Bash Some Feature Cars
One of the greatest elements of Midnight Club II is the fact that you are racing in cars that would be well on their way to a magazine feature if they were, how shall we say, in the metal. Guys like Lead Vehicle Designer Kouros Moghaddam of Rockstar San Diego tell us that his team was "able to design the kind of heavily modified cars we wished we owned." He adds that, "Southern California is a major center for street-racing activity and many of the staff members here are car and bike fanatics, so there were a lot of ideas flying around." Yeah, Kouros, we can see that. Although the vehicles are not specifically licensed for use by the OEs, you'll definitely recognize some stock body styles and aftermarket items, like widebody kits, by name brand. Kouros tells us that "a lot of manufacturers do not want their cars or bikes to take damage in video games, and we simply could not be limited by that, so we didn't make an effort to get licensed vehicles in the game." In between loading times, you'll even see a few sponsor logos pop up, like AEM and Auto Meter, for example-hard proof that the Rockstar team did its homework on our scene, more or less creating a highly authentic virtual Super Street world for everyone to play in. We love it!
Overall
With the ability to play online against worldwide competitors, you just might get the chance to kick Nobuteru's ass for once on a racecourse. You never know. But if that's too scary, simply stick to the arcade gameplay against the computer, because it's challenging enough to last for months. Taking you through highly detailed renditions of Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Paris, you almost get an involuntary geography lesson packed in with your racing, and who's to say you won't emerge a smarter person because of it? Seriously, if you win yourself a broken foot, the flu, or even a tonsillectomy, you'll be glad that you have this game, because your life will be complete as you while away the hours on your ass, glued to the TV set. We'd actually be very proud of you.-Russell Brock
X2:Wolverine's Revenge
Console: PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, Game Boy Advance
Publisher: Activision
What's Hot: Good story, enjoyable combat sequences, stays true to comic book
What's Not: Sloppy control at times, so-so graphics, no multiplayer mode
Score: 0 0 0
It slices! It dices! It's Wolverine! Launching simultaneously with the X2 feature film, X2:Wolverine's Revenge chronicles the adventures of everyone's favorite mutant from X-Men in a completely original storyline developed by Marvel Comics legend Larry Hama. Actually, it's the only video game to date that allows players to climb into the retractable claws of Wolverine.
In the game, our protagonist discovers that a deadly virus has been triggered in his body and he has just 48 hours to recover the antidote from the evil organization that not only gave him the X virus, but also his mutation.
The action/adventure allows players to hack and slash through enemies using Wolverine's razor-sharp claws, though brains are required along with brawn as stealth is needed to secretly infiltrate high-security locations. The game is played from a cinematic over-the-shoulder view (aka third-person perspective) as our mutant Canadian (no, not Celine Dion) travels to different parts of the world to fight off baddies, solve puzzles, and collect key items. Dog tags can also be found and collected around the globe to learn deadlier strikes during combat.
Wolverine's other well-documented attributes-such as an unbreakable metal alloy-like "adamantium" skeleton, accelerated healing, and a sixth sense to smell danger-come into play during the game, as do familiar foes such as Sabretooth, Magneto, Wendigo, and Juggernaut.
...
>>next page