Staff reviews, page 224

Staff NES

Puss 'N Boots: Pero's Great Adventure review

Just when you're starting to really enjoy yourself, you realize that you've reached its conclusion. Then you look back and realize with horror that it only took you perhaps 15 minutes to do so. From the first stage to the last, they are…

Jason Venter · August 8, 2003

Staff SNES

Faceball 2000 review

The system simply wasn't made to handle three dimensions, and that's all there is to it. Really, Faceball 2000 is quite the impressive technical feat. Even though the floors are featureless, and the walls, and even though the balls look…

Jason Venter · August 6, 2003

Staff NES

Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers 2 review

The first level is pretty good, a promising start for the game. The heroes run through a restaurant in an effort to diffuse a bomb someone has set in the building. It's not a match for the first stage in the first game, but it's good, a…

Jason Venter · August 4, 2003

Staff SNES

Ys III: Wanderers From Ys review

Every time you complete a dungeon, you can count on an interesting plot twist, some new items, and a sense of accomplishment that should be at odds with your realization that the dungeon you just conquered wouldn't have puzzled a…

Jason Venter · July 29, 2003

Staff PlayStation 2

Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color review

In case you haven't heard, Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color is a role-playing game that eschews the massive world, grand storyline, and extensive inventories so many consider staples of the genre. Instead, it embraces a system through…

Jason Venter · July 10, 2003

Staff GameCube

Mega Man Network Transmission review

By the time you reach the end of the game, you'll be quite familiar with most of those skills. There are 137 in all. You gain these by defeating enemies, who sometimes leave behind bits of data. It pays to continue defeating the same…

Jason Venter · June 21, 2003

Staff Game Boy Advance

Golden Sun review

Despite the attractive environment that the game immersed me in, what dawned on me quite early on into the adventure was that Golden Sun actually seems to purposefully conspire to make the process of playing it as mundane and drawn out as…

Erin Bell · June 20, 2003

Staff PlayStation

Beyond the Beyond review

I can say without a hint of malice that I've always liked the towns in such 16-bit titles, and that they are present in full force in Beyond the Beyond. Each town does look different from the next. Years later, there is the slim…

Jason Venter · June 18, 2003

Staff GameCube

Skies of Arcadia Legends review

I found myself hooked into the story almost immediately. You're given a mystery of sorts to investigate in the very first scene--who is this girl in the strange clothes? Why is she here? And it just gets more interesting from there.

Lassarina Aoibhell · June 14, 2003

Staff PlayStation 2

Armored Core 3 review

Enemy AI is drastically improved this time around. Your opponent will hide behind objects and use various fighting styles, requiring you to plan your method of attack based on what you know about your foe.

Alexander Fielding · June 3, 2003

Staff Xbox

Brute Force review

Brute Force would benefit so much from more open level designs. Your tactical options would exponentially increase and your enemies could do something useful like flank you, or ambush you, bringing much more excitement into the game.

goatx3 · June 2, 2003

Staff GameCube

NBA Street Vol. 2 review

This isn't a basketball sim, the players don't behave like real players. Shaq will hit the occasional shot from behind the arc, little Allen Iverson will throw down 360 dunks. Just about any player in the game will hit a mid range jumper…

goatx3 · May 21, 2003

Staff PlayStation 2

.hack Part 2: Mutation review

Old characters return, but they're hardly involved. Mia, in fact, only shows up in one mission with a reference to a practical joke from the previous game. Her presence here is token, as is the presence of the majority of the cast. It's…

Jason Venter · May 19, 2003

Staff Game Boy Advance

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow review

Aside from the soul-absorption ability, you can also pick up weapons! That's right, just like in Symphony of the Night, the main character can arm himself with swords, axes, maces, even a gun.

James Gordon · May 15, 2003

Staff GameCube

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / Master Quest review

For veterans of the original, the dungeons become all new challenges (sometimes extremely frustrating ones), with different sequences necessary for progression and a horde of remixed enemies throughout—for instance, where there might have…

Zack M · May 15, 2003

Staff Game Boy Advance

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow review

Nothing feels particularly refreshing. You've seen all the tricks before, they impressed you at the time, and now there's this overwhelming sense of deja vu. Some of the absolute coolest bosses in the game, for example, feel like they were…

Jason Venter · May 13, 2003

Staff Game Boy Advance

Rayman 3 review

Even more impressive are the numerous environments he'll explore. These for the most part are swamps, lava caves, and fortresses, but they all look vibrant. The level of detail is also amazing. Then there are the enemies to consider. Their…

Jason Venter · May 1, 2003

Staff Xbox

Conflict: Desert Storm review

Conflict Desert Storm has plenty of those exciting moments that you just can't find in other genres. You're low on ammo, separated from your squad, relatively hidden in a small group of boulders. There's a tank rolling towards you on the…

goatx3 · April 28, 2003

Staff PlayStation 2

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon review

No, multi-player doesn't truly shine until you unlock cooperative levels. This is done by completing those same levels in the single-player mode. Once that's done, the game suddenly doubles in value. Whenever a new friend comes over, the…

Jason Venter · April 26, 2003

Staff Game Boy Advance

Super Puzzle Fighter II review

While you're puttering about on your half of the screen, your opponent is on the other side doing the same thing. Whenever you score a combo or string of combos, blocks will be rained down on your opponent. These blocks do not solidify for…

Jason Venter · April 24, 2003