Release Archives: WEEK OF FEBRUARY 22, 20052.22.2005 Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament *Game of the Week* Dev: Namco Pub: Namco Sys: GBA MSRP $29.99 Anyone who's played a Klonoa title will not be surprised to see the latest entry is this week's top game. For those who are unfamiliar with the series, here's a brief rundown on what to expect - the first title debuted on the PSX back in '97. It was one of the first games to keep the classic 2D gameplay of previous platform titles intact while offering beautiful 3D graphics. Through the years the Klonoa series has simply built on what made the first title so much fun. The levels are laid out much closer to what you'd find in Rayman rather than the free spirited Mario or Sonic games. There are various puzzles and obstacles you must navigate in order to make your way to the end of the level. Klonoa's weapon of choice is the Wind Bullet, which acts as a sort of grappling hook. Snatch your enemies and throw them in the pit or use them to reach a previous unaccessible area. Don't be deceived by the underpowered system this game resides; Klonoa is one of the best platform series out there. Fans of the genre can purchase this game with no fear of a letdown. Gran Turismo 4 Dev: Polyphony Digital Pub: Sony Sys: PS2 MSRP: $49.99 I know some people are outraged that the much hyped Gran Turismo did not receive the coveted Game of the Week award but there is a perfectly sound reason for this - GT4 is not a game. A game is supposed to be fun and offer something I can't do in real life. Gran Turismo is more of a virtual showroom, letting you buy and customize cars with very little emphasis placed on the actual driving. Maybe I'm alone, but I have no interest driving an Integra in a video game since I already have one sitting in my real garage. The biggest problem with the series, aside from being terribly boring, is the actual gameplay. I say I don't even consider this a game because the only appeal is being able to amass a garage full of fancy cars. The actual driving is so unrealistic it is almost laughable. There is no sense of speed and the easiest way to win races is to pinball off walls. Gran Turismo certainly has its fans, but I don't see any reason to buy this game if you already own A-Spec. There are more cars and different tracks available, but you still can't go online and the cars still don't show any damage. To buy this game is to show developers than innovation and gameplay aren't important but pretty graphics and licensed cars are. Kessen III Dev: Koei Pub: Koei Sys: PS2 MSRP: $49.99 The Kessen series, just like every game Koei makes, have relied on sheer depth and beautiful graphics to woo players to their strategic shores. Despite receiving good reviews through the years, Kessen has never actually sold all that well. So now Koei has gone back to the drawing board and added a little action into the mix. While there is certainly enough strategy to go around, combat now takes place real time. Still, if you're solely into video games for the action they offer you can do much better than this. If you like history and lots of micromanagement in your gaming, though, Kessen 3 should be right up your alley Street Fighter Anniversary Collection Dev: Capcom Pub: Capcom Sys: Xbox MSRP: $29.99 Street Fighter 2 is probably the most influential game of the last twenty years. Sure, it spawned an entire genre, but it's place in history does not stop there. When 2D fighters were all the rage in the early 90s, a creatively inept company called Data East blatantly ripped off the classic Street Fighter 2 formula in their own title: Fighters History. They were promptly sued by the Japanese giant and quickly sank out of the video game industry forever. If not for that fateful decision, Data East might not have gone bankrupt and we could be playing a brand new Karnov game now. But I digress. SFAC is just what you would expect. You get a bunch of the 2D classics bundled in one swell package. From the original series through SF3: Third Strike, all the relevant titles except for Alpha are present. And, to make up for arriving more than six months after the PS2 version, you can go online on your Xbox. As long as you have a dedicated 2D pad, this is one of the top fighters available for the Xbox. Ys: The Ark of Napishtim Dev: Falcom Corporation Pub: Konami Sys: PS2 MSRP: $39.99 This title is a long time coming. The sixth in one of the most influential RPG series of the nineties was actually released on the PC in 2003. However, because of various licensing issues and a hunch that PS2 owners may not be won over by primitive, though beautiful, 2D graphics, the game has been in the reworking stages for almost two years. It finally resurfaces with gorgeous 3D graphics and a completely different score, but still remains true to what Ys is all about. The combat is reminiscent of the Zelda series, sporting an overhead view as you travel through dungeons. Though this is the first 3D game in the series, the mechanics are thankfully still 2D. Previous titles in the series have sported some of the best music ever and compelling stories to boot and this one should be no different. A must have for RPG fans. - Tom |
