Video games
Mechassault 2: Lone Wolf
about story anyway?
What does matter is the game's inherent action. Day One Studios has created one of the most exciting futuristic battlefield experiences ever. Everything from the explosions of towering skyscrapers to the thunderstorms of the mechs themselves will keep players immersed in the game's setting. The new ability to exit the mech and commander other vehicles such as tanks, man-sized battlesuits and dropships gives players a real sense of scale, as well as a variety of play options.
Xbox
XBOX When Xbox Live was first released, its flagship online title was a little gem by the name of Mechassault. The game helped blow down the doors for online console gaming, and now two years later, fans have finally gotten the sequel they have been clamoring for.
been clamoring for. Mechassault 2 once again puts players in the driver's seat of multi-story battlemechs and pits them in the middle of battles in a myriad of futuristic settings. The background information and storytelling of the single-player campaign is kept to a minimum, but with all of the urban chaos occurring in the game, who really cares about story anyway?
as well as a variety of play spaces The game's immersion factor is aided by superb technical performance. The
Courtesy of www.gamespy.com
sense of monotony after 2still provides one of the most exciting combat experiences around. Anyone with an affinity for giant robot action games should be pleased.
graphics are great, with high frame rates good draw distances and well-rendered character models. Sound effects are also exceptional, and the soundtrack really adds to the adrenaline rush of the gameplay.
play.
Unfortunately, Mechassault 2 does have its pitfalls. The single-player campaign, while exciting at the beginning, gets more than a little repetitive after the first few missions. The game's online mode still lacks a few of the options players have grown accustomed to in today's flock of Xbox Live games. Even the gameplay is simplistic at its core, resulting in a real sense of monotony after a while.
Andrew Campbell
Shaman King:
Power of Spirit
Grade: B+
Normally I'm not a really big fan of strategy games, but Shaman King takes a different approach to the genre. Instead of the action being totally turn-based the game incorporates two styles of play into a unique experience.
PS2
a unique experience.
The story of Shaman King follows a young man named Yoh Asakura and his dumb friends as they fight enemies and learn life lessons while they journey to become the champion of the Shaman King tournament. Naturally, they come across many people who wish to thwart their ambitions and cause them mental anguish. OK, so it may be the same clichéd story we've seen a thousand times and delivered in crappy non-animated storyboards, but that's not the point. The game-play itself is the interesting part.
play itself is the interesting part. The first part of the game is strategy, where you maneuver your characters around the play field to position them for attack. Once a battle is initiated you are taken away from the strategy screen and into a semi 3-D fighting arena. At the beginning of the game your character is limited in combos, but gains new powers
Courtesy armchairempire.com
from experience gained in battles. Battles start off rather easy and get progressively more difficult as the number and strength of enemies increases with each successive episode, or level. Most battles are short and far outweighed by the cutesy Japanese anime scenes.
As with any good anime offshoot, a diverse number of stereotypical characters are portrayed. There is the nonchalant protagonist, the dumb, spiky-haired kid, and the mean-nice guy. Each of these characters is annoying and forgettable, much like the story. So basically this game provides some unique, entertaining gameplay at the cost of a whole bunch of whiny kids and bad animation. If you can deal with that, then give it a go.
Grade: C
—Nick Finnegan