Console Review: Atari 2600

Console: 2600
By: Atari
Release Date: 11th September 1977 (US)

The most popular home console of the second generation, the Atari 2600 (originally called the Atari VCS) stood apart somewhat from its competitors. For a start there were far more games released for the system than other consoles of the time by far. Both Atari and third-party titles featured interesting concepts and conversions of popular arcade games of the time. Games such as 1977's Combat (which was initally the pack-in game for the system) distanced video games from the pong style consoles of the past 5 years.

The console itself has an interesting wooden look to it, with switches to change between black and white, difficulty levels and to reset the console/game. The game cartridges are rather large by today's standards, almost like the larger non-Sega Mega Drive cartridges. At the back on the console, there's the controller inputs and power input. Due to this, it's easier to play the Atari 2600 facing away from you, as the switches are still accessible.

(Combat; The original pack-in game for the Atari 2600)

Graphically the system keeps things fairly basic with pixel based sprites and objects, as well as simple sounds in games if there are any at all. The library of games on the 2600 is a little hit and miss however, comprising of fun to play, original ideas such as Combat, and Tennis which hold fun for gamers of today even, and titles that it's incredibly difficult to enjoy such as Casino, and Outlaw which have more flaws than can be overlooked.

When games acknowledge the limitations of the system, and use clever ways to get around them, such as combat's innovative missile control system/ tank-pong mode it's easy to forget about the graphical shortcomings and get lost in the gameplay. Even mediocre arcade conversions like Space Invaders and Asteroids benefit from the many game modes featured on the cartridges, such as two player and harder challenge modes.

(Asteroids for the Atari 2600)

On Atari game boxes it's common to see "66 games" or "27 games" and think that you've hit the jackpot with a multicart, but really what these mean is that there's a number of different playable modes. Taking Space Invaders as an example, there's faster invaders, invisible invaders, 2 player modes and more which give more replay value to the cartridge and make for an interesting journey of discovery as to what each game mode entails.

The worst type of games on the Atari 2600 are things that can easily be done outside of a console. Tic-Tac-Toe, Checkers and Reversi are the worst offenders since they're best played as board games anyway. The computer takes a long while to think about its moves and flickers on and off to reveal what it is actually going to do. Even the choice of games modes amongst these is poor since there's only a certain number of ways of playing each.

(Checkers for the Atari 2600)

Reviving interest in the gaming market after a slew of Pong consoles and becoming an almost universal word for any videogame at the time, the Atari sat atop its throne for around 5 years until the infamous port of Pac-man and E.T. the Extra Terrestrial were released to massive disappointment from Atari owners everywhere. Having massively overcalculated how many copies of the game would sell, legend has it that Atari buried 5 million E.T. carts in the New Mexico desert.

As the Atari 2600 was the best selling console of the generation, selling 10 times the amount of units as the Intellivision which was 2nd, these two games massively damaged consumer confidence in the industry as a whole. Not only were they rushed and of terrible quality but they are widely regarded as some of the worst games of all time. In 1983 the video game crash seriously impacted sales of games and consoles in America and Europe until the release of the NES.

(ET for Atari 2600)

Overall the Atari 2600 is a fun console if you're able to get hold of some of the best games for it. There's a lot of innovation, particularly distancing videogaming from being just several types of Pong. Unfortunately corporate greed put a stop to its popularity and that of videogames in general for a while, but having almost singlehandedly popularised the new breed of videogames in the beginning, you can't take off too many points from its tally. Lasting until 1992 when the last official game was released for it, the 2600 had a spectacular 14 year lifespan which rivals that of the Playstation, NES and Playstation 2.

Atari 2600 Games Review Lot #1

Game: Battlezone
Console: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1983

Battlezone appeared recently in my Atari Collection review, albeit in a Vector-like version. The Atari 2600 graphics are more colourful and although basic, you can see what you're doing a whole lot better in the game. The difficulty in the game is decent on the first difficulty level, although higher levels get almost impossibly difficult. Due to this, games tend to be quite short, despite the 5 lives you're given and I've only experienced 3 enemies in the whole of my time playing.

The radar works more nicely than the on featured in the Atari Collection for PS1, and the explosion effects are pretty nice for 1983 also. While it can be fun to play, the game's short and repetitive nature doesn't lend itself to much replaying or challenges on the highscore. Overall it's five minutes of fun if that.

Rating: 16/100
Grade: F

Game: Space Invaders
Console: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1978

Although its not the version that looks anywhere near the arcades, Space Invaders on Atari 2600 provides a fair amount of fun, with adjustable difficulty (your ship gets bigger or smaller, or you can make the invaders fast, or even invisible). It plays well although you're not allowed to shoot all that often, and the best part of the game is that you can play with a friend, competing for scores but wiping out invaders alongside eachother instead of taking turns.

The visuals may let it down a little, as the invaders look more like aztec paintings than the aliens in the more well known artwork. Also strange is the fact that the invaders shots down at you move almost as if there's a wind blowing across the screen, which adds an extra factor of difficulty. The player's defense turrets also move across the screen in the same sort of fashion. Overall its a decent version of the classic that doesn't play exactly like the best known version, but provides fun nonetheless.

Rating: 45/100
Grade: D

Game: Asteroids
Console: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1981

A pixellated take on the vector classic, Asteroids isn't quite as smooth or fun as in the arcades, and the sound definitely isn't as good, but the main ideas are all there and it plays decently enough, especially for the time of release. The colours are bright and vibrant; sometimes a little too much so since they're shooting around the screen at speed. Shooting the Asteroids breaks them apart in a fairly smooth animation.

Two player turn-taking gameplay is allowed and other modes include harder variations of the game. It's disappointing not to see a two player mode where you can compete at the same time, but programming limitations may have put a stop to that sort of idea. Overall there's a fair amount of gameplay and it's nearly as good as playing the arcade version of Asteroids.

Rating: 33/100
Grade: E

Atari 2600 Games Review Lot #2

Game: Combat
Console: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1978

A two player extravaganza of fighting, Combat features both tank and air based combat modes, with 27 different combinations of gameplay modes. Featuring different types of projectile and gameplay fields, there's added replayability and although some combinations are better than others, Tank, Tank-Pong and Invisible Tank-Pong and its variations have some of the most appeal. The air battles are fairly fun also, but they don't share the same type of mechanic as the land based modes.

Graphically, the game is kept extremely simple, as is expected from the Atari 2600, but it has enough detail for players to see what they're doing in game. The best feature of the tank based games is the ability to control your shot, once it has left your tank. Using this adds a whole new dimension to the battle, and once the novelty has worn off, there's also a mode where the shot bounces, as if in Pong. Overall this has a lot of 2 player fun, appeal and replayability.

Rating: 58/100
Grade: D

Game: Outlaw
Console: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1978

Outlaw is almost like a Cowboy version of Combat, just with one player capabilities also. The problem here, however is that the gameplay just isn't as fun. With 2 cowboys on screen, the players can shoot straight, and diagonally up or down. There's a cactus in the centre of the screen which impedes the bullet's path into the opponent, so shots must be skillfully aimed. When one player is in a good position to shoot the other, the other player is in exactly the same position, so double hits occur often.

One player mode is a little less enjoyable than two player mode. The aim is to hit a moving target in each of the stages, ten times before 99 seconds are through. If you fail to do so, the game ends and if you sucessfully hit the targets, the game ends. Such unrewarding gameplay isn't a great feature, even on Atari 2600. The whole reason Combat makes for so much of a better game than this is the competitive nature of its two player mode which is well balanced, with good mechanics. Overall, Outlaw just doesn't have these.

Rating: 7/100
Grade: F

Game: Superman
Console: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1978

In what is an incredibly short game even by Atari standards, Superman manages to deliver a small dose of action and storyline. How to beat the game is described explicitly within the manual, and it doesn't take a whole lot of intelligence to work it out, even without the manual. You witness a bridge collapsing and suddenly it's your mission to save the world from Lex Luthor's gang.

You fly around levels which are seemingly random mazes of backgrounds. Superman is able to preview which screen is coming next on any side by pressing the button and the direction of the next screen, but even so its confusing. The player must collect all of Lex Luthor's gang and then Lex himself and throw them in jail before fixing the bridge.

As Superman, you lose your power of flight upon touching kryptonite, and must touch Lois Lane to recover your powers. There's no lives however, so you're free to take as long as you wish to do so, and can get hit as many times as you wish. Overall it's playable but a short and rather boring adventure, which I'd reccommend playing maybe once in your life.

Rating: 25/100
Grade:  F

Atari 2600: 32 in 1 special

I'm not going to score this cartridge as a whole, since its technically many games in one, but I couldn't do a feature on the Atari 2600 without mentioning it, since some of the best gameplay I've had on the console has been from this cartridge. The game itself was packaged with many European 2600 systems and featured 32 previously released cartridges in 1. Its amazing to think that cartridges with just one of the games featured on here were even sold after playing this.

With other Atari cartridges of the time boasting "66 games" or "27 games" on one cartridge, but really meaning that they had a certain number of interchangeable features, you would be forgiven for thinking that this was one of those type of cartridges. I thought so too at first, booting up the first game - UFO. 16 modes featured in it, and I thought to myself that with a 2 player option maybe they'd decided that made 32 in all. Upon finishing I rebooted the Atari to check something and before me was a completely different game.

While there are some games that don't really impress such as Blackjack and 3D Tic-Tac-Toe, they're easily overlooked for the sheer amount of content on this cart. I'll run through some of the best just to give you a taste for what the 2600 had to offer outside of what I've reviewed. The first game to really impress me on the cartridge was Boxing. With a top down view, its not the most fancy or practical representation of the sport, but it plays smoothly and works well.

Surround is another simple game that plays well, it works just like Tron; you control a snake and attempt to cut your opponent off before you hit a wall or where he's been. There's a lot of fun variations of this featured which is good. Tennis plays incredibly well, with decent hit detection, easy controls and gameplay that far exceeds early tennis titles such as Super Tennis for Sega Master System. 

It's nice that a cartridge like this would even be boxed with the Atari 2600 since its almost a greatest hits featuring a lot of good games. I doubt companies today would be happy with giving away so many good games in this fashion. Overall it makes for a great collection of Atari 2600 which showcases both its talents and its flaws. In the interests of some better Atari 2600 games making it into my top games list, I'm going to score the 3 best games featured on this cartridge below;

Boxing: (1980, Activision) - 

Rating: 35/100

Grade: E

Surround: (1978, Atari)

Rating: 45/100

Grade: D

Tennis: (1981, Activision)

Rating: 51/100

Grade: D

SNES vs Genesis: Mortal Kombat

Game: Mortal Kombat
Console: Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Sega Mega Drive
Developer: Midway (SNES)/Probe Entertainment (MD)
Release Date: 13th September 1993

Mortal Kombat is quite a well known name in the fighting game genre and its often referenced as a classic, but how good is it compared to other fighting games, and does it live up to the hype? In a word, no. It may well be a good laugh when you have friends around, and want to play some older fighting games (although I'd reccomend Street Fighter II for that), but as a fighting game both versions I'm about to review have some key flaws.

We'll start with the basics; Mortal Kombat features 7 fighters (the joint least of any fighting game I can think of alongside Primal Rage) and in single player you progress through fighting every character (including a mirror match) before fighting teams of 2 opponents one after another in a sort of double battle mode. Finally after these, you fight the game's 2 bosses before getting an ending for your character. There's also a two player mode although it acts as the first rung of the tournament ladder, once the other player gives up.

In both versions of the game, there are executable combos and fatalities for each player, although beyond this their basic fighting moves are all extremely similar. Not only this, the character designs seem to be somewhat uninspired across the board with recolours having become a trademark of the series (although you'd have thought it wouldn't be something to be proud of), and fairly forgettable characters in this first installment. Due to their similarities, however the fighters in Mortal Kombat are fairly balanced for use in two player mode, as everyone has a ranged attack, and some special moves.

The one player mode difficulty in both games is pretty much the same with an adjustable level of difficulty on the options screen. Playing in normal mode on both games presents a steep difficulty curve once the player is about 5 fights in, however due to the AI on both versions being somewhat susceptible to certain combinations of moves it can be still easy to progress. The SNES version suffers a little more from this as I found the best way to win fights was to constantly hit the Y button until the opponent was dead. On the Mega Drive you'll need a combination of the uppercut, jump kick and mashing the punch button.

(Mortal Kombat - SNES Version)

Both versions of the game feature motion capture style fighters on an animated background which only has about 4 frames. Sometimes the hit detection seems a little iffy; other players can hit you when you're too far away to hit them, and if you both hit eachother at the same time it's anyone's guess what'll happen. One good dynamic is that blocking doesn't completely save you from damage, but blocks most of the damage from the attack. This means that unlike some other fighting games, players cannot rely on blocking as much as they might.

In the one player mode, I managed to get to the battle before the final boss by mashing the high punch button until the opponent was dead on medium difficulty. In truth, there's a lot of ways you can beat the AI easily and this makes two player mode the only really viable option for this version, since trying to fight fairly on harder battles and difficulty levels will usually result in a loss.

(Mortal Kombat - SNES Version)

In both versions between levels there are strength test minigames which involve rapidly pressing buttons until the meter is above a certain point. These are nice for breaking up the flow of gameplay and work well on both versions. The levels are also fairly interesting with a variety of backdrops and animations going on behind fights. 

The boss design in the game is good; Goro is a four armed creature who has by far the most interesting design of anyone featured in the game, and Shang Tsung can morph into any of the cast in order to attack the player, as well as using his own attacks. With such interesting boss designs you wonder why they weren't able to be unlockable characters, as it'd have increased the fighter count to 9 and added variety to the roster. 

(Mortal Kombat - Mega Drive version)

For the Mega Drive version, visually there's a few changes to note; the backgrounds of levels are changed a little, the fighters are smaller than those on the SNES, and have more detailed shadows, the health bars are thinner and character names are displayed outside of them, the colours look more vivid in most parts, and without the blood cheat there's no sweat/hit effect.These don't make a whole lot of difference to the gameplay (save for the last change, which makes moves feel less satisfying) but they give both versions a distinctively different look.

As the games were released simultaneously by different developers, I assume the changes are to do with the capabilities of each console or something like that. Soundwise, the Mega Drive version features a more synth based version of the title screen music, which I prefer to the SNES's admittedly more realistic sounding music. The vocal effects on both games are fairly similar but hit sounds on the Mega Drive are another contributor to moves feeling less satisfying, since they sound more like hitting a wall than a person.

(Mortal Kombat - Mega Drive version)

There's a lot of talk about the Mega Drive version's inclusion of blood and how much people prefer it because of that, but for a start it has to be activated by a cheat code otherwise there's literally no sweat/spit effect at all upon damage inflicting moves and although somewhat fun even if blood is turned on, the gameplay still suffers from the same problems with AI and sound. Of course having blood and using fatalities was a somewhat new thing at the time; Nintendo hadn't featured any material that wasn't up to their exacting censor standards in games, and Sega had just set up their own ratings board just so that they could feature this sort of action in a game.

Overall though there's not a lot between both games; the graphics and music are debatable as to which version is better, the SNES version features more satisfying gameplay and larger character sprites and well as the classic look of the game for most people. The Mega Drive version features the option to have blood, better AI in one player mode and a few more fatalities that weren't featured on the SNES.

Mortal Kombat as a game itself is disappointing and the arcade version wasn't exactly amazing (although it beat both of the versions shown here for gameplay, graphics and sound). With fatalities being the focus of gameplay, the fighters similar attacks and lack of roster choice really let the game down. There's also a lack of replay value with no unlockable characters and only endings to reward you for completing tournament mode. For me, the SNES version plays slightly better than the Mega Drive version but they're both about as fun as eachother.

SNES version                                                                                                   Mega Drive version
Rating: 56/100                                                                                                  Rating: 50/100
Grade: D                                                                                                          Grade: D

Head to Head NES Classics: Donkey Kong vs Ice Climber

Game: Donkey Kong
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: June 1986

Released in arcades 5 years before its NES release, Donkey Kong featured 4 stages where "Jumpman" attempted to rescue "Girl" whilst dodging a barrage of barrels (sent by his pet ape, whom Jumpman mistreated) as well as other enemies . When the game finally came to NES, Jumpman had been renamed Mario (since Mario was based off Jumpman) and the third stage of the game was cut out, to leave just 3 levels.

The goal in the first two stages is to reach Pauline (renamed from Girl), without being hit by barrels or enemies. The final stage sees Mario remove eight supporting rivets from underneath Donkey Kong, which cause him to fall and leave the way clear for Mario and Pauline to be reunited. Once the game has been run, it restarts at stage one, on a higher difficulty level. If level 22 of difficulty is reached, the player is met with a kill screen, effectively ending the game.

The controls are simple with the d-pad being used for movement and the B button being used to jump. With a little practice its easy to avoid the barrels thrown by Donkey Kong. Throughout the stages, items of Pauline's belongings are scattered, and collectiong them for her will gain the player additional score. Also featured in the game is a hammer powerup which allows Mario to smash barrels before they reach him although this only lasts for a limited time.

Graphically the game looks fairly good for the time, with bright colours and good spriting. The in game music is simple but catchy; some fans of the Donkey Kong series may recognise the music from the start screen which was remixed for Donkey Kong Country on SNES. The game B option on the start screen provides players with a slightly more challenging version of the game, with more barrels and enemies than in the normal mode.

Overall Donkey Kong is a fun but incredibly short game which showed it age even when released on NES. By 1981's arcade standards it was revolutionary, only the second arcade game to have multiple stages. By 1986 however, Super Mario Bros has been released and that had 32 scrolling levels over 8 worlds and a game with just 3 non scrolling levels seems a little underwhelming in comparison. An extremely influential game, Donkey Kong is good for 15 minutes of fun in today's gaming market.

Rating: 30/100
Grade: E

Game: Ice Climber
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: October 1985

Ice Climber is a vertical platforming game, where the aim is to guide your eskimo up to the top of each level, breaking through ice on your way, and collecting your fruit in a bonus level which was stolen by a condor. Each level (or mountain as they're called in game) has progressively more enemies and obstacles, with faster moving platforms and slippery ice added in also. There are a total of 32 levels in all, with the option for both one and two player gameplay.

Play starts at the bottom of each mountain, with the floor of the above platform needing to be broken through to progress. When the player jumps close enough to the above platform, they can break the blocks in the floor and make their way through. Roaming each level are enemies and various hazards to be avoided by the player, and coming into contact with any of them will result in the loss of a life.

The controls are simple with only the left and right directions used, in addition to jump and attack buttons, B and A. You're able to fend off enemies with the A button if they get too close, although some are harder to catch with your hammer than others. The jumping mechanic is quite hard to master, and even if it looks like you've made it onto a platform, some of the time you'll fall right through down to where you jumped from. This does make gameplay somewhat harder, but I wonder if it'd have been too easy without it.

Graphically the game looks almost cartoonish in presentation with the eskimos and enemies all brightly coloured and designed. Its an interesting style and although there's not much too look at on the actual levels, those too work well with the mountain idea. The music on Ice Climber is good and makes the game more enjoyable in general.

Overall Ice Climber is a fun game with a lot of somewhat similar levels, which get progressively harder. Its a fun concept and once you've mastered the controls it can be fairly enjoyable on the whole too. With bright graphics and decent music, the only real issue is the jump mechanic which can really make the game's later levels hard. Although its not a fully fleshed out game in the same way as Super Mario Bros, or Metroid, it has a lasting appeal and brings new life to the platform game concept.

Overall: 46/100
Grade: D

Double Review: Die Hard Trilogies

Game: Die Hard Trilogy
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: Fox Interactive
Release Date: 31st August 1996

The Die Hard Trilogy features 3 games, based on the first 3 movies of the Die Hard film franchise, each with a different control method. The first (Die Hard) is a 3rd person run and gun action adventure through almost maze like floors of the building from the film. The second (Die Harder) is a light gun shooter but with controller input instead of an actual lightgun, and the final game (Die Hard With A Vengeance) is a driving game where your aim is to get to certain locations in time. On the face of it the Die Hard Trilogy looks promising, and at least action packed, with 3 very different games to offer.

The first game begins in an underground car park as John McClane shoots his way through a nest of terrorists and frees hostages from their grasp. To complete the level, all of the terrorists must be shot, but the hostages are optional. You're given a radar on which terrorists show up red, and hostages show up blue which helps somewhat in locating them. There's around 20 terrorists on the first level to find, and they're quite well spread out over the level.

The draw distance on levels is pretty bad, you can hardly see 20 feet in front of you before a black shadow obscures your view. Enemies who are beyond your sight can still be shot, but they can also still shoot at you which is a pain if you've missed them on your radar. There's also weapon and health powerups hidden throughout the levels and some elements of the level are destructable. Once the floor is cleared of terrorists, John must get to the lift to deactivate the bomb, and then progress to the next level.

As the levels progress, there are more terrorists and larger areas to explore, with a total of 20 playable floors to the game. I feel this is a few too much as you're only given a couple of health wheels to start with and although there's powerups, it's fairly difficult to progress all the way. It does get points however for effort, and decent level designs. It's pretty enjoyable on the whole, and although fairly basic, it gets the job done.

The second game of the trilogy begins in an airport, and escalates fairly quickly into a massive shootout between McClane and the terrorists that seem to plague his existence. Presented in the form of a lightgun rail shooter but with only the controller to direct the action, this part plays pretty nicely with fast paced action and an enjoyable dynamic overall. With weapon and health upgrades appearing as targetable extras, there's a wider range of guns to choose from and a better opportunity to progress than the first part.

Although the game may have worked well with a light gun, it doesn't affect the gameplay too much that you're restricted to just the d-pad on the controller for your aiming. This part of the collection is by far my favourite as the movement around the level is fluid, if a little linear (as is the case with most rail shooters) and the concept is to literally shoot every bad guy you see. There's some enjoyable points where civilians have to be shot around in order to kill terrorists, and the levels are generally well planned out.

The final game of the first trilogy is so bad, its hardly worth talking about. Based loosely on a driving concept, you attempt to reach a bomb before it explodes with vague directions from a passenger. If you arrive on time (and I'm sure some of them are impossible to reach on time), you run over the bomb and it explodes but not as massively as if you didn't. I'm not quite sure what happened in the third Die Hard movie, but I'd bet that it wasn't this.

The car handles in an average manner when driving around but as soon as you hit anything, the car goes off in a random direction. Sometimes it'll continue straight on the path you were taking, and others it'll steer itself into a wall. With hardly any time to lose to begin with, hitting anything spells instant doom for your bomb reaching attempts that turn. Luckily you only get three lives so games are usually short. It seems as if they spent the least time on this part of the game, with only one level to roam around and not much to do in it.

Graphically, the game is fairly poor overall with a short draw distance in the first part and strange walking animations. There's not much to complain about in part two, save for a slight lack of detail in the surroundings. Part three looks pretty terrible in truth, up close buildings look misaligned and very pixellated. Musically, the game features a decent action soundtrack which fits what's happening on screen most of the time. The voice acting doesn't fare so well however; at one point in the first game John McClane declares "Ouch, that hurt" upon getting shot, which seems a small understatement.

The concept of having three games together on one disk was an exciting idea; three ways to experience the Die Hard franchise on the Playstation. In truth however, its pretty hard to develop and release three consistently fun and different games, on one game's time and monetary budgets. As a result, Die Hard Trilogy produces one decent shooter, an enjoyable rail shooter and a horrific driving game. Overall this makes it pretty average, unless you only play one or two portions of the game.

Rating: 66/100
Grade: C

Game: Die Hard Trilogy 2: Viva Las Vegas
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: Fox Interactive
Release Date: 29th February 2000

Having decided to take another stab at the trilogy concept, Fox Interactive decided it'd be best to have a game that wasn't based on a Die Hard movie, but instead had a plot set in Las Vegas. In the story, John McClane gets invited to a party in Las Vegas, thrown by his friend who is a prison warden. Unfortunately there's a jail break and so John has to intervene and the game begins. We lead John through the prison, and out to chase those pesky terrorists down all over again.

The segments in the game are basically the same as in the first; the game begins with a 3rd person on foot, run and gun type game where John McClane clears out a prison of everyone inside as he makes his way to the party. In an effort to beat the prisoners and wardens there, he shoots them in the rail shooter section which makes its way out of the prison onto the open road, where we chase down a busload of terrorists and destroy some bad guys' cars.

The first section of the game is much improved with smoother control, a lot of options to get gameplay exactly how you'd like, analog stick support, and puzzle like sections where you must open the next part of the level before progressing. The levels still include destructible furniture and environments, perhaps even moreso than before and they're longer than before, but less in number. Powerups are still scattered around, and there's a lot of shooting to do, but objectives are now the main goal of these levels.

The second part of the game actually supports some light guns for use with it, but unfortunately the light gun I had wasn't compatible. The controller plays almost well enough for me not to mind this, however. With much the same idea as in the first game, my only complaint of this part is that the targeting reticles appear on the enemies crotches rather than their heads which can be offputting. This section of the game is the only one that I feel hasn't improved upon its counterpart from the first game.

The driving section of the game shows the most improvement from the original game, with the same sort of handling, but a better concept. John must now chase down and destroy enemy cars whilst tailing the bus full of terrorists which drops bombs at regular intervals. Hitting the rival cars will damage them, and there's a better radar used with this section than in the first trilogy also. While I'd say its still the weakest part of the game as a whole, it doesn't let the game down half as much as the final section of the original.

Graphically, there are major improvements from the first game with much less blockyness and pixellation. Some parts of the first section of the game were impressive for the Playstation's capabilities, especially lighting. The music is more generic than in the first game, and could be better but that's not to say that it's bad. The voice acting has improved very slightly and there's story related cutscenes between each game, if you play in Movie Mode.

Overall as a game Die Hard Trilogy 2: Viva Las Vegas improves on its predecessor in almost every aspect of its games. Graphically sharper with better gameplay to match, it does feel slightly less fast paced at times and the plot feels extremely weak, but I don't think this outweighs the fun that can be had. Unfortunately some features of the first game didn't make it over, such as the ability to shoot civilians without any penalty (save for that of your score), and weapon upgrades in the rail shooter mode. I'd say that this game just about edges ahead, in terms of quality overall, with a better last segment and the addition of new elements to the third person stage.

Rating: 71/100
Grade: C

Head to Head Review: Rhythm Heaven vs Warioware Touched!

Game: Rhythm Heaven (known as Rhythm Paradise in Europe)
Console: Nintendo DS
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 5th April 2009

The second game in the Rhythm Tengoku series (the first having only been released in Japan), Rhythm Heaven features a collection of rhythm based minigames which must be cleared in order to unlock more. The input on this game is controlled via the touchscreen of the DS, with the console being held on its side like a book. The visuals are displayed on what becomes the left screen (unless you're left handed), and the touchscreen has a more basic visual which indicates when the player is touching it.

The game starts with just one minigame unlocked, but once a minigame is cleared, the next one will be unlocked. The player can also get Superb and Perfect ranks on minigames, to unlock extra game features. There are also remixes of games previously featured, after every 4 minigames cleared, leading up to remix 10 (the 50th minigame), which must be cleared to complete the game.

(Game screen on the left, touchscreen on the right)

If you've read my review of Beat The Beat: Rhythm Paradise, you'll know that I find the dynamic of the series very enjoyable. The minigames in this installment are no exception; they feature a variety of fun challenges and rhythms to master, giving the game more replayability than some minigame compilations. There's a lot of characters that feature in the visuals of minigames to keep players engaged and some games feature 2 versions, the second a harder variant of the first which keeps the challenge of the game high also.

Gameplay itself feels very natural, as if tapping along to a song rhythmically, or drumming a beat on a table. The controls are simple, with only tapping, holding and flicking being used on the touchpad, and no button input whatsoever. The game's difficulty is also set nicely between being easy to pick up in the early stages and challenging by the time you get to Remix 10. There's also the added challenge of getting a Superb or Perfect rank on every minigame. 

Musically, the game excels with lots of different styles and genres covered. You might think that tapping along to the rhythm of over 50 minigames would get tedious but there's enough difference between the concepts of the games to keep it interesting, even if essentially you're doing the same thing for each game. Graphically, the style of the game is very cartoonish, and characters are generally simple representations of animals, but this works well with the theme of the game. 

The unlockable rhythm toys and endless games in the game (unlocked via getting a superb score on enough minigames) are enjoyable on the whole. Some rhythm toys don't have all that much to them, and others are slightly more complex but its the endless games which really compliment the minigames. Some of them are based on previously seen minigames and others are simply rhythm based ideas not used in the main game. 

Overall Rhythm Heaven is an extremely enjoyable rhythm minigame compilation for the Nintendo DS and one of my personal favourites on the console. With a great concept, music and visuals the game is entertaining, with a wide variety of things to do and minigames to clear and perfect your rhythm on. The only difficult thing for me to do here is decide where it places in my top games. It's very similar to it's successor, Beat the Beat: Rhythm Heaven and so I've given them the same basic rating, because it doesn't matter which you play, they're both great. 

Rating: 92/100

Grade: A

Game: Warioware Touched!
Console: Nintendo DS
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 14th February 2005

Having already reviewed Warioware Inc. for the Gamecube, you may recall that I'm a fan of the series and enjoy the microgames and the overall feel of the collections in general. Touched! uses the touchscreen and microphone of the Nintendo DS to enhance the experience of Warioware, with over 200 microgames included. The game features some familiar faces from the previous games in the series, who host their own microgame collections, all linked by the action required from the player.

These actions include dragging, tapping, spinning and blowing on the microphone, in addition to other things. While these are all good ideas for the control of microgames, it does rather mean that you're expecting what's coming up in the next one. Every now and then, you're faced with mixes of the previous microgames, which I feel is when the game is at its best, especially once the game has been completed and the full mix of microgames can be played.

The game's concept works well with the layout of the DS, the touchscreen playing host to the main action of the microgame, with a timer underneath and the top screen providing useful information in some games. Controlwise the game plays nicely, the touchscreen is responsive with the only real issues being around the use of the internal microphone of the DS. Not only is it sometimes difficult to get the intended effect in microphone games, the set of microgames that use it as the only control method leaves you out of breath and light headed.

There's a good variation between the microgames featured although there are some similar ones within the scope of the game. Playing each microgame individually in the album mode can become a little tedious but is probably the best way for a player to realise the true amount of different games featured. There's also unlockable toys which add a little more fun to the game, although they're not particularly deep in terms of gameplay.

Graphically the game retains the fun, cartoonish style of the original gameboy release, giving a touchscreen twist to some of its more classic microgames. The soundtrack also features some recognisable tunes in addition to some newer songs which are generally enjoyable. The only complaint I have of the soundtrack is that in Ashley's level the quality of the vocal clips is fairly poor. Overall though the game looks and sounds good.

The boss stages in the game are well designed and probably the most varied part overall. Some of the stages do feel quite long when compared to the 4 second microgames, but they break up the flow nicely when retrying microgame collections, in an attempt to set a high score. The difficulty in game is usually fairly low, but some bosses require a little more skill on higher levels of difficulty.

Continuing the spirit of the series, with the addition of the touchscreen and microphone control Warioware Twisted! is an enjoyable play which is only really let down by the fact that its games are grouped by the way they must be won rather than their themes, as has been the case before and this leads to a certain predictability in completing most levels of the game. I didn't quite enjoy this game as much as the Gamecube counterpart, due to the lack of multiplayer and the way the minigames are presented, however its still a solid title and a good use of the features of the DS.

Rating: 81/100
Grade: B

With 4 years between these 2 games, Rhythm Heaven had the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of Warioware Touched! and I'd say its 50 rhythm minigames offer slightly more fun than the 200+ microgames in Touched!. They're longer for a start, and more varied even though they have the same gameplay concept. Both of these games, however are very enjoyable and use the DS to great effect with their controls. 

Series Review: The Sims

Game: The Sims
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Maxis
Release Date: 12th January 2003

Known as "Sim People" in Japan, The Sims is exactly what it says on the Japanese tin. You control the simulated lives of little people, and help them achieve everyday tasks. As they get jobs and earn money you can improve their houses and buy them all sorts of expensive luxury items to brighten their days. While the idea of simulating real life in a video game might seem mundane, it quickly became the best selling PC game of all time after its release.

There are two main modes in the game; "Get A Life" (which focuses on moving your personal sim up through the world from their mother's house to the top tier of a career,owning a huge house and a monkey butler) and "Play the Sims" (which focuses on a neighbourhood of Sims, all of which you can control and help to further their lives. Alongside these, there's also unlockable two player games featuring special objectives.

The main gameplay is basically the same whichever mode you choose; Sims have 8 core needs which must be kept topped up via various means. Hunger, Hygiene, Bladder, Fun and Energy are pretty self explanatory, and I'm sure you can imagine how these are topped up. Comfort can be improved by sleeping in a bed (the more expensive, the better) or resting on a chair, Social can be improved by making friends and talking to other Sims, and the Room need can be met by placing visually pleasing (or just expensive) items in the room the Sim is currently occupying.

Get a Life mode gives the player various challenges that they must complete before moving up in the world, usually 4 per level, relating to their job, possessions or the people around them. You're also able to unlock new items for purchase on the first playthrough of this mode. While it is a little linear, its good for learning how to play the game and unlocking some cool items for other modes.

The choice of career paths available is good although once you're in a particular path there's no choice of direction, save for upwards (or downwards if your performance is too poor). Although at first its interesting to see the progression of some careers, once you've seen them, there's nothing new to discover. Customisation wise, you can choose what sims wear and even look like to an extent, as well as personality features of created Sims. This determines their actions in some situations and who they get on with in conversations.

While it's fun to control the lives of Sims to an extent, if you want to expand their houses and possessions, it can be quite a long grind until you have the job/money with which to do so. Playing through the game "properly" can become a cycle of commanding your sim to do the same activities day after day until you're too bored to continue. This is especially true in Play The Sims mode where there's no goals for the player to work toward achieving.

The only real criticisms of the game I have other than the above is how long it seems to take Sims to do everyday tasks. Making and eating breakfast can take an hour in game time, and a lot of other activities also seem to take far too long compared to their everyday counterparts. When the sims have a lot of cram into their day it's infuriating to watch them spend half an hour rubbing their eyes in an attempt to wake up.

Graphically, the Sims are a little blocky up close but the environments generally look alright and there's not much to complain about. The inclusion of an option to turn walls on and off was a good idea, considering the angle of the gameplay. Musically the game features some nice interludes during build and purchase menus as well as a little music on the radio. The vocal work can get irritating at times as characters repeat the same phrases in Simlish constantly, but aside from this it works better than a real language in some aspects.

Overall the first game in the series has a lot of fun aspects and can be fairly entertaining especially to those new to the game. There's a good amount of items and house building options and expansion packs for the game to keep it interesting. The two player modes also add interest, but personally I find that there comes a point where there's nothing else to do in the game, and your Sims are locked into their earning/spending routine. I do find myself coming back to the game every now and then but only in short bursts.

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

Game: The Urbz: Sims In the City
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Maxis
Release Date: 9th November 2004

The black sheep of the Sims series, The Urbz attempted to give a new spin on the classic formula before the Sims 2 was released. It feels much like a stopgap between the two games controlwise, as the player uses essentially the same control method as in the first game, but with the menu dynamic and graphics more akin to the second. The player lives in apartments in various districts and attempts to gain reputation with other Urbz in the city. Most of the gameplay takes place in the bustling towns rather than at the home of the player.

In the Urbz, the apartment is almost like a base for sleeping, washing and topping up your Urb's needs enough to venture out to the city. Jobs, socialising and purchasing of items all take place in the city and unlike before, the jobs consist of button pressing minigames that the player has to beat to do well at the jobs rather than hours of waiting for a sim to return home. This is a good feature since perhaps the most boring part of any sim day is waiting for them to get back from work.

New features of the game include "Power Social" moves, used to gain reputation and impress other Urbz, pets, and countless menus of social moves which can be a pain to navigate. In order to high five a fellow Urb, the player has to select the with the cursor, choose to interact, greet them, and then select a high 5 from the list of greetings. While what you say and do may be important to your real life reputation, this degree of choice feels almost unneeded here.

There's a good selection of items for your apartment, even if its not the focus of the game. Fans of building mansions in The Sims may find the space a little tough to work with, but its something that you get used to. Customisation options for your Urb are plentiful with different styles being popular in each district. When designing an Urb though, there's not all too much choice with regard to facical and bodily features. I counted a total of 3 possible haircuts for my particular character, which was somewhat disappointing.

Graphically the game looks nice with the city locations fairly well designed and the Urbz fairly nicely detailed, if a little oddly proportioned. Needs in the game are basically the same as those in The Sims, and its interesting to see how they're worked into each job that you're able to do. The game features music from the Black Eyed Peas, and even the members of the band at points. It's not too bad and gives the game a definite urban feel.

Overall The Urbz doesn't deliver a massively addictive or memorable gameplay experience, but does use the features of the Sims series to make a game that's markedly different but has a good concept and some fun moments. A viable alternative for those bored by the daily routine of work and sleeping from the first game, I'd suggest this is aimed at a slightly younger audience but is a rewarding play for those willing to give it a go. The only real criticism I'd aim at the game as a whole is that moving up through its social scene can become a tad repetitive and there's less replay value to it once the player has completed the game than in the main series.

Rating: 65/100
Grade: C

Game: The Sims 2
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Maxis
Release Date: 24th October 2005

The Sims 2 featured a lot of changes from the formula of the original game. In addition to the classic pillar 3rd person control method, the default control option was changed to an in body 3rd person control, where players were able to move their selected Sim around rather than commanding them to do activities from the items they needed to interact with. The ability to follow your Sim via the pillar control method was not included, which is a shame since it made things easier for the player.

The goal system in Get a Life mode was also changed, with shorter term goals taking the place of the long term aims to move up in the world. Instead, these new goals earn aspiration points, used to unlock new items of furniture and other luxuries. While this makes the game less linear overall, there are times when the aims are strangely simple ("Talk to another sim", or "Buy a bed worth more than $50"), and others when the aims seem far out of reach.

There are more customisation options and items than in the first game and whilst this does give a wealth of choice to the player, it doesn't make the gameplay any better. I understand the need for personalisation in games like this, and there's definitely more to select from but there are reasons why I find The Sims 2 a little unenjoyable. Firstly the aforementioned control methods make gameplay less easy than it was in the first game, with the new control method requiring the player to journey over to everything they wish to interact with and then select the items from the menu.

Secondly, the needs bars are much less easy to assess, tucked away as small vertical gauges so that it's hard to tell the difference between a sleepy sim and one that is going to pass out from exhaustion, and lastly (I'm not sure whether this is just the ps2 copy of the game) whenever the game goes to load something, there's a slight pause where the game just freezes up before actually doing anything. Sometimes the audio lags behind also, which leads it to feel poorly programmed and buggy.

Graphically the game has been somewhat improved although I still wouldn't say it looks good. The characters are inbetween being nicely styled and looking weird, and a lot of the items seem like failed jokes by the game staff. It's probably easier to have some fun with The Sims 2 if you're just playing around with items, than the first game, but playing the game seriously feels less rewarding. Musically, there's more to choose from and menu music is pleasant but perhaps not as charming as the original game.

Overall The Sims 2 was a disappointment for me, the changes that Maxis made to it felt either like bad ideas or rushed versions of decent concepts. The new items and customisation options are good, but you'll never use them all and a lot of them will go unused if you're anything like me. Other than that you're left with a career mode that I feel works less well than in the original game, and a neighbourhood mode that's more fun (especially in two player) but only for a little while.

Rating: 60/100
Grade: D