Gungriffon Blaze (PS2 Review)

Everyone knows that giant robots are badass. Ever since Robotech landed on our television sets, every boy has dreamed of piloting a mecha at some time or another. Size or speed makes no difference. Neither does the country of origin. Both Japan and the United States have had their share of television series’ which brought us from our mundane living rooms into the cockpits of a fighting machine in one way or another.

 

Gamers have also had a plethora of mech games on every platform imaginable. Some are heavily grounded in the simulation and building of the perfect mecha while others focus more on the action and leave the strategy sitting on the sidelines. No matter if you are a fan of the Armored Core series or of the Macross, just about everyone who has picked up a controller in the past ten years has experienced a mech game of one sort or another. Usually these games take place in the faraway future where mankind has evolved from his barbaric ways to embrace technology and use it for the greater good of humanity. Others have us continuing on our current path of hate and destruction turning technology against our brothers for nothing less than the conquest of our planet. One such series is the Gungriffon franchise.

Set in the post-apocalyptic world where global warming has turned the nations of the world into warring factions over the last remaining resources, Gungriffon Blaze continues on the tradition of the franchise established back on the Sega Saturn in 1996. Although this is the third game in the series, it actually is only the second iteration to make it here across the Pacific. How does it match up with other genre titles? Read on and find out for yourself.
 

Gungriffon Blaze picks up where the previous games left off. With use of the American AWGS’s (Armored Walking Gun Systems), Japan concedes WW III in 2015. US and AFTA countries station units in Europe and Asia to help quell tensions rising from food shortages. Because the weather patterns continue to worsen, citizens begin a mass migration to the south throwing the US and AFTA nations into anarchy. It is at that point, a power grab commences forcing the US and Japanese forces to work together to quash this new threat.

 

Part mech simulator, part first-person shooter, Gungriffon Blaze finds a way to meld the two genres into one big, fat, happy serving. As the game starts rolling, players are granted a look into some of the best FMVs (Full Motion Videos) seen up to this date (October 2000) on any system. After the title bursts into flames, you get right into the creation of your personal character. There are bunches of choices to make, including the nationality, name, age, sex, eyesight and even IQ. Although these make little difference in your actual playing ability, it is a unique way to enter codes for special unlockables by entering the proper combination, all of which you can find on a local code site nearest to you. Players also have the ability to alter bunches and bunches of options before getting hot and heavy into the mix. The menu system can be somewhat confusing for the beginner and could have used some streamlining, nevertheless you should be able to find your way to the meat of the sandwich after only minimal trial and error.

Before the mission actually starts, gamers are given a detailed explanation of their objectives and possible placement of enemy forces. Once this completes, you are dropped immediately into the fray. After you eliminate the first wave of combatants, you get your first opportunity to take a look around. Your line of sight is usually to the horizon with only rare instances of draw-in evident. Environments properly reflect your location, however there is not an excessive amount of variance. In fact, compared to today’s games, one could consider these to be barren.

Normally the game runs along at a steady 60 FPS, but there are slight instances of slowdown when multiple buildings begin to collapse and explode. And blow up buildings you will, as just about everything that you will run across will be destructible. However, this is one of the possible pitfalls that novice gamers might become trapped by, as each and every mission is running on a timer. If you spend too much time clearing the landscape, you might not have enough reserve time to complete your assigned missions. Environments are big enough to give you a challenge but still small enough to keep you from getting hopelessly lost. One downside is the invisible wall that keeps you in the prescribed playing field, when the landscape, and even opponents, are on the other side just screaming for your personal attention.

Do not expect this to be a one man show. For every assignment, after the training session, you will have numerous allies assisting you on your mission. This does take some getting used to, as your first instinct is to blow away everything moving in your field of vision. Enemy and friendly forces are designated by a different colored HUD (Head’s Up Display) overlay, but this is only active when you have a unit squarely in your crosshairs. Have an itchy trigger finger and you could easily waste one of your own people. Don’t think that a mistake like this will go unnoticed. Send a few rounds in the wrong direction and you will actually hear your counterparts warning you off. In fact, if you listen closely, the radio chatter will keep you abreast of the happenings out of your line of sight. Most of the time, allies do little to actually help you complete your missions, but there are those rare occasions where they will help eliminate a necessary enemy or pick off a combatant from over your shoulder. Needless to say, they are not the smartest bunch of NPCs (Non-Player Characters) you will ever meet, but it’s nice to have a little bit of help mopping up the numerous amounts of forces you will encounter.

Voices will not be the only thing sounding through your speaker system. The background music is a curious mix. The main menu offers players a selection of a classical sounding piece while the in-game music pounds out something similar to what one would hear at a rock concert. Also every time a gun fires, or something explodes, you can immediately recognize its origin. Ally and enemy fire sound remarkably different, even though the color of the rounds are the same. Thus, players are required to use their sense of hearing as well as that of sight to help them keep tabs on who is where on the battlefield. Unfortunately, gamers with surround sound systems will not be able to use their multiple speakers to assist with locating enemy combatants as you only have the standard mono or stereo selections available. This is one game that really could have benefited from Dolby adding their extra special touch to the audio.

Gungriffon Blaze makes excellent use of the DualShock 2. Players do have the limited ability to alter their controller settings to meet their personal preference via the numerous preset selections. Furthermore, you also have the ability to reverse that ever annoying Y-axis if you wish your up to be down. For those of us who are used to having one analog stick do most of the controlling, there will be some reconditioning necessary to be able to complete the missions and it took me about a half dozen runs through the training scenario before I felt comfortable enough to go out and take on my first real mission. Just about all of the buttons are utilized for one action or another, but you don’t have to worry about getting confused with overly complicated patterns to launch your weapons. Those of you who are FPS (First-Person Shooter) veterans will feel right at home and should be able to be mixing it up full force with little to no real learning necessary.

Players have six different levels to test their piloting mettle. You get to venture all over the world, doing everything from training missions, to assaulting military bases and even running interference for retreating forces. Although that might not sound like a lot, each of the six levels has an advanced version that can be unlocked via extended play. Also, every time you beat a level with a new high score, a new point plateau is reestablished for you to conquer. Furthermore, there are four separate difficulty levels that incrementally increase in challenge as you progress up the ladder. Of course, the harder the setting, the greater the reward in the form of a multiplier applied to your final point score. Thus, the replay value is there if you are really willing to put your skills to the test.

While we are talking about replay value, don’t think that you’ll have to take on the same levels over and over again using the same old mecha. As you acquire points and receive medals, new and more challenging mechs will become available. Some will be slower, unable to jump but pack a much stronger punch. Others will be on the complete flip side. Each different fighting machine will require you to modify your fighting style and flaunt the strengths, while minimizing the weaknesses, of the new mecha. This in itself brings the levels into a new light and keeps the continued playing fresh.

Another aspect that keeps your heart rate pounding is the multiple weapons and systems that the mecha can have equipped. During each mission, boxes, along with other assorted goodies, will appear once enemies or structures have been destroyed. There are three separate types of boxes that will allow the collection of new weapons, auxiliary items or models (these will be covered to a larger extent later on in the review). Weapons and auxiliary items come in three levels of strength and are so known by their color coding. However, there is a catch to actually getting these item boxes added to your inventory. Although you might gather twenty or more boxes on a level, your difficulty setting and how well you do on the assignment will determine how many boxes you get to open and keep. The only information you have is what category the box belongs in and the approximate strength of the prize within. After that, it’s strictly a grab bag. Usually it’s a good practice to take the highest level boxes first and work your way down the food chain until your number of choices expires. This way you have a better chance of getting something worthwhile for use in the harder levels. However, if you fail to complete your objective, you may only receive one choice to add to your inventory. This keeps players from running the same missions over and over again only to stock up on items without putting forth the necessary effort to win the battle every time you start one up.

However, don’t confuse the customization of your machine with those of other mecha games like Armored Core. Besides having the opportunity to choose which type of AWGS you want, you only get to pick one of the three weapon systems and two additional support items (advanced armor, advanced firepower, hyper zoom, jump regulators, etc.). You don’t have to spend hours putting your fighting machine together only to see it blown to pieces in the first few seconds of fighting. Gungriffon is all about the action, not the preliminary mishmash that some players thrive upon.

And action you will have, in fistfuls. Most battlefields are teeming with dozens of baddies just looking for a fight. From simple tanks and troop transports, to artillery placements and finally enemy mechs, your time spent in the cockpit will be fast and furious. Furthermore, reinforcements are constantly flowing from different points on the map, so you can’t expect a section to remain clear once you’ve sent all the enemy to Valhalla. Luckily, your HUD will help keep track of everything an aspiring pilot would need including proximity meters, jump regulators and ammunition counts. There also is an in-game compass displayed to help keep you heading in the correct direction along with giving you some idea where reinforcements are coming from when their presence is announced via the radio.

As mentioned earlier, players have the opportunity to select model boxes after they complete their missions. These do nothing for your gameplay, but they do unlock some rather interesting 3-D models. By going back to the original menu, gamers can select the model viewer where different groups of mecha and machines are selectable. The unique aspect is that when an item is selected, it is displayed as if it was a model kit like those found in most hobby shops. You have full control of the viewer and can get close up and personal with each and every kit. This does help in identifying enemy units on the battlefield, but does nothing else.

Unfortunately, Gungriffon Blaze only has single player support. This is one title that really would have shined being released later in the PS2 lifecycle, as we could have expected some sort of multiplayer aspect, possibly including online contests. Perhaps sometime in the future Game Arts will bring us a new version of the series that gives our online brethren something to howl about.

Gungriffon Blaze was IGN’s runner-up winner for the 2000 action game of the year (Timesplitters was the winner). Although the game came out as a launch title for the PlayStation 2, it probably was one of the most overlooked games in the entire lineup, especially since the series did not have the opportunity to create a true fanbase here in North America. This is one title definitely not for those lacking in the coordination department. Although far from being perfect, the good outweighs the bad and should keep players up late into the night as they try “just one more time” to top a previous high score or complete a mission. This was one of the first games I ever purchased for my PS2 and honestly it is the only launch title that still keeps me coming back for more. 

Unfortunately, the game is no longer in print, so your only chance to get your hands wrapped around a copy will be by scouring the used game sections. However, I will guarantee that the search will be worth your time. If you happen to come across a copy, and are a fan of either mechs or first-person shooters, add it to your collection without a second thought. All others should buy at their personal discretion, although the price point should be attractive enough to give it a whirl to see if it agrees with you.

Difficulty: 9

Control: 9

Audio: 7

Visuals: 8

Replayability: 8

Overall: 8.6

Aero Elite: Combat Academy (PS2 Review)

Throughout all of history, man has quested after the power of flight. Life is truly ironic. Great minds like Leonardo Da Vinci, Isaac Newton and Daniel Bernoulli were unable to get their feet off of the ground and two simple bicycle repairmen were the ones to make powered flight a reality. Since that windy day in 1903, man has progressed through many stages of flight design and has even landed upon the soil of another heavenly body. 

 

The video game industry has moved forward with the same leaps and bounds. What began as a simple distraction of a few white dots moving on a black background has evolved into photorealistic graphics and movie quality production values. Where games used to be completely designed by a single person over a four day weekend, they now have a staff of a hundred or more people working for two or three years. How fitting that these two elements have finally come together to create a wondrous marriage where everyday people can enjoy the best of both worlds, without all the risks involved with leaving the security of the solid earth.

Each genre of gaming has their elite. Saying the names of Halo, Gran Turismo or Zelda will either cause a player to get that dreamy-eyed look or their face to explode in a crimson fury. There just is no in-between. On another page of the same book, most PS2 flight fans have come to consider the Ace Combat series the weight upon which all other flying games are to be measured. Some feel this is true because of the lack of competition, while others believe that it is one of the best arcade flyers because it is done so professionally. No matter what side of the coin you prefer, the why really isn’t important, since the end justifies the means. Ace Combat is the reigning ace of aces when it comes to PS2 flight games and there are very few game developers willing to take the series on. 

Then out of nowhere, Sega suddenly emerges onto the scene with Aero Elite: Combat Academy (AE: CA). With their great reputation for quality gameplay coupled along with hard-core action, this looks like there may be a new heavyweight contender to take away Namco’s crown. The game options are long and deep and the list of playable aircraft is huge. It’s everything that flying fanatics everywhere desire. However, let us examine if the cake is moist in the center or if it’s nothing more than creamy icing over cardboard.

To start off with, there really isn’t a heart to the game. In flight games, there usually is a Story Mode with a bunch of side modes tossed in for good measure. AE breaks with tradition and recreates the wheel. Everything is evenly spread across five separate sections: Arcade Mode, Training Mode, Aero-meet 2002, Free Flight and the 2 player Vs. Battle. No one section is dominant over another.

The Arcade Mode is a way for players to get a quick fix. You have only four available aircraft to choose from and the missions are all the same no matter what plane you pick. This option has its good and bad points. On the bright side, ammo is unlimited and you have the freedom to use as much as you would like to complete this section. The bad is that you cannot save your progress in-between the missions, so it’s either finish what you’ve begun or give up and come back to start over when you have more time. Missions are all timed, but don’t learn to rely on that counter to tell the truth about how much time is actually remaining. An example would be the final contest, where you are tasked to take out a bomber before it can obliterate your base. I have personally experienced losing this section with ten minutes left, out of the original fourteen, on the timer. The lesson learned from this was to finish each segment as quickly as possible.

The training section is very detailed and well presented for flight rookies. You have nine separate stages, that are broken down even more internally, that go through every aspect of flying from takeoffs to complex flight maneuvers. All of the lessons have a visual tutorial explain what is to be done and you are given tips while going through the motions as if the instructor was sitting next to you in the plane. These instructions are of high enough quality that they could easily be used for persons interested in learning how to fly a plane in real life.

Areo-meet 2002 is presented like a simulation competition, but comes off more like an edited story mode. You have four main categories (Air, Ground, Maneuver and Recon) from which you can take part in and the later stages are much more challenging than the arcade mode. Ammunition is in short supply and your fuel is limited. Add to this a clicking timer and the stress levels go up even higher. Successfully completing missions in this section unlocks more available aircraft to be used in the game. Although the air and ground sections are self-explanatory, the maneuver and recon sections are unique and add more flavor to the flight tastebuds. Performing the recon missions simply require you to stay below a certain flight level and take a picture of a target when you get close.

This may sound like a cakewalk, but it’s more challenging than first perceived, especially since you only have one chance to take a picture. Most terrain vary greatly with obstructions, like mountain ranges or towers, that force you to keep low and dive through valleys to keep from being detected. The maneuver part of the game matches you up on target fields with balloons and other non-lethal objects where time is your biggest adversary. Once again, your ammunition is limited and you have bunches of targets that you need to obliterate before the countdown reaches zero. Having a heavy trigger finger will not get the job done and only by releasing short, well-aimed bursts of firepower will let you have enough weaponry to finish what you started.

Free flight mode lets the player experience twelve different environments in three different options. Solo flight lets a player enjoy the wild blue yonder without the burden of enemy fighters buzzing about. You also have the choice of either an air-to-air or air-to-surface attack. There also is the ability to have all of your mission options chosen randomly. Wingmen become available in the later stages, once they are opened, and can be directed by a push of a button to watch your back, take on enemies head-on or simply to stay out of the way.

The final playable selection is the two-player vs. battle. You can either choose whatever option that please your soul, or have them all randomly generated. All of the planes that you have unlocked are available in this one-on-one confrontation where it can finally be decided who is the true king of the skies.

Game options are plentiful. The DualShock 2 can be completely customized to however the player prefers to have it coordinated. Sound selections allow the choice of the standard mono or stereo speaker output, along with individual settings for the background music sound effects or voice dialog. There also is a music player which will let you listen to all of the Top Gun styled in-game music.

Some of the smaller extras that AE has to offer help to round out a nicely put together product. The Replay room will allow the player to watch saved missions or your most recent flying endeavor if there hasn’t been one personally saved by the player. One can also watch training missions to get a closer inspection on what is needed to be done to complete them properly. The data bank keeps track of all of your flying statistics, the multiple unlockable squadron emblems and an aircraft glossary and encyclopedia. One exceptional finishing touch is the ability to have red or black outs when you are pulling excessive G’s in your craft of choice. AM2 really tried to assemble the complete package. Unfortunately, they missed one specific element; the control factor.

Only one factor was neglected in the making of Aero Elite, and that was having the planes actually react like their real-life counterparts. No matter which fixed wing craft you choose to pilot they all handle the same; like a dump truck with a full load of gravel. Turning, climbing or diving makes no difference. The only factor I found to make maneuvering partially tolerable was to power down the forward thrust of the plane to turn the ship, and that still didn’t give me the reaction that I was looking for. The helicopters are on the complete opposite side of the fence. Fast and exceptionally loose, these craft are so twitchy that it makes locking onto targets well beyond difficult. After everything that Sega had to offer, they forgot the most important thing and it totally destroys the entire experience. 

Although it may not be the first, AE is the oldest game that I have found, so far, to actually support the newly released PS2 Hard Disk Drive (HDD). The game disk is still required to play the game, but I have noticed shortened loading times with it being installed. Aero Elite also has a wide-screen option which, when used on a big-screen TV, gives you a better surrounding view for your flight operations.

Aero Elite: Combat Academy has so much going for it that it was very difficult for me to give it its final grade. What should be a flyboy’s erotic dream, turns into their worst nightmare because of the horrible control. Sega had themselves a surefire winner and they let it slip through their fingers. Even with this massive obstacle, I still found myself attempting to continue to work my way though the game, repeating the same mission or test over and over again. Nevertheless, I can in no way give this game a quality score by overlooking such an important factor. This game can only be recommended to flight fanatics or those into self-abuse. All others should just taxi themselves over to Ace Combat 4′s runway or just wait until Ace Combat 5 is launched off the carrier this fall.

Difficulty: 6

Control: 4

Audio: 7

Visuals: 8

Replayability: 4

Overall: 6.0

James Bond 007: Everything Or Nothing (PS2 Review)

Man is a visually stimulated creature. Now when I say that, I’m not referring to the entire species. Rather, I’m taking this opportunity to be wholly and completely politically incorrect. It is a proven fact that a male is moved more by what he sees than the female counterpart. Marketing gurus have been aware of this for decades and have proceeded accordingly with grabbing a consumer’s eye by using flashy wrapping and bold colors on their packaging. The video game industry is no different; however they have succeeded in going to the next step.

 

Developers have been hard pressed to bring the most attractive graphics to games rather than concentrating on the more important aspect of control or overall quality. Known by the name “eyecandy” within the industry, it seems to be more demanding that a game look good rather than play well. Usually the goal is to make as many pretty screenshots possible and try to catch a ride of the hype bandwagon and get the game to market before any reviews make it to print. This way, producers can reap the pre-sale or immediate launch revenues before the sheet is pulled back from the eyes of the less disconcerting gamer. The other neat trick is to create an exceptionally wild game case, sometimes with the artwork having absolutely nothing to do with how the game is played, in hopes of attracting the casual shopper who completely missed out on the million dollar advertising campaign. 

Slapping a product license on top of the game has also been a nail in the less educated gamer’s coffin, especially when you ride the coat tails of a franchise that has been exceptionally successful. After the success of the N64 title GoldenEye, no other James Bond title has been looked at the same, as each one was expected to be as good, if not greater, than the fan favorite first-person shooter. The power of nostalgia seemed to be more forceful than the developers could hope to cope with, and there yet seems to be any worthy successor to one of Nintendo’s most beloved games. 

Then out of the mist climbs EA’s James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (EoN). Breaking from tradition, they looked to take the British super spy in a different direction that what made his video game legacy famous. With a new gaming perspective, EA has teamed up with MGM Interactive to remake the 007 series from being a first-person shooter to a third-person action adventure. Does this transformation withstand the rigors of our tastes or does it fall flat on its behind? I guess there is only one way to find out. Prepare for an intelligence briefing like no other.

Most gamers were exceptionally hesitant about the switch from the first to the third-person perspective. A lot felt that something deep and meaningful would be lost to the ages and the whole 007 series would take a dive into mediocrity. This also doesn’t take into account the earlier Bond releases for the PS2 that seemed to be missing that something special and did not meet the same fanfare levels that GoldenEye did. Since I was never an N-64 owner, I can in no way relate to the aura that the famous FPS radiated, but I can honestly say that the decision to change the perspective was the right one at the right time. The genre is heavily overloaded with since the release and success of titles like Halo and Perfect Dark and the worthy third-person perspective titles have been little seen across the board. 

If I was to simply judge this game on its presentation alone, this title would be setting new upper limits for the entire scope of the industry. I have experienced numerous games that have been created from a movie license and nothing has ever given such a dramatic feel or grandiose effect that Everything or Nothing radiates. Even EA’s other gigantic movie property, The Lord of the Rings, doesn’t come as close to bridging the gap between the big and small screen productions. From its opening moments, it feels more like you are taking part in an interactive Bond movie than simply just playing another video game. Every aspect oozes British blue blood, including the signature opening credits that roll right after the first mission is completed.

All of the supporting cast from the recent movies have left their mark on this game by including their screen likeness and voices to their characters. Even non-regular character actors joined in to add a special touch for this movie-styled conversion. Pierce Brosnan (007), Heidi Klum, Richard Kiel (Jaws), John Cleese (Q), Willem Dafoe and even Judi Dench (M) play their parts just like it was a silver screen production and the only thing that makes it seem like you are not in a theater is the missing sticky seats or the irritating couple behind you exposing the plot points before they actually happen. 

All of this effort would be wasted if the actual dialog was written by a duffer. That’s why EA went to a true professional and recruited Bruce Feirstein (Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is not Enough) to handle the script duties. Having someone who actually worked on the big-screen films only raises the bar even more for the quality that EoN radiates and it guarantees the player some classic verbal Bond-isms. Bar none, this has to be one of the best examples of voice acting ever seen in a PlayStation title, which truly reinforces the image of participating in something much more grandiose than just another video game. 

One usual disappointment for regular action/adventure games is when they try to step outside their normal boundaries and incorporate unique or different aspects into them to break from the mold. Most of the time, it’s a last minute inclusion and seems tremendously out of place with either shoddy control or lackluster gameplay. This is where EoN separates itself from pack, as the vehicle missions are just as well developed as the main aspects. Players will be able to jump behind the controls of cars, SUVs, helicopters, tanks and motorcycles, and each one functions outstandingly as if it was its own game rather than just being part of an adventure, thanks to some help from the Need For Speed driving engine. You should not expect this to be a dumbed-down affair with just a go-button and a steering wheel. Just like the Q-Machines of the movies, every one of your rides will come equipped with the entire custom package deal. Along with the leather seats and cruise control, look for the heavy traffic option package that has machine guns, acid slicks and missile launchers, plus some other rather neat gadgets to help you on the commute back and forth from the office.

Your vehicles are not the only things to receive that extra special loving touch from Q division. Bond is armed with the normal slew of hi-tech gadgets that span the gambit from stealth suits to thermo-vision goggles and even coin grenades. Besides the secret rappelling gear, the best toy would have to be the sneaky Q-Spider. Early in the game you acquire one of these to use in sneaking around to do recon work but later Q finds a way to outfit them with an explosive device which really helps out to waste guards without exposing your 00 hide to their hail of bullets. The reaction of the opposing forces when they discover the metallic creepy-crawly is priceless and they will even chase it down a passage trying to squish the robotic life from your little pal. The inclusion of the nifty toys helps to make the Bond-ness of the title shine and really reels you into the life of a MI6 agent, hook, line and sinker.

While all of these previously mentioned things are super-duper, EoN shows players what it actually means to step into the shoes of an international agent. The most important thing that differentiates the regular Joe from a person with a license to kill is the ability to think outside the box when presented with seemingly incredible obstacles. Instead of recreating a scene from the O.K. Corral, 007 has a unique way of using the surrounding environment to level the playing field and put his foes at a disadvantage. It is in these moments of “nonlinear” thinking where Bond shoots out the glass of a shark-filled tank to clear the path of hordes of flunkies so he can pursue the escaping evil mastermind. Everything or Nothing uses this special touch superbly with the inclusion of the super special “Bond Sense Moments.” 

Scattered throughout each level of the game, there are numerous special areas where using the environment in the same way that our hero does in the films will pay off with higher overall mission scores. Finding these hidden gems is not as easy as one might expect. To aid you in this endeavor, you are allotted the use of a “Bond Sense.” By pressing on the directional pad, the entire game goes into an extremely slow-motion mode and the screen changes to a grayish environment. Players need to be aware that time does not stop. You can still be eliminated by the slow-motion bullets or surrounding henchmen. Nevertheless, this mode gives the player the time they might need to take in their surroundings and find one of these special 007 aids by looking for the highlighted sections in the room. Anything that can be manipulated will have a red bull’s-eye around it, and these can vary from shoot-able items to things that might bring the house down around your feet. However, this is not the only reason why a player might decide to utilize this mode. Since time slows down to a crawl, it gives you a good opportunity to switch weapons or to target a troublesome opponent without having to fear of becoming a human-sized piece of Swiss cheese.

The rest of the controls work just as well. In fact, the detailed aiming system may be refined too much. Players will benefit from a simplified lock-on ability which works well when taking fire from all directions. However, this is further refined by being able to manipulate the pinpoint precision of your shot by moving the tiny dot within the main lock-on bracket for one shot surprise kills. But, this option will rarely be used during a heavy firefight, as it takes too long to be useful. Your enemies aren’t going to stand around all day waiting for you to get the correct spot picked out like you were looking for the prime place to lay your beach towel. Only when taking a sentry by surprise will this be utilized, and then let me suggest using a silenced weapon so you don’t invite the rest of the crowd to your private party. Bond also has the ability to sneak quietly and peek/shoot around corners to assist in taking down guards before they actually realize that you have arrived on the scene.

As with any action game, you have the opportunity to take on the forces how ever you would prefer. However, EoN has set itself to be less on the run-and-gun and more on the hide-and seek. Some missions do require you to move as quickly as possible to beat a set timer, but most of the time you can move at your desired pace. Nevertheless, moving too slowly will reflect in your overall score for the level as a time penalty and could be the difference between receiving a bronze or gold rating. And speaking of ratings, each of the 20+ missions have three different difficulty levels for the player to try their luck in. Only by completing the missions on the highest difficulty rating, will you have the opportunity to take another run through to obtain a platinum award. These gold and platinum rankings are important for unlocking the bonus items, mission cheats and other special rewards. So, if getting everything that a game has to offer doesn’t interest you, you probably won’t be worried about missing out on the excellent production stills or the shots of the actual voice actors working in-studio. Nevertheless, for the rest of us, this definitely adds to the replay-ability of the title and makes finding all those hidden “Bond Moments” so much more of a challenge.

Nevertheless, as we stated at the beginning of this review, without decent visuals a game is destined to move to the bargain bin faster than Mr. Bond can sip a martini. There is nothing to dread, as EoN doesn’t fail in this department either. Widescreen owners will pleased to know that the game has a special support for their massive gaming shrines and they won’t be restricted to the limited 4:3 ratio. All of the full-motion videos are of exceptional quality and the in-game graphics are no slouch either. There are some minor clipping issues evident, and I do mean minor, as the only breakdown is being able to see some merging lines during the actual playtime, and these are very far and few in-between. The third-person camera works very well, with only rare instances when the environment gets in the view of the player. You also have the ability to manually adjust your sight and the developers were kind enough to add a quick correct button that snaps the view right back where you need it immediately.

The only thing that could challenge the graphics would be the audio selection. Brought to you in THX certified sound, the Dolby Pro Logic II sends your speakers into pure ecstasy. Every sound rings clear as a bell and you have a great sense of awareness when things are happening to the sides or behind your character. Whispered voices from the patrolling guards sound just like someone was sitting beside you holding a conversation and all of the weapon fire gives a realistic roar. There are separate controls for the dialogue, effects and music levels so you can adjust the audio portents of the game to your taste. However, I couldn’t see doing anything but pumping the volume all the way to the right. The background music keeps you within the Bond motif and fans are not only treated to an authentic rendition of Mr. Bond’s personal theme but also a unique opening song done by Mya. 

Somebody at EA must be a big fan of super-sizing because they have given us fans an extra big helping of extras in Everything or Nothing. Once you complete the story mode, gamers have two different VR-styled games that they can use to hone their spying skills. You can either run thru the weapon training levels where players can clear the rooms of set numbers of increasing enemies or they can go into the survival mode where the enemies respawn and it’s simply a test to see how long you can last. Points are awarded for how you dispatch the forces against you and increase significantly when you take them out by either stealth or hand-to-hand confrontation.

Once you tire of playing by yourself, go grab yourself a friend to take on the completely original co-op mode. There are three different two player versions (cooperative, race and scramble) and a four player arena free-for-all. Players also have the option for either a horizontal or vertical split screen and can reverse both the X or Y-axis to make controlling their spy much easier (this option is also available for the single player mode). Overall play for the two-player game is nothing less then outstanding and players are guaranteed many, many hours of co-op fun and excitement.

When you feel that you are ready, EA has included an on-line multiplayer mode for all of you broadband subscribers. You have plenty of options for this mode including, matchup lobbies, USB headset support for voice chat, news updates and a leaderboard for keeping tabs on your competition. For getting involved in the action, players can either select the instant matchup to jump right into a random battle or you can go into the lobby to issue challenges. Also, PS2 owners will be ecstatic to learn that their version is the only one that supports two-player online co-op, so you don’t have to get all dressed up to take on the standard two-player mode. EA is also using DNAS (Dynamic Network Authentication System), which is a proprietary authentication system to provide security and to help protect copyrighted content. Needless to say, hackers and modders need not apply as this system is designed to sort out the authorized gamers from the others.

As mentioned earlier, fans have the opportunity to unlock cheat codes, production stills and photographs of the stars as they created the game. There are some other interesting things that can be unlocked with higher numbers of gold and platinum awards, but I’ll let you find out exactly what they are on your own. Nevertheless, I will say that they are well worth the effort needed to acquire all of the awards. But excellent gameplay isn’t necessary to witness every special secret, as you will be treated to a montage of video interviews with the cast of the game once the credits stop rolling at the end of the story mode.

For those of you who were expecting another lackluster effort from James Bond, you will be pleasantly surprised with this result. From the moment that I put Everything or Nothing into my PS2, it literally rocked my socks off. The excellent storytelling and presentation brings this title to the forefront of the competition and the gameplay and options keep it clearly anchored in the must-have category for any PlayStation gamer. The only way you could not possible enjoy this game would be if you were so stuck in the nostalgic past that you refused to approach this third-person action title with a slightly open mind. The level of replay-ability should keep you occupied for months and this is the version you have to have if you are a multiplatform owner, simply because of the special online co-op play. While the holiday 2004 lineup for games has been nothing less that unbelievable so far, you really need to take a look to see what you might have missed that came out earlier this year. Stuff this into the stocking of your favorite gamer and you’ll be sure that they will have a merry Christmas.

Difficulty: 8

Control: 9

Audio: 10

Visuals: 9

Replayability: 9

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

Zone of the Enders (PS2 Review)

Throughout the history of video games there have been many strange reasons why some games have become mega-hits and best sellers. However, Zone of the Enders (ZOE) probably became the first ever to reach that status because of a demo that was bundled with it. Most people that originally bought the game spent hours upon hours drooling over the wonders that are Metal Gear and completely forgot about the main game. Ebay was loaded with auctions of the game, all with the demo disk surprisingly absent. Hardly any of them were sold. 

Nevertheless, one can only play the same demo for so long before it gets tiring. Eventually fans decided to give Snake a rest and try out the ‘other’ disc that came in the case. What they found was something out of the ordinary that could stand on its own mechanized feet.

The game takes place on a satellite colony orbiting Jupiter called Antila. The people who live and work here are referred to as ‘Enders.’ The Bahram, a fanatical Martian military force, have declared their independence from the government and have begun attacking other outposts to collect supplies and weapons. They have come to Antila to acquire the massive humanoid orbital frame commonly known as Jehuty. 

You assume the personage of Leo, a 14 year old boy who has just recently arrived on the station. Leo is not well liked amongst his peers and has become the object of their bullying. Moreover, he seems to be very insecure with himself and is a bit of a whiner. It is only by blind luck that Leo finds himself in the cockpit of Jehuty when the Bahram attack. With just the assistance of ADA, the onboard flight navigational system, Leo must learn how to operate Jehuty, keep himself alive and stop the raid on Antilia before the populous and the colony are destroyed.

Usually the worst problem with a mech game is the difficult control scheme the game employs. ZOE breaks the mold and gives the player a very intuitive control pattern that feels extremely natural and flows exceptionally well. Long distance and close-in attacks happen automatically with the game engine switching when you get within arm’s reach to your target. The lock-on system is a welcome addition that makes combat very easy to become competent and competitive. The pre-mission training scenarios give you everything you could ask for in learning how to handle Jehuty. The DualShock 2 is utilized to its fullest extent without overwhelming the player with memorizing complicated button combinations.

Taking a page from the Omega Boost (a PSOne game released by Polyphony Digital in 1999) playbook, Zone of the Enders has a terrific game pace. Even though it may not seem fast to the player, over-the-shoulder spectators have asked me how it was possible to keep up with all the action on the screen. Nevertheless if you switch to playing another title of the same genre, the new game seems to be running in slow motion. If there were any existent flaws with the controls, this game would be practically impossible. Kudos goes out to Konami for getting it right on the first try. 

ZOE is one of the few games where neatness actually counts. Collateral damage on the surrounding cities by errant missiles or by the enemy targets reduces your overall rating during missions. Moreover, these baddies actually go out of their way to destroy the buildings and kill the innocents scattered throughout the sectors. Hence, you not only have to defeat the other frames roaming the land, but also draw them away from the cityscape at the same time if you hope to get a quality rating on your mission rankings.

Enemies come in all shapes and sizes. You can expect to fight the smallest of tin cans to bosses the size of skyscrapers. Another nice touch in the game is that the levels will change when you replay them. Enemy placement and selection differ each time you run through the game. While some may not be interested in going through the game a second or third time, those needing a rush will be very happy for the variety.

Probably the biggest disappointment that you will experience with the game is its length. Under eight hours long, and that’s including all of the cut-scene magic, is what you can expect to dedicate the first time through the game. With multiple gameplay difficulty levels, you can expect it to be a bit longer as you are forced to handle tougher and tougher opponents when you tweak up the challenge. This is no epic adventure where it will take days just to get to the main plot point. Just like a good roller coaster, the ride might not last long enough to satisfy you but it is an excellent rush while it lasts.

To put it simply, Zone of the Enders is one beautiful game. The visual effects of motion blurring during the dramatic exchanges of gunfire is nothing short of spectacular. To put it simply, the explosions and crumbling of buildings look like they belong in a blockbuster movie. If you are glutton for eye-candy, this definitely is a must-have game for you to relish and enjoy. Words really don’t do the effects justice, no matter how fluent the vocabulary. The remarkable thing is that even with all the action, destruction and weaponry flying through the air, there is not one bit of slowdown or choppiness to the framerate of the game. 

The audio of the game comes in the garden variety mono or stereo options. While everything comes through loud and clear, this is one game that really deserved to be done in digital surround sound. Nevertheless, the voice-overs and the combat sounds are music for the ears and no fault can be found. The dramatic orchestrated background music completes the package that Enders gives visually, much the same way that the Flight of the Valkyries does for the helicopter attack scene in the movie Apocalypse Now. Basically, this is everything that we have come to expect from the makers of the Metal Gear saga.

The original version came packaged with the Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty demo. ZOE also contains a vs. mode that allows you to match up against another human player in a head-to-head battle. While not totally thrilling, it does add a bit to the replay value of the game.

Even if you factor in the overall short length of the game, ZOE is something that must be experienced to be appreciated. The wondrous storytelling ability of the game, mixed in with the moral overtones of the ‘right-to-life’ can touch the coldest of hearts. The brilliant camera work that Enders manages to deliver always keeps the player in the forefront of the cinematic action without getting stuck in the boring third-person perspective. This is one game that is not afraid to lay it all out on the table and let the chips fall. Pick this one up at your first opportunity and you won’t be disappointed.

Difficulty: 7

Control:10

Visual: 9

Sound: 8

Replayability: 7

Overall: 8.8