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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
Swords & Serpents (NES)

Swords & Serpents review (NES)

Reviewed on February 07, 2005

Like I said, there’s not an in-depth plot. The game is more about exploration and the occasional adrenaline rushes that come from knowing you’re only surviving by the skin of your teeth. It is the very definition of ‘dungeon crawler,’ and embodies most everything you may dread about that phrase. If you’re one of the few who lives for this sort of thing, though, Swords & Serpents is one of the best the NES ever saw.
Kiwi Kraze (NES)

Kiwi Kraze review (NES)

Reviewed on February 06, 2005

No matter what your surroundings, though, the game doesn’t provide a lot of variety in terms of mechanics. You’re still just running through one level after another (mostly swimming between underwater pockets of air in the case of the aquatic world I mentioned), firing your bow to take out the other animals. Some of these leave behind other weapons, such as ray guns that let your shots pass through walls, or bombs you can fire in arches to hit enemies below you.
City Connection (NES)

City Connection review (NES)

Reviewed on February 03, 2005

The problem is that all the timing in the world may not always be enough to save you. This is because some of the enemy sprites move so quickly and come so unexpectedly from off screen that only lightning-fast reflexes will save you. Worse, you have to be at the right level in order for an oil can shot to do any good.
The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man (NES)

The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man review (NES)

Reviewed on February 03, 2005

You’ll have to ride portable gun turrets throughout most of the stage, often down shafts where a slightly short jump (a move all too easy to execute, unfortunately) spell certain doom. But suppose you survive these just fine. There are still the occasional weak enemies that can easily decimate your entire life meter.
Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True (NES)

Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True review (NES)

Reviewed on February 01, 2005

Wine cellars, back room casinos and more serve to set the plot somewhere just after Prohibition ended. Throw in a few alleys that connect everything—you can’t just walk boldly down the street when you’re wanted, after all—and you still don’t have more than what amounts to perhaps a city street or two. It’s only the secret passages and such that make this quest feel any larger than it is.
The Legend of Zelda (NES)

The Legend of Zelda review (NES)

Reviewed on January 31, 2005

Link moves with the elfish grace you might expect from his size. A quick thrust of the sword is enough to vanquish most foes, and when it’s not a secondary slash will do (at least, throughout most of the game). All he has to fear is the stream of fireballs Hyrule’s mermaid-like monsters launch from various rivers and lakes, as only a magical shield can deflect such attacks. Later, there are some projectiles even that armament won’t defend against.
Snake Rattle 'N Roll (NES)

Snake Rattle 'N Roll review (NES)

Reviewed on January 31, 2005

To reach the archway you see at the very top, you must zig-zag your way along a series of jumps. You leap forward, grinning because you know you can’t possibly miss the landing. And then you do. And again, and again. Many of these jumps aren’t straight, either. Some require you to wrap your way around a cliff mid-air. The problem is, it’s often hard to tell which move is required.
T&C 2: Thrilla's Surfari (NES)

T&C 2: Thrilla's Surfari review (NES)

Reviewed on January 26, 2005

If the first few stages are frantic, the ones that follow are downright overwhelming. Soon you’ll find yourself weaving down a raging river as hippo heads and rocks threaten to knock you into the soup. Soon you’ll find yourself careening wildly through a desert, dodging scorpion venom and snakes and rocks that all conspire to knock you into pits. And those are just the easy parts.
Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland (NES)

Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland review (NES)

Reviewed on January 26, 2005

In the sequel, it seems a secret admirer has invited you to visit him at the fun house in an amusement park. Before you can get in, though, you must collect tickets from rides. You gain these only by successfully completing the rides. Things still don’t seem so bad. Then you try the different attractions and you realize something awful: they all suck.
The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy (NES)

The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy review (NES)

Reviewed on January 26, 2005

Fortunately, there are plenty of reasons to keep trying, even when you find yourself dying more than you might like. For one, the levels themselves are quite pretty. Sure, they don’t boast a lot of polygons or even colors, but the artists rendered them in a quaint style that can cheer you as you travel through them. Dense jungles somehow seem cheerful thanks to vibrant colors. An undersea level oozes charm, as does a distant island resort you’ll visit late in the game.
Paperboy (NES)

Paperboy review (NES)

Reviewed on January 24, 2005

Of course, there are threats to your little newspaper empire. That cute little dog you see cowering in his home on the front lawn may very well bite you in the butt if you don’t toss a paper at just the right moment. And there are rumors that the Grim Reaper himself frequents the neighborhood from time to time. Add runaway lawnmowers, tires, go carts and disillusioned customers of times past and you have the formula for a rather dangerous job.
Captain Skyhawk (NES)

Captain Skyhawk review (NES)

Reviewed on January 24, 2005

To play the game well, you’ll have to adapt to the rapidly-changing environment. Glide left past one hill, then quickly rebound to the right as an imposing rock wall threatens to turn your aircraft into a charred stain. The whole time, you’ll have to keep an eye on the surface. Alien vehicles fire shots from the ground, star-shaped projectiles that will cause you to burst into flames if you should happen to collide with them.
Mega Man X8 (PlayStation 2)

Mega Man X8 review (PS2)

Reviewed on January 22, 2005

You see, not every stage takes place with you watching from the sidelines. Sometimes, you’ll get an over-the-shoulder perspective. However, this is perfectly acceptable for two reasons. Firstly, only two areas make this deviation. And secondly, those stages are actually quite enjoyable!
Time Lord (NES)

Time Lord review (NES)

Reviewed on January 17, 2005

Suppose that you play through the Castle Marman level one time. You find one orb after picking mushrooms, one hanging on a tower high above a wide space, and a flying monkey (dragon?) drops another. Then there’s the one you randomly find when you jump down a set of stone columns. The last thing you really want to do the next time you play through is guess the location of that fourth orb. It’s just… not fun.
Dragon Warrior (NES)

Dragon Warrior review (NES)

Reviewed on January 08, 2005

Step outside the castle and you might make it fifteen or twenty steps. Or you might make it one step. Or two, or three. Suddenly, that village a half-screen away can seem almost out of reach. This is compounded by another problem: the hero is a wimp for the majority of the game.
Tetrisphere (Nintendo 64)

Tetrisphere review (N64)

Reviewed on January 01, 2005

Picture a spinning orb floating in space. It’s comprised of a bunch of tetrad blocks, meshed together flawlessly to form a prison of sorts. Inside this fragile abode, a robot anxiously darts about like a firefly caught in a bottle, trying to escape. Your job in Tetrisphere is to make it possible for your imprisoned friend to do so.
Wild Arms 3 (PlayStation 2)

Wild Arms 3 review (PS2)

Reviewed on December 16, 2004

You see, the world of Filgaia is the sort where skeletons lay bleached under relentless sunlight and like it because at least the demons are distracted by human flesh. Your human flesh to be specific, unless you pay attention.
Mario Party 6 (GameCube)

Mario Party 6 review (GCN)

Reviewed on December 15, 2004

What’s important to note here is that the microphone accomplishes nothing a standard controller doesn’t. It would be just as simple to press a button corresponding to the fruit type, after all. And in some cases, it would work more smoothly. To continue with the example I gave above, suppose the player with the microphone wants to cheat.
Wizards & Warriors 3 (NES)

Wizards & Warriors 3 review (NES)

Reviewed on November 30, 2004

The problem comes from the nature of your terrible hops. Kuros can change direction in air, but I found myself gritting my teeth every time I left the ground, hoping he would do as I told him. He’s quite slow to respond. And since you have to make some rather long, precise jumps throughout your adventure, this is a pretty big problem. If you make an especially long jump and don’t release the ‘A’ button just before you land, you’ll even launch immediately into another (perhaps fatal) hop.
Castle Shikigami 2 (PlayStation 2)

Castle Shikigami 2 review (PS2)

Reviewed on November 24, 2004

It takes only a few seconds to power up, and then you can release much greater devastation. Some enemies won’t even fall unless you know how to take advantage of the technique. Best of all, you get point multipliers through constructive use of your magical arsenal. There’s little more satisfying than nearly ramming a machine just as it bursts into flames, then noticing the ‘x8’ multiplier flashing on the screen.

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