((Okay, so a lot happened since the last major update! I'm taking baby steps in getting a patreon off the ground, link is on my profile, and also working on starting some YouTube/Twitch stuff, but my anxiety has been getting in the way of that. I also had this to finish. So, I did it, after so much procrastination and multi-tasking holding it back. Part 2. 2004 is so full of content that I have to make 3 parts of it.))
SONY NEPTUNE GETS A MAKEOVER: SLICKER, SLIMMER AND STILL AWESOME
September 2004
The Sony (formerly Sega) Neptune. It’s the highest selling console on the market right now, with an ocean of high quality tear games for those loyal to it to feed their eyes (and thumbs) with. However, that isn’t to say that the system isn’t without its share of faults.
For one, it’s a rather heavy system. Or at least it sure looks like it. In fact, it almost looks like one of those old huge blocks that we used to have running around back in the 90’s.
However, all of that has changed now with the introduction of the Neptune’s recent weight loss story - the Neptune Lite! That’s right, the Neptune’s lost a hefty amount of it’s weight! So much weight that it’s a heck of a lot easier to pick it up with even just one hand!
The Neptune slim does not change anything about the Neptune’s hardware, as far as we can tell, but the much thinner design will allow it to be placed in the home much more easily. In addition, from what we’ve heard the disc tray is much more sturdier, negating the issue of discs falling out of the tray altogether - and apparently this also adds to the slim version being less prone to disc burn-outs. However that doesn’t change the fact that this new model of Neptune is very attractive to those consumers who value an affordable, small-sized system that can fit seamlessly in their living room without taking up too much space.
Now, as with the original Neptune, the slim version comes in too primary colors - new era white, and old school style black. A limited edition even has a decal of Sonic etched on the top-end disc tray, which I must say really adds in a dose of flavor to the console.
The Slim Neptune also comes with a reformation of how Sony’s handling the rest of it’s Neptune line: from controllers to VMUs and beyond.
First, let us properly introduce the DualShock controllers. Back in the Saturn era, they had been Sony’s alternative to the standard Saturn controllers, back when Sony and Sega were separate but allied entities. Now, for the initial Neptune release, Sega took influence from the DualShocks, but admittedly their controls are big and a bit of a chore to really use - too much going on, too much that most players don’t really use and aren’t sure how to. For this redesign of the Neptune, Sony has made sure to streamline. Now, the ‘DualShock 2.5” controllers get rid of the VMUs having to be connected to the controller, and introduce the idea of VMUs being bundled with the system, but something you simply connect your memory card to. In fact, the new VMUs can hold even more memory than their older counterparts!
The controllers though, do maintain the color scheme of the original controller - yellow square, green triangle, blue circle, and red x. However, with everything streamlined and strictly sticking to a pure Sony design, we can’t deny that the controllers look just so much better and easier to get a grip on.
These new model Neptunes and their accessories will be out on the market come October and November of this year, and we’re predicting them to only further an already successful console’s spotlight.
- Electronic Gaming Monthly, September 2004
SLY 2: BAND OF THIEVES
September, 2004
“Released for the Nokia Neo this past week, Sly 2: Band of Thieves is the latest and most welcome entry in the Neo’s signature platformer title, the Sly Cooper series. Sure, the console is home to a plethora of third and second party platformers, many hidden gems and obscure titles thus far but none of them have become as prolific as Sly Cooper - a series which Nokia actually has full control over. Developed by Sucker Punch, the sequel to 2002’s Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is nothing short of an improvement in every aspect. The Comic Book-Cartoon style of the graphics is very well retained and continues to give the series it’s own distinct identity in the vast sea of colorful platformer titles, and the gameplay has been improved. There’s now a shop where you can buy gadgets, though the clue bottles are still there for abilities that I suppose aren’t available on the ‘ThiefNet’. The biggest change in gameplay however is the addition of Bentley and Murray as playable characters - in fact they even have ‘jobs’ exclusive to them, so the story mode isn’t just playing as Sly all the time. It’s not like Sony’s Sonic Heroes though, you have to travel to the safe house in each map to actually switch characters. There’s also the addition of a health bar instead of dying in one hit without a lucky charm - which is more than a welcome inclusion. As for how each character plays - Sly is very similar to the original title from before, having all of his abilities. Murray is naturally more brawny and includes stronger melee attacks and belly flops, and Bentley is involved with hacking and using bombs - and this isn’t even talking about the upgrades there are to purchase. The plot of Sly 2 follows after the first one - a museum heist of Clockwork’s parts goes wrong when the Cooper Gang finds out that a group known as the ‘Klaww Gang’ has already taken them. They set out on a road trip adventure to take down the Klaww Gang and retrieve the parts of Clockwork, leading them from the home country France, to the jungles of India, the streets of Prague, and even the Canadian Wilderness. We find out that each of the Klaww Gang actually uses the parts of Clockwork for their own purposes - Dimitri uses them to print fake money, Rajan puts them on display and then uses them to pump up his spices, the Contessa uses them for hypnosis, and Jon Bison uses them for shopping down wood. The leader of the Gang, Arpeggio, wanted to actually fully rebuild Clockwork so he could merge his consciousness with him - though things don’t go as planned when cop-turned traitor Neila does it instead, killing Arpeggio in the process. But Sly, Bentley, Murray and Carmeltia make short work of “Clock-La” after that, ending the game on a bittersweet note with Bentley injured, him and Murray allowed to escape, and Sly let again getting away from Carmelita in a way only he could pull off. Overall, a definite reccomendation for the Nokia Neo. ”
- IGN User Review, 2004
“One of the best exclusive titles you could ever have for the Neo. Must Have.”
“I have many fond childhood and even teenage memories of Sly 2. It may not have been a multiplayer game, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t spend hours after school just playing it all the time. Unlocking that secret cutscene, and watching the story unfold, infact really just pickpocketing and knocking out the guards was just always a blast. ”
“Sly is King of the Neo. Where the House of Gecko has fallen, the House of Cooper (or Raccoon ...or Racamagookus) has risen in its place.” - Assorted Comments
THE SIMS 2
September, 2004
“It all began with the Sims. Four years ago, it rocked the world of PC gaming and overtook Myst as the top selling game on the platform. It was a simple game, so it appeared. It was simply a life simulator game, making a literal game out of this thing we call human life as you create a family and perhaps even a house and, well, just live. That really was all there was to it. Yet this simplicity, this freedom, to either fail at life on purpose, succeed in life in ways you perhaps could never hope to in reality, and of course to watch innocent virtual purple drown in a pool or burnt alive in a fire was just simply what people soon found out they wanted to play for hours. However, little did we know what was coming in 2004, in the form of The Sims 2. Improved in every way from the original, the Sims 2 is in my personal prediction going to be played on the PC for many gaming generations to come. There isn’t any set goal in the Sims 2, you simply select a town, and either select a staring Sim family or create your own new one. In a twist, you can now actually edit your own towns from plenty of templates. The character customization is also ramped up to the extreme - hairstyles, layered clothing, alternative outfits, and most revolutionary of all perhaps the most in-depth facial and body customization yet seen in a PC game. Not to mention the incredibly large, growing and lucrative market for ‘modders’, with entire websites dedicated to custom made, downloadable content for the game. It’s really impossible to perfectly state how much better the Sims 2 is when compared to the original - it’s just that much of a vast improvement. There’s so much more, from dudes in bunny suits to alien invasions, that is there to be done and seen in The Sims 2.”
- IGN, article excerpt.
“The Sims 2 took over the world of PC Gaming by storm. It sold about as many copies as World of Warcraft did. That’s how big it was.”
“Many hours were poured into the Sims 2 back in the day on my part. It was a major part of my gaming career, and played a role in much of my earliest years. ”
“On the PC back in ‘04, you were either into The Sims 2 or you were into World of Warcraft. Of course, it’s WoW that’s still played to this day, Sims 2 going the sequel route.”
“The Sims 2 is nothing without it’s expansions, but is even less than nothing without it’s soundtrack, something which very likely will be remembered for as long as gaming exists as an industry. I can’t count how many times I’ve hummed the songs from Sims 2 either aloud or in my mind since the game came out - they have been forever etched into my mind and signify to me that I’m playing a real Sims game.”
“The Sims 2 is nothing short of Maxis’ peak performance. Everything about just oozes the heart, soul and effort put into crafting this masterpiece of life simulation.” - Assorted comments
ROME: TOTAL WAR
September, 2004
“Rome: Total War is the third Total War game from England's Creative Assembly, and, to make a long story short, it's the best one yet. It was naturally expected to build on its illustrious predecessors, which featured epic-scale real-time battles and impressive attention to historical realism and detail. Shogun: Total War was a promising start for the series, while Medieval: Total War built on that promise to create an even more engrossing strategy game. With Rome: Total War, Creative Assembly takes the next step, and it's as much a revolutionary step as it is an evolutionary one, thanks to a beautiful new 3D graphics engine that makes the series' tactical battles--featuring thousands of soldiers--better than ever. The results are nothing short of spectacular, helping make Rome: Total War the very definition of an epic strategy game.”
- Gamespot, review excerpt.
PSYCHITWINS
September, 2004
“Developed by Traveller’s Tales but published Vivendi Universal for the Nokia Neo and Sony Neptune, Psychitwins is an interesting addition to the large family of platform games that our world has been graced with over the years. In a similar manner to Sonic Heroes, Psychitwins has you controlling multiple characters at once - this time a twin brother & sister who possess a psychic connection with them. Though you don’t really play as one over the other nor can you switch between the two, you do get to use the brother as the ‘brawns’, as he can be used literally as a weapon to bash through obstacles and enemies alike in an extremely cartoony, slapstick fashion while his sister primarily focuses on solving puzzles and, well, other things such as that. There isn’t really much the plot, it’s simply the twins discovering their psychic connection is rather literal and binds them together, and they have to stop your standard evil mad scientist. In fact, the game as a whole is fun but there isn’t really a whole lot of content beyond what I’ve already said. There’s collectibles in the form of Psychic Energy clusters, literal hidden crates of gold, and you can unlock alternate costumes but beyond that there really isn’t much for 100% completion. Get it if you see it, but I would not go out of my way to make sure this is in my collection. ”
- Gamespot, Review excerpt.
“I feel like in another world Psychitwins is something great to the entire industry. But in our world, it really was just kind of another game in the vast ocean of titles that exist.”
“Meh. It was fun and had a charming style, but aside from the basic gimmick of playing two characters at once it doesn’t really try anything that wasn’t already done by other platforming-collect-a-thons.”
- Assorted Comments
ZETAFORCE
October, 2004
“The Heroes of a Brave New Future”
- Zetaforce tagline, 2004
“Zetaforce, developed and published by the relatively obscure Fujiwara - whom we honestly thought went defunct but apparently not - is the incumbent latest member of the now growing first-person-shooter genre. Though it’s unlikely to compete with the marketing juggernaut that is Halo 2, at the very least it offers a small revolution of its own, as like Nokia’s Egypt game it takes the genre and adds it’s own twist to it - this time being the inclusion of superpowers. Yes, superpowers. Well, that and the option to switch the camera to a third person mode. Each character has a different superpower, ranging from elemental powers ‘n super speed to the good ol’ fashioned Batman style ‘equipment only’. While this game is more focused on the recent invention of online console multiplayer and doesn’t have much in the way of a single player mode - little more than a free roam through a city where objectives randomly and endlessly spawn for the sake of gaining experience, unlockables and other bonus features. Still though, it is a wonderful start and an addicting experience when it comes to the innovative and uncharted world of online multiplayer, which is where the game absolutely shines - just like that of Halo. As a whole, I definitely feel like Fujiwara is off to a great start with actually making a name for themselves, honestly I remember this title but most of their other titles are the type you usually tend to forget about not long after playing. Hopefully they actually keep up the pace this time around.” - Gamespot review, excerpt.
“Game of the Year 2004......’til Halo 2 inevitably comes out.”
“I spent many upon many of hours playing this online. Single player sucked, but this game was definitely meant for online play anyway. Still though I kinda hated that unlike Halo they didn’t even try.”
“This game was the start. It was only the beginning of greatness. Least that’s what I thought of it at the time, anyway. I still personally think it.” - Assorted Comments
“Trend of the Year 2004” - Anonymous Blogger
GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS
October, 2004
“How do you follow up a runaway success like 2001's Grand Theft Auto III? Rockstar North responded a year later with GTA: Vice City, a game that took the gameplay of its predecessor and expanded it considerably. At the same time, Vice City gave the series an extensive and amazing stylistic makeover, drenching the experience in the sights, sounds, and attitude of Miami, Florida from the mid '80s. So where do you go from there? You take it statewide. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas expands the series' concept to encompass three entire cities, as well as the countryside between them. The gameplay similarly expands, packing in some explosive set pieces and amazing action-movie-like thrills while maintaining that same remarkably fun, freefom GTA feel. In short, Rockstar has done it again. San Andreas definitely lives up to the Grand Theft Auto name. In fact, it's arguably the best game in the series.” - Gamespot, review excerpt.
“Aw s--t, here we go again.”
“10/10, Best Game of the Year”
- IGN
“GTA: SA, by far one of the most important games of the sixth generation. A truly ambitious title that managed to blow everyone’s minds away. The media coverage, of course, attempted to be damning. Decrying the game for allowing players to play as effectively a criminal, cause mayhem in the streets, kill people, and of course the use of drugs, alchohol and sex - though any actual sex scenes were of course removed despite what certain members of the media might say. It certainly was the naughtiest title of the year. Coming out on both the Nokia Neo and the Sony Neptune, it actually managed to basically dislodge Sonic Adventure 2 as the Neptune’s highest selling game. Though I’m not sure if the Neptune version sold more or not. Either way, GTA:SA was a further sign that the age of colorful mascot characters was on the way out, and the age of ‘maturity’ and edge was on the way in.”
“The best installment in the series. At least for the sixth generation.”
“Definitely worth the many hours it takes to complete, and of course, have fun. The story was a blast from start to finish.” - Assorted Comments
THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE
October, 2004
“Something nefarious is afloat in the depths of Bikini Bottom: King Neptune's crown has been stolen, and the prime suspect is Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob's boss at Mr. Krabs' Krabby Patties. Despite the overwhelming evidence against Mr. Krabs -- not to mention having been turned down for a long-awaited promotion at the restaurant -- SpongeBob (voice of Tom Kenny) refuses to believe that his boss is responsible and teams up with his best friend, Patrick (voice of Bill Fagerbakke), on a mission to Shell City, where he hopes he can exonerate Mr. Krabs and return the crown to its rightful owner.”
- Rotten Tomatoes, review excerpt.
“We’re all goofy goobers.”
“I found that the THQ all-platforms game based on the movie, actually destroys the movie. Not literally, but it really is that good of a game. I’m serious. Let me explain...” - Assorted Comments and review excerpt
COUNTER-STRIKE: SOURCE
October, 2004
“Released in October of 2004, one of gaming's busier years, Counter-Strike: Source was the latest in Valve (creator of Steam)’s Counter-Strike series. Now, by today’s standards this game is nothing new - given that it’s effectively just a modern warfare title, you play as a soldier and combat against what are effectively terrorists. Yet another in the first person shooter genre, this one takes a team-based and mostly online-focused approach, in which you play either with computers or with other players on a single map. To finish the match, you have to complete some type of objective; defusing a bomb, rescuing hostages, or killing the entire opposing team. Once you die in the game, if you do, you don’t respawn until the next round. There is no such thing as a single player campaign, it really is just that simple. However, it’s also really that addictive, and is really making a name for itself among Valve and it’s platform Steam’s early line-up for purchase & download. If you own steam, definitely consider getting yourself ‘CS:S’.”
“As the years have rolled on since CS:S and the shooter genre has changed so much, this game’s primary legacy ultimately became it’s involvement with Garry’s Mod. Well, that and the sequel that it would spawn later down the road.” - IGN, User Review excerpt.
NICKTOONS MOVIN’
October, 2004
“Released in 2004 by THQ, Nicktoon’s movin’ is a minigame collection game for the Sony Neptune, requiring & utilizing the EyeToy attachment - the Neptune’s obligatory motion capture thing. The game is really nothing more than a collection of mini-games featuring Danny Phantom, Spongebob Squarepants, Fairly Oddparents, Rocket Power and Jimmy Neutron. Beyond specifying what the mini-games really are and the motion control feature that’s already been basically mentioned that really is about all there is to this game. It pales in comparison to the Spongebob Movie game.”
- Review excerpt.
“It’s a motion capture game that nobody ever played.”
- Gamespot user comment
SONY SUPERSTARS
October, 2004
“Released in October of 2004, Sony Superstars is Sony’s way of celebrating it’s ‘Sega Inheritance’ - as this EyeToy-using title brings together not only Sonic, but a surprising collection of Sega faces for what can best be described as a collection of mini-games. Who are featured in this get-together? Sonic the Hedgehog, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, NiGHTS into Dreams (which still doesn’t have a sequel yet), The House of the Dead, Crazy Taxi, Virtua Fighter, Billy Hatcher, Puyo Pop Fever, Super Monkey Ball, Space Channel 5, ChuChu Rocket and even a - very tiny - Chao Garden. As a whole, there is not much else to this game, it’s a very bare-bones mini-game collection with motion control functions. The main allure of the game is simply it’s not-really crossover of so many new and old brands from the days of Sega, with some usage of the Sony era’s introductions to the gaming world. It’s the first game where Sony’s trio of mascots, Sonic, Jak & Ratchet, all show up together. Honestly it’s pretty amazing how quick it took for Jak & Ratchet to show up alongside Sonic! Though, they don’t really interact together at all outside of the intro video.” - Gamespot, review excerpt
“This game is nostalgia for me. Very overlooked nostalgia, but still nostalgia.”
“Honestly this game was alright! Aside from having so many Sony-Sega franchises though, it’s not really anything all that special, just a collection of mini-games. No real campaign. No real online features. Really it’s just that. Plus it requires the EyeToy to play, and that’s not something all Neptune users have. So ...yeah. A hidden gem for the attachment, though.” - Assorted comments
MARIO POWER TENNIS
October, 2004
“In October of 2004, Nintendo created and released a tennis game featuring Super Mario Bros. characters, 18 of them in total. Though of course, being Nintendo, they added in a whole bunch of Mario-themed courts to the game to give it proper Nintendo flare - in addition to a variety of rules to choose from so that it’s a little more than just tennis but with Mario. Overall, yet another solid Mario game for the Gamecube!”
- IGN Review excerpt.
SUPER SONIC SOCCER
October, 2004
“In October of 2004, almost concurrently with Nintendo, Sony released their own sports game. Nintendo does Tennis? They do Soccer. That’s right, Sonic is apparently a soccer player now. And, to be honest the game’s actually kind of good. It’s a little humorous to see the characters dressed up in Soccer outfits, but as a whole, the gameplay is actually pretty solid. The game’s aesthetic focuses on having a surprisingly long yet fast-paced match of Soccer, with Sonic themed gimmicks, events and abilities thrown into the mix to ensure the game has maximum fun value and is not just soccer with Sonic plastered onto it. However, the basic rules of soccer are still the basic rules of the game. Kick the ball into the net to win. They do let you save your replays though, and you can even view them with certain effects added in to make them more of a spectacle. Though, they already seem to make the game’s basic camera be a spectacle-cam. With most of the present Sonic cast to choose from as playable characters and the ability to customize your own team out of them, it’s a rather solid Sonic game!”
- Gamespot review excerpt.
“Nintendo: Does Sports Games.
Sony: WE HAVE TO DO WHAT THEY JUST DID.
- IGN User comment”
THE INCREDIBLES
October, 2004
“In this lauded Pixar animated film, married superheroes Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) are forced to assume mundane lives as Bob and Helen Parr after all super-powered activities have been banned by the government. While Mr. Incredible loves his wife and kids, he longs to return to a life of adventure, and he gets a chance when summoned to an island to battle an out-of-control robot. Soon, Mr. Incredible is in trouble, and it's up to his family to save him.”
- Excerpt, Google Review, 2010's.
“Released in October of 2004, the Incredibles was released and left it’s mark on Disney & Pixar lore. There’s really nothing I can say about it that hasn’t been said before, it simply put is an absolutely fantastic movie. Go watch it if you haven’t already.” -
Review excerpt.
HOUSE OF THE DEAD - MOVIE CANCELLED
October, 2004
Last year, Sony had announced plans to do a film based on the House of the Dead franchise, one of the many franchises that they ‘inherited’ from their purchase of Sega back in 2001. However, after several months of almost no further information beyond “it’s happening”, Sony has given up the facade and announced that the film has indeed been cancelled. How far it was production, if it was far into it at all, has not been clarified in the release. All that has been released to us is the fact that it was planned, but now cancelled.
Judging by the nature of the franchise in question, we can assume that the film would have been released around this month either this year or perhaps even next year, and was almost certainly going to be a member of the Horror franchise. As to why Sony decided to cancel the movie, there are rumors abound though the most likely scenario is likely merely a lack of interest in producing the film, or perhaps a lack of interest in producing one based on this franchise over other members of Sony’s vast family of video game titles. It’s also possible that other, similar video game based movies and their reception played a role in influencing this film’s cancellation.
Now, thankfully, the game series itself has not been cancelled. Sony has still expressed interest in making media adaptations inspired by it, though instead of a feature film they instead leave it at “we’ll work something out.”
For some, people are amazed that Sony has cancelled one of their video game-inspired films, as they had made history in the eyes of many when they produced the original Sonic the Hedgehog film in 1998. However, outside of their two Sonic films, even Sony’s own video game films have not received nearly as much of a stellar reception. It’s very possible that the House of the Dead movie may have been so bad behind the scenes that the company decided it wasn’t worth making into a final product. We’ll only ever be able to speculate.
- Los Angeles Times
HALO 2
November, 2004
“November, 2004. After months, in fact practically a full fledged year of intense hyped-up marketing to an extent that people were even willing to be in danger of a hurricane to take part in it’s marketing campaign, Halo 2 was released to the world. It was a game so powerful that the Gamecube port had to be cancelled, forcing it to be a Nokia Neo exclusive. It was a game that expanded on the lore of the game and supplementary material before it, and did it flawlessly. It was a game that only further revolutionized the society of online gaming and put Neo Network on the map. Now, obviously the big pull of the game is in fact, that online multiplayer capability. It’s by far the biggest franchise of first person shooters currently on the market, or at least it sure will be the more copies this game sales. In fact I believe it’s already on its way of becoming one of this generation’s highest selling titles. Now, beyond all of that, a main pull of Halo 2 in terms of existing fans of the series and those who actually play the campaign is that you now get to explore the story from the perspective of one of the Covenant’s many extra-terrestrial members - in this case the Arbiter, and this extends to online & multiplayer as the ability to play as the Sangheli, better known as the Elites. You get to see the leaders of the Covenant and even get a glimpse at some of their internal political intrigues. Most important of all though, the Covenant finally take the fight to Earth…oh and a second Halo ring. It’s a shame that the Gamecube version had to be cancelled ,but at least it’s because the game was literally too big for it. All in all, this is an absolutely phenomenal experience, completely worth full price whether it be for the Neo or for whatever you have as your personal computer.” - Gamespot review excerpt.
“The fact that Halo 2, due to how complex it was, necessitated an exclusively Neo release, did a lot to help the Neo get even more sales. Just in time for the holiday season, too!”
“Please let Chief and the Arbiter be in Smash one day.”
“This was the game that ended the House of Gecko and officially raised the banner of the House of Chief.”
“Blow me Away”
“This game drove the world mad when it came out, or at least the gaming world. For first few months after it’s release, everyone and I do mean everyone was talking about it and the Nokia Neo. For once, Nokia was on top of the world. That’s really how it was at the end of 2004.”
“Halo and it’s sequel are basically 3DO, or PIE as it is known as now, finally maturing from ‘Army Men’ and blossoming into a true, hardcore gaming company.”
“I wish Halo 2 had a Gamecube port, it would have looked SO good next to the Metroid Prime series! Like, come on ...but alas, Halo 2 was just too good for the Gamecube.” - Assorted comments
RATCHET & CLANK: UP YOUR ARSENAL
November, 2004
“Putting out a follow-up every year is the sort of crunch-time madness that's usually reserved for sports offerings. But for the third year running, Insomniac Games has put together an entry in its excellent Ratchet & Clank series. This installment, subtitled Up Your Arsenal, doesn't reinvent the usual single-player mechanics. Instead, this year's iteration makes incremental changes to things like weapons, locales, and so on, while wrapping the game in a new story. It also adds a great, objective-based multiplayer mode that can be played by up to eight players online. All things considered, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal is great fun, combining some solid platforming action with a lot of exciting combat.
For those of you who haven't been following the series, Ratchet & Clank is a very combat-focused platformer that gives you a lot of wild weapons to play with. You play as Ratchet, some sort of big-eared alien thing, and Clank, his robot companion. For the most part, Clank sticks to Ratchet's back. However, from time to time, the duo will separate. When this happens, you'll take control of Clank by himself. The action is fairly standard for a platformer in that you'll be doing a lot of jumping around and hitting things with your standard wrench attack. The weapons in the game do change this up a lot, though.”
- Gamespot, review excerpt.
“An absolute must have for the Sony Neptune.”
“Proof that Sonic is not the only furry platformer that Sony can make good games with, and also that Ratchet is far from just a Sonic clone.” - Assorted comments
WORLD OF WARCRAFT
November, 2004
“When World of Warcraft was released, it started not a new game. It started a whole new part of gaming culture.”
- Anonymous.
“World of Warcraft has just been unleashed into this world of ours and is already raking in stacks of cash after stacks of cash. If you like Lord of the Rings, you’ll think this is almost like a video game adaptation of it. If you like Harry Potter, you’ll at least dig the use of magic up in this game. If you like the fantasy genre at all, you will absolutely be hooked on this game. It is the latest in the MMO RPG series, and the best way to describe it is that it lets you play as one of many fantasy-genre inspired creatures (or a normal person if you honestly want to), and you basically get to just escape from reality and do what you want. There certainly goes to accomplish and levels to upgrade to, but you basically don’t really have to do any of it and can choose if you want to participate in the events or not. Though you do need to have money for a monthly subscription if you really want to get the full experience. Overall, if you call yourself a PC gamer and don’t give this experience a try, something is wrong with you.”
- Gamespot review excerpt.
“This game created basement dwellers everywhere for years to come, and is still creating them to this day.”
“This game literally defined cultural references of gamers from the day it was released. I highly doubt it was intentional, but this game in and of itself became basically a lifestyle.” - Assorted comments
JAK 3
November, 2004
“Jak is back for the third and purportedly final time in Jak 3, the conclusion to Naughty Dog's best-selling platforming franchise. Last year's Jak II turned the series right on its ear, replacing the original Jak & Daxter verdant hills and lighthearted whimsy with a dystopian future cityscape and gameplay sensibilities reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto. The final entry in the Jak trilogy makes no such ambitious changes. This game simply builds on Jak II's winning formula by adding more weapons and abilities, varied kinds of action, and an interesting and well-told story; in short, all the stuff that made its predecessor a great game. Jak 3 offers something for any fan of action games, and despite some extreme similarities to Jak II, it's a fitting end to the series.”
- IGN Review excerpt.
“One of 2004’s later releases, Jak 3 concluded what was honestly a solid trilogy for the early Post-Sega era, albeit it was a trilogy that literally started in that same era. The Jak series was one that basically grew up with it’s audience; it started from a relatively kid friendly and inviting platformers and grew into a darker, more mature title as the games progress - albeit not going as far into that direction as my wording makes it sound like, but still going clearly in that type of direction given that Jak himself grew up with each successive game. Now rated T for Teens, Jak 3 combines paltforming, driving and gun combat (and the use of Dark Jak) into one epic conclusion to one of the Neptune’s most iconic series! Furthermore, Jak continues to show how good character animations from Sony can be when effort is put into them, lest we forget that’s part of why Sonic Adventure 2 got delayed. No really.”
- Gamespot review excerpt.
“Longer hair. Longer goatee. Longer amount of edge.”
“Best conclusion to the franchise.”
“I think it could have been a little better, but so could literally everything in existence, to be fair. For what it is, solid game!”
“Best experience of my early teenhood.” - Assorted comments
NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERGROUND 2
November, 2004
“Last year, EA took its long-running Need for Speed series in an exciting new direction with the release of Need for Speed Underground, a racing game that focused on making the import tuner scene the star of its arcade-style racing show. The game worked really well, combining the right level of car customization with good track design, challenging opponents, and impressive graphical effects. Now, one year later, a sequel is on the streets, adding some new race types and a big, open city to cruise around. The actual racing in Need for Speed Underground 2 is still pretty good, but unfortunately most of the stuff you do in between races keeps you away from the game's best moments.”
- IGN review excerpt
“Overshadowed by the plethora of other big sequels that came out the same year as it, but still an exhilarating and wonderful experience - with a seriously cool soundtrack too!” - Blog review excerpt
METAL GEAR SOLID 3
November, 2004
“Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing and one begins to wonder if the greatness can hold its death grip on your senses for the whole trip. There's a fear that at the last moment the experience will take a drastically wrong turn and turn your favorite t-shirt into a dishrag. But put those fears aside because Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater manages to set a fantastic pace early on and keeps everything going right up to the closing credits and then some. Overall, this is the best Metal Gear Solid game that we've seen and, yes, it rules.
First of all, I have to come out and say that Metal Gear Solid was the previous titleholder for the Solid Snake crown. With the creative boss battles and innovative style it was well worth replaying over and over despite the naysayers who complain about its length. After all, the same thing can be said for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty with its incessant Codec conversations and movies. Strip away MGS2's story and there's a pretty short game there as well. As for its story itself there's little of interest unless you really want to spend a couple of late, smoky nights going over the details and putting all the pieces together, and they do fit together. While that's kind of interesting if you want a pleasant mind rutting, it was far from fun to watch a game eat itself.
Still, the one thing that MGS2 did right, fantastically right, was take the gold standard of stealth espionage action from MGS and update it beautifully for the current generation. The graphics were amazing to look at and with the new sets of moves and details to dig into, gamers kept going back again and again for more to try out a situation in a different way or collect all of the dog tags they could get. It was so slick and pulled off so well that it even helped the Metal Gear RAY battle go down nicely, or at least be stomached.
Pulling the trilogy nice and tight with the best ideas from both games is MGS3:SE, a game that takes the series to its fullest incarnation yet. Both the storytelling and the action have been improved to make a game that still has its fair share of movies to sit through as well as a healthy amount of different situations to work through. The biggest changes have obviously been in the raw mechanics of the game which have taken the franchise a full step forward in the evolutionary scale of games.”
- IGN, Review Excerpt
JFK: RELOADED - EDUCATIONAL, OFFENSIVE, OR DANGEROUS?
November, 2004
“It’s a game made to simulate the assasination of John F. Kennedy. It pissed a lot of people off when it came off, even though it’s intention was allegedly supposed to educate people and help with the whole conspiracy thing. Whatever the intention was, it really just caused a lot of outrage. That’s really all that there is to know. ”
- IGN forum comment.
SONY LEAK REVEALS 2006 SONIC FILM & SHENMUE ADAPTATION
November, 2004
Big news as come into the hands of the presses, as it’s been revealed by way of what appears to be an accidental leak, that Sony has quite the duo of big plans for 2006. These leaks came in the way of concept art that was posted onto Sony’s official Sonic-and-Sega websites last week, resulting in their circulation. These concept art pieces showed what appeared to be designs for a major update to the appearance of Sonic the Hedgehog, in addition to what appeared to be none other than Shenmue’s Ryo. Initially, these were believed to be for upcoming games, until a Sony spokesperson came out and revealed that they are actually concepts for upcoming films intended for release in 2006.
Indeed, not only is Sonic going to get a third film and is going to get an update in looks for it, but even Shenmue is going to get an appearance in extended media forms than just it’s video games! Whether or not Shenmue will be getting a movie or some other adaptation was not actually stated, but either way both fan bases are now buzzing with heavy excitement. After all, Sony so far has a decent resume when it comes to adapting games into other art forms.
As for how the leak actually got spread out, there is no clear answer. It appears to have just been the incredibly rare accidental upload, though of course we can’t really rule anything out. We also can’t rule out if this is anything related to whatever Sony’s planning for the next generation of gaming and/or the future of Sonic’s games. After all, Sony is still the undisputed king of gaming, with the Saturn being gaming’s most highest selling console in history and the Neptune well on it’s way in actually surpassing it based on current sales predictions. When it wouldn’t be hard to imagine what they’re thinking of spending their money on, though it does seem they’ve finally stopped focusing on theme parks and gone back to focusing on gaming.
- Electronic Gaming Monthly.
“We here at Nintendo Power would like to give our condolences to Sony. We know how hard it must be to keep things under tight wraps. I mean, it isn’t easy to run a tight ship. Nobody deserves to have their private information leaked, not even a company that is way too big for its own britches. P.S. is that really the best you leakers could actually dig up?” - Nintendo Power, November 2004 issue.