Reviews: December 2007 Archives

Are you excited about Christmas?  It's coming .... the goose is getting fat! If your wallet is heading the opposite way however, you may be wondering what Wii games you can even afford to splash out on this festive season.  After all, money doesn't grow on trees.

But zappers do!  For the measly RRP of £19.99p, you can purchase (in a slimline box, no less) a brand new piece of Wii hardware and a game thrown in.  Or ... is it hardware at all?  Technically, the zapper is a glorified piece of housing.  It's a case for what you already paid for (a Wiimote and Nunchuk).  Are you getting ripped off, or is this the deal of the season?

Well, here's what we think.  Link's Crossbow Training is a fairly short, but lasting shooting title, arcade in style.  Imagine pushing the silver coins in, seeing the lights go off and the corny midi music start up.  That's you playing this game.  There's no plot to solve and it's probably the shortest adventure Link's ever been on, but that doesn't mean it hasn't got charm.

What you'll notice

The first thing that is different about this game is the official linking in with the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing; quite an accolade.  The main events are all actual Olympic challenges that the real competitors face, and the variety is lovely.

Graphically and in terms of sound, we've seen both better and worse on the Wii so far. It doesn't look like a dog, but it is cartoony in style.  Probably a turn off for some traditional gamers.

What doesn't work so well

Is it just a pointless crossover?  Can Sonic and Mario actually be 'fun to play' on a level playing field?  Some say yes to the first, and no to the second.  Several players we tested this game on didn't like the theme or the fact that it was a merger.

The controls DO vary from game to game.  This is both a weakness and strength; some game controls are very frustrating whereas others are easy to get to grips with straight away.  This may lead to less patient gamers giving up on certain events and this will severely hamper their chances of enjoying, or getting any lastabilty out of the game.

This week we begin our story at the end of the brutal Megadrive vs Super NES console war.  It was one of the most exciting times in gaming with Sega fronted by their platforming superstar "Sonic the Hedgehog" battled a bloody war with Nintendo and the legend that is "Super Mario."  It was so heated that I actually remember arguments in the playground over which company was better.  It was like supporting a football team.

Meanwhile, Sony decided they wanted a piece of the console pie and released the Sony Playstation in 1994.  Back then, little would have suggested that Sony's console and sequel would knock out Sega and have Nintendo on the ropes for years.  Why am I telling you all this?  Back in the console wars, the idea that you'd have a games company that did not have a platforming figurehead was unheard of.  Nintendo had Mario.  Sega had Sonic.  And in 1996, Sony had Crash Bandicoot.

What with Christmas coming, the festival, family, holiday season well and truely upon us and the likes of Keith Chegwin and Alan Hansen swinging their weight around, the 'get together quiz' gaming catagory has come alive with fresh offerings to add to the growing pile of Buzz! games that some of us have grown to love (and others to hate, it has to be said).

Some quiz games go down the tried and tested avenue of providing a catagory for you to shriek at; sports, music, kids questions etc.  Some prefer to present themselves as an all round general knowledge quest for the gold, and this is where EA's Smartypants can be found.  For ages 3 and up though, the packaging alone should tell you that it's aimed at kids and their families.  Or to put it another way, unless you've been to school in the last few years, you probably won't be smart enough to answer half the questions ... especially the ones about Harry Potter.

It's been many a year since I've played a Spyro game, the last one being Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer back in 1999. The series obviously has maintained a decent level of popularity as next year marks the tenth year in the business and you only have to ask Bubsy the Bobcat how hard that is to achieve. Now I have a little place in my heart for Spyro. OK so it may have got labelled a kids game due to the cutesy graphics but it was very popular with past girlfriends who up until they played Spyro had little interest in games. That was because it was accessible and interesting. I, myself enjoyed the little Dragon's adventures so when I was asked to review the new game for the DS I was genuinely quite excited. Eight years have passed since the last one I played and Spyro has been passed from Insomniac Games (those responsible for the critically acclaimed Rachet and Clank series) to Krome Studios (who are responsible for a bunch of games I've never heard of) and has gone via many other games designers. Can Krome continue the magic whilst evolving the game?

Before I even slipped the cartridge in, I took the unusual step of handing it over to my young cousin, Thomas, to get a child's perspective on the game. Cue much irritation on his part, complaining of several things before reaching for the manual. "Oh dear," I thought. Let's be honest, how many of us have ever reached for a manual on a game before? That gives me the impression that things were not being explained properly. After a half hour's play, he put it down and described the games as, "puzzling but in need of more action." To be totally honest, I think he was being a bit too kind.

Animated family sit-com The Simpsons has had quite a year in 2007 with a Movie release, a 20th year anniversary and reaching its 400th TV episode.

To start with, EA did a wise thing and took their time in releasing the game after the movie had its run in the cinema as opposed to rushing a release. Whilst saying that however; the game itself is not actually based on the movie and presents itself as its own independent adventure.

So here is the DS version of The Simpsons game: A side scrolling adventure featuring co-operative play between the Simpsons, video clips, clichés, and lots of interesting level puzzles ...