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The Successful Dropout
09-20-2004, 06:59 PM
Just got this in the mail today and figured I'd share the goods....assuming that some haven't seen these scores yet. I know a lot of ppl on here dont like PSM, but I do...so there.

Jak 3 - 9
+cool story; hot new gun mods; lots of variety; fun story & plot twists
-not enough core platforming; story drags at times; a little too much buggyRatchet & Clank 3 - 10
+amazing online multiplayer; great variety; best set of weapons yet
-i suppose the music could be better but, c'mon, how picky can you really be?
Sly 2 - 8.5
+stylish and funny; cool characters; great platforming; a wide variety of things to do
-not very challenging; doesn't make great use of the gang's impressive set of moves
Shadow Hearts 2 - 10
+amazingly scripted with more humor than every preceding rpg put together
-not as visually polished as a squaresoft game, but the gameplay is great!
Burnout 3 - 9.5
+the sense of speed; bonus icons make crash mode crazy and compelling
-the soundtrack is disappointing...and that's really about all that's wrong with it
Def Jam 2 - 8
+more of everything; excellent presentation; good variety of fighters
-ridiculously relentless opponents; fighting system shows some growing pains
Tiger Woods 05 - 9
+fantastic create-a-player; 14 courses; course customization options; 14 modes
-aiming tough; camera lingers on faces; button mashing for power threatens aim
Hot Shots Golf Fore - 9
+fun, wacky characters; nice course designs; plenty of depth; online play
-needs an analog swing; it isn't easy to put the camera where you want it
Katamari Damacy - 9
+original gameplay that's simple and addicting; killer soundtrack; great price
-camera sometimes gets lost in the madness; so wacky it might hurt your brain
Digimon Rumber Arena 2 - 6
+wide selection of monsters; four can play at once; smashable environments
-simplistic to a fault; tech specs aren't very impressive; not a very polished game
Shellshock: Nam 67 - 5
+doesn't look half bad; pulls no punches with the presentation of the brutality of war
-severely underdesigned; poor game flow; grenades touch to aim; too short
Robotech: Invasion - 7.5
+invasion captures the spirit of the anime perfectly, with spiffy graphics, also
-the cyclone is too twitchy; missions are linear; why can't you fly the alphas?
Juiced - 8
+the sheer # of options in this is daunting; crewbased racing rocks
-car physics are a little light and damage modeling could be improved
Headhunter 2 - 7
+presentation and visuals are all topnotch, and the story is pretty cool, as well
-too many cut-scenes; autotargeting sometimes chooses wrong enemy
Second Sight - 8
+great plot, gameplay that mixes genres well, solid framerate and smooth controls
-what, no monkeys with guns? that's got to be considered a step backwardThe Guy Game - 3
+dozens of cute girls, and this might do the trick if you somehow couldn't find any real porn...maybe
-no challenge at all (the questions don't change), and it isn't really risque enough to be worthwhile
Digital Hitz Factory - 7
+the sampler makes a huge difference in creating your own sound - an edge over the competition
-the instruction manual is puny when it needs to be phone book-sized. and why no dolby?
Conflict: Vietnam - 8
+the combat is intense and the language is vintage 'nam. hell, they even got the music right!
-the graphics aren't exactly top-notch; there's some bad tearing and seams showing
Mega Man X Command Mission - 7.5
+intense graphics; rpg gameplay that works; a good storyline; fun weapons; combo attacks
-no jumping; odd camera control angles; slow pacing at times; lots of random battles
Terminator 3 The Redemption - 7
+exciting, fast-paced shooter action with the governator and snazzy visuals
-sound-alike actor doesn't; gameplay linear and redundent; bad targeting
Fifa 05 - 8
+complete and deep, even casual soccer fans will get a, ahem, kick out of this...
-controls feel imprecise at times, and commentary is wonkier than ever
Time Crisis: Crisis Zone - 7
+it's primal fun to destroy shop fronts, shatter glass, and waste the bad guys
-why isn't an s-video guncon adapter included? composite video is so '95
Armored Core: Nexus - 7.5
+over 150 missions and enough swappable parts (400+) to satisfy any gearhead
-shows its age visually; wimply early mechs; touch tech curve; uninvolving plot
Under the Skin - 6
+amusing and truly different; the raccoon city level (with cartoon jill) is awesome
-after you get over the goofiness, the concept is state of emergency-thin
Rapala Pro Fishing - 5
+great rod action; around 750 lures; helpful guide; adjustable drag reel!
-lousy underwater camera; weak graphics & music; broken fish-fighting physics
Cabelas Deer Hunt 05 - 6
+very realistic; nearly 30 locations, 9 breeds, tons of equipment; skeet & trap shooting
-if you aren't really into hunting, this walking-in-the-woods sim won't convert you

I already planned on getting quite a few of those...now I plan on getting half of them...and I'll get the rest, of course, when they hit $5-$10.

Jaket
09-20-2004, 07:00 PM
... ratchet and clank is SO mine!

evilpenguin9000
09-20-2004, 08:56 PM
Funny how many of those titles have numbers at the end of them. Sequels rule the Earth!

Scrubking
09-20-2004, 09:54 PM
HSGFore is equal to Tiger? :shock: The world must be ending - a review finally got it right.

HOTSHIET
09-21-2004, 04:31 PM
Thanks for the reviews.

Backlash
09-21-2004, 04:45 PM
Thanks for typing all that up!

dtcarson
09-21-2004, 04:55 PM
I just got R&C: GC, I'm sure I'll get UYA after a while, I didnt like the first Jak, so that one's not at the top of my list.
One other comment about Katamari Damacy I saw was that the game itself is rather short.
I'm interested in HSGFore, but have other, possibly harder-to-get games I'm interested in right now.

swetooth9
09-21-2004, 04:56 PM
hmm..thanks for the reviews trust..those are the first ones i've heard for Jak 3, R&C 3 and shadow hearts 2 :D

Magician
09-26-2004, 06:13 PM
Shadow Hearts 2 seems to be amazingly popular among magazine reviews..... And humor? I guess its time to start on my sealed copy of Shadow Hearts so I can eventually play the sequel in a couple of years....

zewone
09-26-2004, 06:23 PM
Some good scores. Thanks for the heads up trust.

FrankySox
09-26-2004, 06:32 PM
HSGFore is equal to Tiger? :shock: The world must be ending - a review finally got it right.
That's funny

AlbinoNinja
10-04-2004, 12:13 AM
heh, first time i saw that i thought Ratchet and Clank got a 3 out of 10 and i was all like WTF mate!?!

CaseyRyback
10-04-2004, 12:15 AM
heh, first time i saw that i thought Ratchet and Clank got a 3 out of 10 and i was all like WTF mate!?!

even if it got a 3 out of 10 I still would have bought it. The beta was that awesome IMO

Ledhed
10-04-2004, 12:18 AM
R&C 3, you will be mine. Oh yes, you will be mine.

CaseyRyback
10-04-2004, 12:32 AM
R&C 3, you will be mine. Oh yes, you will be mine.

We will have to play together. I should be able to own some people the first couple of weeks since I played the game so much.

my advantage will diminish once others get good though.

Ledhed
10-04-2004, 12:36 AM
R&C 3, you will be mine. Oh yes, you will be mine.

We will have to play together. I should be able to own some people the first couple of weeks since I played the game so much.

my advantage will diminish once others get good though.

Definitely. I bought a network adapter 2 months ago, and have yet to go online once. Guess I'm adding a headset to the buy list. I can't believe how much this holiday season is costing me. It's fucking ridiculous. Seriously.

CaseyRyback
10-04-2004, 12:40 AM
I hardly go online with my PS2 either. Main reason is this site though, I have both RE:Outbreak and SOCOM II, but have too many other games to play.

R&C 3 though was one game i played online like every day. My only problem was that no one else ever wanted to play. There were like 10 of us who played constantly, and like 3 of them were Insomniac employees.

Danimal
10-04-2004, 12:58 AM
One thing I always find a little funny about PSM is how at the beginning of their reviews section, they have that little explanation of how they score games, and how they take their reviews seriously, and how hard it is for a game to get an 8, 9, or 10 score and earn their "Buy or Die" ranking. Then you count up how many rate that high, and it's usually somewhere around half of the games they review each issue. In this issue it's exactly half (13 out of 26)

To be fair, there are a lot of great games coming out this month, and I'm not saying they don't deserve the high scores. I don't mean to hate on PSM. It's just always seemed to me, whenever I've bothered to check, that maybe those scores aren't quite as hard to get from them as they think. Trustcompany, I'd be interested to know, if you have any back issues, if the ratio is always this high. Just seems that way to me, I could be wrong.

Anyway, many of those games will eventually make their way into my collection: R&C 3, Jak 3, Sly 2, HSGF, Burnout 3 and Katamari are all definites.

Vtdgnca
10-08-2004, 11:24 PM
wow Shadow Hearts 2 a 10!

Dezuria
10-08-2004, 11:34 PM
I got Shadow Hearts 2 and it's just amazing!

jesus020
10-08-2004, 11:37 PM
uhg, I think mags need to start lowering there avg socres for games! 5 sould be an avg game not 8-7! :evil:

sying
10-16-2004, 12:19 AM
HSGFore is equal to Tiger? :shock: The world must be ending - a review finally got it right.

To rip from GMR:

Id say Fore was on par with Tiger.


Sorry, I had to