La Pucelle: Tactics (PS2 Review)

Before video games became the rage that they are today, there was a quaint fantasy game called Dungeons and Dragons, better known as D&D for those within the inner circle. It was in these imaginary worlds where players could step outside of their ordinary skins and don the likeness of a sexy female Elven mage or a brawny Dwarven fighter in the comforts of their homes and dorm rooms. Although D&D never reached the popularity level of today’s electronic wonder machines, it still maintains an existence in the dusty corners of hobby shops throughout the world.

 

Unlike our polygonal entertainment, the required supplies of the game were extremely minimal, as you just needed a set of 6 funny-sided dice, a couple sheets of paper, a few pencils and an active imagination. Even though there were established rules, weapons, races and monsters, there was nothing written in stone that stated you must abide by these, and only these, organized boundaries. You could explore lost tombs, uncivilized wildernesses or even sail the open seas in search of riches or adventure. Complete days might be lost while walking through a darkened street on the seedy side of a town or you could spend a few hours crossing the vastest of oceans. Time was strictly relative and was completely within the control of your venturing party.

Video games have tried, since their early days, to replicate the freedom and entertainment value of Dungeons and Dragons. Until recently, this just hasn’t been possible, mostly because of the memory storage capacity of gaming cartridges. Now that DVDs have become the media of choice, expanded worlds with tremendously vast landscapes are now the expected norm for fans of role-playing games (RPG). However, the blending of genres across the board have converted many conventional RPGs to action-adventures or brought the stat building aspect, that most die-hard fans enjoy the most, to other very different games that really shouldn’t have included them in the first place. The existence of the old-styled RPG seemed to be moving in the same direction of other extinct genres like the side-scrolling platformer or 2-D shooter. Or at least that is what I had thought before laying my RPG-deficient hands on a copy of La Pucelle: Tactics.

 

There are actually two separate forms of RPG games. The most common is the traditional approach where the story and adventure of the game precedes the importance of the multiple battles that one might encounter. Usually gamers have some limited strategic planning, mostly in the equipped weaponry or armor and setting up a limited battle formation (Final Fantasy, Wild Arms), but these are neither exceptionally life threatening or fatal when an incorrect choice is decided upon. The lesser-known variant is the strategy or tactical RPG (Front Mission, Tactics Ogre, Xenogears) where the main focus is the battle and how it is conducted, while the actual adventure is secondary. It is from this species of RPG that La Pucelle has been created.

Legend warns that one day the Dark Prince, beloved and powerful servant of the fallen Angel Calamity will rise to cover the world in darkness. But where there is darkness, so must there be light. When the Dark Prince appears, so too will a girl known as the Maiden of Light, servant of the Goddess Poitreene and worker of miracles…

This is the overall back-story of La Pucelle and the time of the Dark Prince’s arrival is fast approaching. You are in control of Prier who, along with her younger brother Culotte, was orphaned upon the untimely passing of her parents. With her main objective of becoming the Maiden of Light, they both have joined the Church in hopes of meeting their destiny headfirst. Prier is a brash, young girl who was forced to grow up sooner than she should have been to help take care of her brother. Although she is becoming a fierce Demon Hunter, she still has yet to conquer her worst enemy, her boisterous mouth. Often speaking out loud before thinking things through, it is constantly getting her in trouble with the hierarchy of the church and it is up to Sister Alouette to help transform this headstrong girl into her presumed destiny. If and when she actually succeeds I’ll leave for you to learn on your own. Nevertheless, there is quite a bit of story details that need to be experienced for the player to get a full feel for the happenings of the game and players will have to get used to sitting through some rather long conversations to be brought up to speed. 

Gameplay is one of the options that are given to the player in truckloads. According to Nippon Ichi, you can expect to be enjoying this game for quite a long time. Packing over 120 hours of gameplay, broken up into twelve different chapters, you can expect this title to take up weeks of your life. Along with the standard missions, there are also hidden and side quests to be discovered and conquered. Moreover, there are almost 150 unique items to be collected and leveled up throughout your journey. 

One of the most unique aspects of the battlefields is the inclusion of dark energy portals. These are multifaceted objects that serve a tremendous amount of different purposes. First and foremost, portals are the doorways for additional enemy creatures to enter the field of combat. The longer that they remain open, the more likely that a new baddie will spew forth, possible turning the tide of the fight against you in a single stroke. You do get some warning when new creatures are about to pass through the portal, as black smoke will begin to issue from the doorway one turn before the creature arrives. 

Secondly, these portals radiate a constant flow of negative elemental energy that weaken your forces whenever a character is directly exposed to it. Your forces, enemy forces, special directional items and even the flow from another portal can manipulate the direction of flow. When the flows of two or more portals meet, their elemental force will be mutated into a combination of both and have a completely different effect on those in its path. To put this in clearer terms, if a blue flow (ice) were to meet up with a red flow (fire), it would create a purple (status change) river after the junction. Players can close these portals, and use their energy flow against any in their path by chanting a purify spell over their beginning. Some portals require multiple spells before they can be sealed, so it is not always wise to send a character off on their own in case they do not have enough internal strength to get the job completed. The computer AI keeps excellent track of your movements and will usually go after a lone person rather than take on a group of characters. You are also occasionally blessed when closing one of these portals by gaining a useable item for your party. These are completely random and have no discernible pattern for knowing ahead of time which ones will give up the goods.

Thirdly, in closing these portals, the player that performs the action will have the status of his or her items increased according to the length of the flow. As items increase in experience, your player will permanently level up any reflective personal attributes. In this manner, you can control the direction that you would like to have your character grow and leave the randomness of advancement out in the cold. Also, you can unlock special moves that will happen at random during regular melee battles or increase the range of your spells. One additional highlight happens when you can manipulate the dark energy back upon itself. If the path you have created is fifteen blocks in length and there is an enemy force inside the contorted circle, you then will perform a miracle attack. The specific attack depends on the color of dark energy used and adds a serious additional punch to your already completed attack. 

The battles are turn-based; however there is a variation here on the normal meaning of the term. Turn-based is broken down into your turn – their turn, but characters can be positioned numerous times for different operations and can be reused over and over as long as they do not initiate the casting of a spell or a melee battle. What this basically means is you can alter the movements of your character to redirect different portal energy flows, and then have them return to their original starting point to do something else. Furthermore, individual characters can participate in numerous battles against different monsters depending on their positioning within the grid. Any character directly behind or to the sides of an initiating person will contribute in the skirmish, but in doing so they are not locked into fighting this one specific enemy. By properly positioning your team, you can have a large group of character fighting against different individual enemies so the all can receive the experience points and enjoy the advantage of superior odds with no actual penalty. If you thought at the beginning of this review that I was overstating the deep strategy that this game can encompass, I’m sure by now you have rethought your position.

If you are expecting this to be a pickup and play title, I’m sorry but you are going to have to do some instruction guide reading just to have some idea on what is going on in the battlefields. There is so much depth involved with the tremendous amount of variables that you can get your party decimated in a short few seconds, even though you have all of the upgraded armor and weapons that money could buy. Between the elevation adjustments, elemental effects, directional facing of the forces and the flow of dark energy on the board, you really need to sit back and look over the field of battle before dispensing your party into the sights of the enemy. They put the word tactics into the title on purpose and you really must utilize them if you expect to have any lasting success with the game. Rushing in blindly where angels fear to tread will usually result in you seeing those two horrible words, “Game Over,” more times than you would like to count.

Players are also not restricted to use only the normal set of human characters within the scope of their assignments. By using the purify spell on the beasties scattered throughout the battlefield, gamers have the ability to increase their party size on the fly. Depending on the experience level of the creature, you will have to repeat this purifying process accordingly to win them over to the side of light and, once turned, can be given articles to advance their statistics in the same fashion of any normal being. Boss creatures are, of course, immune from this recruitment process, which is satisfying as some of your leaders can be a bit more advanced than the rest of the individual party members. Players are limited on how many controllable characters can have on the field of battle and additional beings cannot be used in substitution if one of your selections receives a knockout blow. I’m sure you noticed that I used the wordage, “knocked out,” rather than killed since you can recover lost participants by returning to the world map page, along with recharging and spent powers or lost hit points. However the amount of times that you back out from pushing forward and going out to lick your wounds will effect you final rating for the chapter and could cost you a nifty prize upon completion.

I realize that it’s all starting to sound complex, even if you just take the freedom of what you can do with the acquired monsters, but I have yet to scratch the surface on their full potential. Every time you clear a battlefield, random training options will appear in the respective menu section. It is here that you can help out your beasts by exposing them to different training exercises. Some of these will raise their various attributes while others will increase their overall happiness factor. This is important to know, as statistic increases will reduce your monster’s happiness. If it gets too low, they will run away with whatever objects they were carrying at that time. Balance is the key for moving up the experience ladder. Another special function monsters can provide is special items by trading them in at the local store. As long as the stats of both the items and the monster are of an acceptable level, you cannot only get an upgraded item at the time of the trade-in, but also receive an additional gift of their belongings if they have met with foul play and passed on to their reward.

But that is not all you can do when visiting the town store. There are bunches and bunches of items that can be bought, if you have enough cash. By closing portals and physically defeating monsters, your overall wealth will increase. You even have the opportunity to double your total portal amount by shutting all of the openings on the entire level before you wipe the last beast from the face of the earth. You can also sell off any extra items that you either no longer need or may have acquired by closing portals. One exceptional touch is the ability to participate in a store survey whenever you have purchased something. This survey lets you have a direct input on what types of items (expensive, cheap, offensive, special or defensive) you would like the store to carry and they will try to meet your requests upon following visits. There also is a customer rating that increases with each purchase, but I haven’t found out exactly what this affects at this time.

Usually one of the biggest weaknesses for a title of this gender is actually one of its strongest attributes, the voice-overs and text translation of the character conversations. Games that come from the shores of Japan and then are converted here in North America have a nasty habit of giving the player a bunch of conversations sowed with incomplete sentences or broken translations enough to put any language professor into an immediate rage. Even though there are the rare occurrences where the written text does not exactly match up with the spoken word, everything is understandable and flows well enough to get an honor roll grade in any classroom. Players also have the opportunity to have the voices speak in the original Japanese, which should make any hard-core player ecstatic, or English and both versions match up extremely well with the character’s personality. 

The list of voice talent is extremely impressive, as Nippon Ichi seems to have acquired some of the best available. Jennifer Hale (ER) does the voice of Prier, Jill Talley (Seinfield, Frasier) does an excellent job for Culotte and Colleen O’Shaughnessey (King of Queens, Malcom & Eddie) handles the responsibility of the amnesia-stricken Sister Alouette. Moreover, gamers with serious sound systems can take advantage of the Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound support. Having some quality speakers really lets you enjoy the complex musical soundtrack and helps to keep the feel of the game alive.

Graphically, players are presented with a pixilated style most reminiscent of old school RPGs seen on older systems. Although some might be upset that there is not a tremendous amount of extra eyecandy with the cut scenes or live action sections, I really didn’t miss not having them. La Pucelle was created in the tradition of previously successful titles and Nippon Ichi seemed to be more concerned with the quality of the gameplay rather than being worried about dazzling the player with over-the-top visuals. This gets high scores in my book, as it should with any “professional” gamer. All of the characters are instantly recognizable on the 3-D battlefields, which also can be rotated whenever the land elevation or environmental obstructions get in your line of sight. For those opportunities when you happen to have a monster in your party that is also of the same type in the opposing forces, you still can tell which is which by the colored life bars underneath each being on the field. Characters that have completed their turn actions have an additional symbol floating over their heads, so you can tell with a glance if you have missed any opportunity to move or fight with one of your party members.

My biggest complaint would have to be a truly minor one by all normal standards. This is something that has always bothered me for games with an excess of playing time, and that would have to be the lack of an autosave feature for your game. It never fails. I seem to get all wrapped-up in what I am doing and will be trucking right along, making excellent progress, then I stumble into a battle that my characters are in no way, shape or form ready to handle. Usually the party goes down fast and hard and I’m presented with those terrible words, “Game Over.” It’s then that I realize that I’ve been playing for five hours and haven’t saved the game, or my progress, since I started up my PlayStation 2. Well, we are in the 21st century and I have seen this feature in effect for quite some time now. I don’t think that it would be too much to ask to have the system keep a current file updated on the memory card every time it goes to a loading screen. I understand the desire to shorten up loading screens and delays from the action, but I would rather sacrifice a few seconds every so often than have to lose hours upon hours of progress because I didn’t look before I leapt.

The extras for La Pucelle are exceptionally limited. There is no online play or cute mini games included within the adventure, which I’m sure that hard-core strategy fans won’t miss in the least. However, in the game’s defense, it really isn’t necessary with over 120 hours of gameplay jam-packed into your expected playtime. There are multiple endings for each of the chapters, which can change the outcome of the game over time and does offer some interesting replayability for those willing to invent the hours necessary to find and experience each and every possible option.

To put things mildly, La Pucelle: Tactics is rocking my socks off. I speak in the present tense; simply because of the extensive amount of gameplay, and time restrictions for getting this review done, just haven’t allowed me enough time to work my way completely through each and every chapter. However, you can bet that I’m going to break from my normal tradition of putting a game away once the actual article is completed and make sure to run this game until the very end. The extensive customizing presented to the gamer is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before and the mental stimulation received from planning out battles has ignited something I thought long since dead. Whether you are a role-playing newbie, or an established veteran, you should find this title extremely enjoyable. Moreover, since a player can redo the same battlefield numerous times, and the placement of the objects, portals and creatures are all placed at random, you should be able to play the same battles, or the entire game, over and over again without worry of the strategy aspect becoming stale. Nippon Ichi and Mastiff have come up with a sure-fire winner. Pick this one up at your earliest convenience.

Difficulty: 9

Control: 9

Visuals: 8

Sound: 9

Replayability: 10

Overall: 9.2

NARC (PS2 Review)

The 1980s. This was the era of the “Me” generation. Yuppies had replaced hippies. Miniskirts were way up and the Saving & Loan corporations were crashing way down. The video game industry had risen from obscurity, collapsed like a house of cards and rose from its own ashes like the legendary phoenix. One giant was reduced to nothing and a new leader took their place. Video arcades were this generation’s version of the pool halls from the 50s. It was there that children and young adults would gather to socialize and relax. Old and new designer drugs were surfacing into the mainstream as being socially acceptable and AIDS became front page news across the land.

 

The political arena was distressed on how to reach the youth of America. Family values seemed to be on a downward spiral with all of these new negative outside influences. Then, from the shadows, their answer to all of life’s problems came like a thief in the night. It was a simple slogan brought down from the mountain by none other than the First Lady herself. These three simple words were to be a rally point for the moral right and a scouring pad for the souls of all young Americans. Three simple words to save us all; “Just Say No!”

Now that the holy words had been found, the problem remained on how to get them to those who most needed them. Television and radio ads were taken out immediately, but they just did not seem to do the trick. The youth needed to get the message on their own level from something that they associated with completely. Arcade games became the bottle for the message. The first of these new fangled creations to have their message broadcast from was a game from Midway called NARC. This seemed to be the perfect melding as the entire game had the characters fighting crime and the flow of illegal substances by attacking and arresting criminals. The game received a great deal of press because of the positive message that it promoted and was well received by gamers across the land because of the excellent gameplay for the time. The co-op side-scrolling action never let up and many a quarter was fed into this beast until Mr. Big was defeated.

Now more than fifteen years later, gamers once again have the opportunity to fight crime and look to bring down the K.R.A.K crime syndicate and Mr. Big. Gone are the days of the 2-D side-scrolling adventure as now we have the chance to try our luck in the third dimension. Does this new rendition of NARC do justice to the original or does it do a poor job of impersonating an officer of the law? That’s what we have come here to find out. Grab yourself a drink, and perhaps a donut or two. It is now time to enter the interrogation room and grill our subject.

NARC puts you into the shoes of two law enforcement officers; Jack Forzenski and Marcus Hill. You begin the game as Jack, once a fine police officer who ended up on the wrong side of the law. During a stint in the narcotics division, Jack became an addict and was forced into a leave of absence to attend a rehab clinic. Now he has cleaned up his act and returned to active duty. However, we are not quite sure that he has kicked the monkey from his back and he must now prove himself worthy in the eyes of his peers.

The other playable character is Marcus Hill, Jack’s former partner. These two did not part on friendly terms as Marcus left his partner out in the cold when he got hooked on drugs and accepted a promotion to the DEA. Fate has brought this former dynamic duo back together again. There is a new drug on the streets called liquid soul and it is up to these two to stop whomever is behind this new party favor. Their leads will take them to two different continents, both as different as they are from each other, as they pursue the K.R.A.K. crime syndicate and look to bring those behind the scenes to justice.

Gameplay for NARC is unlike anything that I have yet experienced on the PS2. Probably the closest thing that one could compare it to would be Rock Star’s 2002 dud State of Emergency (SoE), which in itself is no big surprise as both games were created by VIS Entertainment. However, in their defense, NARC definitely is a step up from their previous attempt. None of the controlled chaos that SoE radiated seems to have made the transition even though you do have the opportunity to run ramshod throughout the environments taking down everyone in your path. Nevertheless, if you expect to move on through the game, you will have to control your rampages and concentrate on the job of protecting and serving the community.

The city environments are full of life with plenty of pedestrian traffic to be found and apprehended. There is some vehicular traffic, along with parked cars scattered throughout the city, although your characters cannot make use of these to cut down on mission times. Everything must be accomplished via the shoe leather express and this can become tedious at times when searching out a specific location. The vehicles do pay some attention to the foot traffic around them, so you usually won’t have to worry about dodging bad guys and the cars at the same time. However, there are those rare opportunities when you will be sent flying through the air by an inattentive motorist. Also, pedestrians have a habit of popping out of thin air and disappear in the same fashion. For a modern-day title, this is simply inexcusable and a sign of sloppy programming.

Since most of the action takes place after the sun has set, you are working in a perpetual nighttime. This does present a visual problem for the gamer as things are often difficult to make out in the gloomy shadows. Unfortunately, the game’s behind the shoulder camera doesn’t help matters much either. When working the claustrophobic alleys, or even getting close to the sides of a building, there are numerous examples when you completely lose sight of everything around you when the camera tries to adjust by slipping backwards inside a building. Furthermore, when you are in hot pursuit, the camera is exceptionally loose and is a chore to keep pointed in the proper direction. Point of View did include a quick correct button to center the camera, but you must bring your character to a complete stop before it will work. This usually results in the person that you were chasing melting into the crowds or ducking out of view down a side street.

Your only choice of the game, besides running around like a savage in the city, is to progress along the missions assigned to you. The style of assignments are various from following an informer and listening in on his conversations with a shotgun microphone to raiding a drug lab and reducing everything inside to tiny bits of rubble. Your character will change automatically whenever the game so requires, so even though there are two playable characters you do not get the opportunity to choose which one to use for a particular mission. Most of the tasks are rather simplistic in nature, but their difficulty is ramped up because of the poor character control or the difficult camera. You do have the opportunity to take on special missions outside of the normal outline of the script. These are not necessary to be completed if you want to run right through the title, but they offer players a break from the script to branch off and stretch their police prowess.

Players do have the opportunity to use a basic HUD (Heads-up Display) to assist you in your crime fighting endeavors. Everything from your badge rating to the addiction, health and super bust meter and what you have equipped is all within a simple glance of the screen. Players also have the mixed blessing of a functioning radar located up in the top right hand corner. I say mixed blessing because it does function exceptionally well whenever you are on a regular mission. But when players are free roaming within the city, it is more confusing than helpful, often highlighting criminals already in custody or misleading you to take down an honest civilian thinking that they are a budding crime lord.

In-between the assigned missions, players can go out on a free-for-all where anyone and everyone can be either victimized or arrested depending on which direction the player wishes to have their gaming experience flow. You can be the straight-as-an-arrow officer of the law or you can go down the dark path where drugs and money rule your every waking moment. I spent quite a few hours just running around the city snatching up criminals and civilians alike to practice my handcuffing ability; however my badge rating never dropped below 70%. There is quite a prolific criminal element within the cities and their percentage over the regular citizens has got to be well over a two-to-one ratio.

Random crimes happen around you all the time. From purse snatchings, to muggings and even drug deals go down right out in the open. It is completely up to the player’s discretion whether these criminals will be left on the streets or fitted with a set of silver bracelets. Nabbing random criminals will net you an addition to your law enforcement rating, as well as turning in the evidence at the police station. Your badge rating is important to keep you in the good eyes of your brothers in blue and it is necessary to maintain certain levels to allow you access to the police station. Whenever you deposit any of the evidence in the police drop box or arrest some of the random criminals, your rating goes in the positive direction. By committing crimes, like taking drugs or killing innocent civilians, you run the risk of demotion of your rank and possibly even being pursued by your fellow officers just like the rest of the city’s criminal element. Nevertheless, none of these actions need to be done to work yourself through the game as long as you don’t go around taste testing all the evidence or ravaging the innocents.

The biggest “hook” of NARC is the drugs available for you to seize or use for your own purposes. Drugs are acquired randomly whenever you arrest a criminal and you have three choices on what to do with them; turn them in to the police inventory, take them for your own pleasure or resell them on the street for some quick cash. There are eight different variations of narcotics from pot, speed, crack and even the fictional liquid soul and each one will have a different effect on the person taking them. If you pop a LSD tablet, all of the civilians change in appearance with the criminals taking on the appearance of Satan and the regular people having the heads of court jesters. Taking a hit of pot will slow the entire world down, however your weapon aiming speed will remain the same. If you take too much of a drug, you run the risk of become addicted and failing one of the many random drug tests that pop up when working on a mission. Although it may be interesting at first to experiment with the various different screen effects that the drugs produce, it quickly becomes old hat and loses its luster quickly.

Even though the streets may be populated with the vilest of humanity, you are not asked to go out and bring them to justice empty handed. Your character has the finest weapons available on the black market from the simple six shooter to the multi-barrel gatling gun. Your standard issue firearms have an unlimited amount of ammo, while the other weapons all need to be replenished be either taking them from criminals or purchasing weapons from one of the various black market vans parked around the city. Aiming your gun is not the simplest thing in the world to do and it is very easy to run through an entire clip of ammo trying to drop a single subject. You do have the option of using the “aim mode” to get a closer view of your target; however your character has the habit of obstructing your view rather than giving you a better visual on the situation. Player controlled characters can crouch behind objects for cover and lean around corners to get off a quick shot, but I’ve had numerous bad experiences where my officer actually moves into the line of fire, instead of remaining stationary, and gets cut down by a hail of bullets before I can get him moved back under cover. 

You also have the opportunity to go at it with a criminal mano-a-mano. By controlling a simplistic button mashing procedure, you can subdue any citizen and eventually slap on the cuffs. Sometimes they might need to be disarmed before you can begin the arrest procedure and you can soften them up with either some well placed blows or by rendering them unconscious by smacking them with the butt of your weapon. However, if you don’t do the proper procedure, they can either harmlessly break free or toss you over their shoulder rendering you incapacitated for a few seconds while they make an escape. Nevertheless, it is rather simple to react to whatever your mark attempts and in no time flat can you lock down entire city blocks of criminals to be picked up by the paddy wagon.

NARC has received a “Mature” rating by the ESRB for all the right reasons. Besides the obvious drug culture hook, pedestrians often rattle off a string of obscenities enough to make the most seasoned construction worker blush in embarrassment. Although I in no way consider myself a prude, it did seem a bit over the top and could have presented some issues if I had young ones running around the house while playing through the game. Nevertheless, I felt that most of the language was forced and was actually unnecessary. Every time one of the people dropped the F-Bomb, which was quite frequently, there was an inward cringe that did not go away over time. Personally I am not a proponent of blatant vulgarity without a specific purpose, like smashing your thumb with a hammer, and really would have liked to have been able to turn off the colorful metaphors in favor of a more wittier verbal repartee from the surrounding cast.

One of the best aspects of the entire game is the audio. The list of voice acting talent is rather impressive and includes Bill Bellamy (Any Given Sunday) playing the part of Marcus Hill and Michael Madsen (Kill Bill Vol 2) putting the words into the mouth of Jack Forenski. The supporting cast also is better than average with Ron Perlman (Blade II) as Captain Kowalski and Michael Wincott (The Crow) having the privilege of being Mr. Big.

Even though the game advertises Pro-Logic II support, it does not carry the usually Dolby trademark anywhere on either the game packaging or in the credits of the instruction guide. The game does push sound through all of the surround sound speakers; however the quality of the result is not as tight as we have come to being used to when Dolby is involved. Nevertheless, unless you have a highly tuned ear, you probably won’t notice a disparaging difference.

The soundtrack is an impressive mix of classic and modern artists. There are hits from the last four decades of music stretching from Curtis Mayfield (Pusherman, Freddie’s Dead) and Lynyrd Skynyrd (That Smell) to DMX (The Professional) and even Cypress Hill (Hits From the Bong). However, just like most things involved with NARC, you have to take the good with the bad. Unlike the radio stations from Grand Theft Auto, NARC has made each subsection of the city prominent with just one song that does not change until you move out from with the radius of its influence. In other words, if you spend quite a bit of time in one section of the city, the same song will play over and over and over again until you feel that if you hear that song one more time you might go on a killing spree for real. Although the talent acquired is impressive, the amount of variation is not. The entire soundtrack has less than 20 songs total, which would hardly make up just one of the many radio stations found in games like Vice City or GTA III.

One of the best aspects of the entire title is the simple fact that the 1988 arcade version of NARC comes bundled in as an unlockable extra. By simply collecting all of the hidden stashes in the USA level, you then can access an accurate rendition of the original that plays just as well as it did back in the day. There even is the ability to have an additional player join in the fray and you can both work together ridding the lands of the dreaded criminals looking to take over the world. There are also additional special missions which can be unlocked by obtaining all of the hidden stashes in the Asia level. Although having the original version is great, one might have expected to find additional extras, like interviews with the development teams, either past or present, or possibly some other historic information to help educate the modern-day gamer on the history of the title that they are playing.

Gamers do have the opportunity to play two included mini-games when roaming through the city. Every once in a while you will come upon a street casino where you can try your luck at either a simplified version of craps or three card monte. You can play for cash, but these vendors won’t be sticking around for extended periods of time for you to rake in large amounts of cash. Honestly, these are nothing more than a cheap distraction and are only being mentioned so that gamers have the complete picture on what they can expect from the game.

Another disappointment is the lack of any multiplayer, outside of the original arcade version, or online options explored by this remake. The possibility for co-op or competitive play would have offered a big expansion on the shelf life of the game and its overall value would have increased tenfold. Hopefully this is planned for a future rendition, although there has been no word from Midway on any upcoming release.

NARC had some development issues that caused the game to slip from the original 2004 release to an early 2005 one. Midway did not expound on the reasons why the game had been pushed back. It may have been second thoughts on bringing out such a touchy title or it could have been development issues. Nevertheless, there were profound differences from the early press releases to the finished package that gamers got to experience. One could be easily convinced that early development was going down the wrong path and the game had to be radically retooled in a hurry to meet the new deadline. The overall experience feels like it was rushed out the door even with the two year development time.

For every aspect that was good, a bad one evens out the scales of justice to make this nothing more than a mediocre remake of a classic arcade game. Hardcore gamers will feel cheated, even with the $19.95 sticker price, while casual gamers might get a bit more from the title. Nevertheless, with so many other free-roaming titles available to the public there are quite a few better ones worthy of your time that you can choose from. Although not always true, you get exactly what you pay for when picking this title up. I would recommend waiting until you see this one in the clearance section before adding it to your library. At least this way you are sure to get your money’s worth from the game without feeling like you have been violated.

Difficulty: 5

Control: 6

Visuals:6

Audio: 7

Replayability: 4

Overall: 6.2

Dreamworks' Shark Tale (PS2 Review)

Things were so much simpler when I was growing up. Movies only had four different ratings, violence was required in cartoons, 8-tracks were the rave of the land and cable television had yet to reach the mainstream. Corporations knew where the divisional lines between children and adults were and marketed their products accordingly. Parents would be applauded for the public discipline of their unruly children with no fear of children’s services kicking down their doors and carting them away on abuse charges. Even with all of the problems of the day, it still seemed like people were happier then even without the inclusion of personal computers, video games, mp3 players and the Internet.

 

During this era, the movie industry was basically broken in two divisions. Disney was the main producer of movies targeted for children and the remaining studios took care of entertaining the adult crowds. While the average fan may only be aware of their animated endeavors, Disney also created some very original kid-oriented, family friendly films that sported actual human actors. Disney had the knack for recruiting up-and-coming talent and capitalized on their lack of star-power to focus the attention of the viewer on the plot and storyline rather than the cast members. Probably the best known of this crop would be Kurt Russell. Personally signed by Walt Disney himself for a ten-year contract, Russell moved from the making of family films to become one of the most recognizable actors of our generation in the action/adventure genre.

Today, this trend of moving up to the major leagues has reversed. More and more established actors now are concentrating their efforts in family friendly movies after grounding themselves firmly in the acting scene. Big names like Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy and Tim Allen would have to be three of the easiest recognized by the masses. Each one created their acting foundation within the boundaries of more mature audiences and have had their careers reborn working for the “younger crowd.” Well, now a new name can be added to the list. With the 2004 release of the Dreamworks’ Shark Tale, Will Smith, along with quite a few other notable persons, has entered the fold. Grossing over 150 million in the United States alone, and of course this doesn’t take in consideration the future income for the DVD and VHS releases, this is just one of the many animated films to be released in 2004 looking to make it big.

Now with any expected big movie release, there has to be a licensing and merchandising agreement along with the expected video game tie-in. Recently, the movie industry has been able to buck the trend of yesterday and has seemingly turned the corner from producing horrible licensed games to ones that are actually of decent quality for the average gamer. This is not surprising since video games have, for the past few years, out produced the movie industry in total yearly income and gamers have begun to become more educated in their purchases, not simply jumping on the merchandising bandwagon and picking up a title because it carries the same name as a blockbuster film. Now the big question will be if Shark Tale will continue this trend or revert back to the days of substandard releases. Well, grab your pencil and a notebook. It’s time to make like a fish and go to school.

The main plot of the game is the same of the movie. Your playing experiences all revolve around the life of Oscar, a little fish in a big pond who is looking to move up the food chain. Unfortunately, in his quest for fame and fortune, he seems to be fighting an upstream battle and is forced to swim with the sharks, literally. Throughout the 25 chapters of the game, you will be solely responsible to maneuver Oscar though Reef City in his various adventures.

Actual gameplay is broken down into four separate categories: Adventure, Race, Fight and Dance. The adventure aspects of the game are reminiscent of a 2-D side-scroller. Since your character exists in the medium of water, moving vertically is as simple as progressing horizontally. The areas that you will traverse in this nature are teeming with life and movement of secondary objects and fish. Hazards abound from predator fish or tail-snapping crabs along with a scattering of some rather petty criminal characters. There are also breakable objects along your path, which Oscar can destroy by using his dash attack. Usually destroying these objects will result in the scattering of sea pearls, the known form of currency in Reef City. It is through a combination of acquiring these pearls and increasing your fame status that allows for extras to be unlocked, but that will be investigated in more detail later. You also will be required to sneak your way through certain areas, hiding from the view of patrols and blending into the surrounding environment to remain undetected. As I stated earlier, there is a lot to do and quite a bit of different playing options to experience.

Just like the rest of the mission styles, there are additional objectives to be acquired besides the regular ones which allow you to progress further through the story. These will vary as much as the mission styles themselves and can be as simple as acquiring a set number of pearls or as difficult as making it through an entire level without taking any damage. Every time you complete an objective, you receive fame points. These add up in your fame meter and increase your status throughout the watery world.

The racing sections put the player in a behind-the-fish view as you traverse through the bustling city streets. You have the ability to swap vertical axis controls in the options menu for the races so your control can be more comfortable for the individual player. The overall racing is solid, but not spectacular. The control of your fish is simple and doesn’t require much conditioning, but the tracks do suffer from an over abundance of obstacles that distracts you from really getting into the full, edge-of-your-seat racing that really should have been conveyed to the player. These are great for a break from the other types of game style, but one has to thank the gaming spirits that this isn’t the main attraction of the title.

Probably the most inventive aspect of Shark Tale would be the fighting parts of the game. These are further broken up into the fight or flee sections. Oscar can only fight when he has achieved a certain level of fame. Until then, he does best to run from the big boys to live to fight another day. The fleeing parts are super simple, with just the player being required to follow the magic green arrows to stay off of the menu of their pursuer. However, once you start moving up the food chain, the time for running comes to an end and it’s time to stand your ground. Along with dodging the attacks, Oscar also has three different types of retribution to dish out. In fact, when you are really feeling brave, you have the option to taunt your opponent in true Oscar-style. This helps to recover lost energy and really makes for some seriously good laughs. It is important not to get too distracted from orally wailing on your competition though, as you cannot react when a blow comes your way. 

Last, but not least, is the dance portion of our program. This is a page right out of the Dance Dance Revolution playbook. Players will have the choice of either running through the dance card by sitting on their behinds, or actually get up and bustin’ a move using a system compatible dance pad. There is no special plugging or unplugging needed as you can have the pad running from the number two port while at the same time keep your regular controller of choice connected up in it’s traditional spot. You also have the opportunity to use either the directional pad or their corresponding action buttons, so players will not be at a disadvantage if they are either left or right handed. Nevertheless, the best way to enjoy the game is to utilize it exactly the way it was intended, on your feet. 

The audio portents of the game are worth the price of admission alone. Even though the original stars of the movie did not assist with the voice-overs, you may never realize it unless you read the credits in the back of the game manual. All of the voice talent does a remarkable job of recreating the characters of the movie. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the game supports Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound, which gives every sound a clear and concise note. The music soundtrack is just as impressive with the mixture of notable songs like Bad Boys (the theme song from Cops), Carwash, U Can’t Touch This and even a remake of the ultra-hip Play That Funky Music White Boy.

Visually, players are treated to a topnotch performance from Edge of Reality. All of the scenes and characters look exactly like they did in the theater. All of the fish relate a sense of emotion in their facial features and the full motion videos are funny as well as a testament on how far we have come in the field. The game rolls along at a steady frame rate, even when there are bunches of background fish swimming through the screen. I did notice some collision detection issues, mostly in the adventure areas, where Oscar seemed to move through items or was able to navigate outside of the defined area. Nevertheless, these issues were minor and in no way detracted points from the overall score. There are no popup or clipping issues, players always have a good view of the action and you rarely ever have to worry about things simply appearing out of thin air.

 
Unfortunately, there are no online enjoyments for any of the multiplatform versions. However, gamers are treated to a fish-load of unlockable extras that can be purchased from pearls that you have gathered in the game. Moreover, the almighty pearl is not the be-all or end-all to getting all of the neat goodies. Each item has a fame level that also must be obtained by the player along with the predetermined payment amount. Fame is acquired by completing the primary and secondary mission objectives. Even though there are a few items that you can have before even playing the first mission, most of the interesting things will require you to progress quite deeply into the saga of our little fish. Anything and everything is just about to be had, including songs, clipart, designer drawings, interviews with the characters in the game and a ton more of surprises that I won’t spoil by listing them all here. 

One additional nice touch is the use of the autosave feature. Whenever you complete a mission, or acquire a new present in the extras section, the game will automatically save your progress. This is exceptionally nice for the younger player, so that they do not have to worry about losing progress in their game by forgetting to save or having to learn how and where the save function might be hidden. Anything that makes gaming easier is always welcomed, and this should be a lesson learned by other developers. Gamers like to save their progress without having to navigate through an entire book or spend ten minutes confirming their choice to actually save the game.

 
DreamWorks’ Shark Tale is a Jack-of-all-trades for gameplay, but is a clear master for none of them. The cornucopia of styles tests the limits of the gaming engine, however it also hinders any one aspect of truly shining. Although the game is obviously slanted towards the younger audience, its difficulty setting is geared more to an accomplished player. Even with the excellent soundtrack and top of the line graphics, this just isn’t a game that I can recommend for every gamer’s library. Fans of the movie will enjoy controlling Oscar and getting him through his many challenges. Dance pad owners will get to stretch their legs and get physical by breaking out a collection of their own moves, and this has to be a joyful bonus for those tired of just letting their hands do the majority of their gaming. Activision gives their customers a good, but not a great, wonderful or breathtaking time. If you are a player who like a bit of everything, this game should be right up your alley. For those hard-core specialists, I would suggest looking elsewhere for your enjoyment. 

Difficulty: 7

Control: 7

Visual: 7

Sound: 9

Replayability: 4

Overall: 7.3

Warjetz (PS2 Review)

War games have existed since almost the conception of video games. Those of you who are old enough to remember that the Atari 2600 came packaged with Combat know this to be true. Many a night I spent basking in those 4k graphics as I drove my tank through mono-colored mazes banking shot after shot at my opponent. At that point in my life I believed that I had reached nirvana. From those simple beginnings, the combat genre was born.

 

Up until 1995, most combat-styled games focused on players manipulating military-styled vehicles. Whether it was on land, in the air or under the sea, gamers were stuck bringing the fight to their opponents via tanks, planes or submarines. However, the genre was permanently changed when a small company shocked the world with the release of Twisted Metal for the PlayStation. Although it was not the first “official” car combat game ever released, it was the title that finally broke open the self-induced boundaries game developers were not willing to cross and became the first to be accepted by the masses. By today’s standards, the original Twisted Metal is nothing to cheer about. The blocky graphics and stiff digitally controlled gameplay leave much to be desired. Nevertheless, at that period of time in the PlayStation’s lifespan, the game was on the cutting edge of technology.

Not only did this original spawn six different sequels (so far), it also spun off an entire new genre that had developers scrambling to bring clones to market. Soon, you couldn’t throw a controller down a software aisle without hitting a game based on Twisted Metal‘s roots. The situation got even muckier when Sony acquired Single Trac and their founders left to create a completely new company. Now former publisher and developer were competing head-to-head along with all the rest of the newcomers. 

By the time that the PS2 came to market, games of this type were second nature. Just about every company in existence had something comparable for gamers to mangle their opponents. Even companies not known for this style of game took a tumble in the hay as a matter of course just to see if they could capture the magic once created by Twisted Metal. One of these developers was the now defunct 3DO.

Better known for their sometimes questionable Army Men series, 3DO decided to try their hand at the genre with the introduction of their World Destruction League series. Attempting to blitz the genre, they went in two directions at the same time. Players could test their mettle either on the ground with Thunder Tanks or take to the air with Warjetz. Neither game received much applause from the gaming media and we’re going to find out why, for at least half of their offerings. Were they overlooked gems or corpses deserving to be buried? Well, that’s what we are here to find out. Up next, Warjetz.  

The meat of the sandwich for Warjetz is supposed to be its story mode. Here, you enter the WDL (World Destruction League) as a green rookie looking to make a name for yourself. Cutscene after cutscene will refer to you as the up-and-coming newcomer as you fight your way through nine different areas, but only about four of these are selectable at the start. As you progress through the stages, supposedly more difficult arenas with new masters become unlocked for you to detonate and destroy. Personally, they all seemed to be about the same and only ramped up when you picked one of the two alternate overall difficulty settings.

Each location will have three different level assignments and each of these will have various missions. Sometimes you will be matched up in a pure dogfight with a set number of opponents. Other times you will be matching your wits and skills against a continuous flow of defenders as you attempt to demolish their base of operations. There are also other strange assignments like being the first to blow up a set number of trains or be the one to collect a predetermined amount of cash. At least you don’t have to worry about mission variety not keeping your attention as you work your way through the game.

Every time you complete a section, your competition’s plane becomes selectable for you to use in additional rounds. The flaw to this is that you don’t have your own personal ride and are already using four of the nine planes. So, you only get a new fighter half of the time. One of the neat twists is that you have to select two planes for each contest and there are spots within each arena where you can swap one out for the other. However, each of these machines cost money to replace if they are lost on the battlefield, so it is not always wise to pick the high-priced planes, even if they do pack more of a physical punch. Game cash, or bux, can be acquired while the fighting is going on within the arena, however unless you are using the bargain basement craft you really can’t expect to extend your bank account enough to stick around for more than one additional plane. You are given a set amount of cash at the beginning of the round and this amount increases as you progress through the game. Usually you can bank on having four to eight lives per round and usually you will need all of them to finish off the competition. 

Variety is the name of the game when it comes to picking your plane. Pilots have the opportunity to find a ride that fits your flying style. No matter if you prefer the light and nimble attack copter or the slow, lumbering bomber with the mighty payload, there is something for everyone. Almost all of the aircraft are futuristic versions of real-life airships with a smattering of fictional craft thrown in for good measure. Of course their armaments are a bit more beefed up to properly reflect their competition in the WDL and their ammunition is unlimited for the proper destruction of the environments and multiple rivals you will meet. Each craft has it’s high and low points. Some have little to offer in the way of armor or weaponry, but are highly maneuverable and hard to catch while others are destined to go toe-to-toe with anything but are a sitting duck for a semi-maneuverable plane.

Every plane has three different weapon assignments. You have a normal lightweight, fast reloading attack, like a machine-gun, and a slower, heavier attack along the lines of homing missiles or a shotgun blast. No two planes have the same armaments and honestly I couldn’t figure out how some of them applied any damage to opponents. Now that might sound rather strange, but I actually had some craft with such unique secondary weapons that they didn’t seem to even put a scratch on my competition. Since Warjetz also has you taking out land units and installations, you also have the ability to turn your plane into a groundpounder’s worst nightmare and lay down an inexhaustible supply of bombs. Once again, the strength of your ammo will reflect the style of craft you are piloting. The tiny nimble copter will be dropping dirt clods compared to the nuclear arsenal that the heavy bomber is packing in her belly. One nice touch is that when you shift from dogfighting to bombing, your visual perspective changes from a third-person view to that of a topdown 1942-ish one. This helps to let you know where and what you will be firing at, as there are those times where a finger will slip here and there and flip you into one or the other modes accidentally. 

Controlling your craft is pretty simple and it will only take your a battle or two to get the full hang of fighting in the skies. The DualShock 2 is utilized efficiently and the crafts all respond rather well to your button inputs. Switching between your normal fighting and the bombing modes is handled with ease and can really turn the tables when facing the numerous ground and air opponents. Your planes can do all of the normal maneuvers, along with the rather neat barrel-rolls and loops to avoid missiles, but some of the button assignments are doubled which can cause you to zig when you meant to zag in the heat of a dogfight.

Visually, Warjetz is just about average. There is some noticeable draw-in and popup evident and I did experience some random slowdown when the missiles started flying hot and heavy, but normally you get a clear view of whatever is going on without a major distraction. Nevertheless, having any 128-bit game demonstrate deficiencies of this nature really shows a lack of commitment towards the product and the gamers who buy them. This is one of the reasons why 3DO is no longer around making games. At the beginning of every round, and usually once in the middle of the three assignments for each area, you are treated to some rather droll movies with your two official commentators from the WDL. Although the female of the team is rather easy on the eyes, it’s going to be her rather loud and obnoxious partner that draws your attention with his whiny voice and poor slapstick humor. Obviously, 3DO was going for the cheap laugh instead of actually sitting down and finding someone with an actual sense of humor to lighten up your mood and the final product really suffers. After watching the first couple of movies, I really wanted to just hit the start button and skip the whole affair.

Your ears are treated just as rudely. Players only have the bare-bones stereo/mono options without a Dolby surround sound selection in sight. You do have the ability to alter the various levels for the BGM (BackGround Music), special effects and the background voice-overs. There is also, thankfully, an on and off selection so you can completely turn off the useless babbling from the color commentator. Honestly, this freak makes Madden’s Monday Night Football chatter seem like brilliance and really would have been better to been left out altogether.

Once you get tired of the single player story mode, gamers do have the option to try out the skirmish portion of Warjetz. All of your unlocked planes and territories are selectable and they are broken down into three different degrees of difficulty. What is nice with this feature is that you can play it solo or invite up to three other human players to fight for the dominance of the skies in four different categories; Ace, Bomb, Cash or Capture the Flag. Ace simply is the first player to reach a set amount of planes shot down. Bombing is a race to see who can level the most structures. Capture the Flag is just what you would think and the Cash mini-game is a race to see who can collect the most bux. All of the players can modify their experience level, even the computer controlled units, to keep things on an even keel and teams can be established to make the contests two against two, three against one or a free for all. Believe it or not, the multiplayer aspect is probably the highlight to the whole game and really is the only true reason for picking up a copy.

Gamers are treated to two preview videos for other 3DO games. Of course what 3DO title would complete without some connection to an Army Men game. You get a look at Army Men: Air Attack 2. You also get a look at their other stablemate Warriors of Might and Magic. However, neither really gives you an in-depth view of what either title offers and both are nothing more than teasers.

Nevertheless, there is some good to go with the so-so. Whenever you complete the story mode of the game, you are given different codes that can be inputted into a special cheat section to add special abilities for additional action. Of course, the resourceful gamer will know exactly where he or she could get all of the codes without having to put all the time and effort into beating the game numerous times. However, once you start inputting codes, the challenge of the game goes right out the window and it becomes nothing but running through the levels being an unbeatable force. While some players might find that enjoyable, I found it unnecessary and would have rather had different planes with better abilities to work my way again through the levels.

Warjetz brings a new look to an already established genre. Although it in no way surpasses the king of vehicle combat, it does offer gamers a somewhat pleasant distraction from the norm. Nevertheless, the depth, or rather the lack of it, turns your expectations of hours of fun into nothing more than an afternoon distraction. None of the characters or their combat equipment radiates that desire to experience each and every one of them. The story mode is rather short and the only possible extension for its shelf life would be in the multiplayer mode, and that too probably won’t capture the attention of your guests for more than an hour or two. Now don’t take this the wrong way. Warjetz is not an awful game, but neither is it something that I would put at the forefront of the genre. The title is simply middle-of-the-road and we all know what happens to things walking down the center line of a highway. Unless you can pick up this game for a true bargain, I would suggest saving your dollars for something more deserving of your attention. 

Difficulty: 5

Control: 7

Visual: 5

Sound: 4

Replayability: 7

Overall: 6.2

Tony Hawk's Underground 2 (PS2 Review)

What exactly is it that creates such a draw for video games? People outside of our experiences seem to think that it’s the sex and violence that drives the popularity. You can simply verify this by seeing or hearing any news release done by a media outlet that does not make covering video games their prime business. The most recent example of this was of ABC’s radio news broadcast on the day that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was released. Their reporter noted that this version would be so much more than, “The three previous games before.” Sure, this may be a minor gaffe, but this is one of the same agencies that demoralizes the very existence of games whenever a video game happens to be linked with a crime.

 

What outsiders fail to realize is that gaming is the ultimate road for expansion of thought or imagination. Moreover, it allows people to assume the personage of characters that they would have, in no expectable way, the possibility to become in their actual lives. True, it is an extreme form of escapism, more so than books or movies could ever be, mostly because of the interaction that games allow rather than the passive observation that other media outlets present. Nevertheless, probably the most successful genre for video games in a whole would be those of the sports category, rather than those that have blatant killing or fanciful worlds. 

A prime example of this would be Activision’s Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 (THUG), especially to one of my generation. For a 35 year old, my days of skating have well passed, even though they never really started in the first place. No longer do I have the “Superman” mental aspect and my mortality is more clear to me than to those less in age. So, now it is through games of this nature am I able to become “Superman” once again and live my life on the edge without having to worry about a financial increase to my medical plan.

Being the sixth in the series, Tony Hawk Pro Skater has been an exceptionally prolific franchise for Activision. Time and time again, each review of a title next in line for the series has uttered the words, “I thought that nothing new could be added to the game to make it fresh.” Time and time again the reviewer was shocked to learn that every game could stand on its own merit and was something credible to be included within one’s library. How it is that professional reviewers would be taken by surprise by the continuous success of a series, especially one that constantly reaches the upper echelon of review scores?

There are only two major reasons why a franchise would fall flat on its behind. Either the development of the game is handed off to a completely new team that did not work with the series from the ground up (Crash Bandicoot) or the hype generated by the media wears off to expose the title for what it truly was (Tomb Raider) from the beginning. The Tony Hawk line of games has always received good press, but never been one to be overly jammed down the throat of gamers and Neversoft itself has retained the series in-house. Since these two points have been addressed, one should not expect anything less than another rendition of excellence.

The only other possible factor that could create a slump for a gaming series would be if the developers were not able to bring something new to the table, or they simply rehashed a successful formula over and over again in pursuit of the almighty dollar. To do this, Neversoft has gone and brought a whole new story mode into being, where it moves away from games of the past to develop a completely new feel. Akin to a rampage across the world, players are included on a skating team for the World Destruction Tour and it is your job to wreck as much havoc in the numerous locales as possible.

Seemingly, these goals focus more on the off-board adventures of your skater than actually being on it. Your character can run, throw objects, jump and climb throughout the levels to reach heights never before available in a Tony Hawk title. Along with being able to tag-team an area with another pro skater, there are also hidden characters within the level and these boys are packing some extremely wild rides. This all adds up to a massive list of separate goals for each level that skaters need to accomplish to complete a section.

However, this deviation from the previous versions may not sit well with skating purists. So, Neversoft has given a two-for-one special and included the old style classic mode which lets you play along just like the previous games. You can tackle all of the THUG 2 levels or take a walk down memory lane, once they are unlocked, through six re-released environments. Each section has the two-minute time limit and ten new goals to keep you on the edge of your board as you go for the fan favorite S-K-A-T-E combo, find the hidden tape or look to reach that new high score total. There also is a branching level progression, so you get the opportunity to skate where you want without being forced to march through the mode in a rigid linear fashion.

All of the moves found in previous games have made their triumphant return, which spells instant success and record breaking totals for combo scores. Although my limited skills would not let me even get close, I have seen combo numbers as high as 50 million on the Internet site, which can only account for the excellent control the game gives a player and a well thought out level design for each place you will visit. Characters react instantly to the slightest touch of the controller and the button layout works with you, rather than making the tasks more difficult. This is exactly what I would expect from a series that has been in existence since 1999 and is a credit to Neversoft.

The musical selection is exceptionally varied and has something for everyone. Most of the groups were completely foreign to such an old fogey, but even I had something to enjoy with tracks from Johnny Cash, The Doors and even Frank Sinatra. I have had little to no exposure with most of the remaining groups, but I will say that every tune meshes well within the game and definitely is worth keeping the volume turned up. Moreover, having more than 50 songs making up the soundtrack, you should be able to play for quite a while before hearing the same song over again. Plus you have the option to customize your playlist to include only the tracks that you enjoy.

The remaining audio is just as impressive. Sporting Dolby Pro Logic II support your system will be utilized to the maximum effect. The voice acting is all done very well and you actually care what the characters are talking about when going through the story. The sounds from your board and what you do with it also it top notch. Everything from toppling trash cans, to grinding or kissing rails and even riding over cobblestones all ring true to the ear. Although I looked high and low, I couldn’t find a chink in THUG 2‘s armor where the audio aspect was concerned.

Visually, the game looks just as good as previous versions. Since it is using the same game engine, the strengths and weaknesses of what has come before all have remained intact. There still is the issue of the third-person camera where it will be blocked by the environmental obstructions, but these are few and far between. Characters and the destructible environments all have an authentic feel and the levels are exceptionally large and varied for what you can do in them. THUG 2 supports widescreen televisions and has a letterbox version for those of us not able to afford the big screens. Blood effects, even though they are minor, can also be turned off for the slightly squeamish.

Extras? This is one of the few games where there are more extra options in a game than the main game itself. In all honesty, Burger King missed a golden opportunity to get connected up with THUG 2 as it really should have been called “Tony Hawk: Have It Your Way.” Online functions are massive and the customizing options are beyond normal belief. This truly should be the model for any upcoming title on how to give gamers exactly what they want by enabling them to make it themselves.

To start off, both broadband and dial-up users can get their skate on with very little in the way of penalties. The only main difference really comes for hosting a game, as narrowband owners can only have games with three participants while those with a wider pipeline can have up to eight. Nevertheless, there is no real segregation, as dial-up users can freely join up with any group. There is, however, some decisive disadvantages running on the regular connection as animations of the opposite players will not be as smooth as you experience playing offline. But as long as you aren’t worried about the details, you should enjoy the opportunity to display your skating skills to the world. Also, the community seemed to be exceptionally friendly and very willing to tolerate a newcomer, like myself. So even if you aren’t packing the moves of a pro, you should have no problem getting involved with the game for the first time.

The variety of games that you can play online is just about as staggering as the regular options. You have a choice of trick attack, score challenge, combo mambo, slap, king of the hill, graffiti, firefight, elimiskate, goal attack, capture the flag and the all-new scavenger hunt. Not only can you take your completely customized character onto the Internet, but you can also bring along the park where you will skate. Any of the venues that you have unlocked in the offline mode can be used, along with any of your very own creations. Furthermore, you can access Neversoft’s online vault and download parks, skaters, tricks, goals and even personal graphics to help add some spice into your life after you have completed the massive offline game.

For players without an Internet connection, there is included a two-player mode so you can get your skate on with a friend of significant other. Although some game modes are restricted for online play only (Capture the Flag, Elimiskate and Goal Attack), Neversoft has brought the favorite H.O.R.S.E. in for only the offline mode. You can even “keep it real” and use the free skate option with no score or time limit restrictions, so you both can show off your cool moves without the worry about security or physical injury ruining the party. The split-screen does hamper your visibility and makes skating more difficult for the player, but it is a viable alternative in a pinch.

In an update to last year’s release, not only can you send in a picture to be placed onto your skater over the Internet, but now EyeToy owners can cut out the middle man and do it all for themselves. The picture quality is of high grade and is very simple to utilize. After a few button presses and some minor picture alignment, you can put anything, including the face of a favorite pet, on your custom skater for you to personalize your appearance on and offline. Then you have a tremendous amount of accessories, in the way of facial hair, eyeglasses, skin tone, head shape and hats to bring off the complete package. Even specific parts can be altered, like chins and noses, for length and size. Nothing seems to be left to chance and every possibility looks to have been covered by Neversoft.

The rest of your body has not been forgotten either. Anything that you want is within your controller’s grasp, from licensed shirts and pants, wrist bands, protective gear, tattoos, footwear and even the taping and wheel color of your board. You will be hard pressed not to be able to make an exact recreation of your personal appearance with everything that is available or having to worry about seeing someone who looks exactly like you when skating online. You have the option to make your character as outlandish or conservative as you want, only time and your imagination are the only things hindering you in this endeavor.

Everything else in the game can be altered or created from scratch. Players can make their own skate parks from the ground up. Ramps, rails, gaps, environmental backgrounds, obstacles and pools can be designed however you would like to have them placed. Anything that Neversoft has done in the regular version of the game can be done in your personal skating heaven. After you make a level, it’s time to add in your own touch by placing unique goals just like you found in both the classic and story modes. You can even edit what the pedestrians will say once a goal has been completed. Don’t like the variety of tricks your character can perform? That’s not a problem, as you can develop new ones to make your moves different from anything else. For aspiring professional video game designers, this title has to be one of the best on the market to hone your skills and show off during an interview.

THUG 2 is much more than “just another sequel” and could only offer the player more if they included a skateboard inside the game case. This is the best example of giving a gamer a complete package with just about everything being customizable and still having a top-notch title to show it all off. The depth is unheralded and your replay ability should keep you grinding well into the night. Nothing seems to have been left out of the mix and I’m really interested in seeing how Neversoft plans to try to top this latest release. If you are a skating fan, I would expect you to already have this game in your collection. However, if you have been sitting on the fence, let me knock you off in the direction of your local game store. Every gamer should experience Tony Hawk Underground 2, even if you have never touched a skateboard.

Difficulty: 7

Control:10

Visual:9

Sound: 10

Replayability: 10

Overall: 9.6