Video Game Critic Forum

Slowest time of the year?

The Video Game Critic — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:40:16 GMT

Isn't this the slowest time of the year for video games?? It seems like there are fewer new releases, and less people are playing games in general.

Gaming real starts to heat up again come September.

Agree??

Forum: The Critic's Corner

Atariage store has disappeared!!

zenzerotron — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:58:04 GMT

What the fook is going on!!!???

I hope either my computer is being buggy, or it's down for a short term basis. There's no information on Atariage about this!!

Forum: VGC General Forum

Arkanoid DS w/ paddle

ajsmart — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:26:44 GMT

First the paddle attachment...
It plugs into the GBA slot. It's of good quality and the knob is weighted nicely. There is no stop in either direction like the atari 2600 paddles. Overall this attachment is fantastic and offers up precise control. I read it also works in the new space invader game as well. I'll have to get that one.

Score:

Now the game itself...
It's a very mediocre version of Arkanoid and I have a few gripes with it. The playing field is waaaay too narrow. For some reason they decided to waste about 25% of the horizontal space with huge boarders. There are also appears to be no floating enemies on the screens like the original (they might show up on later boards, so we'll see). The first time I played, I played for about 40 minutes without ever missing the ball. The narrowness of the playing field combined with a relatively large paddle, and lack of enemies to get in the way is making for a very easy game.

Score:

Forum: Your Reviews

Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS)

McTom — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:38:06 GMT

Finally, it's there: the second FF Tactics for the DS! I only played the GBA-edition of the game and I loved that one.

This second part is almost identical, so I like it too. However, anyone who says it is too much of the same is probably right too. There isn't any practical use of both screens and you'll change the control with stylus to the old-fashioned good ol' d-pad rapidly. Also, concerning graphics, the game looks identical to the GBA-game.

However, I don't care. Over 400 new missions and 80 hours of gameplay of my favorite games - what more could I ask for?

B+

Forum: Your Reviews

What books would make for a great game?

ActRaiser — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:21:46 GMT

For me, I'd love to see Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card turned into a video game. I loved that book as a kid. It could be done in any number of ways. From the space game they played together on the station or as part of the 'war games' they played on the space simulators it could make for a great game.

Second choice might be The Odyssey by Homer. Not really sure why but who doesn't like a great Greek story. Imagine how many people would say it ripped off God of War!

Forum: VGC General Forum

Great graphics, regardless of hardware

BanjoPickles — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:47:16 GMT

I've been a bit under the weather this weekend. For some people, that may not be a good thing, but it's great for me because it gives me an excuse to catch up on some of the games that I haven't invested enough time into. I have reached a few conclusions doing this, since I stuck primarily to the Wii, 360, and Gamecube.

I know that the Wii is not as high-tech as the other two, but you know what....that system really can display some great graphics, depending on what you are looking for! No, it doesn't have that shimmering, life-like look of certain games from the competition but it has a look and feel of it's own! There were so many moments in Mario Galaxy that left me in awe! Even a first-gen game that many criticized as not being "next-gen" enough(Twilight Princess) had such a beautiful, organic style! With the Wii, it isn't so much about seeing how much can be squeezed from the little white box, but trying to make a game that stands on it's own merits! I think that I have figured that out about graphics. Similar to art, even with the latest in technology, it is so hard to create a look as iconic as some of the greatest in our pop culture lexicon! Who is more memorable, Mickey Mouse or Wall-E? Maybe my argument doesn't make sense for alot of you, but it has never been the highest-tech that has amazed me but the most that people with a vision can do with the little that they are given!

Any thoughts?

Forum: VGC General Forum

2008/7/6: Playstation 3: Grand Theft Auto IV, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

The Video Game Critic — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:07:50 GMT

Chalk up two more winners for the PS3! Things are looking up for Sony.

Forum: Review Feedback

ACROBATS/O2/B+

Alienblue — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:01:29 GMT

PT BARNUMS ACROBATS / Odyssey2 / B+

First of all Zen, I wish you'd stop saying the O2 is crap without having PLAYED it. I mean the GOOD games like this.

At first I did not like this game. People are going to say it is a rip off of CIRCUS ATARI, but CIRCUS ATARI was a rip off of the arcade game CLOWNS&BALOONS by Midway! They had the idea first!

But comparisons to Circus Atari are inevitable. The bad news: you must use joysticks, not paddles; you only get ten lives with no bonuses allowed. And the sounds are not as good as Atari.

On the other hand, the good news: THE GRAPHICS ARE MUCH BETTER THAN CIRCUS ATARI(HA!)...you have round baloons, two or three platforms, a better looking teeter totter and nicer looking acrobat figures that wave their arms around and when you miss they SCRUNCH down their head into their butt, and walk shamefully back to the platform to try again..VERY funny!

You also have variations! Moving or stationary baloons with or without sheilds and one or two players.

I tried the MOVING baloons first as this is most fun in atari. Not here! Moving baloons are boring. On Atari the baloons are just tiny squares and stationary, its too hard to hit the last few. No problem here, the baloons are great big circles the same size as the acrobats. Stationary, you can clear out a whole row quickly and go into RED SCREEN BONUS TIME, in which the baloons double in point value! This is very fun. The extra platforms are fun too, as you can land on top of them and jump back off!

This is another game that shows that Odyssey2 was superior to the 2600 in some games! It also gives the O2 a much needed GOOD "wall bashing" BREAKOUT-type game, as BREAKDOWN/BLOCKOUT is an awful, terrible, horrid game.

If you like Circus Atari, you will LOVE PTB's ACROBATS!

Forum: Your Reviews

Critic: Are you ever going to review the handheld systems?

JNH — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:48:19 GMT

So, do you plan on ever assessing the handheld systems themselves? I'm really curious about your opinions of the game gear, the Neo pocket and the gameboys...

Forum: VGC General Forum

Facebreakers....could it be slightly unplayable?

BanjoPickles — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:01:13 GMT

I've been really psyched about this game since it was announced, seeing as how Punch Out was a major influence on it! However, with each passing trailer, my enthusiasm is starting to dwindle just a bit. I just want to see if I'm the only one who has noticed this:

The game almost seems too fast and too much of what could be a button masher. I understand that it is not supposed to be an exact replica of Punch Out but does this game seem a little too loose for anybody but myself? I'm still trying to keep my hopes up but I'm a bit worried.

Forum: VGC General Forum

Pac-Man- Cell Phone

NixonTech2071 — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:28:21 GMT

ABOUT: In my second of all the pacman reviews, I am going to review the Pac-Man for the Cell phone, quite... Some Kind of port I played here... I thought I could jump onto the wagon and review pac man ports. Not too many,but I can compensate.

GRAPHICS: Heres where this version ticks me off, The Modern cell phone, the cell phones made around this year, has had technology greater than previous year cell phones. Yet I cant stand how this version looks. Somehow this is supposed to look arcade perfect,unfortunately, the resolution is crap, the pixelations are beyond the normal count, and several out of the entire frames of animation are comepletely non-existent. Abysmal, really.

SOUND: For a cellphone to play 16-bit sound, the arcade ports have to have a relevant musical note. But instead, the music follows the plain and boring generic audio tones on a phone, just a complete joke.

CONTROL: You have to be Masochistic to enjoy the botched controls. The missing frames give off a heavy irk to the people who play this. And feels very, very unresponsive.

ENTERTAINMENT: I could ask why I think Pac-Man isnt that much of a deal compared to Donkey-Kong. But since the cell phones had brought classic gaming to the masses, you could tell why this never was the highest selling Cell Phone download.

REPLAY: I cant force myself, such problems that are more numerous than the 2600 port (which isnt that bad) but I can pretty much say this is the second worst port of all time.

OVERALL: 1/5 Poor trash that doesnt deserve the name "all time port".

Forum: Your Reviews

If you could have only one system, what would it be?

voor — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:20:25 GMT

Yeah, chessy question, but kind of fun.

For me, it would be a toss up between the SNES and 64. If push came to shove, it'll be the 64. Too many great multiplayer games on that system.

And yes, voting for the Wii to get all the old classics on one system is cheating.

Forum: VGC General Forum

Portal (The Orange Box)

McTom — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:36:23 GMT

For the first time in my life I played through all the Half-Life 2 games and I enjoyed it pretty much, though some parts in the vehicles are a little too long. However, I recently also finished Portal and I have mixed feelings about that one. I didn't find it very interesting, until the last level (19) which absolutely great and fun. Did anyone else feel the same?

Forum: Your Reviews

Topspin 3 Impressions

The Video Game Critic — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:27:52 GMT

I've been waiting for this one for a while, because it promises to deliver realistic tennis action and motion control support on the Wii. Here are my impressions of three versions (full reviews will be forthcoming).

Wii: I like how this game really embraces the motion controls in real-time. I'm not sure if 2K nailed it (need to play more), but I did feel like I was playing real tennis. You even have to hold the Wii-mote sideways with your index finger on the B button! This may be what you were waiting for.

360: Whoa, this game is hard. The control scheme is not intuitive. You need to hold the button to swing but release it when the ball bounces in front of you!! Try to wrap your mind around that.

DS: This is a pleasant surprise. It plays more like Virtua Tennis than anything else, and looks surprisingly good.

Forum: The Critic's Corner

Magazines reviewing games for different systems

The Video Game Critic — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:22:23 GMT

Here's my latest annoying with video game magazines. Whenever a game comes out on multiple systems, they usually have a single review, which is supposed to cover all versions.

That's crap. In the recent EGM they reviewed Topspin 3 for the Wii, PS3, and 360 all together. I'm sure the 360 and PS3 versions are very close, but the Wii version is a totally different game and shouldn't be lumped in. Also, these magazines are really bad about explaining the differences between versions, and recommending one over the other.

Forum: The Critic's Corner