THE LATEST NEWS FROM APRIL 2005
Stealthy Sam Fisher made his highly anticipated return in the multiformat release Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory this month, and he was welcomed back warmly.
Review scores were great across the board, including 9.4/10 from the Official Xbox Magazine, 9/10 in the Official Playstation 2 Magazine, 9/10 in XBM, 89% in PC Gamer, 8/10 in games™ and the same from Edge.
The new co-operative mode was the star of the show, with XBM claiming that the single-player action “isn’t a big step in the evolution of the Splinter Cell franchise”, but that the co-op is “teamwork at its best”. Likewise, games™ felt that, “The ingenious co-op level layouts remind you why we all fell for the series in the first place.” Also impressing across platforms was Brothers In Arms: Road To Hill 30,
the latest in a seemingly endless procession of World War Ii-themed first-person shooters. It scored 8.9/10 in Official Xbox Magazine, which said that, “What it lacks in instant thrills is perfectly counter-balanced by a structured, considered, and in parts touching take on WWII.” It also scored 82% in Play, 8/10 in XBM
and 8/10 in Official Playstation 2 Magazine, which felt that “relying on the position of your men and the best use of cover produces a completely different dynamic to the likes of Medal Of Honor or Call Of Duty”. Edge was a little less positive, complaining that “the sense of available tactics feels limited”, but was still impressed enough to give the game 7/10.
For those of us still wanting to fight the console wars, for whatever reason, there were a couple of tasty exclusives doing the rounds. Each of the Xbox magazines got a big scoop, with Official Xbox Magazine
getting Bioware’s martial arts RPG Jade Empire. The magazine awarded the game 9.3/10, feeling that it was “an accessible Star Wars-beater”
that “delivers enough depth and detail to satiate even the most jaded RPG fan”. XBM got the exclusive review of Microsoft’s new racing game, Forza Motorsport. The 10/10 review was positive about the realism of the handling, describing it as “a very natural drive and easy to learn”, but also demanding of “absolute concentration”. Over on the Playstation 2, Devil May Cry 3
was drawing the attention of the press, earning 9/10 from Official PS2, 8/10 from games™ and 8/10 from Edge. Capcom’s latest entry in the
hack-and-slash series was a welcome return to form after the second game, with combat abilities that games™ felt “make the previously impressive scraps in games like Prince Of Persia 2 and Ninja Gaiden look, well, a bit dull actually”. Edge described it as “a brashly overconfident music video of a game that thoughtlessly tramples (with 18-hole cherry Doc Martens) where more reserved titles have the sense not to tread”.
Gamecube owners hoping for the triumphant return of an old favourite would likely have been disappointed by Star Fox Assault, a coproduction with Namco. The game earned 73% from NGC, and 6.9/10 in Cube, and they were the kind ones. Edge complained that the flight combat made up a small part of the game, and that the stages were “pale retreads of the dramatic scripting of Nintendo’s earlier efforts”. The 4/10 review in games™ highlighted the problem of the ground missions, which “essentially ruin what could have been a very enjoyable game” due to unnatural-feeling movement and repetitive missions. Thankfully, DS owners got a better star turn in the lightweight but enjoyable touchscreen experiment Yoshi’s Touch & Go, which earned 8/10 in both games™ and Edge. The game, in which you draw clouds on the screen to guide Yoshi, was described by NGC as “very nearly the best thing on the DS”, but “jarringly small”. The magazine scored it 4/5. Cube noted that “it does get samey after a while but it’s great in small bursts” and concluded that it was “a fine game that utilises the DS’S functions incredibly well”, awarding it a score of 8.6/10.
For PC gamers, the highlights of the month were of a strategic bent. Act Of War: Direct Action scored 80% in the magazine, which felt that although it was essentially “Command & Conquer by another name” and “more style than substance”, it was “a good, lightweight romp”. The main complaint was fixed resource locations, which meant that map design “dictates base locations, and typically your avenues of attack and defence are similarly limited by the placement of roads, impassable objects, buildings and so forth”. Naval combat game Dangerous Waters was perhaps as deep as the ocean – the review compared the game’s manual to chewing gum, saying that, “Chewing gum only takes seven years to digest.” It was a game of “hair-silvering complexity”, but one that offered “a surprising amount of ‘game’ here under the simulation” – though it suffered from “mediocre models, dowdy skins, poor pyrotechnics and B- brine”. Despite all of the criticisms, it was felt to offer “compelling high-seas hide-and-seek”.
That’s it for this month – join us again next time for more reviews and an absolute blockbuster of a hardware announcement. You won’t want to miss this one.