Staff reviews, page 231

Mario Party review

Between the mini games, you must traverse a variety of locations that feel as if they were filched from Monopoly. Ovate spaces (primarily red and blue) litter environments that range from lush jungles to sultry islands and even a birthday…

Jason Venter · Date unknown

Staff Nintendo 64

Mario Kart 64 review

Even straight stretches are an opportunity to pull ahead of the competition, not to mention the winding areas where the game leads you. For example, one level lets you race along a frozen lake and through an ice cavern while penguins come…

Jason Venter · Date unknown

Staff Nintendo 64

Goldeneye 007 review

All I can say is that I'm glad Natalya didn't have a larger role in this production, or it might well have been ruined. Another thing I'm thankful for is the multi-player mode. It's both a reason to play the one-player campaign (you can…

Jason Venter · Date unknown

Staff Nintendo 64

Diddy Kong Racing review

There are levels built with each of the three vehicles in mind, and they work marvelously. The hovercraft is my personal favorite. It's fun to whip across a pool of water as a shortcut while your opponents must drive around it. Also, the…

Jason Venter · Date unknown

Staff Nintendo 64

Clayfighter 63 1/3 review

So, just how funny are those lines? Well, they're worth a few laughs. For as much as an hour or two, you're likely to find them quite amusing. Then you'll realize you're playing a crappy game and that you can have almost as much fun…

Jason Venter · Date unknown

Staff Nintendo 64

Banjo-Kazooie review

There's the usual range of areas, from the beach and snow areas I already mentioned to a swampland, a desert, a forest and even a haunted house (as well as an underwater stage). That may sound like a bad thing if you're one of those who…

Jason Venter · Date unknown

Staff Nintendo 64

Star Fox 64 review

This game has massive replay value. There are at least two dozen different paths you can take to the final level, meaning the game isn't linear by any means. There are secret routes, multiple endings to each stage, etc...

Kieran Greyloch · Date unknown

Staff Game Boy Color

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX review

Though the world is massive and intricately-designed (and the dungeons too), there are likely to come several points where you find yourself groaning as you realize you have to make a trip back over most of the map. At such times, the map…

Jason Venter · Date unknown

Staff Game Boy Color

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe review

I remember when men were men and mushrooms were the villainous scum standing between us and a kiss from the princess. Nintendo’s efforts to reinvigorate the classic with new modes is definitely appreciated, but that shouldn’t make you buy…

Jason Venter · Date unknown

Staff Dreamcast

Sonic Adventure review

See, the game isn't just about action stages. Taking a note from Mario, Sega decided to include a central hub that collects levels. This area is populated by people and wide open spaces where nothing is happening. To get from one area to…

Jason Venter · Date unknown

Staff Game Boy Advance

Advance Wars review

What makes the game good is that there are such a wide variety of ways the enemy can screw you over while you are hunting him down. Some maps have snow, which the enemy always finds a more welcome element than you do.

Jason Venter · Date unknown

Staff PlayStation

Mega Man X5 review

Parts of certain levels are a real pain... It took me a dozen tries to get through some areas, but I always managed to find a way of proceeding. It just takes a bit of trial and error sometimes, and that's been a given ever since the first…

Kieran Greyloch · Date unknown

Staff PlayStation

Xenogears review

The gear battles are similar, and use the same system with weak, medium, and strong attacks. You can still do combos, but each turn you go without doing a combo, your attack level goes up... And the higher the attack level, the better…

James Gordon · Date unknown

Staff PlayStation

Vandal Hearts review

They're very flat looking, and after playing FFT, it was sometimes hard for me to even see the characters and tell them apart on the battle map. There are no cutscenes, and the graphics are basically the biggest downfall in this game…

James Gordon · Date unknown

Staff PlayStation

Vagrant Story review

The graphics in Vagrant Story are some of the best I've seen in a while... very smooth and life-like animations, stunning cinemas, phenomenal lighting, detailed polygons... this game's got it all. There is nothing here that's 2D; the…

James Gordon · Date unknown

Staff PlayStation

Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins review

While some players may be tempted to just run out into the open, and run to the end of the level, they'll hardly get any points, and it'll be much harder. It's much more fun to take your time on a level (around 15-20 minutes), and try not…

James Gordon · Date unknown

Staff PlayStation

Tenchu: Stealth Assassins review

The view in Tenchu is much like that of Tomb Raider. A 3rd-person back-view. You must creep your way through several levels, while fighting some truly tough bosses.

James Gordon · Date unknown

Staff PlayStation

Tekken 3 review

But other than that, they kept the original arcade mode, and added other modes like beach ball mode, Tekken street mode, etc... There's lots of stuff to do here, and tons of replay value.

James Gordon · Date unknown

Staff PlayStation

Suikoden review

The duals are extremely challenging indeed, and I found myself getting very frustrated over them! It is also a challenge to recruit all 108 party members; it was fun doing it. Most party members require you to do some sort of ''chore''…

James Gordon · Date unknown

Staff PlayStation

Street Fighter Alpha 3 review

There are 3 main fighting styles in this game: X-ism, Y-ism, and A-ism. Each fighting style has its own combos, and attributes. X-ism is the most basic, and probably fit for beginners. If you're fighting with X-ism, your character has high…

James Gordon · Date unknown