Resident Evil 0
There's not a whole lot I can say about Resident Evil
0, except that it's more of
what you love. The game takes place before the first Resident
Evil, letting you see the events that led up to the outbreak
in the original game. A new feature in the game is the
ability to "zap" from one character to the next.
You'll be in control of both Rebecca, the Raccoon city
cop from the first Resident Evil, and as Billy, a framed
criminal, on the run. The graphics for this look simply
amazing. With this offering, they're letting everyone
know just who's the best at the survival horror genre.
Devil May Cry 2
Dante's back, in a big way. The demon hero that brought
the anti-hero to a whole new level has new guns, a female
companion, and more of the same bad-ass attitude. The
game has style and you just can't argue with that. The
graphics look pretty good, not quite as good as Resident
Evil Zero looks, but still damn good.
Resident Evil (Gamecube)
The very first multiple disk game for the Gamecube is
going to be the entirely redone, original Resident Evil.
The graphics have been taken beyond what anyone could
possibly expect and everything looks absolutely flawless.
Only time will tell if they'll get everything perfect,
but with their track record, I think everything will turn
out horrifyingly awesome.
Capcom VS SNK 2: EO (Gamecube)
The EO stands for Extreme Offense, and with 44 fighters
from Street Fighter, Final Fight, Darkstalkers, Fatal
Fury, Samurai Shodown, and King of Fighters, the game
will deliver it. In addition to the 6 grooves, two control
modes are added. GC-ism allows you to select the strength
of an attack based on how hard the analog buttons are
hit. AC-ism is the more traditional fighting controls,
where you pick the attack based off of the button combos.
For those of you that just can't get enough of classic
fighting games, this is your reason to get a Gamecube.
Onimusha 2 (PS2)
The action takes place 10 years after the events of the
first Onimusha and features a digital recreation of the
late Yusaku Matsuda, a great Japanese actor who is most
well known for his role as Sato in the movie "Black
Rain". Featuring a vast array of Japanese actors,
composers and artists, the production seems more like
a Samurai movie, than a game. And not without good reason.
This game will push the limits of a game and blend the
line between movie and game with a large amount of quality
cut scenes, voice acting and painstakingly accurate motion
captured moves.
Red Dead Revolver (PS2)
Taking things back to the old west is an adventure shooter.
Looking like a Tomb Raider with less acrobatics and more
plot, this game looks like a lot of fun. With AI that
will actually react to your actions through the game,
it just might be a deeply immersive game. The graphics
are a weak point right now, though.
Daredevil
Little about this game is known at the moment. It will
feature motion captured acrobatic stunts, however. Looking
at the motion capture actor working, I couldn't help but
look at the video clips and think, "that's him. That's
the Man without fear. That's Daredevil, right there."
With the comic book renascence and invasion of the mainstream,
it seems like everything's going to be all right.
Blade 2
Coming to console systems near you, the Daywalker is dealing
out his own brand of stylized combat to the vampire hoards.
Featuring the spectacular destruction of vampires that
you saw in the movies with the action being captured in
3D on a chase camera, this game has lots and lots of style.
I watched one of the developers stand on a balcony, and
block vampire attacks from all directions, until there
was a mob of around 20 of them. Then he pulled out his
sword and slashed them all to flaming vampire ashes. If
you kill a vampire in a particularly interesting way,
you'll see a quick close up of its demise. Looks to be
a lot of fun.
Dead to rights (XBox)
Of all the games that have their emphasis on style, this
is the best one I saw. Playing like a mixture of Siphon
Filter, Max Payne and a John Woo movie, this movie has
some of the most fun action available. Bringing a Noir
detective story to the XBox, Dead to rights is going to
be a must have. This game has odd mini-games, which include
making your stripper girlfriend dance to distract a bouncer
so that you can sneak off. That being said, the action
itself is amazing. Featuring bullet time is just one part
of the fun that makes this game unique. Another aspect
is the ability to pick up explosive canisters and hurl
them at enemies, then shoot them in midair. Another is
that you play a K9 cop. You can have your partner race
up to someone and tear his throat out. I love dogs.
But the thing that puts this game over the top of all the
rest is the ability to disarm people. You can rush someone,
kick their shotgun out of their hand, sweep their legs
out from under them and then shoot them in the chest as
the hit the ground. The variety and amount of style in
the disarms is phenomenal. This is most certainly a game
to keep an eye out for.
Vexx
Arriving on all the major console systems, this game is
kind of kiddie, but looks like it'll be fun for those
that don't mind some jumping puzzles. Consider this a
modern day Mario. The graphics are cartoony, but still
vividly detailed. The metal on Vexx's gloves and boots
even produce reflections. They managed to inject a cartoon
flavor, without going overboard with cell shading and
making it look like a comic book. The levels are huge
and interesting. The game is worth a shot if you love
3D action and adventure.
Cold Zero
Looking like a Hitman played from the 3/4-view perspective,
this game from Jowood has you working as a blackmailed
assassin for the Mafia. The graphics looks nice and a
gritty, and the missions are fairly open-ended. This may
be a sleeping giant for this year.
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
It's Lara Croft. She's 3D, runs around, shoots things
and solves puzzles. It's just like all the others, except
that she's framed and on the run from the cops. What else
is there to know?
Hitman 2
Oh. Hell. Yes. The thinking man's Shooter has returned.
More guns, better AI, more detailed graphics; this game
is bringing back the good stuff. Just like before, you
have to get in and out of a location, accomplishing your
mission. You can do it any way you like. Kill a waiter,
take his clothes and boldly hide in plain sight. Pick
the lock on the side door and sneak in, avoiding everyone.
Or pull out your biggest guns and start laying waste.
It's all up to you.
I played through a few of the missions and I have to say,
with the exception of a few graphical bugs, this game
is pure gold. I can tell you that I'm going to lose quite
a few productive hours out of my days because of this
one.
Star Wars : Knights of the Old Republic
With a story taking place 4,000 years before Star Wars,
this game sets you solidly in the midst of the Jedi and
Sith wars. It plays out as an Action/RPG. While I only
played it for a little time, the game looks like it's
bringing some classic Jedi flare to the XBox and PC. It
was fun to play, if only for a moment and it looks like
it's got some real class. Check this one out.
Star Wars : Bounty Hunter
Putting you in the armor of Jango Fett, you're in search
of the leader of a cult and will not stop until you find
him. With dual blaster pistols that can each target enemies,
a flame-thrower, and a host of other Star Wars weapons,
Jango gets deep into the thick of combat, pulling off
incredible stunts with his tools and his jetpack. The
game looks like it's going to be a hell of a lot of fun.
Dragon's Lair 3D
It's Dragon's Lair. In 3D. What else do you need to know?
You're a communist if you don't play this game.
Shinobi
It's back and with a whole new attitude. Gone are the
days when being a video game ninja simply meant that you
threw shuriken instead of shooting guns. No, now the full
force of the Ninja will be unleashed. With the old school
Ninja style and flair, this game is cool as hell. If you've
ever seen either a very old or a very cheesy ninja movie,
this is your chance to be inside of it.
Ninja Gaiden
Going head to head with the new Shinobi game, this remake
of the classic will take the action genre to a new and
very honorable level. Delving more into adventure than
Shinobi, this one looks like it's going to be a hell of
a ride.
Wolverine's Revenge
Coming at your XBox Wolvie berserker style, this game
pulls no punches as you play through a 3D action landscape,
filled with guns as well as Wolverine's adamantium claws.
The game is an action packed console assault.
X-Men: Next Dimension
This game is a powerful 3D fighting game, featuring everyone's
favorite mutants. The characters are being pulled straight
from the comics, which means that a fight between Beast
and Toad is an acrobatic display of power. The game will
even drop into bullet time to show off an especially cool
move, at times. Each of the characters that were done
at the time I got my hands on the game looked like, acted
like and fought just like they do in the comics. From
Wolverine's feral, animal fighting, to Havok's straight
forward fighting and whining about his brother Cyclops
not being the only one in the family that can fight, it
all feels just like it should.
America's Army
Two games in one, for the price of none. Well, you certainly can't beat the price. And if you're looking for the US Army done right, this is what you want. Hell, after playing the game with one of my old Ranger buddies that was on the demo team, I want it. And that's just the FPS part of the game. Based off the latest build of the Unreal engine, the game looks sharp and lets you play part of a fire team as they go into the field to deal with some bad guys. The interesting thing with this, is that you can't play the bad guys. Both sides are US Army, at least to themselves. The other side is whatever enemy forces you happen to be up against.
The other part of the game, is a Role-Playing Game, taking you through Basic Training all the way to Ranger School, if you want to. It gives you all the fun of being a soldier, without having to sweat and crawl in the dirt. I don't think I'll play that part much. It'd be like working on my off time. But for someone that has no idea what the Army's really about, it'll be an eye opener and fun to boot. Did I mention these two games are free?
