Release Archives: WEEK OF OCTOBER 19, 200410.19.2004 Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors *PICK OF THE WEEK* Dev. Sega Pub. Sega MSRP: $39.99 Systems: XBX Neither Sega nor the Japanese game market are quite what they used to be, but games like this give me faith in both. The first Otogi was the most beautifully intense action game this side of Ninja Gaiden, hampered only by somewhat repetitive level goals. This one mixes things up quite a bit with four new characters (as well as Raikoh from the first game), all with different move sets, weapons and abilities. And I kid you not when I say that this game is about as good-looking as you will see from anything this generation, with delicately soft lighting enveloping everything in an ethereal glow, and downright awesome art design. The subtle, delicate music also oozes taste - this one will really show off your A/V setup. Otogi even uses the XBox hard drive smartly, saving the destruction you cause in each level to be explored or expanded upon at a later time. All in all, this is a very, very solid game. You'll definitely enjoy it, unless you only play puzzle games. And then you're just weird. Men of Valor Dev. 2015 Pub. Vivendi Universal Games MSRP: $49.99 Systems: XBX If you don't like first person shooters or war games, this one probably won't convert you. If you're a fan however, this is almost as good as they get on consoles. Developed by several ex-Medal of Honor alumni, the game is similarly thick with cinematic atmosphere and enthralling visuals and audio. There are so many games in a war setting these days, so I won't bother describing the environments or basic gameplay, but know that this one does it better than most, if not the best in some respects. And, as if there were any doubts, there's hundreds of hours of fun to be had with 15 other players over XBox Live. Almost every game is this genre will certainly be overshadowed by Halo 2 this fall, but this game is still more than worthy of a playthrough. Neo Contra Dev. Konami Pub. Konami MSRP: $39.99 Systems: PS2 If 2002's Contra: Shattered Soldier was an exercise in proving Contra can indeed be fun on this generation of consoles, Neo Contra is an exercise is proving it can be even more fun in ridiculously chaotic quasi-3D. You pick a set of three weapons, a soldier or futuristic samurai, and you're off. Riding dinosaurs, battling monsters with evil baby heads in their mouths, climbing up walls after no-faced lizard beasts, running on spinning helicopter blades - it's all gravy. It takes a bit of patience to get used to the alternate movement/weapon lock control scheme, and a MOUNTAIN of patience to play through the game on harder difficulties, but it's worth pressing on just to see the next crazy boss or setting. Co-op gets expectedly frantic, but in the very best of ways. This game not only works in 3D, it excels. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus Dev. Konami Pub. Konami MSRP: $39.99 Systems: PS2, GC, XBX How is it that the 15-year old TMNT arcade game, unlockable in Nexus, is vastly superior to this pile of turtle feces? One of the many unfortunate mysteries of the gaming world, I assume. At least, I can't explain it - crappy graphics, crappy controls and terribly lame levels don't make for an entertaining game, even with four players. I'm about as big a Turtles fan as you'll find (as demonstrated by my bulging bag of shelled action figures in my closet), so I hate to think what someone new to the franchise would think of this mess. In fact, with all the crappy clips from the crappy new turtles show, you could easily convince someone that this was never an awesome comic book, cartoon, toy line or movie series. Crappity crap, top to bottom. -Nick |
