SSX
Number of Players:2
Dual Shock:Yes
Peripherals:Analog, Memory Card
Release:Out Now
The snowboarding genre hasn't really been that big with the only real hits being 1080 on N64 and Cool Boarders on PSX. So a snowboarding game for the PS2 launch and the first title in the EA Sports' BIG range, SSX runs the show. SSX is definately the best PS2 game on launch. SSX looks at the Boarder Cross side of snowboarding. It places 6 characters on a fast paced race to the bottom on extremely arcady slopes. For example one course, Tokyo Megaplex is a huge pinball table, yeah, a pinball table. Unlike other snowboarding games SSX forces you to mix a combination of tricks and speed to win a race. The more tricks you do the more boost you get. Stick with either plain racing or just tricks all the way down the course and you will definatly lose. The Audio is extremely good with music performed by Beastie Boys' DJ MixMaster Mike and other talented artists. The music speeds up etc depending on how well you are doing in the race. Great!
The Graphics are very good although not measuring up to that of Metal Gear Solid 2 or Gran Turismo 3 they still look preety damn good. The only problem in this department is that it doesn't always run at 60fps occasionally slowing when fireworks are on screen etc but these are rare occasions and don't kill the game.
Presentation
Good lookin menus, lots of music and sound and plenty of hidden extras. Very well made videogame, especially for a system's launch title. 8.5
Graphics
This game is beautiful. The lighting effects are amazing, the texture detail is extremely high and the game moves very fast sometimes but rarely losing frame rate but it doesn't affect the gameplay. 9.2
Sound
The audio is very good and the unique way it is used workd well. The music and sound effects are all handled perfectly and the way that the sound changes depending on how well you are doing works very well with the title. 10.0
Gameplay
It might take some players a bit of time to learn the controls as they can be tricky at first but once you get the hang of it the controls work well. There aren't many titles out there on any system that are as fun to play. 9.5
Lasting Appeal
With some many things to unlock like characters, stats, boards etc you won't stop playing in a hurry. 9.5
OVERALL SCORE
9.3 out of 10
What others thought:
IGN:9.3 out of 10 (Editor's Choice Award)
Gamespot:9.4 out of 10
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The Future of the Home Entertainment System
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Tekken Tag Tournament
If you've stayed away from the Tekken series for a long time, Tekken Tag is a very warm homecoming, delivering the same solid gameplay that Tekken fans crave in large doses.
The Tekken series has always stood as a set of console games that went above and beyond their arcade counterparts. From additional characters to completely new modes, the series has always tried to add something that the arcade games lacked. Tekken Tag Tournament at first glance is the most dramatic upgrade over an arcade Tekken game to date. The graphics have been given a huge boost similar to the upgrade that Namco's weapon-based fighter, Soul Calibur received when it hit the Dreamcast last year. Plus new modes have been added. But does the series capture the same magical feeling that made the previous Tekken games such smash hits? Definitely.
Tekken Tag Tournament serves as an upgrade to Tekken 3, adding a few new moves along the way. Fighters that had appeared in Tekken 2 but were missing from Tekken 3 have been brought back as well and most of them have lots of new moves to help balance them with the more powerful Tekken 3 fighters. Finally the game is now fought in the same tag-team style as Capcom's versus series of fighters so you can switch between two different characters at any time. Much like Street Fighter EX3 and Dead or Alive 2 you can have up to four players with each player controlling a different fighter in the tag battle. However, unlike most other tag-battle fighters, Tekken Tag rounds end after only one of the two fighters have been defeated rather than letting the battle continue as a one-on-two fight. An option that let you configure this would have been nice. Aside from the standard tag-battle arcade mode, there is also a one-on-one mode, that makes Tekken Tag Tournament more like the previous Tekken games, as well as the standard team battle (though it is now a tag-team battle), time attack, and survival modes. Unlockable modes include a theater mode, where you can watch all of the game's endings and intros, a gallery mode, which lets you pause the game at any time and snap a screenshot of the action that is saved to your memory card for later viewing and Tekken bowl mode, a bowling minigame that lets you hit Heihachi shaped bowling pins. Each character has a different bowling style that affects speed and control. The character endings with the exception of the game's final boss are rendered using the in-game engine. I guess this saved time during the game's development. As a result they're short, mostly meaningless and only a few are interesting. Hopefully Tekken 4 will host full FMV sequences for all players. The FMV intro and the final boss' FMV ending are simply incredible pieces of footage. In Japan the TV advert for the game is just a short version of the game's new intro movie. Good stuff.
Graphically, the game has taken a very large leap, and the arcade version of the game looks downright ugly byside the PS2 one. The characters are very, very smooth and the backgrounds are amazing and filled with lots of movement, from helicopters to crowds of spectators. Some stages are well lit, showing off some really excellent lens-flare and lighting techniques. There are also some nice little touches, such as grass being crushed down by falling fighters then slowly springing up afterward. However the game suffers from one particular problem that has in fact been seen throughout the series but with the power of the PlayStation 2 behind it you'd expect it to be a thing of the past. The problem is the same one that showed up in Street Fighter EX3. While the backdrops of the fights and the ground on which you fight look great separately, they don't fit very well together. The result is two different types of movement making it look as if the battle is occurring on a small, spinning platform surrounded by a nearly stationary background. It's easy to miss while you're actually playing but it sticks out like a sore thumb on watching the game closely. However, the game has been cleaned up a lot when compared to the Japanese release. The characters are smooth, the backgrounds and floors appear a lot sharper and the game just has a significantly more polished look to it. The game uses much of the same animation and motion-capture data from Tekken 3. Yeah, the characters look pretty incredible but still looks movement wise a big like Tekken 3 but you have to have played Tkken 3 a hell of a lot to notice it. The soundtrack is full of techno robot voices that will either make you love the soundtrack or drive you cazy.
How much you enjoy the game will directly relate to one thing: If you played so much Tekken that you couldn't possibly play another match, Tekken Tag doesn't offer enough new features to draw you back in. But if you've stayed away from the Tekken series for some time or love it and can't stay away Tekken Tag is a very warm homecoming, delivering the same solid gameplay that Tekken fans crave in large doses. Still, you won't be able to stop yourself from wondering what Namco could have done with the game if it had been designed on the PS2 from the start. Guess we'll all have to wait for Tekken 4 to find that out.
Presentation
There's not a lot to the game's menus but Namco deserves some credit for all that it's added to this game in the form of extra characters, additional opening movies and Tekken Bowl. 8.7
Graphics
Flicker-free and anti-aliased, TTT is a tremendously good-looking game that is much improved over the arcade version and the horrible looking Japaneese version. The texture work is unbelievable and you won't find many games with more realistic looking textures in the 3D environments. 9.0
Sound
The music sounds great and is pretty much inline with what we've become accustomed to with the series. The sound effects are okay, but aren't really anything special. 8.0
Gameplay
There are a ton of moves most true to life from real life fighting styles and loads of characters. The fighting engine is a thing of beauty. 8.9
Lasting Appeal
There are more characters and secrets to unlock in this game than any fighter before it. Plus the multiplayer aspect of the game makes its replay value almost without end. 9.5
Overall Score
9.2 out of 10
What others thought:
IGN:8.7 out of 10 (Editor's Choice Award)
Gamespot:9.6 out of 10
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Tekken Tag Tournament (Top), NHL 2001 (Middle) and SSX (Bottom)
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NHL 2001
Number of Players:4
Dual Shock:Yes
Release:Out Now
Peripherals:Analog, Memory Card.
NHL 2001 is a great game in all respects but it does have flaws. The most noticeable being it's extremly long loading times, be prepared to wait! The game also has a few frame rate problems and AI problems. Where the frate rate problem isn't too bad. The AI can get annoying and the the computer controlled characters don't bother with good positions or marking. They just chase you if you get close to them and go for an attack if they get the puck. Simple, sometimes enjoyable but equally frustrating. Now to the good things. The games control is excellent, you won't find better in any other hocky game. The players respond quickly and fluidly and the graphics are breathtaking rivaling those of Madden 2001.
The sound effects are all of the utmost quality, the music played in the background is exactly what you'd hear in a hockey game and the announcing is mostly right on with what's happening during the game. The only complaint is that the color commentary gets repetitious fairly early on in a season and this isn't a good thing for those who typically play multiple seasons over the course of a single month. The amount of options are excellent. Seasons, tournaments etc are all there. You can create your own player and more and the game is extremly customizable right down to the friction caused by the puc as it moves accross the ice. You won't be disapointed.
Presentation
Another cool opening movie from EA Sports and all of the season features that you'll want in a hockey game. 8.5
Graphics
The level of detail in the game is even higher than Madden 2001. The catch is that it seems to have hit the framerate. 9.4
Sound
Just brilliant. It has crisp sound effects and some of the best music that you'll hear at a hockey rink. The only problem is that the announcing gets repetitious rather quickly. 8.5
Gameplay
The computer AI just isn't as challenging as Madden 2001 or Fifa 2001. It is fun to play and the control is right on. 8.2
Lasting Appeal
Like most sports games there just isn't really anything to unlock but even with that problem, the framerate problem and the almost complete lack of good AI I'll probably still put in a lot of gameing hours into this game. 9.2
OVERALL SCORE
8.3 out of 10
What others thought:
IGN:7.8 of of 10
Gamespot:8.0 out of 10
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