Editorial Review

More often than not, when a game is in development for more than threeyears, it does not live up to the hype. Bungie's Halo is the exception.Not only does it meet expectations, it greatly exceeds them. This sci-fifirst-person shooter is a nearly perfect blend of gameplay, graphics, and sound.

The story revolves around the conflict between humans and an alien race known asthe Covenant. The aliens have discovered a powerful artifact--on the ring-shapedplanet called Halo--that will shift the balance of power, and it's up to theplayer to stop them. In addition to several first-person-shooter levels, thegame offers numerous opportunities to engage in vehicular combat. Both the enemyand allied artificial intelligence are extremely impressive. Enemies will usethe terrain and layout to put you in tight spots. Allies will know when to coverand aid you. For instance, if you hop into a jeep, an ally will know to jump inand man the turret on the back of it.

The graphics are exquisitely detailed, but only move at 30 frames per secondrather than 60. The sound effects and voice acting are superb. The level designis among the best ever; most of the game is engaging and challenging withoutbeing frustrating. There's also high replay value thanks to the built-insingle-player, cooperative, and deathmatch modes.

Much like the outstanding GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo 64, Haloraises the bar for console first-person shooters. All console action games willbe measured against Halo for years to come. --Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• Outstanding game design
• High replay value
• Impressive AI

• Several maps are used multiple times
• Save functions could have been better implemented
• Graphics move at 30 frames per second, not 60

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

All-Star Baseball certainly lives up to its name. It offers the largest stable of former greats, some 50 in all, and it even offers many of the standouts and stars from the old Negro Baseball League. Its obvious Acclaim decided the best way to deal with the competition is to match it in terms of baseball prowess, but at the same time, outdo them in terms of extras: All-Star throws shovelfuls of extras. Extras like a trivia game, stadium tours, and DVD content. It even includes classic ballparks, just in case you really miss Shibe Park. There are seven fantasy ballparks in currently baseball-free North American cities, and you can pick and choose from over 30 mascots, making the expansion team options all the more interesting. All-Star also offers a deep franchise mode that rivals text simulations like Over the Top Baseball.

Baseball lives and dies by the pitcher/batter duel and All-Star has you covered here. How? By offering every option the competition can muster. You can use a cursor system (like MVP Baseball), a timing based system (less realistic, but good for new players), and a system like High Heat where you have to watch the ball carefully (most realistic). Each system works but the cursor-based option could is sub par: the information regarding where and when to swing appears too late. The gameplay has other flaws. Fielding feels soft, unresponsive and slow, and the AI is stupidly aggressive at times: stealing when it shouldn't and slugging when a sacrifice is called for.

All-Star has good graphics--not the best available but very good and the animations are all smooth and lifelike. You can even identify many players by their batting stance alone. The audio is a standout, specifically the commentary, which is accurate, insightful, and even includes entertaining side conversations about the rules and quirks of the game.

All-Star isn't quite the best baseball game you can buy for your console system, but it offers the best overall package if you aren't sure what you want. Good gameplay, good graphics, lots of options and extras, and a nice range of hitting options. Play ball! --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• Nice range of pitching/batting options
• Good graphics
• Terrific Audio

• Uneven, overly aggressive, artificial intelligence

Editorial Review

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic takes place just a few years after the Mandolorian Wars, thousands of years before the events in the Star Wars movies we know and love. Two Jedi, master Revan and his apprentice Malak, led the Republic's forces to victory and pursued the Mandalorians into deep space only to return as Dark Jedi at the head of a huge fleet of Sith warships. Only the Force powers of the Jedi Bastila prevented the Sith from overwhelming the Republic's weakened forces. At the start of the game Malak has usurped control of the Sith by betraying Revan and has attacked the ship carrying Bastila and yourself. In true Star Wars style, the game begins with a bang.

The storyline could have been a standard coming-of-age yarn but is instead a genuinely interesting adventure told with humor, compassion, and respect for the source material. Your character has a mystical bond with Bastila, and the two of you share some kind of connection to the Sith villains Darth Malak and Darth Revan. The game's planet-hopping adventures are driven by your exploration of these connections and how they relate to your larger goal of discovering the source of the Sith's sudden fleet. During your adventure you can explore side quests minor (such as racing swoops or gambling) and major (such as uncovering the fascinating back stories of your companions). Star Wars fans will get a kick out of the rich lore introduced in the game, particularly the Tatooine storyline that reveals the origin and history of the Sand People.

Gameplay is an abbreviated form of Wizards of the Coast's d20 Star Wars RPG game system--anyone who has played Dungeons & Dragons will be familiar with the abilities, stats, feats, and bonuses in this game. The player creates a character as a member of one of three starting classes (soldier, smuggler, scout) and then later chooses a Jedi class (guardian, consular, sentinel). Joining the player's character are other Jedi, warriors, thieves, droids, a wookiee, and even a Mandolorian. Unlike the faceless non-player characters of other games, each member of the supporting cast has an intriguing history and even agenda. Up to two of these other characters can join your character at any time. Depending on who you chose to take with you, new dialogue and even intra-party arguments come into the game (put the Mandalorian veteran with the Republic patriot and you'll see sparks fly). Combat is real-time turn-based, meaning the turns are seamless but the player has the option of pausing the action at any time to issue orders or direct any character to use a certain Force power, ability, feat, or item.

Graphics range from adequate to exceptional. Building and character models are not impressive--about what you get in GTA 3. Lightsaber graphics and environmental effects (like waving grass, clouds, and weather) bring the world to life. Battles are just brilliant, with characters pumping out blaster fire at Jedi who dash, dodge, and even deflect the bolts back toward their assailants. Complete with sounds straight out of the movies, the thrilling combat is pure Star Wars.

All in all, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a masterpiece of Star Wars gaming. The pacing, balance of action and dialogue, clever puzzles and quests, and loving attention to detail have set the bar very high for role-playing games in general and Star Wars games in particular. Consider this a must-have game.--Mike Fehlauer

Pros:

• Captivating storyline
• Clever dialogue
• Star Wars feel
• True story and dialogue support for either Light Side or Dark Side play
• Brilliant combat graphics
• Fascinating characters (the loyal--and homicidal--droid HK-47 is truly unique)

• Occasional bugs in dialogue, movie playback
• Cannot transfer equipped gear between characters while on your ship

Features

• 25 NBA Legends - Challenge the best players of all time featuring their original, old-school game jerseys and player-specific signature moves
• 3 Different Modes to Choose From - Pick-Up Game, NBA Team Challenge, Be a Legend
• My Rules - Customize how YOU want to play the game
• Multiplayer - Play against the CPU, friends or team up against the best players in the world (1-4 players)

Reviews (45)

Great Game
This is a fun and Awesome game.I'm not much into the NBA, College Ball is way Better.I recommend this to anyone who likes or doesn't like Basketball.

BIG JAM
Exeptionaly cool game if you are not looking for a real basketball game but is just the same fun as one I've it's funier than just an old fashiond basket whit faults and free trows
This one is BIG just like ea-sports-big big you'll love it

Fun game, nothing to get excited about though
Now that more and more nba games are comming out on the three systems consisting of PS2, Xbox:):), and gamecube:(:( you kind of know what to expect, especially from these extreme nba games like this one and nba ballers. The basic point for this one, street 1 and ballers is to pass the ball, pass again, perform trick move, and score. The com will sometimes block it, sometimes not. So it basically turns into a luck game. In terms of stealing, the com will hardly get a good chance to successfully steal the ball from you as long as you perform a trick move such as act a fool, or in this case y and b which perform different trick moves. Or if you want to be fancy shmancy then you might pull both triggers, click the left thumbstick and push x or y resulting in a more advanced trick move resulting in more points. One thing that i do not like about this game is the gamebreaker move. While it takes away one point from your opponnent and adds one to yours, i don't think that that is enough considering how many tricks and shots you have to pull off in order to get the gamebreaker meter full. Even the gamebreaker level 2 meter isn't enough. Special meters such as the ones in NBA jam and nba ballers, (particularaly ballers:) are a little, or in ballers case, a LOT more rewarding. But, as you can see by the amount of stars that i gave this game, there is a lot to the game that i like, such as, legal goaltending, (this can get fun.) Instant replays are way out sick and the soundtrack is totally awesome. Did i mention the Old School Ballers. THey are so sweet its not even a laughing matter, well maybe for someone who laughs a lot it is, but besides that its definetely not. Also, the create a team and create a baller is tight. Now, on to the things that i dislike about this game. One thing is the graphics. Those definetely need working on for nba street volume 3, (hopefully:). Also, like a previousely stated, its basically the same concept as ballers and jam with the same style and "trick like" moves. The one thing that i hate about this game is the dissapointengly short season. It took me three days to complete it TWICE! So dissapointing. The last thing that i don't like about this game is that it does not include the xbox live feature. Do you know how much fun this game would be if it included this. I'd be playing it from dawn to dusk no kidding. Looking back on this review, i probobly would give this game a 3 1/2 which you know, isn't all that bad, but there are certainly definetely rooms for improvement. Now, the list.

Pros

-Great Old School Ballers
-Completely up to date rosters, (I think:)
-Nice instant replays
-Create a baller and create a team are totally outrageously sick

Cons

-Horrrrrrrrribbbbbleee graphics
-Lack in player models, (which i guess is the same thing as above)
-Unbelievebly short season
-No Xbox Live! WUT!?!?

Mindue, there haven't been any EA games that have been on Xbox live, at least none that i recall. Uhhhhhhhhh...No!

Features

• Highly original blend of the best-selling console game genres: Action / Exploration / Fighting / Driving
• Game script written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers, the writing-directing team behind the Matrix movie trilogy.
• Nearly one full hour of exclusive, NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN Matrix footage using the films actors and crew.
• Likeness and voice-overs of key characters from The Matrix Reloaded, including Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne), Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith), Ghost (Anthony Wong), Sparks (Lachy Hulme) and Persephone (Monica Bellucci).
• Truly authentic, photo-realistic Matrix look based on unparalleled collaboration with the actual movie-making production crew.

Reviews (177)

Terrific Graphics, Pretty Cool Game
This game truly has some of the best graphics in a video game. The characters actually look real. Now look, i'm not a huge fan of the Matrix series. I like them, i'm just not that big a fan. But I bought this game cause it looked pretty cool and it was cheap and it was awesome. My only complaints are the last two levels where you drive around in that thing and shoot those electric squid things and then the cheesy ending which sets up the film "The Matrix Revolutions". But anyway, I played as Niobe and the character looks real, they sound real. The shooting looks real and the focus thing is really cool. The game however is relatively easy, I beat it in less than a week and I suck at video games. But this game is really fun and I highly recommend it. A-.

Sloppy Sloppy Sloppy
Maybe I am a putz.But maybe this is just a lousy game.The graphics are not bad, the storyline is a little weak.But the controls suck and that makes for a lousy game.In first person mode, the controls are way too sensitive, and you cannot change the sensitivity or the up down orientation.The characters do things you do not want them to do, turn whatever way they want, stick to the wall when you do not want them to, refuse to when you do.The camera goes off on an angle you do not want.In fact, playing next to walls, I have seen nothing but the wall on the screen while the character is fighting.

Personally, this game had a lot of hope.But poor controls, and lousy logic in certain areas make this game a major disappointment.Do not waste your money.

Features

• Replay 20 of the greatest college football games from the last two decades
• Play as one of 36 new 1-AA teams or one of the 100+ new classic teams
• For 1 player
• Get in the end zone with new trick plays like the Halfback Throwback and Wide Receiver Double Reverse Pass
• New animations include sideline tackles, stumbles, new over-the-shoulder and basket catches, and user-controlled celebrations

Reviews (21)

The best football game of the year
NCAA Football 2004 is without doubt the best football game of the year. Even though NCAA is similar to Madden as far as gameplay and graphics go, NCAA is still more fun because you can run the best play ever created- THE OPTION! and there are more teams to choose from.The only thing I really dont like is you only know the players jersey numbers instead of their name.The dynasty mode is the deepest its ever been. The addition of Sports Illustrated is just awsome, however i must say that there is too much of a bias towards running backs winning the heisman trophy. But other than that the game is awsome, definately a must buy for the college football fan or just football fans in general. I have Madden 2004 but i want to sell it to buy this game.

i rented ,now i want
this game is awesome, I love it.the graphics are great.esecially on the system with the best graphics,Xbox. the game play is the bomb.you can't believe the juke move, they do cuts like Mike Hart of Onadoga Central in Syracuse...Just remeber I only rented this game and encourage you to rent it just incase you don't like it but you probably will

Editorial Review

Spider-Man: The Movie brings your friendly neighborhood web slinger to life with engrossing realism, proving that a superhero game of such complex nature can be achieved with nearly flawless and nonintrusive gameplay. Be it wandering the city's environs in search of villains, or just checking out your surroundings by web-swinging high above them, you truly can do whatever Spider-Man can. It's all here: high-flying aerial battles, the ability to web up and yank your enemies close for pummeling, and the capacity for crawling or web-zipping up, down, and over any surface--and that's just for starters. All in all, this is one involved game that does not fail to live up to the hype.

The game parallels the motion picture's story line, steering you through a progression of challenges that begins with the hunt for Uncle Ben's murderer and ends with a final showdown with the Green Goblin. You begin as Peter Parker dressed in his wrestling costume and must defeat a variety of thugs throughout each level before advancing to the next set of challenges. The game gets progressively tougher as you encounter, in turn, Shocker, the Vulture, Scorpion, and, of course, the Green Goblin.

Visually, Spider-Man is a treat: cityscapes unfold in realistic detail and are enhanced by sunlight shining between buildings; cutscenes offer seamless animation; interiors are painstakingly re-created; and Spider-Man and his enemies are well rendered, moving about the screen in clean fashion. As an added bonus, most characters are voiced by their movie counterparts, and the training mode features the sarcastic wit of Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell. --Larry White

Pros:

• Detailed controls bring Spider-Man to life
• Challenging gameplay enhanced by numerous fight styles
• Stunning visuals at every level

• Camera angles slow to respond at times
• Some interiors too dark
• Repetitive one-liners

Features

• 320 Division I schools, hundreds of crowd chants, fight songs, mascots, and re-created authentic college arenas
• Coaches Gary Williams of Maryland, Tom Crean of Marquette, and Billy Donovan of Florida provide scouting reports for every team
• Build your own collegiate dynasty for up to 30 seasons
• Bust out sweet crossovers, triple threats, post moves, and strip steals with EA Sports Freestyle Control
• Alter your shot in mid-air to avoid getting blocked, or draw an offensive foul with the Take Charge button

Reviews (21)

I had my hopes, but it was not to be...
I was hoping that EA Sports had taken what they'd done in NCAA Football 2004 and applied it to college basketball.I knew that the potential was there, as NCAA Football 2004 is arguably the best college football game available for the PS2 (if not the best ever).Perhaps the March Madness franchise will deliver eventually, but right now it's an OK game at best.

The gameplay itself is intuitive and entertaining, if a bit repetitive.I went to a small school back East, and decided to play them through a few seasons.I was surprised at how much tension and drama there was once I actually made the Big Dance.That the game generates a random non-conference season for you adds some excitement, as it's fun to see who you'll be playing each season.

However, the focus of my problem with this game, though, is in Dynasty mode, which I consider to be the heart of a sports game.EA Sports seems to have ported over a very basic part of the NCAA Football dynasty engine, and it just doesn't translate very well.First of all, the features in recruiting aren't as deep, so it feels like you're playing a stripped down version of NCAA's recruiting engine.Second, and more important, while it's great for football, where you can recruit 15 or so players, in basketball you can only go after 4, maybe 5 players.As a result, the energy of the recruiting process is totally different.It should be more high-pressure, but it winds up being less interesting, especially if you play with a smaller school that will run out of recruiting points.

Watching my players develop was interesting, but it never captivated me the way it did in NCAA Football 2004.There, I actually bought Madden 2004 only so I could see where my players were drafted.Haven't played a down.I thought I'd do the same with March Madness, but it just hasn't been interesting enough to go to the trouble.By the way, I don't even know if there's a trophy room in MM, but if there is, it's not as good as in NCAA Football.

The bottom line:The gameplay is fine.However, if you love NCAA 2004, and want to see how a great Dynasty mode translates to college hoops, you'll be disappointed by March Madness 2004.

SWEET Game
This game was just what I was looking for.I was reading some other reviews and got kind of nervous because they were saying that this game was sorry.Im glad I got it.The game play is great and the Dynasty mode if fantastic.However, if you enjoy creating teams and players, and want a game just because you like to do that, this is not the game for you.There are about 5 team colors and you dont get to make your uniform like in NCAA Football.The school creating really sucks.But all other parts of the game I love.Great announcing, gameplay, and graphics. I LOVE this game.

Reviews (60)

Happy Gilmore Mete's XBOX!
Outlaw Golf mixes up one of the most entereasting things in the world.The game golf and the strangest people from the world.It's not your usualle game of golf.
From the announcer who will put you down every chance he get's.To the audiance who will laugh at every mistake you make on the green.But this game will keep you laughing for hours as you play.
Now to the game.You can play normel golf to get started.It's not that hard to lerne.Then from there your able to play in severle diferent stiles.Plus the more you play the more you will unlock.There's no end to this game.

Good for the serious golfer and the duffer!
This is a great little game of golf and the graphics are amazing.I swear you can see the blades of grass on some of the flybyes.The swing control is great and innovative and the courses are rendered pretty well.Putting seems to be rather difficult to figure out at as sometimes the power-bar is rather mis-leading.In any event, just make sure your kids aren't around when you play this one.