Grand Assault's Games > Game reviews by Grand Assault

Unreal Tournament review

Posted : 1 year, 12 months ago on 4 December 2007 05:49 (A review of Unreal Tournament)

A great game. I was still playing this up until 2006, so it had to be doing something right. Classic team based action, entertaining game types, clean, crisp graphics and highly customisable opponents gave this game both reliability and replayability. UT2004 takes everything good about this game and adds lots of pretty colours and bigger maps, otherwise they pretty much stick with an unbroken formula.

Still fun for the odd rampage on my lower end machine when I blow the dust off of it. You are truly spoiled by the amazing soundtrack too!

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Quake III: Arena review

Posted : 1 year, 12 months ago on 4 December 2007 05:41 (A review of Quake III: Arena)

This was my first real forray into the FPS world and to be honest, I didn't know what was going on. I can't even recall what inspired me to buy this game, I had literaly no idea what it was about.

Looking back, the gameplay was extremely repetitive and I would take Unreal Tournament over this any day. I don't know why Quake decided to make a deathmatch only game, but it's nothing genre defining. Unreal Tournament definitely beats this in virtually all aspects that you'd expect to see in a deathmatch game. Apart from colours, at times this game is seizure inducing.

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Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 review

Posted : 1 year, 12 months ago on 4 December 2007 05:33 (A review of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2)

This game provided me with countless, countless hours of fun when it was first released. I think it was a mixture of not knowing any better and not realising just how outrageous and far fetched the plot and gameplay was. I didn't care.

It looks fairly dated by todays standards and it is nowhere near as serious as modern RTS games, but I guess that is part of the fun. The game isn't difficult, the plot is entertaining and thanks to the cut scenes, rewarding. The online play was top notch as well, as you might expect from a Westwood game. I can't believe it is 7 years old, I remember buying it in the shop and returning eagerly to play the latest installment of my favourite franchise. I wouldn't even attempt to instal this on a vista machine these days, and I would recommend steering clear unless you're willing to play it with your tongue bedded firmly in your cheek.

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Ecco the Dolphin review

Posted : 1 year, 12 months ago on 3 December 2007 04:07 (A review of Ecco the Dolphin )

This game was probably one of the most atmospheric and difficult games that I ever played as a kid, especially on the megadrive. With a strange and potentially difficult plot to follow, I can see why it put a lot of people off. I enjoyed it though and it has a firm place in my heart. I don't know about relaxing though, I was usually on edge throughout my entire play through.

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Counter-Strike: Source review

Posted : 1 year, 12 months ago on 3 December 2007 03:56 (A review of Counter-Strike: Source)

A session of Counter-Strike: Source can usually leave you experiencing a wide range of emotions, from pure hilarity, through utter frustration and then sadness and depression at the other end of the scale. On the whole, CS has the potential to be great, only the tactical side of things is virtually non-existant due to the calibre of human being that plays the game.

It could be great if only tactics and cooperation existed in the world of counter strike, sadly, people are more interested in flaming the hell out of each other and going rogue to rack up as many kills as possible. Having said that, it can be utterly hilarious and playing with a friend is nothing short of orgasmic at times. I'll be playing CS in its various incarnations for years to come.

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Football Manager 2008 review

Posted : 2 years ago on 9 November 2007 10:48 (A review of Football Manager 2008)

The perpetual life drainer is back and better than ever. I've reviewed FM2007 on this site, and this is practically the same game with a few new features. This time around, a lot more fuss is made of the fans and their opinions and confidence in you and the players. I like the feature myself, with fans giving feedback on each game. They have also fully improved the match day build up and game by combining and bombarding you with all the information you could need in a few consecutive screens before each match. Changing tactics in the middle of a match is no longer met with a perilous wait and it is all incorporated almost in real time.

My only beef with the game was the horrible white skin! It's blinding for those long stints. Luckily I've since found a darker one and all problems have been solved. I'm a bit of a football fanatic, so I'll pay the £25 for the database update alone, but the other features are a nice touch. A worthy investment.

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Half-Life 2: Episode Two review

Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago on 29 October 2007 06:42 (A review of Half-Life 2: Episode Two)

Whatever your thoughts about the episodic sequel format that Valve have begun to produce, the quality of the releases has gone from strength to strength. Playing Episode 2, the untrained eye may think that nothing really has changed since Half-Life 2. However, it is clear that the engine has been hugely updated and is now capable of even more impressive and amazing graphics.

What amazes me is that the puzzles and the tasks never get old and remain innovative, despite how many times they appear in the duration of the game. This episode focuses on expansive countryside skirmishes, and it is beautiful. I am a big fan of the city fighting that was so prevalent in Episode 1, but this barnstorming installment is definitely an improvement. I enjoyed this game a lot more than the last one, even though I gave that 10/10 too!

The storyline is top notch too, this isn't just all style and no substance. I really like Alyx as a character, and the ending left me speechless for at least an hour after I'd finished the game. Other than that, there are new enemies introduced, debatably a new weapon and although it is billed at a 6 hour game, I finished it in 4 and I am quite an explorer.

I only hope there isn't such a long gap between episode 2 and 3, like there was waiting for this game. Top notch.

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BioShock review

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 24 September 2007 07:45 (A review of BioShock)

After all the dust had settled, this game was just a solid FPS game that is there to keep you entertained for about 15 hours of your life. All of the hype suggesting it is the best game ever can only lead to disappointment. Its metascore is supposed to be the greatest on the site, but this game isn't anything ground breaking.

The team behind Bioshock are capable of genre-defining material, but this game isn't anything novel or profound. Playing the game I was immersed through the first two hours or so, but then they just stopped trying to scare and impress you and put the plot into auto-pilot. The thing I noticed with this game was how wonderfully developed it was. In fact, the surroundings were so intricately detailed that I almost felt suffocated at times. It is always the same when a game goes down this road, that something is left underdeveloped as a result. In this instance I thought it was the storyline. When you realise that you are going to have to fight your way through every single area of rapture, you start to get a feel of how cut and dry the game is. The fact that there are literally only 3/4 types of enemy in the game (who inexplicably get tougher to kill as the game goes on?) is a big disappointment.

It is wonderfully atmospheric, gory and genuinely unnerving at times, but it's most definitely not the greatest game of all time. I'd take Half-Life 2 over this any day.

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Final Fantasy X review

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 24 September 2007 07:36 (A review of Final Fantasy X)

Tremendous graphics and an enthralling visual style are some of the positives of this game. The thing that left a lasting impression on me was the battle system. It is superb, perhaps even the best in the series. Sadly, it is still a 'marmite' game in that you can hate some parts and love others. The voice acting on the whole is dire. The only character I liked was Auron and not just because he is the brooding hero of the bunch! I thought that the monster breeding addition was just a desperate attempt to make the game last longer than it was. The final boss was extremely easy, even if you hadn't levelled up your characters.

The ending was ambiguous and only served to spawn a godawful sequel. I always got the impression that this would have been a better stand alone game rather than one of the Final Fantasy series. I don't really know why. There are stunning locations and interesting NPC's throughout, but it really is lacking that certain something.

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Final Fantasy IX review

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 24 September 2007 07:30 (A review of Final Fantasy IX)

Of all the Final Fantasy games released on the Playstation, this was without doubt my least favourite. Apparently this game is a tribute to the roots of the series. That means there are a few feuding kingdoms and no human characters. The game goes back to the classic storylines of obtaining crystals to try and prevent catastrophe befalling the land.

This time round, the villain is one of the biggest jokes of the series, the main characters are a moody, dislikable bunch who change their personalities at the drop of a hat, the battle system is unexciting, easy and generally awful, the ability learning mechanism is annoying and there are only about 5 cities you can visit on the world map. The side-game card game is sub-par and the final final boss is essentially an unneccessary, unknown Deus Ex Machina which serves as the final insult in this nightmare of a Final Fantasy game.

I've played it through as an adolescent and as an adult, but my feelings did not change. The FMV's are nice though.

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