Xbox

NEW REVIEWS THIS WEEK: Star Wars Battlefront II

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Hey there! tedizslayer here to review James Bond 007: From Russia With Love!

We all know that other games in the 007 series (like GoldenEye for the N64, for example) are great FPSs full of combat, action, and great stages to fight on, and From Russia With Love fits right in with them. While I haven’t experienced its single player story mode, I have played its multiplayer many times with BrainLoading and ruby331, and it sure is a blast. There are a lot of characters to choose from, and all of them have different stats and strengths. While some are slow but can kill you in just a few punches, others are faster but weaker. The maps that you can play on are all very detailed, and contain many different traps – anything from an active gas chamber to a rocket bay ready to blast off and kill anyone inside. These two examples are traps set by other players, but the levels also include things that will go off on their own. For example, in one Venice-themed level, the ground around a fountain will rise and fall every so often; at times, multiple players can be trapped in the pit and have no choice but to fight to the death until the ground raises itself again. There are a lot of cool weapons and devices within the levels, too. In addition to having a great variety of guns, of course, you can use things like jetpacks and remote-controlled miniature attack choppers. The stages are also very large and have a lot to offer; jumping from rooftops to avoid gunfire or triggering a chandelier to fall on top of and kill an opponent are both very fun things to do. Like so many of the other 007 games, From Russia With Love has a lot to offer and is a great combat game to play with your friends. I give it a solid 8. This game can really bond you together. Get it? Bond? …Alright that was just terrible.

-tedizslayer

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Sapph here and here is my review for Halo 2.

Halo 2 is a classic shooter game for the Xbox. It is the 2^nd game of the Halo series and is 2^nd most beloved Halo games of all time! (Reach being the most beloved). You play as Master Chief and of course your objective is to defeat the covenant and also kill the flood on your way through the campaign. This game is different than other Halo games because you can either play as the chief or the Arbiter. The Arbiter  does betray the covenant and does help the UNSC. This was the first Halo game to let you dual wielded weapons, and the first Halo game to have Xbox Live. The Energy Sword’s slash was quick and deadly, dual weapons were the best, and you can be able to dual-wield Needlers! (This is the only Halo that let’s you dual wield those.) The campaign was also the hardest until Reach came out, and Halo 2 also has one of the longest campaign out of all the Halo games.  This was the Halo game that I really grew attached to even though I played the first one.  The multiplayer still to this day never got old, and the campaign was very well done. I also love the soundtrack to this game because it has my favorite Breaking Benjamin song called Blow Me Away which was made just for this game, and the Mjolner Mix was an awesome rock/metal song for the game! Master Chief’s most famous pose also came from this page and it was the pic where chief is on a rock holding 2 SMG’s and it is the cover art for the game. The SMG was the main weapon for this game instead of the Assault Rifle and I am sad the SMG is not in Reach. On Sapph’s Scale of Gaming this game gets a 9.7 and is by far one of the best games for the original Xbox, and is a must have for any shooter gamer, Xbox gamer/collector, and for any Halo fan.

-sapphire11

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Sapph here with a review for Sonic Riders.

Sonic Riders is a really fun racing game for Gamecube, PS2 , PC, and Xbox. There is no difference to what system you play it on except for the controls. In Sonic Riders players race on anti-gravity boards and race against other players. Players can also use futuristic roller blades and other cool gear. There are 3 types of boards: Speed, Air, and Power and each board does something special. Speed allows you to go on ramps, Air lets you go through gates in the air, and Power lets you go through shortcuts. Each character is also a type and those are the three types that I just mentioned. The story mode in this game is that Sonic finds a new Chaos Crystal, but it is taken away from a snowboarder who falls from the sky.  Dr. Eggman then challenges Sonic and friends to a series of high speed races to get the Chaos Emeralds back. Players must complete story mode in order to get new maps, characters, money to get new gear, and unlock new gear. The game does feature voices for each characters, and there are even cinematics. Most characters you see from past sonic games are in this game and the game features a unique turbulence system which allows players to surf past other players. (Sort of like rafting another racer in Hydro Thunder Hurricane) Players can also do cool flips and tricks off ramps and gain momentum depending on the grade they get for the trick. To get more speed players must gain momentum and to get some momentum players can do tricks, hit other players, getting rings and items, or going into their type’s special area. The maps are well made and look 3D, but the game play could get confusing and it is hard to master. The story to this game is weak, but the graphics remind you of playing a F-Zero game. There are a variety of game modes and there is split screen for up to 4 players. Overall, this game is a good approach for a racing game for Sega, and I think Sega can do major improvements to produce a better racing game (Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity was somewhat better and was best on Wii because of the controls). On Sapph’s scale of gaming this game gets a 7.2. Check back soon for yet another review.

-sapphire11

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It sure has been a while, but this is tedizslayer, here to review Star Wars Battlefront II!

Hands down, this is my favorite Xbox game. Just like the original SWB, this is an action-packed, team-based game focusing on battles occurring in the Star Wars universe. You can join one of four teams (only two teams participate in a battle): Republic (Clones), CIS (Droids), Rebels, or Empire (Sith), and battle across many planets from the Star Wars movies. But if you aren’t a big Star Wars fan, this game is still definitely worth being checked out. It is a top-notch first-person shooter (you can also switch to over-the-shoulder view if you’d prefer), and continues to be a blast to play today. There are various game modes, including Conquest [basically a deathmatch mode, except that each team also has the goal of capturing the enemy’s Command Posts], Hunt [a special mode in which you use special creatures native to the map like Ewoks or Yetis], and Capture the Flag. Conquest mode is my personal favorite. It’s essentially an all-out battle with strategic elements tied in. This mode also lets you play as special characters like Mace Windu, Chewbacca, General Grievous, etc. (the list is pretty big), by reaching a certain kill streak during the battle. Although these special characters dominate, the hitch is that their health steadily decreases, and can only be temporarily recovered by killing enemies. After a few minutes, you’ll have to say goodbye to playing as Darth Vader until you kill enough Rebels to earn him again. A variety of vehicles, turrets, and healing droids can be used to your advantage, and there are different classes of warriors that quickly become unlocked after a certain number of kills in each battle. The maps range in size and composition, but all of them are very well-crafted and provide territory for fast-paced action and organized planning (this is one of those games where if you run out into the open, you’ll probably end up being dead). There are also several maps specifically made for space battles, in which the two teams face off to gain points from destroying the other’s ship. The game modes in this game clearly have a lot to offer. There are several ways to play this game: Instant Action, where you play battles one-at-a-time and choose the settings yourself, or a variety of campaign modes where you choose one of the four teams and progress through a series of arranged battles against the other (help the Empire to rise victorious over the Rebels, aid the Clones to overwhelm the Droids, etc.). The campaigns go hand-in-hand with the chronology of the movies; for example, the Clones will never battle the Rebels, and the Droids will never have a battle on Hoth. The campaign modes are a lot of fun, especially if you’re playing by yourself, but let’s face it – this is favorably a multiplayer game, and in that case, I find Instant Action to be the better mode to play. Overall, Star Wars Battlefront II is an amazing game, and even better than the first SWB. The controls are smooth (and customizable), the graphics are just short of Halo’s quality, and the intensity and enjoyment that this game brings are some of the best moments in video games. I remember screaming as Ruby331, playing as Mace Windu, landed behind me and mercilessly slashed me to the ground…oh wait Ruby, it was the other way around, wasn’t it? Anyway, the only thing that would make this game better would be if all of the maps from the first SWB were carried over (most of them were, but a few, such as Kashyyyk and Cloud City, were left out). Other than that, this game is the perfect multiplayer shooter. I give Star Wars Battlefront II a 9.5/10. Hopefully, the rumors of SWB III will one day become true….

[It’s also worth noting that the Xbox version, in my mind, is better than the PC and PS2 versions, because the system allowed for 4-player splitscreen; PS2 only allowed 2 controllers (duh), and PC required you to link up over wifi to battle others.]

-tedizslayer

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