Grand Assault's Games > Game reviews by Grand Assault

Fantastic

Posted : 2 years, 6 months ago on 11 May 2007 07:34 (A review of Tekken 3)

Tekken 3 is a fantastic fighting game! Even today I get re-addicted to it when I find it lying around the house. It's so easy to get into. It has a simple command list and every character has their own specific fighting styles which made them unique and fun to play with, instead of the classic Ryu, Ken, Akuma scenario.

I really can't believe this is a PS1 game either, it moves so quickly. So quick in fact that I thought that Tekken 4 was visibly slower and more bulky than this game ever was. My favourite fighting game is the original Soul Calibur and I generally think that nothing comes close to that, but this is immensely fun and enjoyable.

I'd forgotten how good it was, it definitely still holds its own today.

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Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars review

Posted : 2 years, 6 months ago on 11 May 2007 06:59 (A review of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars)

I am a big fan of the Command and Conquer series so my review might be slightly biased compared to if I had just purchased this game for the first time.

Of the two parallel universes in C&C canon, I prefer the Tiberium story hands down. Tiberium Sun was extremely atmospheric and dark, with fantastic casting for the video cutscenes. Only let down by a few ridiculous units (eg Hunter-Seeker droids) and dodgy graphics. Tiberium Wars is a much more solid game. I haven't reached the end yet, but I imagine later on I'll have to head towards Red Zones, which is where the feeling of claustrophobia and tension will kick in.

One thing I quite like about this game is that the unit balance isn't immediately obvious. Nod, despite their renegade and makeshift roots aren't always relegated to having ridiculously cheap units. I think there is more scope for tactics that way, you can't just hit and run as Nod or steamroller as GDI.

Another positive is the cutscenes. True C&C style. Cheesy and fun, I love it. It gives you an extra incentive to complete the missions too. The learning curve is extremely steep too, which does seem to provide a bit of a challenge. I was carelessly cruising through the first 6 or 7 missions on autopilot before they threw in a really difficult challenge. From then on I knew I'd have to think a bit more.

One of my only problems with the game is how quickly you can establish a base and reach the top of your tech tree. I would estimate that within five minutes of deploying your MCV, you can be rolling out mammoth tanks from your war factory. I wish that was remedied, I think you should have to work harder to advance.

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Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty review

Posted : 2 years, 9 months ago on 15 February 2007 11:09 (A review of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)

This game gets a lot of criticism from MGS fans, partly because the storyline ties itself into so many knots, and partly because there is just a great deal of talking between the major parties which cuts down the amount of time you actually have to play the game.

Despite both of these points being true, I still think it's an amazing game because there are so many hidden things for you to see, find, discover and do. That's typical of a Metal Gear Solid game, but I thought this one was just fantastic. The bosses were hilariously camp and typically ridiculous and there is hours of fun to be had annihilating hapless guards in so many different ways. I thought it really was a challenge to get around the guards at times, as they were so well drilled. A back up team of beefcakes would arrive in minutes if you didn't keep your wits about you and that meant actually having some sort of strategy instead of switching into 'Deathmatch mode'.

The moment everything started malfunctioning towards the end of the game was played out very well and I was left utterly confused until more details were divulged later on. My only comaplaint is that I was playing as a naive wimpy boy instead of the legendary Snake. Raiden just doesn't cut it for me at all, and his romance story with Rose was utterly dull indeed.

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It's PAYNE!

Posted : 2 years, 9 months ago on 12 February 2007 05:34 (A review of Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne)

The only reason this game doesn't have the full 10 out of 10 rating is because I don't actually own it. Other than that, it's just a fantastic game. The storymode is brilliant. I'm a sucker for film noir stories and no human being has ever been dealt a worse deal in life than Max Payne. Littered with scores of in-jokes and references to the previous installment of the series, this game is also funny as well as captivating and downright fun.

This is proper bullet time, which has been countlessly ripped of in other games since the release of Max Payne, but I still maintain that this game does it best. Running through a door before hosing down scores of villains with an AK-47, forcing one to drop a grenade while you dive backwards in slow motion through the same door you just come through, seeing it close and hearing the resulting explosion and seeing it rain ragdolls is just phenomenal. It has actually brought a tear to my eye whilst writing this, I think I'm going to go and buy it right now.

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Street Fighter II review

Posted : 2 years, 9 months ago on 12 February 2007 05:21 (A review of Street Fighter II)

This game has had a considerable impact on my upbringing! I couldn't imagine a life without it; a game so good that they haven't had to change it for nearly 13 years!

Everybody knows the characters, their special moves, their finishing poses, finishing phrases, the soundtrack, the special stages, everything! I would hazard a guess that there is about 90% worldwide recognition of the Street Fighter brand, and rightly so! I'm sure I'm not the only one to have suffered from 'Street fighter thumb', a hefty blister on my left thumb after hours of thumping out fireball after fireball. A timeless classic!

I remember looking at the box for this game and thinking 'Oh Chun-Li, you're never going to stop him'. In fact, that picture of Chun-li was probably my first love.

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Superior

Posted : 2 years, 9 months ago on 12 February 2007 05:13 (A review of Streets of Rage 2)

By far the most exciting Streets of Rage game on the Mega Drive. I remember countless hours spent ploughing through the levels of this game on Ultra Hard mode with one of my most trusted friends. There really is nothing quite like it. The characters are ingrained into every single heart and mind of everyone who played it. Mr. X has allowed a wave of vile scum and gangland filth to wash over the streets and it's up to you to stop him again...but this time it's personal! He's kidnapped Adam!

Intense music and some of the most memorable special moves since street fighter top this game off. If I ever dust the cobwebs off of the megadrive these days, you can bet that this will be the game I fire up first. An integral part of my childhood!

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Shadow of the Colossus review

Posted : 2 years, 9 months ago on 12 February 2007 05:06 (A review of Shadow of the Colossus)

This game is really quite special.

In essence, you roam around a mass expanse of uninhabited and forgotten land on the hunt for giant colossi. With each new gargantuan foe you need to look for new methods to scale and defeat your enemy. That's all there is too it.

It has been criticised as being a game that's repetitive or boring because of that, but I enjoyed it very much. The setting is immense, both in scale and content, with scores of ruins and oddities that keep you guessing as to the purpose of the land, what it may have been used for and why you might be there. The whole storyline is open-ended and leaves lots of room for interpretation and debate. It's great fun for just exploring the wonderful surroundings and unlocking some of the time trial extras once you've defeated all of the colossi provides another challenge.

There really is something romantic and enchanting about this game.

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Half-Life 2 review

Posted : 2 years, 9 months ago on 11 February 2007 06:41 (A review of Half-Life 2)

This is one of the most perfect games I've ever played. The graphics are flawless, the physics are flawless, the plot, storyline and characters are flawless.

I had hours upon hours of fun with this game. I was engrossed in what was happening around me but more impressed with how I could manipulate the physics of my surroundings. The original half life game raised the bar to a new level, and its sequel has done the same, putting other FPS games such as Doom 3 (which was released around the same time) to shame.

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Empire Earth review

Posted : 2 years, 9 months ago on 11 February 2007 11:53 (A review of Empire Earth)

In my opinion, this was the definitive 'civilisation evolution' game on the market. There are so many more units available than in other games of the same genre, you really are spoilt for choice. There's just something about it that makes it much less of a chore to play than Age of Empires.

Towards the latter civilisations, from Atomic WW2 onwards, things begin to get extremely silly with the ridiculously overpowered atomic bombers, which drastically ruin the game, but other than that, this game is generally great fun.

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