Once again, I bring you this month’s EGM scores.
All I have to say is: Low Scores, Galore.
GAME OF THE MONTH
Max Payne 2 (PS2,Xbox)
MULTIPLATFORM GAMES
Max Payne 2 (PS2, Xbox) Silver AwardGame of the Month
“He can even dodge the sophomore slump”
Genre: Action/3rd Person Shooter
Scores: 8.0, 8.0, 8.5
Good: Top-notch Voice Acting
Bad: Too many instant-death situations
Possibly the First: Nongratuitous sex scene in a game
Spy Hunter 2 (PS2, Xbox, GC)
“Tie up the hounds, call off the hunt”
Genre: Driving/Racing
Scores: 4.0, 5.0, 6.0
Good: Boy, we’ll get back to you on that
Bad: Graphics, level design, gameplay, and fundamental concept
Percentage of All Spies Who Are British: 90
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machnes (PS2, Xbox)
“No need to come back, Arnold”
Genre: Action/First-Person Shooter
Scores: 3.5, 3.5, 2.0
Good: Missions that expand T3’s story line
Bad: Uneventful fistcuffs with the Terminatrix
On the Disc: A demo up upcoming Terminator 3: Redemption
Sonic Heroes (PS2, Xbox, GC)
“We can be heroes”
Genre: Platformer
Scores: 8.0, 6.0, 6.0
Good: Fantastic visuals, Creative levels
Bad: Touchy controls, steep difficulty curve
Coolest Character: Anyone but Vector the Crocodile (Gizzy’s Note: Personally I like Vector)
Mission: Impossible: Operation Surma (PS2, Xbox)
“It’s not only possible, but also pretty entertaining”
Genre: 3rd Person Action/Adventure
Scores: 6.5, 6.5, 6.0
Good: The high-wire sneaking scenes were tense and fun
Bad: Clunky shooting sequences
No Sign of: Tom Cruise
Monster 4X4: Masters of Metal (PS2, GC)
“Redneck rampage”
Genre: Racing Action
Scores: 4.5, 4.5, 6.0
Good: Terrific
Bad: Camera goes wonkey when trucks collide
Mullets: Not included
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II (PS2, Xbox)
“Wine, wenches, and warhammers”
Genre: Action RPG
Scores: 7.0, 4.5, 5.0
Good: Smiting monster hordes is oddly addictive
Bad: It’s basically the same game over again
Want Online?: Then hold out for [i]Champions of Norrath/i
PS2
Maximo vs. Army of Zin
“Not quite as charming the second time”
Genre: Action/Adventure
Scores: 6.0, 6.0, 8.0
Good: Tight controll, good music
Bad: Repetitive levels, dull visuals
We Still Want: A side-scrolling Maximo game for GBA
American Idol Shame of the Month
“Quite frankly, it’s crap”
Genre: Music
Scores: 1.5, 2.0, 1.0
Good: Three different voices to choose from!
Bad: All the parts with music
Also Bad: All the parts with the graphics
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
“Join the poltergeist paparazzi!”
Genre: Adventure
Scores: 7.5, 7.5, 6.5
Good: Phantasmagoric puzzles
Bad: Repetitive puzzles
Soon to Be a: Major motion picture
Manhunt
“It’s raining… dead men”
Genre: Action
Scores: 7.0, 6.5, 7.0
Good: Killer atmosphere. Har har
Bad: Lots of slow paced sneaking and hiding
Finally: Another game besides GTA to blame for societies ills
Everquest Online Adventures: Frontiers Online
“On empty servers, no one can hear you scream”
Genre: RPG
Scores: 6.5, 6.0, 7.0
Good: High-level characters will dig the new horizons
Bad: The drudgery it takes to get all those levels
Includes: Full version of the original Everquest Online Adventures
Low Rider
“The lowdown on lowmobling”
Genre: Driving Action
Scores: 5.0, 5.5, 2.0
Good: Unintentionally funny
Bad: Not much gameplay, really
Best Played On: An in-dash PS2
.hack Part 4: QUARANTINE
“It’s finally over!”
Genre: RPG
Scores: 6.5, 4.0, 8.0
Good: Engaging story, lots of bonuses after finishing
Bad: Exploration and fighting are just plain dull
Prerequisites: .hack parts 1-3
XBOX
Carve
“This turkey”
Genre: Racing
Scores: 5.0, 6.5, 6.5
Good: At 20 dollars, it’s dirt cheap…
Bad: …but you get what you payed for
The Game Came: From outta nowhere
Deus Ex: Invisible War Silver Award
“Knights of the New Republic”
Genre: First-Person Shooter/RPG
Scores: 8.0, 9.0, 7.0
Good: Much to see and do. And pick up and throw
Bad: Long…loading…times…
For Fans of: The Shadowrun games for Super NES and Genesis
Counter-Strike
“Less of a strike, more of a hit-by-pitch”
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Scores: 5.0, 5.0, 7.0
Good: Smooth controls
Bad: A paltry 2 play modes.
Play Instead: Rainbow Six 3
GAMECUBE
Pokemon Channel
“57 channels and nothin’ on”
Genre: Virtual Pet
Scores: 3.5, 2.0, 6.0
Good: Pikachu’s a cute li’l bastard
Bad: Watching the Pichu Bros. animated short over and over
Use to: Keep little brother busy while you play something else
GAMEBOY ADVANCED
Sword of Mana
“A little rusty after all these years”
Genre: RPG
Scores: 6.5, 6.5, 5.0
Good: Lush visuals
Bad: Unclear objectives, poor A.I.
Remake of: Final Fantasy Adventure for the old-school Gameboy
Yu Yu Hakusho: Sprit Detective
“How to misuse a lucrative anime license”
Genre: Action/Adventure
Scores: 2.0, 1.5, 3.0
Good: Follows the show’s opening saga
Bad: Boring, repetitive, nonsensical gameplay
WTF: Apartments with dozens of identical rooms
Max Payne
“Bullet time in your back pocket”
Genre: Action
Scores: 7.0, 7.0, 8.0
Good: Spoken dialogue on GBA!
Bad: Far to difficult in parts
Quote: “Twilight crawled across the sky laden with foreboding.”
