Saturday, November 09, 2002

Review of 8 Mile     Eminem joins the ranks of all those pop stars he makes fun of by making his big movie debut.  He plays Jimmy Smith, AKA Bunny Rabbit, who lives in trailer park with his unemployed alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger) and seem stuck in dead end jobs like his latest at a license plate factory.  But he and his friends all dream of being big star rappers, and it’s obvious they all pin their hopes on Jimmy as he extremely talented, but really has to start deciding if he wants to take the next step, and how he wants to get there, deciding between his more trustworthy friend Future (Mekhi Phifer) who says he needs to establish some credibility by winning rap-offs at Future’s club and get discovered, or another friend who promises as long as he records a demo, he’ll get an instant record deal, but there’s something very shady about the guy.     Make no mistake about it; although he is surrounded by a fairly talented cast (especially Mekhi Phifer), this movie is completely dependent on its star to really carry the film as he is literally in every single scene and almost always the focus of it.  Saying he can act well is a stretch, but this is a role that is tailor made for him, and he pulls it off fairly well, but he really comes alive whenever he’s performing.  This movie actually reminds me a lot of movies like Flash Dance, as it really is one of those movies where you have this incredibly talented person who is sort of afraid to go for it, but this one rings a lot more real than any of those cheesy movies, (although there are a couple of fairly cheesy melodrama moments the movie could’ve done without) and a lot of it is the cinematography, which presents Detroit as an extremely run down & crime ridden city that everybody is desperate to get out of.  SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT READ THE NEXT PART AND JUST READ THE FINAL GRADE IF YOU DON”T WANT ANY SPOILERS:  We never really find out if Jimmy gets the big record deal, but that’s not really the point of the movie, the point is that Jimmy is doing things in order to really try and do something with his life and get out his current situation, and it gets that point across really well. Final Grade: B+ 4:37:42 PM    comment []

Review of Contra: Shattered Soldier for PS2    Publisher: Konami     Developer: Konami     Genre: Shooter     # Of Players: 1-2     Contra is back in full force!  Making a return to its true 2D roots and maintaining a level of old school difficulty that will make most gamers cry for their mommies, this a much better return to form than those horrid attempts to bring the series into 3D.  The story is pretty much ripped off from Demolition Man, but who really cares?  All you need to know is that there is an alien invasion, and in order to stop it you need to blast the hell out of everything in sight.  This latest Contra is very reminiscent of my recent review of Death Row for Xbox.  It’s not particularly fancy or complex, and it’s brutally difficult, but it’s also fun. Graphics: Decent, and there’s a lot of really creative enemy design, but the animation isn’t very good overall and this could probably have been done on the PS One.  The weapon effects are fairly simple, there’s no great deaths, no really cool cut scenes, and explosions are decent but not impressive. Sound: The music is actually pretty good, but the effects are rather lacking, you hear the basic gunfire and explosions, but enemies don’t make much sound even when they die.  And there’s no voice acting. Gameplay: It’s a setup that’s very simple, and for the most part, it works pretty well.  With the exception of the final level, you can do the levels in any order you want.  The problem with that is that there are only 5 levels, so if by some miracle you are really good at the game, it won’t take you that long to beat.  There are three weapon types.  That’s it.  But thankfully you have all three from the start and it’s easy to switch them on the fly and all work better than others in certain circumstances.  The level design is very intense and intricate, as you’ll run into a boss about every minute.  You can fire in all directions, but only in the direction you are moving.  It would’ve been really cool if you could aim one way and move another (the other analog stick is totally unused, would’ve been perfect for it).  A huge part of the difficulty is the fact that it is one hit deaths and even on the easiest setting you don’t get many lives and the slightest touch by any enemy is instant death, which can be quite frustrating. Features: Well, you can choose in which order you do the levels and there’s a difficulty option (insanely hard, freakishly hard, & so hard you’ll end up in a mental institution), and of course the two-player mode but not really anything else. Funfactor: I have no problem admitting that this game whipped my butt many, many, many times over.  It’ll most likely whip yours too because this is probably the hardest game in the last 7 years and possibly the hardest game ever, and that may turn off a lot of people.  I’ll say it again, it’s not fancy, it’s not pretty, it’s fairly simple, it’s ridiculously intense & hard, but it’s also a real blast as long as you don’t mind the extreme difficulty of the game. --Final Scores— Graphics: 6.0-It’s 2D and there is really great boss design, but it’s just not that impressive overall. Sound: 5.0-I think the music fits really well, but effects are extremely minimal. Gameplay: 7.0-Does a fairly good job of keeping it simple but involving, but I really wish you could fire in one direction while moving in another. Features: 6.5-I like that you can do the levels in any order and there is a difficulty option as well as two-player. Funfactor: 7.0-Incredibly hard but also undeniably fun. 4:33:07 PM    comment []

Review of Mario Party 4 for Gamecube     Publisher: Nintendo     Developer: Nintendo     Genre: Party     # Of Players: 1-4     Mario and gang are back yet again in the popular mix of party & board games.  If you’ve previously played any of the earlier versions, you know the drill.  You choose one of many characters from the Mario universe, play on a variety of game boards and compete in minigames all in a quest to get the most stars.  This newest version features 50 mini games, some new, some old, but the bottom line is that this is still the same game as it has been in the last 3 incarnations. Graphics: While slightly improved over the N64 versions, this is by no means impressive.  The look of the boards is extremely imaginative but the animation is extremely simplistic and there aren’t any great little details.  Bottom line is that could be easily done on any of the systems from the last generation. Sound: Music and effects are all very cartoony and extremely appropriate for the atmosphere, but let’s face facts; anyone over age 8 will probably not enjoy them and listen to other music as it’s definitely not essential and definitely not memorable. Gameplay: Like any game of this style, the real key is in how well the minigames are designed, and in this game, only a few are designed well.  The bad ones in clued a poorly designed rowing & dungeon game, a really lame fishing game that’s completely based on chance, just to name a few.  Little kids won’t mind these, but they aren’t an improvement over the ones offered previously and especially over the ones offered in the original.  Plus many of the games essentially boil down simply moving the analog, running from something. Features: You can play mini games you’ve unlocked, and there are two types of game modes, and of course it’s up to 4-player. Funfactor: This game faces the same problems as the last two in the series.  It’s not an improvement over the last one and it’s not as good as the original.  Out of the current crop of mascot party games available (i.e. Rayman Arena & Pac Man Fever), this is certainly the best one, and it’s perfectly alright for the kids, and even for older game players might be fun for a weekend, but after a few play throughs you’ll probably put it down and never even think about it again. --Final Scores— Graphics: 5.0-Imaginative game boards, but still essentially is a slightly smoothed-out N64 game. Sound: 5.5-Music & effects are appropriately cartoony, but fairly forgettable. Gameplay: 5.0-Minigames are hit and miss, more miss than hit. Features: 6.5-Up to 4-players, able to play unlocked minigames, 2 different game modes. Funfactor: 6.0-Perfectly fun for the kids, but only fun for a little while for older gamers. 4:13:11 PM    comment []

Review of Shenmue II for Xbox     Publisher: Sega     Developer: AM2     Genre: Adventure     # Of Players: 1     The sequel to the incredibly ambitious project known as Shenmue, this sequel is more like an expansion pack than a real sequel literally picking up right where the last game left off.  You again, play as Ryo, still looking for your father’s killer, this time, your investigation takes you to Hong Kong.  For those not familiar, this game is somewhat similar in Dead to Rights in that the game is basically comprised of a wide variety of game styles and minigames ranging from Dragon’s Lair-style timed button pressing to martial arts fighting to classic Sega games (although it does do it better than DTR).  And while it features a much tighter story & improved gameplay, this game will still most likely appeal to those who really loved the first one. Graphics: Well, these were impressive two years ago.  These graphics are exactly the same quality of the original game on Dreamcast.  And while those represented top graphic quality for that system and are still pretty good by any standard, it isn’t nearly up there with top- notch graphics like Halo, Max, Payne, Buffy, etc. Sound: The voice acting is on par with the first one, meaning it has an uneven range between simply boring or just plain bad.  The effects aren’t all that great either as I don’t hear birds or water even though I’m at the harbor.  I do like the music; I think it fits the game really well. Gameplay: Again. For those not familiar, Shenmue mixes a wide variety of game styles.  This has a slightly wider variety of games, but what I don’t like is you don’t get an option to replay sections if you don’t want to (especially the Dragon’s Lair type sequences).  This is a game that runs on a clock, and time is important, but they did some great improvement in that you can instantly go to an area or you can warp time forward rather than just having to kill so much time like you had to in the original and even if you get lost you can just ask some passerby and they will likely guide you directly to where you need to be.  But the main problem is while the styles of gameplay of tighter as is the story, it’s still the same stuff (i.e. you still raise cash by gambling & running a forklift, just like the first one).  Some new stuff would’ve been really welcome. Features: Well there are all the cool Sega classics to play, but the coolest idea is that there is actually a feature length DVD that’s basically a movie of the original to catch you up.  Of course the problem is that the acting in the original was so bad you may not want to bother. Funfactor: Again, if you really liked the first game and really wanted the story to continue, this is a definite must buy.  It also might be worth a look if the first one intrigued you, as it’s a slightly better game.  But at the end of the day, it’s really just an extension of the original.  The same gameplay, the same graphics, the same bad acting.  It’s almost like comparing Evil Dead & Evil Dead II. --Final Scores— Graphics: 7.0-Well, it was top-notch two years ago… Sound: 5.0-I like the music, but the effects are lacking and the acting is weak overall. Gameplay: 7.5-Still pretty much same as the first one, but everything’s been slightly improved. Features: 6.0-Yeah, there’s a movie included, but it’s a painful one, but all those cool classic Sega games. Funfactor: 7.0-Definitely worth picking up if you liked the original, but may bring on an all too familiar feeling. 4:04:35 PM    comment []

Review of The Santa Clause 2    Tim Allen is back as the man with the red suit and big belly in this sequel to the successful and surprisingly funny original.  In this sequel, Scott Calvin has been Santa now for about 8 years, and all the elves are saying he’s possibly the best ever, but all is definitely not well at the North Pole.  Santa’s son has actually gotten onto the “naughty” list, and apparently there’s a second clause in that little card that he & the elves missed, stating that if Santa doesn’t get married by Christmas eve of his eighth year on the job, he permanently loses the job (it’s the “Ms.” clause, get it?).  So, while he heads back home to help his son & hopefully find a wife, he leaves a Santa clone is in charge, but that also leads to problems when the clone decides that all kids are naughty and deserve nothing but coal.     It’s a little corny, stretched a little thin, and not all of the jokes work, but the bottom line is that the Santa Clause 2 succeeds where it really counts in that it’s very funny.  And a lot of this is owed to the returning cast.  Judge Reinhold as the therapist husband of Calvin’s ex has many funny lines, but it’s Allen who really saves what could’ve been a rather horrid film as he dos great delivery and really plays the role of Santa perfectly.  Again, it’s not deep, it’s not edgy, but it manages to be funny and entertaining for all but the most cynical of moviegoers, and one of those few films that’s enjoyable for the entire family, so if you want a good laugh for the kids and yourself, check out Santa Clause 2. Final Grade: B 8:43:36 AM    comment []

Review of Toe Jam & Earl III: Mission to Earth for Xbox    Publisher: Sega     Developer: Visual Concepts     Genre: Platformer     # Of Players: 1-2     Those funky aliens are back making the universe safe for all that’s funky in their new adventure for the Xbox.  Someone has stolen the 12 sacred albums and scattered them around that weird planet known as Earth that has a serious lack of funk.  The Great Funkapotamus is sending those wacky guys who crash landed on Earth many years back on the Genesis, along with a new girl named Latisha, to convert the earthlings into followers of funk and recover the sacred albums.  While it features many of the gameplay elements that made the original fun, the bottom line in that it’s just not as good as a game that was made about 8-10 years ago on a much more inferior system. Graphics: While successfully recreating the look of the original and making it look a bit better, this game easily looks like it would be no problem to be done on the PS one.  There is no great detail on the characters or the levels.  They all are somewhat barren and except for the earthlings, fairly lifeless. Sound: I love that it has the original theme music from the first game, and some of the sound bites from the earthlings are fairly funny, but all three of the main characters have been badly recorded by extremely unfunny people with no sense of delivery or comic timing.  The effects are appropriately cartoony, but nothing astounding. Gameplay: Maybe the biggest problem in this game is that they tried to fix a formula that wasn’t really broken in the first place.  In the original game, you and maybe a friend traversed various levels to find parts of your rocket ship while using presents to avoid crazy earthlings such as mad dentists, boogeymen, and so on.  It was really simple, and totally open in that you could go back and forth to every single level with no stupid amount of tasks to do or things to collect.  In this new edition, every single level has a set amount of moronic tasks to accomplish such as converting all the earthlings, delivering an item to an earthling, etc.  This original was really based on the simple idea of open exploration, and this new game has almost completely done away with that, as the levels are extremely structured and all have these goals and of course you have to collect tons of things like keys & microphones to unlock level end challenges.  It doesn’t help that the game really steals its storyline directly from the original Star Wars, (there’s a disturbance in the funk, gee why does that sound familiar?) and does it badly at that (they could’ve done a clever parody, but noooo).  And finally, although there are three characters, there is no real difference between playing between them.  TJ may be a little faster than Earl, but not enough to make a difference, and Latisha is really just a female version of  TJ (obviously they felt the female audience wasn’t represented, but how about an original character with her own personality?). Features: Well, there is an alternate play mode to unlock, but all it really does is randomize the level layouts and what levels the albums are located in.  Here’s a simple question, where’s a real multi-player mode?  Sure there’s a two-player mode, but this is Xbox, there should be a three-player or even create a fourth character for 4-player mode.  Other than those extras, there’s not much else. Funfactor: Not really a bad game, but not nearly as good as the original, and with a little hunting, you could easily pick up a genesis, an extra controller and the game for $25 or less, which is about half the price you’d pay for the new one.  Rather than either create a whole new adventure or try to recreate the original, they just seemed to literally blend the first two games, which was a bad idea. --Funfactor— Graphics: 3.0-Again, these could easily be done on a PS one. Sound: 6.5-Music is pretty good, and some of the earthling sound bites are funny, but all of the lines from the main characters are just bad. Gameplay: 5.0-Tired old concepts like collecting keys and stupid objectives. Features: 6.0-Sure there’s a two-player mode, but how about more?  And all random mode does is make the location & layouts random, rather than say enemies or quests. Funfactor: 5.5-Again, if you don’t have Genesis, it’d be about half the price to pick up the original, which is far superior. 8:41:04 AM    comment []

Review of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers for PS2     Publisher: Electronic Arts     Developer: Stormfront Studios     Genre: Action     # Of Players: 1     The wave of Lord of the Rings games is on its way, and it’s gotten off to a big start with two distinctly different releases on both Xbox & PS2.  This PS2 game actually takes you through the first two movies, where for the most part you will be playing as your choice of Aragorn, Legolas, or Gimli as you play through most of the major battle scenes in the first movie & I’m assuming all the major battles in the second (since it hasn’t come out yet).  Featuring music & voice acting from the movie, stunning visuals, and epic battle stages, not only is this one of the few licensed games that does a tremendous job of closely emulating the actual movie it’s based on, it’s also one of the better action games on PS2 this year. Graphics: There is a lot of blending from with real footage from the film to in-game cinemas, and it works surprisingly well (although yes, there is an obvious difference).  The enemies and characters are all represented very well, as are the locales from the movies.  The animation is a tad off, but the game stays really smooth and never slows down even when there is literally a ton of enemies (which happens quite often). Sound: Music is straight from the movie, and it works brilliantly.  As is all the voice acting, but my main complaint is during levels they repeat a couple of canned phrases ad nauseam.  But the sound effects are also dead on as you will hear the sounds of massive battles and arrows whistling through the air. Gameplay: Make no mistake about it; this is a hack n slash action game.  Every single level is you as one of the big three warriors literally plowing your way through tons of enemies.  But Stormfront has wisely decided to add quite a bit of strategy to the game as there are always specific strategies to deal with many of the enemies (bit the boss battles are very cool), and the other characters actually help you out quite a bit.  Plus you get points for each level based on your performance, which allows you to buy new moves or increase your health.  Although occasionally gangs of enemies do gang up on you, which can be a little frustrating.  And aiming with your distance weapons is actually a pretty big hassle; it’s just handled poorly. Features: Lots of interviews, and the ability to play as three very different characters through most of the levels are very cool, but why is this game only one-player?  It wouldn’t even need to be split-screen since the levels aren’t that big and it would’ve added even more replay value. Funfactor: It’s always difficult to get a licensed game right as literally about 100 are done every single year and usually 98 of them turn out to be pure crap, but this year EA’s made it look fairly easy with Buffy for Xbox & now this, which again is right up there with Mark of Kri as a completely intense and fun action game.  And it very closely follows the movie, which even fewer games really are able to do.  This is a great pick up if you are a fan of the books, the movies, or just a fan of good action games. --Final Scores— Graphics: 9.0-Locales and characters and enemies from the movie are all recreated beautifully, but animation is a tad off. Sound: 9.0-Music straight from the movie and sound effects are great.  But during the stages only a couple of canned phrases are repeated so often it gets a little annoying. Gameplay: 7.5-Simple, fun hack & slash gameplay, aiming with distance weapons is done poorly, but it’s cool that you can earn new abilities. Features: 7.0-Lots of cool extras like interviews & the ability to play as really different fighters, but where the heck is the two-player mode? Funfactor: 9.0-One of the better action games out this year. 8:35:23 AM    comment []

Review of Suikoden III for PS2        Publisher: Konami         Developer: Konami         Genre: RPG         # Of Players: 1     Konami’s own RPG series makes its debut on the PS2.  You basically see the events leading up to a war between nations through the eyes of three main characters: Hugo, who is son of the Karaya Clan Leader, young Chris, a prominent female & leader of the Knights of Zexen, & Geddoe, commander of the 12th unit from Harmonia.     Featuring a hugely revamped battle & build-up system, as well as the usual whopping 108 characters (most of which can join your party), Suikoden III is a rare gem in the fact that it manages an extremely complex storyline that manages to be about a war and a grand adventure all at the same time.  It’s also the best RPG of the year. Graphics: Konami has decided to go for a polygonal look that is cartoonish in look on the characters, but it works fairly well for a fantasy style setting (there’s an entire race of ducks, how realistic do you want it to be?).  Spell effects are fairly impressive, but not even close to FFX.  I really like the unique character designs and how well they animate, and I am impressed with the great amount of detail in the towns and castles.  Unfortunately, dungeons and plains look decent, but are somewhat barren, and there is slowdown all over the place, but it’s negligible. Sound: Great music that fits incredibly well with the atmosphere of the game, but no voice acting.  Effects during battle are fairly well done, but this is an rpg, so nothing too spectacular in that department. Gameplay: Well, the coolest thing is that like the first two they have three different types of well-done fighting as traditional turn-based, one-on-one duels, and large scale war battles.  The biggest change is in the traditional battles, as you have two people pair up as a team, and they are completely dependent on each other, they can only use items on each other, for instance.  This takes a little getting used to but adds a ton of new strategy to battles.  And as in the previous two certain character combinations can do combined attacks, which can also figure quite heavily into strategy.  And level ups aren’t the key to building skills like in most games.  You get skill points which you use to build up skills or learn new ones, and each character has abilities they are good at learning, and some they aren’t, which makes you carefully weigh the value of a skill.  And while you can make good money by defeating enemies, the real key is understanding the trading system.  If you know where to buy & sell stuff to make the best profits, you’ll be making big bucks in no time.  In fact my only real complaint is that the game is sometimes extremely ambiguous about what you are supposed to do to move the story along.  You literally sometimes have to be lucky enough to run into the area you are supposed to go to because you’re never told how to proceed. Features: The fact that you can play from a few different perspectives is really cool, and trying to get all 108 characters will probably give you reason to go through the game twice (you won’t get them all the first time through unless you use a guide), plus you can actually load your save data from Suikoden II for characters from that one that are in this new chapter (wish I had saved mine). Funfactor: This is just simply a surprising gem.  It has original battle features, a great, complex story that is able to balance quite well humor & drama, well-designed characters, and I love that they actually include characters from the last two, which is incredibly rare in any RPG series.  This has always been a very good series, and this latest chapter is the best one yet, and in my opinion, the best RPG of the year (and as far as I know, it is the last one being released this year). --Final Scores— Graphics: 8.5-Great character & town design, but battle areas are a bit bland, and a ton of split-second slowdown. Sound: 7.5-Great soundtrack, but no voice acting, and effects are good, but only by rpg standards. Gameplay: 9.5-Great variety of battles, tons of cool characters, and great build-up system, but a little ambiguous about what you are supposed to do next. Features: 6.0-Being able to play from different characters’ perspective is great, as well as being able to load data from the previous game. Funfactor: 9.0-I’ll say it again: BEST RPG OF THE YEAR. 8:29:02 AM    comment []

Review of Star Wars: The Clone Wars for Gamecube    Publisher: Lucas Arts     Developer: Lucas Arts     Genre: Action     # Of Players: 1-4     The Clone Wars have begun on the Gamecube.  You take control of Mace Windu & other Jedi such as Anakin & Obi-Wan on foot on ground and air for a try at a unique experience.  This game takes place right after the events of Episode II as you try to defeat Count Dooku’s clone army.  Although it features a wide variety of never-before seen vehicles for you to play around with and tries to mix up the missions into various styles of play, maybe Lucas Arts should’ve stuck with one as none of these styles provides a particularly engaging or fun experience, and it’s just vastly inferior to Rogue Leader. Graphics: While the locales have some nice little details and are nicely designed, it’s all ruined when the game starts moving.  There is a huge amount of glitching, pop-up, and slow down because there’s just so much going on.  And it looks especially choppy when you are on foot, the animation is just sad. Sound: It features the great soundtrack that all Star Wars games are known for, but the voice acting sucks, and there is a ton of it (plus it doesn’t feature the actual voice actors), and the sound effects are surprisingly wimpy compared to other similar games.  There is almost always a huge battle going on, but I don’t hear anything unless I’m firing at something or it’s firing at me. Gameplay: Really lame auto-targeting system in all modes that is reminiscent of the bad auto-targeting in PSO.  The choppy frame rate can really interfere with gameplay, and the Jedi fighting, which should be the coolest part, is extremely limited, as all you have is a three button push combo and you can throw your light saber.  You can’t even jump and fighting robots comes with so many cheap hits that it’s ridiculous.  Plus your co-pilots are never any help; I thought we were past the point of really bad ally A.I.? Features: Multi-player mode, and Lucas Arts games always have plenty of cool extras. Funfactor: This is an absolutely mediocre Star Wars game in every way, shape, and form.  There are better SW games you can pick up cheaper (Rogue Squadron), and better SW games that aren’t very far off (Jedi Knight) so there’s just really no reason to pick this one up.  The Clone Wars may have begun, but this game will have you praying they end very quickly. --Final Scores— Graphics: 6.0-Looks great initially, but bogs down hugely with horrible frame rate and bad animation. Sound: 6.0-Great Star Wars soundtrack, but horrid voice acting & effects. Gameplay: 4.0-Horrid targeting system, clumsy Jedi fighting. Features: 6.5-Multi-player modes and some cool hidden stuff. Funfactor: 5.5-This very bored leaves me (bad Yoda joke, completely fitting for a bad game). 8:13:59 AM    comment []

Review of Tony Hawk 4 for Xbox        Publisher: Activision         Developer: Neversoft Entertainment         Genre: Sports         # Of Players: 1-4     Although the extreme sports genre has become a tad oversaturated lately, no one can doubt that the reigning king of extreme sports games is the Tony Hawk series (although Aggressive Inline gave it a pretty good run for its money).  And now with the 4th entry the motto is if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  If you didn’t like the previous entries, you aren’t going to enjoy this one, but it’s a definite pick up for anybody who enjoys this style of game as it’s the best one yet in the series. Graphics: There are a ton of very original and fitting locales, all given a great amount of graphical detail, but there is a general lack of little details (like the fact that nobody’s sitting down at tables or benches at the college).  But everything is pretty smooth and there no hint of slowdown or glitching no matter what you are doing. Sound: Ok, the effects are pretty minimalistic, but in a game like this all that really matters is that the music fits well, and I guess it does really fit this style of game, but it’s mostly bands I don’t like so I’ll stick to listening to my cd collection. Gameplay: Again, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it is the philosophy that the game designers have gone with here.  There isn’t really any time limit on the specific levels, so you can just go around and see how many tricks you can do, or you can do specific tasks to earn points & unlock tons of extra stuff.  The tricks are easy to learn individually, but as in any good skate boarding game, the real skill is in pulling off a huge chain of tricks without majorly screwing up. Features: Jam-packed with unlockable skaters and parks, as well as multi-player modes and a fairly well done create-a-skater. Funfactor: If you like skateboarding games, this is the best one yet, basically offering the same but slightly enhanced gameplay with a couple of new features and great graphics.  But once again, if you didn’t enjoy the previous ones, you won’t find any enjoyment here, and I’m one of those, as I’ve never gotten what’s so cool about pulling off some tricks for hours and hours (but that’s just me). --Final Scores— Graphics: 9.0-Amazing-looking locales and great looking skaters, but levels lack life. Sound: 7.0-effects are lacking, but music fits nicely; it’s just not my preference. Gameplay: 7.5-Not really any huge improvement from previous versions, but that’s not a bad thing. Features: 10-Loaded with unlockable stuff, modes, and a decent create-a-skater. Funfactor: 8.5-Easily the best Tony Hawk yet, but nothing there for somebody who wasn’t interested in the first place. 8:09:49 AM    comment []