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Pierce's Video Game Reviews

Who says a 20 year old fat man can't still love video games?



With a new year upon us its time to crack down on some of the newest, and even not so newest video games. You know how I do, I'm honest, and I'll tell you if a game is worth playing, or if it licks balls. I'll also tell you what games to play that you probably haven't heard of. Lets go to work, heres the usual speil...
Every week I will be reviewing 2 games that are new releases for either Xbox or Playstation 2.
Every game reviewed will receive a rating of 1 to 5.
1 being super shitty and disappointing
5 being a top notch game that you must buy
**I will not be reviewing any titles that are released exclusively for the Nintendo Gamecube Console.

THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS

Week of May 4, 2003
Midnight Club II

DATE RELEASED: May '03
PUBLISHER: Rock Star
DEVELOPER: Rock Star San Diego
PLAYERS: 1-4
HDTV 720p: Yes
DOLBY 5.1: Yes
SYSTEM LINK PLAY: No
ONLINE PLAY: Yes


You take a few large cities, Los Angeles to name one, and you make them as easily navigated as a city in Grand Theft Auto, then you throw in a "Fast and the Furious" underground street racing type theme. If you've done this correctly, you have Midnight Club II. The game is not only fun but has a great story. A fat, buddah lookin guy named Moses helps ya along as you ride around looking for races. You compete for other people's cars, and you put your own cars on the line. Though there are no liscensed automobile names in the game, you will see a lot of cars that look strikingly familiar to cars we all know. A perfect example is a car that resembles a '67 GTO just a little too much. The game is definately worth renting, or even buying if you like racing games. The control is more arcadey, than simulation based, which personally, I think makes it better. Because, if I wanted to race around the city realisticaly running from cops, I'd just have Josh climb ontop of Child World again, so me and the Grimace could run from the cops.

THE VERDICT: 4 out of 5!
PROS: Its a great game, the controls are good, STOP READING THIS AND RENT IT!

CONS: Five days after renting it, you have to bring it back, and then fun ends.


Ratchet and Clank

DATE RELEASED: November '02
DEVELOPER: Sony Computer Entertainment of America
PUBLISHER: Sony Computer Entertainment of America
PLAYERS: 1
HDTV 720p: No
DOLBY 5.1: Yes
SYSTEM LINK PLAY: No
ONLINE PLAY: No


If you like platformers (i.e...Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Dexter, Spyro) Then you will absolutely love Ratchet and Clank. Ratchet and Clank has an awesome story, that keeps you playing, its basically a very easy game, but at the same time there are almost 20 worlds to explore and hundreds of hidden stuff to find. The arsenal of weapons that Ratchet accumulates throughout the game is almost overwhelming, from the rocket launchers to the "Morph-O-Ray" (a gun that turns bad guys into baby chickens) There always a new way to blow shit up. I like blowing shit up, and i know you do to, This one may even be a keeper. Its only 40 bucks. Do yourself a favor.

THE VERDICT: 5 out of 5!
PROS: SHITS HOT! Its a long game that the whole family can enjoy.
CONS: Its a little on the easy side
 
Week of February 23, 2003
The Getaway

DATE RELEASED: January '03
PUBLISHER: Sony Computer Entertainment America
DEVELOPER: Team Soho
PLAYERS: 1
HDTV 720p: No
DOLBY 5.1: Yes
SYSTEM LINK PLAY: No
ONLINE PLAY: No


A couple of days ago, Gags mentioned to me that he had been playing "The Getaway." He seemed to have positive things to say, so I checked it out. The first thing I'm going to do is even the playing field with a reality stabilizing remark...Its no Grand Theft Auto. There will be many tries at taking the crown from Rockstar in the crime/drama genre...but few games will succeed.
With that said; I do have many positive things to say about the game. The camera is very similar to GTA's...which is good. The Controls, are not...which is bad, but the story may just be better. The game definately has more pros then it does cons, thats why I'm recommending it. This is a game to RENT, and maybe own...It is diffictult but with a little patience, and some time to adapt to the controls, there is serious potential for hours of fun.

THE VERDICT: 3 out of 5!
PROS: Its definately as realistic as the day is long, challenging as all hell, and the story kicks ass. Another point worth mentioning is that they did completely make a replica of London...
CONS: The control style is ancient, and includes actions such as the over glorified "tumblesault forward." If there was one thing I would rework, it'd be the controls.


Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers


DATE RELEASED: December '02
DEVELOPER: EA Games
PUBLISHER: EA Games
PLAYERS: 1
HDTV 720p: No
DOLBY 5.1: Yes
SYSTEM LINK PLAY: No
ONLINE PLAY: No


You take a game, that you know has a good story line and you make some gameplay similar to that of Dynasty Warriors...and you're gonna have a winner. Its non stop action from the first level (The opening Battle Sequence in the Fellowship of the Ring) right on through. The story carries you through both of the movies currently released; The Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers. The Controls are tight, easy to master, and fun. You can pick who you want to be from Aragon (swordsman who looks like LT. Dan), to Legolas (Jason Mewes with a bow and arrow), to Gemli (ok..I got nobody for the dwarf, but he was in Braveheart). All of the characters have their abilities and lack skill in certain areas. The game is very fun and I highly recommend it to anyone, LOTR fans especially.

THE VERDICT: 4 out of 5!
PROS: Good Story (obviously, right?). A bit of a challenge, and good controls.
CONS: Sometimes theres a bit much going on at once, and you can lose touch with whats going on, when there are 1000 orcs on screen and its dark.



If anyone has any questions about what games they might like or games that I've reviewed, feel free to email me.