, this game is actually worse than if it had been a TurboChip! Pulling off such a feat is…

Zigfried · January 16, 2004

Staff Turbografx-CD HG exclusive

Gate of Thunder review

From the beginning assault upon a planet-hovering dreadnought to the final encounter in the depths of the beautiful Dark City, Gate of Thunder exhibits stylish intensity, intelligence of design, and a well-rounded sense of quality.

Zigfried · January 16, 2004

Staff TurboGrafx-16 HG exclusive

Blazing Lazers review

This particular game falls firmly into the "overhead space shooter" genre, and smooth control combined with a fairly intriguing powerup system set it firmly at the top of the heap. It was the fastest shooter — vertical or horizontal — that…

Zigfried · January 16, 2004

Staff TurboGrafx-16 HG exclusive

The Legendary Axe review

Since just walking through a jungle, cavern, or castle wouldn't be nearly exciting enough, Gogan found himself an axe. A REALLY BIG axe. He can't throw it like Simon Belmont, he can't use it as a boomerang (Lycos of Shape Shifter), and he…

Zigfried · January 16, 2004

Staff Genesis

Golden Axe review

It seems as if some nefarious evildoing knave by the name of Death Adder (how corny is THAT name) has stolen a Golden Axe. The Golden Axe isn't a weapon you get to use or anything, it's just the sacred artifact that needs rescuing, in…

Marc Golding · January 14, 2004

Staff Genesis

Gaiares review

I have seen evidence of reviews, ‘professional’ or otherwise, where the reviewer seems not to have been able to get into the belly of the game, and writes of early passages in an attempt to skirt the issue of his superficial foray. It…

Marc Golding · January 14, 2004

Staff PC

Alone in the Dark 2 review

AITD2’s Carnby is the hardest individual you’ll come across. He’ll fight off ghouls, ghosts, and pirates dressed as gangsters (stop hunting for a typo, it’s true) with Tommy guns, a derringer, a sword stick, frying pan, battledore or his…

Marc Golding · January 14, 2004