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 Jason Venter 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
	Conan review (PS3) Reviewed on November 07, 2007 You'll realize that early on, as you're ascending a crumbling tower in your quest to destroy a rampaging dragon. Along the way, you'll face his fire-breathing muzzle at several turns. Each time, the strategy is the same: dodge his attacks, then retaliate with some sword strokes. After several such instances, the developers threw in a little variety, and in the end it's not your sword that spells the dragon's doom but rather the available architecture. It's one of the game's highlights (along with a similar battle with a mammoth and later one with a giant squid), but somehow it doesn't feel like quite enough.	3.5/5
	Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness review (PSP) Reviewed on November 04, 2007 Accessed once you complete the original adventure (or with a code from the title screen), Etna Mode is a retelling of the classic story that begins with Etna trying to wake Laharl from his slumber... then accidentally shooting him in the head. As the late Overlord's son crumples into his casket, the red-headed heroine realizes she has a problem. The nearly 40 hours of gameplay that follow answer the question of what the Netherworld would do without its self-absorbed prince.	5/5
	Tony Hawk's Proving Ground review (X360) Reviewed on November 02, 2007 Tony Hawk's Proving Ground definitely could have used more enhancements like 'nail the grab' and less of the other crap. Nowhere is that clearer than when it comes to the various missions you are expected to complete. Now you have not just one plot, but several. You progress through each of them in roughly the order you like. If you get tired of bowling for hoodlums, perhaps you can head to the park for a skate competition instead.	3/5
	Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords review (X360) Reviewed on November 01, 2007 Though at some level the creatures you fight in Puzzle Quest are just there as window dressing, they actually do bring a lot to the table. When you are traveling from one city to another and a sand worm attacks, you'll react differently than you might if battling a wyvern in the mountains. The result is that even though you're for the most part playing the same puzzle game for hours on end, it doesn't get as redundant as you might imagine.	4.5/5
	Dewy's Adventure review (WII) Reviewed on October 20, 2007 The Wii Remote controller is held sideways, like a classic NES controller, and your motions theoretically determine where the hero—a drop of water—rolls. I say 'theoretically' because a slight flick of the wrist could be enough to make him edge along a precipice, or it could have no apparent impact at all, or it could send him careening forward and to his doom. The sense that you're in full control never really hits home because the minute you start to feel confident, an unexpected fumble comes along that craps all over the notion.	2.5/5
	Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck review (DS) Reviewed on October 17, 2007 In Duck Amuck, your goal is not to save the princess, or to make Daffy as wealthy as possible, or to show Bugs Bunny once and for all which mascot is superior. You aren't even sparing the cartoon world an invasion from Marvin the Martian. In fact, though Daffy is clearly the star of the show, you're not helping him do anything great at all. Instead, you're trying to ruffle his feathers. You win the game when he gets so angry that he blows his top. That's it. End of story.	3/5
	Lair review (PS3) Reviewed on September 27, 2007 The gamer in you will probably wish that your mount didn't take so long to turn, but consider how unrealistic it would be if you could maneuver through the air like a sports coup with wings. You might argue that realism went out the door the minute mythological monsters entered the equation, but one fact remains: riding on a beast's back should feel... beastly.	3.5/5
	PaRappa the Rapper review (PSP) Reviewed on September 27, 2007 Each opponent is quite bizarre. For example, you'll first face a karate master shaped like an onion. He busts rhymes about kicking and punching, and you have to respond in kind. The other key characters are a driving instructor that looks like a moose, a reggae-loving frog at a flea market and an obnoxious chicken that hosts a television cooking show.	3.5/5
	Worms: Open Warfare 2 review (DS) Reviewed on September 21, 2007 Even though there's an effective tutorial at the onset of the game (which you can skip if you're so inclined), getting a handle on the destructive implements available can prove difficult. Options like the flaming fist that lets you knock your opponents backward with a cry of “Shoryuken!” are cool and have predictable results, but more standard fare like the bazooka definitely doesn't.	3.5/5
	R.C. Pro-Am II review (NES) Reviewed on September 16, 2007 Now instead of finding a few simple upgrade icons littering the track, you can snag money bags. These allow you to outfit your vehicle as you see fit, whether that be in the form of improved tires that let you take tighter corners or more powerful engines that render your opponents irrelevant. There's more strategy involved, both as you struggle to secure the most cash on each lap (since your opponents can pick them up before you if you get careless) and as you invest in the perfect vehicular modifications.	4.5/5
	Duck Tales review (NES) Reviewed on September 15, 2007 Duck Tales works so well because it remains faithful to the adventurous spirit that made its source material such a resounding success. After selecting a stage, you're dropped into what at first feels like just another level from any cutesy platformer. As you head to the right, though, you'll quickly realize that something is different: you have options!	5/5
	Heavenly Sword review (PS3) Reviewed on September 15, 2007 With such a high standard set, it shouldn't come as a surprise that gameplay doesn't hold up its end of the bargain. It does come close, though. The main problem is that Nariko spends most of her game carrying a sword capable of standing against the most powerful beings in the world, yet primarily battles simple soldiers. Even when an environment is crawling with troops, there isn't much to offer resistance. She's simply too powerful.	4/5
	Final Fantasy II review (PSP) Reviewed on September 11, 2007 You plan in most games to survive, and that's interesting. In Final Fantasy II, you do it because you want to beef up your weak ice spell instead of your ax. There's no sense of urgency and that gets tedious. You'll dread running into enemies not because you can't beat them quickly—you can—but because doing so locks you into undesired character progression.	3/5
	Taito Legends 2 review (PS2) Reviewed on August 28, 2007 Unless you lived in arcades 20 years ago, you probably won't even remember half the stuff you find here. You're thus denied even the value that nostalgia might lend each selection. Taken on their own terms, most titles you'll find here are trumped by the free Flash games you can find all over the Internet.	2/5
	Concentration review (PC) Reviewed on August 21, 2007 It's not that the artwork is bad—it's not—but it's obscure and could mean a few things. Half the time, you'll look at a picture and say to yourself “Hmm, that's either a stick, a log, a limb, a branch or a twig or something else I'm forgetting.” Solving the puzzles is tiresome instead of fun.	1.5/5
	Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology review (PSP) Reviewed on August 13, 2007 Sometimes you're retrieving an item. Others you're rescuing someone who got lost, or delivering a goody he or she needs, or scavenging for materials at an item point. No matter how you look at it, though, you're no more than an errand boy (or girl) engaged in one long series of fetch quests.	2.5/5
	Taito Legends: Power-Up review (PSP) Reviewed on August 10, 2007 Most arcade compilations from even the best of companies will include a few obvious misses. Taito was never the best of companies, but it was solid and enjoyed its fair share of classics. Taito Legends: Power-Ups combines games from two different classics compilations, leaves out quite a few good ones, and mostly makes it clear that someone figures there will be a sequel.	2.5/5
	Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 review (PS2) Reviewed on July 23, 2007 The effort you must apply toward the protagonist’s social progression is one of the most interesting things about Persona 3. If he doesn’t seize every opportunity for a conversation with one of his peers at the local high school (or in the community that lies outside its halls), he’ll be significantly outclassed by his enemies when battles occur.	4.5/5
	Disney/Pixar Ratatouille review (GBA) Reviewed on July 22, 2007 There are license-based adventures on the Game Boy Advance that provide a fantastic experience. Ratatouille isn’t one of them. It doesn’t even come close. Without ever truly failing on a technical level, the game sucks all of the fun out of its license. The resulting product isn’t entertaining in the slightest.	1.5/5
	Disney/Pixar Ratatouille review (WII) Reviewed on July 05, 2007 It also happens to be a title that was clearly developed with the PlayStation 2 in mind. The game works like a charm on the system, and there are times when the Wii version feels clunky by comparison. Fortunately for the Wii, the inverse is sometimes true. For example, there are many places where Remy will run along a series of wires, or jump across a series of poles suspended high in the air. With the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, it’s easy to pull off such daring moves.	4.5/5

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