Back To The Noughties
Nick travels to March 2003 and finds that it’s quite a dull month
The arcade business hadn’t been in a good state for a while, and the news coming out of trade shows did nothing to dispel that particular notion. Edge’s brief report on the ATEI show claimed that it “did little to stem the impression given in recent years that the coin-op sector is heading towards moribundity”, with the “few surprises on offer” reflecting the level of activity amongst developers – with “barely a trickle of titles being developed”. Namco’s drumming game
Taiko No Tatsujin, Konami’s lightgun shooter Warzaid and Gaelco’s driving game Tokyo Cop: Special Police Reinforcement were singled out as highlights, though Edge noted that “perhaps the most notable development was the introduction of cash prizes to standard coin-op titles” such as Silent Scope Fortune Hunter and Club Kart Prize. There was even worse news in games™, as early reports from the AOU show in Japan suggested that “Capcom Fighting All-stars may be the company’s final foray into the cabinet market, and rumour has it that even that may not get made”. If true, that would mark the end of an arcade legacy that gave us Commando, 1942, Final Fight, Street Fighter II and many more classics.
That wasn’t the only disappointment from Capcom this month, as Devil
May Cry 2 arrived on the PS2 to a subdued reception. The hack-and-slash sequel earned 6/10 in games™, which lamented that although the game “can’t really be called a ‘bad’ game”, the new moves and weapons failed to excite the reviewer, especially as they failed to compensate for the removal of “virtually all of the puzzles in the game”. Play had many of the same criticisms but was a little easier on the game, giving it an 82% score and additionally pointing out graphical issues including “repetitive textures and ugly clashing colours” and “shimmering caused by a lack of filtering on the textures”. Also underwhelming was Sony’s action adventure Primal, which scored 69% in Play and 4/10 in Edge, with the latter criticising it for being “so prescriptive and hand-holding
that it could almost be called on-rails”. Sony’s other release, The Mark Of Kri, fared better. Edge gave it 7/10 and Play described it as “a stylish slasher with enough bells and whistles to save it from mediocrity”, scoring it 78%.
Dead Or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball was the big release of the month on the Xbox, and it divided opinion, receiving 8/10 from Edge and 6/10 from games™. The former argued that the game “bears more comparison to a title such as Animal Crossing, rather than a title like Beach Spikers” due to its inclusion of substantial non-sporting elements, and felt that, “Tecmo has succeeded in evoking a supremely relaxing vacation atmosphere.” By comparison, games™ felt that the prominence given to shopping, gambling and other activities meant that it was “not the game that some were expecting” and that the lack of a four-player option was the game’s biggest shortcoming.
The UK releases of Resident Evil 0 (85% NGC, 9/10 Cube) and Super Monkey Ball 2 (82% NGC, 9.1/10
Cube) provided plenty for Gamecube owners to be getting on with, but if those games failed to appeal, Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II might have been more up your street. The action RPG was the first online game to make it to Nintendo’s console, and earned 90% from NGC for being “a beautifully realised version of Gauntlet” with a “unique sense of community”. Cube’s lower score of 7.5/10 reflected the need for monthly subscription payments and a “terribly dull” offline experience that was “impossible to recommend”. Elsewhere, the arrival of Micro Machines on the Gamecube failed to generate much excitement, earning 5.2/10 from Cube and 57% from
NGC, which condemned it as “never surprising and, more crucially, never really very exciting”.
Disappointing sequels defined the month in PC gaming. IGI2: Covert
Strike was given 5/10 by Edge, which criticised the game for relying heavily on trial-and-error gameplay and offering “little to stand out from the glut of stealth-based titles available on any platform”. Unreal II: The Awakening earned 6/10 in games™, which criticised it for a short, dull campaign, high system requirements and a lack of multiplayer. “The final two levels suddenly cause the game to spring to life,” noted the reviewer. “Maybe if more time had been spent on making the others less routine as well, you might not have noticed how quickly the game was over.” Game Boy Advance owners could get their hands on Shining Soul, an action RPG remake of the Mega Drive classic Shining Force, but NGC’S 67% review indicated problems – most notably that menu actions took place in real time, allowing monsters to beat you up. Instead, handheld players might have been better off importing Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting, a wonderful boxing game from Treasure that scored 8/10 in Edge.
Well, that was a gloomy month, wasn’t it? Do join us again next time regardless, as we’re sure to have exciting things in store.