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
	Lumines review (PSP) Reviewed on March 20, 2006 You’ll know when you’re there because your fingers will be moving as if they aren’t yours, and your score will be skyrocketing. You’ll be flicking tiles this way and that, dropping one in one place and hardly even noticing as it begins to flash because you’re already working with the next play.	4.5/5
	Shadow Hearts From the New World review (PS2) Reviewed on March 12, 2006 There’s another change: From the New World is the first in the series to abandon plot-fertile Europe in favor of the Americas. Some people suppose that means “the United States,” but that’s not entirely true. While you will visit places like Chicago, Vegas and New York (and even the Grand Canyon), you’ll also witness destinations beyond US borders. One such place is the Caribbean, where you’ll encounter a band of pirates that hang out near a haunted ship.	4.5/5
	Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth review (XBX) Reviewed on March 06, 2006 When protagonist Jack Walters enters the town of Innsmouth and starts poking around, you’re not constantly diving through sleek menus and you’re not looking at things from a distance. You see it all through his protagonist’s eyes, without the meters and numbers so often a hallmark of the genre. When the villagers grunt, growl and say to leave them alone, they’re staring you right in the face. You are Jack Walters.	4.5/5
	Dungeon Lords: Collector’s Edition review (PC) Reviewed on February 26, 2006 You’ll almost be glad when the chirping crickets and hooting owls fall silent, replaced by rustling of leaves or the scraping of claws on stone that pre-empt another battle. It’s fun to explore new portions of the map and watch the blank areas fill in as if by magic. There’s a definite sense that adventure could lie beyond each hilltop.	3.5/5
	Do You Like Horny Bunnies? 2 review (PC) Reviewed on February 26, 2006 I should also mention that because Do You Like Horny Bunnies? 2 is a sequel (the ‘2’ in its title should have tipped you off), there’s some fan service. If you played the original, you’ll recognize two of the characters from that game. They engage in a bit of unexpected sex, which you get to watch unfold if you play your cards right.	3.5/5
	Final Fantasy III review (SNES) Reviewed on February 16, 2006 Certainly, you can take that route if you wish. Or… you can slow down and have a good time exploring each of the world’s nooks and crannies. There are even optional monster and towers you can defeat for seriously cool rewards. Much of the game’s second half is optional but cool. You can play however you like, with only a few exceptions. Some choices you make can even affect the game’s plot.	5/5
	The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse review (SNES) Reviewed on January 31, 2006 After besting the serpent in the forest, you’ll venture deeper into the trees. Here, gnarled trunks are twisted into malicious grins. Giant leaves tumble in gusts of wind and enormous spiders dart about on silvery webbing. Your new defense against these is the ability to weave magical spells, then toss them toward your opponents.	4.5/5
	Civilization IV review (PC) Reviewed on January 29, 2006 You expand by building cities. The game doesn’t even feel right until you’ve done so, and once you have, the possibilities start pouring in. Each city produces food, commodities, wealth, culture, warriors, settlers, explorers and headaches. They do this over a set number of turns, so the person who builds a few cities early on will never lack things to do.	4.5/5
	The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past review (SNES) Reviewed on January 29, 2006 You’ll see massive eyeballs that cling to one another to form a slimy barrier. You’ll watch as Link dodges the lash of a monster’s spiked tail, then blasts away its armor with bombs. Each new dungeon presents a labyrinthine world to explore, with a horrific boss battle at the end. If the puzzles don’t get you—and many times they will—then a showdown with the dungeon master will definitely put a wrench in the works.	5/5
	Taito Legends review (PS2) Reviewed on January 22, 2006 There are other games on the compilation, too, classics like Elevator Action, Super Qix and Phoenix. They’re as much fun as you remember, but don’t expect much in the way of improvements. Though you can adjust difficulty levels and the size of the ‘arcade’ screen as you play, that’s about where the customization ends. On a similar note, extras are sparse.	3.5/5
	Samurai Shodown V review (XBX) Reviewed on January 21, 2006 A casual glance at Samurai Shodown V will remind you of early Playstation games (fitting, considering when this was originally developed). The most impressive elements are the size of the sprites and any background movement. My favorite arena takes is a suspension bridge. Pine trees sway nearby and, beyond them, water cascades down a monstrous waterfall.	3.5/5
	Wild Arms 4 review (PS2) Reviewed on January 16, 2006 Sometimes you can switch off battles entirely. Some people might worry that this will result in a game where you give into temptation and don’t fight enough, resulting in mad level building halfway through the game. That’s not true, though, because you can’t switch off the fights the minute you feel like it. Each new locale forces you to endure combat first. There’s even more good news, too: battles don’t suck.	5/5
	Pump It Up: Exceed review (PS2) Reviewed on January 11, 2006 The center button is your start point. During gameplay, you can stand on it with no effect, or bunny hop to press it in time with the music and score a point. What’s important to note is that you never have to press “left” or “right” on the pad. Instead, you are going for diagonal directions. This leads to a different style of play, if you ever get any good. It seems to require a lot more movement, too.	4/5
	Pac-Man World 3 review (DS) Reviewed on January 08, 2006 When you’re not grabbing dots (which I’d imagine could just as easily be acorns or gold coins), and when you’re not running from ghosts in the infrequent maze puzzles (which make up only a minority of the game’s events), you’re just solving genereic puzzles and making a lot of tricky jumps through lifeless environments while the camera looks anxiously for an opportunity to get hung up in tight quarters and frustrate you.	2.5/5
	Mega Man X3 review (SNES) Reviewed on January 05, 2006 When you first dash through the stages, which initially seem massive and at times empty of anything interesting, you’ll wonder if Capcom bothered to hide any special treats at all. Then you find that one heart container, nestled securely in the chamber you must’ve passed through fifty times, and you get a feel for how devious the level design crew really was.	3.5/5
	Mega Man X2 review (SNES) Reviewed on January 04, 2006 Every last one of those zones now has a hidden chamber. There, you can meet with the ones who seek to reassemble Zero, and battle them for supremacy and a piece of your old comrade. These battles are nasty, some of the most challenging in the game, and the best part is that some players won’t ever find them, not even a single one.	5/5
	Mega Man X review (SNES) Reviewed on January 01, 2006 New to the series are blue pods left behind by the now-deceased Dr. Light, the scientist who created X. These are located in out-of-the-way places that you really have to search extensively to find. Collect them and you’ll be able to break blocks with your helmet, double your armor’s resistance and even use secondary functions or charged shots for each of your special abilities.	4.5/5
	Idols Galore! review (PC) Reviewed on January 01, 2006 Then, quite suddenly and also improbably, Kuro decides to have sex with his assistant (whom he has been neglecting). This triggers a series of sexual encounters that occur almost non-stop for the next hour or so, until the game ends. So, to recap: you start playing and see almost nothing, get really bored, then get a mind-numbing rush of nudity toward the end that almost takes away any of the enjoyment.	2/5
	Mario Kart DS review (DS) Reviewed on December 27, 2005 With so many great tracks, it’s hard to pick a favorite. If you’re missing some of the good times of old, a lot of those are back, too. You can race through re-imagined versions of the tracks from each of the past games in the series. They’re just as much fun as they were before. In fact, that’s true of the whole game.	5/5
	Battlefield 2 review (PC) Reviewed on December 27, 2005 Battlefield 2 rewards you for playing well, and for playing a long time. Points from each kill go toward your global score, which then allows you to unlock new and improved weapons. An improved medic can shoot every bit as well as the low-level sniper if you choose to accessorize. This system, which deducts points for team kills, makes it less tempting to snipe teammates.	5/5

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