Monday, July 31, 2006

Game Review ( Project Gotham Racing 3 - 360 )

I was skeptical about getting PGR 3 because it was a simulation racing game much like Gran Turismo, and I don't usually like them. But when I got this game and got fairly good at it, I'm glad I got it. Here's my review.

Graphics: 8/10. The graphics look like Gran Turismo 3's for the PS2's, but the cars are a little bit shinnier, and the enviroments look a wee bit better. The graphics are at their prime when you walk around your garage. The cars look great with nice reflections, and the fountain in the second garage has really nice looking water. Good graphics, but they've been seen before on previous consoles; for the most part.

Sound: 8.5/10. The cars sound great and the tire squeeling does too, but the music in this game, at least 90% of it, is in my opinion terrible. It is mainly dance and rap music, with a few rock songs, but for the most part, I try to ignore the soundtrack.

Control: 9/10. Well, it's a racing sim; it's very realistic. Few people could pick this up and get platinum their first try. You have to master drift, and have a good sense of when to turn into turns and what not. It's a pretty challenging game. But luckily, there are several difficulty modes that before each track, can be switched.

Fun: 8.5/10. I am about 30% through story mode, and I already have the McLaren F1 LM ( One of the statistically high performanced cars in the world ) , a Ferarri Enzo, and a Lamborghini Gallardo. It's really not even hard to get credits in this game; you can easily find a track you're good at that doesn't take a long time and keep doing it until you get money. About the multiplayer, as far as I can tell, there is no split screen, and the online is said to be awesome. So if you like racing games, this wouldn't be a bad choice at all for sim racing fans.

8.4/10

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Game Review ( Full Auto - Xbox 360 )

Full Auto was HUGELY anticipated before it came out, but it has gotten pretty poor reviews ( between 6s and 7s ). It is a good game, but there are several reasons why it's not as good as games like Burnout.

Graphics: 4/5. The cars look great, and when you're using turbo the blur looks good, and the destruction looks good, but there are occasional slowdowns in framerate when there is a lot going on. There are better looking 360 games out there.

Sound: 3/5. The cars and crashes sound good, but the music is pretty annoying and there is nothing above average about any of the sound in Full Auto.

Control: 3.5/5. It's kind of hard to control this game, especially on 1 player. You have to concentrate on when to get ready to emergency brake into a turn, aim your weapons, shoot your weapons, when to use your turbo, where there are mines on the road, and more. After awhile, you'll get used to it, though.

Fun: 3.5/5. Overall, Full Auto could be better. It's career mode leaves something to be desired; it's extremely short. It will take you no more than 8 hours to beat the game, and it really is for the most part to get gold medals. This game is for people of any age to beat; it's that easy. You'll have all the cars ( except one ) after playing 40% through career mode. Multiplayer is fun, but there is no "rewind" mode, so it seems like a different game and makes the uniqueness of this game erased completely, leaving nothing more than a cheap and less exciting Burnout game. The Xbox Live is fun, though, but not much different. My advice: I highly recommend you rent this game, but I really don't think anyone should buy it.

3.5/5

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Game Review ( Call Of Duty 2 - Xbox 360 )

Call of Duty 2 has been arguably the most popular World War II gaming franchise ever, and it's impossible to dissagree, this is an amazing game. Here is my review for Call of Duty 2.

Graphics: 4.5/5. Obviously the graphics are a million notches above past consoles, but I was strikingly suprised at how great the graphics were just for a launch title. ( Since usually graphics on a console get better as its life progresses. ) The soldiers look life-like, and the enviroments look fantastic. The only real problems graphically, are that the smoke grenades in buildings go through the walls, and there are occasional blurs, that's about it. Amazing graphics.

Sound: 5/5. You won't believe your ears. This is one of the best sounding games I've ever played. The explosions are great, the guns are great, everything's great, but what really makes you feel into the game is the fact that your infantry men talk to you, and when they do, it's actually useful. You know how in past games guys would randomly say things that weren't true? In this game it is. "German's coming from the South West." He's right. Brilliant sound, it really immerses you into the game.

Control: 4.5/5. Most anyone can pick up the controller and know how to play. I can honestly say I NEVER played an Xbox, but I picked this game up first day and right after the Training for this game I knew exactly what to do. Great controls that are very easy to use, yet effective.

Fun: 4.5/5. I'm on the last mission on single player currently, and I must say, this is an unbelievable game. The whole single player is in a way repetetive, but then again, that's what war is. But with the fantastic action going on ALL THE TIME, it really doesn't matter if you're doing tedious tasks over and over again. This is a great game on single player, and even a blast online. Online is good, but hard, because " No matter how good you are at one thing, there's always about a million people better. ". So basically, you will keep getting shot dead in the back online. However, the hit detection is spot on; unlike games like Halo, Halo 2, and SOCOM 2 and 3 for the PS2. The multiplayer is also good, but nothing like single player. Single player is just hands down constant intense action, while split-screen is just laid back, find and kill the other guy. The biggest thing that I didn't like about this game, was the fact that there was no 2-player campaign mode; now anyone could agree that'd be sweet. 27 missions, and single player's over, then you can go through it again. ( Which is still great. ) But I reccomend online play. Call Of Duty 2 simply has the best single player I've ever played in any shooting game; maybe ever. This is a must buy for a 360 owner.

4.5/5

No More DS Or PSP Reviews.

I recently sold my Nintendo DS and Sony PSP for an Xbox 360, so instead of having DS and PSP reviews, you will start to see Xbox 360 reviews. Oh well, suffer. :]

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

DVD Review ( The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season )

The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season is head and shoulders above The Simpsons: The Complete First Season because of better animation, better storys, and more "normalized" voices as we know them today. Here is my review for The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season.

[*] Means a "Season Great".

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Bart Gets An 'F': Bart risks being held back in the 4th grade, so he asks the intelligent Martin Prince for help to pass. 4/5

[*]Simpson In Delilah: Homer learns that there is a "miracle breakthrough" hair tonic that will give him a full head of hair and purchases it. His hair leads him into a load of success at the powerplant. 5/5

Tree House Of Horror I: The first ever Tree House Of Horror features: Bad Dream House, Hungry Are The Damned, and The Raven. 4/5

Two Cars In Every Garage And Three Eyes On Every Fish: Bart catches a mysterious 3-eyed fish ( known now as "Blinky" ) and it urges Mr. Burns to run for governor to get the EPA away from him. 4/5

[*]Dancin' Homer: Homer becomes an official mascot for the Springfield Isotopes. 4/5

[*]Dead Putting Society: Todd and Bart "duke-it-out" in a Putt Putt match to win $50. 5/5

[*]Bart Vs. Thanksgiving: Bart ruins Lisa's centerpiece for Thanksgiving and is sent to his room. Bart runs away and eventually comes home, forgiven by his family. 4.5/5

[*]Bart The Daredevil: Bart watches Captain Lance Murdock do daredevil stunts and becomes interested. Bart eventually tries to leap over Springfield Gorge, but is stopped by Homer. Homer accidently falls into the gorge and becomes badly injured. ( Ha, Ha. ) 4/5

Itchy & Scratchy & Marge: After Maggie hits Homer over the head with a mallet, Marge protests against The Itchy & Scratchy show. 4/5

Bart Gets Hit By A Car: After Bart gets hit by Mr. Burns' car, Homer hires Lionel Hutz ( Voiced by Phil Hartman the Great ). 4/5

[*]One Fish, Two Fish, Blow Fish, Blue Fish: In my favorite of the season, Homer accidently consumes poisonous blowfish and is sent to the hospital where he is told he has 24 hours to live. 22, actually. Homer miraculously is found alive the next morning by Homer, who then vowes to live life to it's fullest. 5/5

The Way We Was: The first flashback episode where Marge and Homer tell Bart, Lisa, and Maggie how they met. 4/5

[*]Homer Vs. Lisa And The 8th Commandment: In another of my favorite season 2 episodes, Homer illegally buys free cable and Lisa gets mad and believes he'll goto hell unless he gets rid of it. 5/5

Principal Charming: In the first Patty and Selma story, Homer is told by Marge to find a sister for her sister Selma, but Principal Skinner falls in love with Patty. 4/5

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?: Homer finds out he has a half brother and flies to Michigan to meet him, where he works for him and creates a flop car called the Homer. Herb ( Homer's brother, voiced by Danny DeVito ) goes broke and becomes homeless. 4/5

Barts Dog Gets An 'F': In a not-so-good episode of the season, Santa's Little Helper is taken to an obedience school and at the last moment, passes. 3/5

Old Money: In my least favorite episode of the season, Grampa Simpson meets Beatrice Simmons, who soon dies and leaves Grampa Simpson with her money, who spends it on the Retirement Castle. 3/5

Brush With Greatness: Mr. Burns has Marge make him a painting for the museum. 4/5

Lisa's Substitute: Lisa becomes smitten of her substitute teacher, Mr. Burnstrom. 4/5

The War Of The Simpsons: Homer gets drunk and looks down Maude Flanders' shirt. Marge decides to go to a marital retreat where Homer sneaks out to go fishing. He catches a 500 pound fish but gets rid of it to prove he loves Marge. 4/5

[*]Three Men And A Comic Book: Bart, Martin and Milhouse chip in to buy the first ever Radioactive Man comic. When they have problems with who plans on keeping the book, they become enemies. 5/5

[*]Blood Feud: Bart donates his rare blood to save Mr. Burns' life. Mr. Burns then buys the family a gift, a $32,000 Omech Indian head who's name is Xt'Tepplelettlekettel. 5/5

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The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season is definitely better than the first. They are both worth getting though, but with season two classics such as: Simpson in Delilah, Dancin' Homer, Bart The Daredevil, One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish, Homer Vs. Lisa And The 8th Commandment, and Three Men And A Comic book, this season is a must buy. It has so many great Simpsons episodes; more greats in one season than any other boxset available.

5/5

Game Review ( Coded Arms - PSP )

Coded Arms for the PSP is a game that is more repetetive than anything, and isn't even fun to play. Here is my review.

Graphics: 6.5/10 The best thing about this game is definitely the graphics. They aren't as good as some PSP titles out right now, but they are still pretty good. A decent framerate that usually holds out in mini-battles, that's the best part about it.

Sound: 7/10 There really isn't that much sound besides guns shooting and hearing the repetetive sounding creatures make the same noise to you every few seconds. Nothing special here.

Control: 6.5/10 Like most PSP shooting games, the controls are terrible. There are different ways to customize how you want to control, but this is just another example of why Sony should have put two analog nubs on the PSP.

Fun: 6/10 This game is downright repetetive. Nothing different happens for pretty much the whole game. Get through the level by killing "gate keepers" and voila. You will beat the game. It's not that hard, but it's REALLY not fun. So if you want to play a decent shooter for the PSP, look elsewhere. I suggest SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo. Stay away from Coded Arms.

6/10

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

DVD Review ( The Simpsons: The Complete First Season )

I've had The Simpsons on DVD since 2002, but I've just decided to do the reviews. My review:

Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire: Bart gets a tattoo and all of the family's christmas money has to be used to remove it. In the meantime, Homer finds out he won't be recieving a Christmas bonus, and has to buy cheap things for the family. While out at a dog track, he bets all of his money being a mall Santa on a dog that loses. In the end, Homer brings the dog home and the family thinks that Santa's Little Helper was the present for the family all along. 4/5

Bart The Genius: Bart cheats off of Martin Prince's test and is presumed a genius. He goes to a "special children" school where he discovers it is not as fun as he thought that it'd be. After telling going back to his old school, Bart tells Homer he cheated and Homer chases him through the house. 4/5

Homer's Odyssey: Homer wrecks a cooling tank at the power plant and is fired; Homer is depressed and attempts to kill himself. After realizing he has a meaning to live, he becomes an unofficial safety watch guy. As Homer takes on Mr. Burns, he's offered a new job by Mr. Burns and accepts. 3/5

There's No Disgrace Like Home: At a company picnic, Homer notices that his family is not normal. After seeing a TV advertisment for Dr. Marvin Monroe, Homer takes his family to Marvin Monroe's clinic where he promises "family bliss or double your money back." After a failed attempt of making the family normal, Dr. Marvin Monroe pays the family double their money back. 4/5

Bart The General: Bart is repetedly beat up by Nelson Muntz and decides that he needs to get back. After talking to Grampa, Grampa has Bart meet Herman, a military "expert". Bart gets back at Nelson and they sign a treaty. 4/5

Moaning Lisa: A depressed Lisa finds that life isn't very exciting and one night wanders outside to a saxophone player Bleeding Gums Murphy. After meeting him, her life changes and she finds out life isn't so bad afterall. 2/5

[*]Call Of The Simpsons: Jealous of Ned Flanders' new camper, Homer sets out to buy one of his own. He takes his family into a forest where they are stranded after it falls off of a cliff. Homer is mistaken for BigFoot and there is a reward for his capture. At the end of the episode in bed, Marge tells Homer he's not a below average human being, but a brilliant beast. 5/5

The Tell-Tale Head: To be cool, Bart amputates Jebediah Springfield's head in Town Square. He soon admits to doing it and is forgiven by the whole town. 3/5

Life On The Fast Lane: Homer buys Marge a bowling bowl as a present for her birthday hoping she won't use it so he could. Marge decides that she would start to bowl, and she meets Jacques Brunswick, a bowling master/womanizer. Marge at the end of the episode is offered to go to Jacques apartment and she accepts. On the way to his apartment, Marge decides to go to Homer's work at the powerplant. Marge carries her out and they make sweet, sweet love in his car. 3/5

Homer's Night Out: Homer goes to a "stag" party and dances with a stripper. Bart takes a picture of it and soon everyone around town has a copy. Upset, Marge kicks Homer out of the house and tells him that if he wants to continue living there, he'd have to bring Bart to Princess Kashmir and appologize. He does, and the family is all fine and good again. 3/5

The Crepes Of Wrath: Bart throws a cherry bomb down the school toilet and is sentences to deportation by Principal Skinner. Bart's family agrees, and he's sent to France in turn for an Albanian boy, Adil Hoxha. While Bart manages to get his "parents" Ugeleth and Cesar arrested, Adil Hoxha is arrested for sending messages to his home country in Bart's treehouse. Bart returns home happily. 4/5

[*]Krusty Gets Busted: Sideshow Bob is jealous of Krusty the Klown and frames him. When arrested, Bart and Lisa find out that Krusty is innocent and Sideshow Bob is sent to jail. 5/5

Some Enchanted Evening: Homer and Marge go out for a night and Bart, Lisa, and Maggie are stuck with the "Baby Sitter Bandit", Lucille Botzokowski. Bart and Lisa manage to hogtie her and call police. As Homer and Marge enter the house, Homer unties her and lets her away without knowing what she did. 4/5

Overall, The Simpsons: The Complete First Season really isn't good at ALL compared to the current ones available. There are some memorable episodes in here like Krusty Gets Busted and Some Enchanted Evening, but for the most part, most of the episodes are os-os. That's backwards for "so-so". The animation is crude, the laughs are sparce, but it doesn't matter. The Simpsons hasn't really been known about laughter, but great stories. And really, any season you buy that is what you will find. Some laughs but not many, and excellent stories written by brilliant writers. ( John Schwartzwelder, Conan O'Brien... ) Sit back and enjoy The Simpsons: The Complete First Season.

3/5

DVD Review ( South Park: The Complete First Season )

South Park has been one of my favorite shows of all time since the show first came out in 1997. The first season of South Park came on DVD in 2002, but I finally got it just yesterday. Here are my episode reviews.

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[*] Indicates a "Season Great"

[*]Cartman Gets An Anal Probe: In this episode, Ike ( Kyle's little brother ) is taken from him by aliens and it is up to him, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny to get him back. 4.5/5

Weight Gain 4000: In this episode, Kathy Lee Gifford presents an award to Cartman for winning an essay contest, for an essay he didn't even win. To look good for Kathy Lee, Cartman buys Weight Gain 4000 and becomes a big fat blob. 4/5

Volcano: The boys' hunting trip is disrupted by a mysterious creature that has entered South Park, and an erupting volcano. 4/5

[*]Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride: Stan's dog, Sparky, is found out to be gay and the boys treat him badly and wonder why he is a homosexual. Feeling unwanted, Sparky runs away to Big Gay Al's hut to live there. After finding Sparky, Stan finds out that having a homosexual dog isn't so bad afterall. 4.5/5

An Elephant Makes Love To A Pig: A genetic experiment unleashes an evil twin of Stan's to cause destruction throughout South Park. 4/5

[*]Death: In one of my personal favorite episodes of the season, Stan's 102 year old grandpa wants Stan to kill him, but Stan refuses. Soon, the Grim Reaper is summoned and kills Kenny. 4.5/5

Pink Eye: In one of the not-so-good episodes of the first season, people with pink eye are mistaken for zombies in South Park. 3.5/5

Damien: Satan and Jesus duke it out on Pay-Per-View and all bets are on Jesus. After discovering Satan's weight over Jesus', everybody but a certain someone changes their bets for Satan to win. In the end, Satan gets all of the people's money for being the only one to bet on Jesus to win, by intentionally getting KOed. 4/5

Starvin' Marvin: The boys are watching TV and discover that if you give money to poor children in Africa, you will get a free watch. Soon, "Marvin" is shipped to South Park instead of the watch, and when government authorities try to take him back, they accidentally take Cartman. 3.5/5

Mr. Hankey, The Christmas Poo: In my least favorite episode of the season, Kyle's musical pal Mr. Hankey makes a merry Christmas in South Park. 2.5/5

Tom's Rhinoplasty: The boys' teacher Tom decides to get a nose job, and the substitute teacher is a girl that is "interfering" with Stan's and Wendy's relationship. 4/5

Mecha Streisand: The boys discover a rare triangle and find out that if Barbara Streisand gets it, it will mean major destruction in South Park. 4/5

[*]Cartman's Mom Is A Dirty Slut: This episode is one of the best of the season. In an attempt to find who is father is, Cartman goes around town asking people who his dad is. 4.5/5

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Really, South Park: The Complete First Season is just an overall "meh" season that gets an average rating of between 7.5 and 8. It was the experimental season, but it was actually quite good, I forgot how good some of these episodes were.

Now, to get on to the overall DVD. There is the same promotion link on every disc, so every disc you see "Promo" on, they are the same promotions. Also, there are no chapter breaks in between episodes, so you have to fast forward to parts you want to watch. It's not that big of a deal, though, really. The last thing I noticed about every episode is that at the beginning there is a breif minute and a half talk about the upcoming episode with South Park's creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Basically, instead of having commentary ( which was at first included but at the moment of release date was cut ) you have Matt and Trey telling you about the episode you are about to watch.

The last thing I want to point out about this DVD set is that people are saying the episode "Damien" is said to be on disc 3, but it is really on disc 2. This is not true; on the DVD box it says disc 3. and the episode is on disc 3, so that was a pointless statement.

All in all, South Park: The Complete First Season is an excellent South Park season to start with, with classic episodes such as Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boatride, Cartman's Mom Is A Dirty Slut, and Death. This is a mustbuy for anybody that loves great "potty humor". Enjoy.

4/5

Friday, July 14, 2006

Hardware Review ( AK Racer Gaming Chair )

I was at Best Buy and saw a huge selection of gaming chairs ranging from $50-$130. Not wanting to spend much, I decided to buy this one, and it really is a bargain for $50. The back to this chair adjusts to straight back onto the floor, or hunched forward, with a lock so you can lean back without falling onto the floor. The style of the chair is also nice, a black and grey seat that really does look cool. The chair also seems to be well made, because even when sitting in it, I lean back and forth like a rocking chair and it feels very sturdy. The only real problem I had with mine ( and I doubt anyone else would have this problem ) is that there was a stain on it when I took it out of the box; no big deal; you can't notice it unless you squint. Overall, this is a really nice chair that is rather comfortable, and it is a steal for only $50. Definitely is one to buy.

Highly Recommended.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Game Review ( Wipeout Pure - PSP )

Wipeout Pure was a launch title for the PSP, but I didn't play it until just yesterday. This game is really unique and really fun. Here is my review.

Graphics: 9/10. The graphics really are pretty cool. The track design is nice, the explosions from the items look really sweet, but in a way, some tracks after awhile seem to look similar.

Sound: 8.5/10. Interesting music plays when you are racing, and it's hard to desribe; it's pretty cool though. The racers sound cool, and the weapons do too.

Control: 9/10. Only the skilled can play this game. It may be simple, but you have to use L and R triggers at the right time to do the turns effectively. This game takes practice to beat track times and not hit the walls.

Fun: 8.5/10. As far as I know so far, there are only 8 tracks, and quite a few racers to pick from, but overall, this game could last awhile. There are downloadable features on Infrastructure play, but not many people play this game online. This game is definitely worth a rental, but I really don't think you should take your money out and buy it. It's an interesting game, and a fun one, but the length leaves something to be desired.

8.4/10

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Hardware Review ( Sony 1 GB Memory Stick Pro Duo - Hardware)

The Sony 1 GB Memory Stick Pro Duo is an awesome way to take full advantage of your PSP's capabilities. You can really jam pile stuff on your PSP with this. I have 180 songs and a movie, full length, with still 149 MB to spare. Impressive, huh? I bought mine for $68 at WalMart, which was an amazing deal. Around Christmas time of '05 I found and bought a 512 MB Sandisk Pro Duo Memory Stick for, get this, $80. ( In case you didn't know, 512 MB is half of 1 GB. ) I feel so ripped off now, then again, I bought it at Best Buy, and Best Buy certainly doesn't have the best buys. Anyway, this is actually very cheap for a 1 Gigabite. I'm pretty sure about a year ago they were about $100 each, but I guess there was a huge price drop. Buy this! Not to mention it has an adapter that you insert the Stick in to even record movies from your camera; cool!

9.7/10

Hardware Review (Logitech PlayGear Pocket - PSP)

This is byfar the best case you could buy for your PSP. It's affordable, cool, and works. The Logitech Playgear Pocket is a very sturdy hard plastic case with black rubber to prevent the PSP from moving around while inside. There are little holes so you can charge the PSP, have headphones in, turn the PSP on or off, and press the L and R buttons, which is great if you are listening to music. When the PSP is in the case, it weighs quite a bit. I'd guess maybe 1.5 pounds. But that means this thing is heavy duty; and it should be; while I was at EB Games buying this, the guy said this was a really good case and he dropped his ( somehow ) from 2 stories high. It saved the PSP and mearly CRACKED THE CASE. That's not hard to believe, since this thing is rock solid. The only real bad thing about this case, though, is the fact that you can't put any thing else in it. No space for headphones or extra Memory Sticks, sadly. I try to put memory sticks and the PSP cloth in mine, and it fits, but it feels like it could open, so it isn't recommended. And since there are holes in the case, it's not at all water proof, in case you spill something over it. Either way, this is the best case you can buy byfar and for an awesome price of $15-$20 ( depending on where you get it. ) Definitely buy this case, it's great.

9.7/10

Highly Recommended.

Game Review (Kingdom Hearts 2 - PS2)

Kingdom Hearts was great; a lot of fun; awesome story; fun to play; this game is none of these. KH2 ties in the story from the original, and the Gameboy Advanced version, Chain of Memories. I played Chain of Memories, but didn't beat it, so the story is extremely confusing to me in this game. All I know is that Sora/Roxas keeps going in and out of what I call "comas" and they make no sense; they are just flashbacks to Kingdom Hearts. This story line is whacked and annoying. The game also starts off EXTREMELY slow for about the first 3 hours or so.

Graphics: 8/10. The graphics are OKAY... people say they look A LOT better than the original, but they don't. If you ask me, there is a very slight texture difference on characters and whatnot, other than that, there is really no difference at all.

Sound: 8/10. Yeah... some licensed Disney songs are in this game, of course, but there are also some annoying made tunes for this game that are extremely annoying and pointless... the game would have been better off without it.

Control: 7.5/10. X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X Dead for the most part. The guys die just by pretty much smashing down X... there is really not too much too it if you want to be a "Warrior"... god this game is so repetetive.'

Fun: 7.5/10. This game fails more than it does succeeds, and it did not meet the level of hype it recieved. This is a so-so game that in no way can ever compare to the original. Sure it's a good play with great characters and fun levels, but the repetitiousness (is that a word?) of this game is ridiculous, and you will do a LOT of backtracking. It's also not very fun seeing videos of them sitting down and talking about nothing. ( Them being "Roxas" and his buddies in the begining of the game ) They talk about CRAP and just munch on random blue popsicles all the time. Did I mention they freak out when the beach is mentioned? "It's summer and we haven't been to the beach yet!" ...Oh yay... "LET'S GET SOME PRETZELS!!" And that's not the only time they get excited by pretzels... anyways, like I said, this is a game that people should play, but it's not as good as people say it is on this website. Trust me. I know what I'm saying. I'm cool like that.

7.7/10.

Movie Review (Grandma's Boy)

Yet another fantastic "stoner" movie. This one by Happy Madison; Adam Sandlers movie company. This movie is about a 35 game tester named Alex ( Hey, my name. ) And he goes broke and has to live around and finally with his Grandma. This is a hilarious movie with several great jokes that I would share, but it would ruin the movie... This movie didn't get very much attention; and it should have. Dante in this movie is hilarious ( the weed seller ) and really, the movie as a whole is hilarious. The only real problem with the movie who plays "The Robot". He continuously makes stupid buzzing sounds and has "two sides", one normal, and the other that he does when he is nervous. That really drags down the story to me. This is a great movie and fans of any film like Cheech and Chong's movies, Don't Me A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood, Harold and Kumar Goto White Castle... and so on. Definitely at least rent this movie. It's a pretty good one.

7.8/10

Music Review (We Don't Need To Whisper - Angels and Airwaves)

Blink-182 changed continously throughout it's band-life. But not until Enema of the State did they to me make a bigger change. They turned somewhat "poppy" and had real good songs. In Take off your Pants and Jacket, they started to turn more "Rock", and it turned out to be my favorite CD. But in their final album ( Titled Blink-182? ) they turned really "emo", depressing, somewhat gothic.. but I still liked that, too. But when they broke up, or went on an "indefinite hiatius", I was pretty shocked, since Tom and Mark were "best friends". In Angels and Airwaves (AvA) Tom takes on a more serious and loving side without his former bandmates Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus. Angels and Airwaves consists of Box Car Racer guitarist David Kennedy, former Distillers bassist Ryan Sinn, and the drummer Atom Willard, best known as former drummer for The Offspring. With a great group of guys like this, you'd expect a great cd, and that is exactly what you get. Tom said it would change the world.. it hasn't. I think he was just feeling good that day. :P. Here's my review.

Valkyrie Missle: 10/10. This has got to be my favorite track on the entire album. The intro is a long two minutes and forty seconds, a riff doesn't start until a minute or so into it, and tempo doesn't change until a minute thirty. I loved the lyrics though, and Tom's voice makes it a much better song. I'm hoping this is AvA's next single. This is my favorite on the album I'd say.

Distraction: 9/10. Starts out with a less than lengthy intro than Valkyrie Missle ( This one is a minute and nine seconds ) and the lyrics are pretty repetetive, but I just like this song. And like I will say continously about these songs, Tom's voice makes it better better better.

Do It For Me Now: 8.5/10. Only a thirty six second intro (probably the shortest) and a solid song, but it's really nothing too special.

The Adventure: 9.5/10. If anyone's heard about AvA and heard one song, they've most likely heard this one. It's AvA's first single. It's one minute thirty second intro is pretty repetetive, but it picks up as soon as Tom starts singing. Good lyrics, nice quick paced beat... I've just heard this song too many times.

A Little's Enough: 9/10. One of the slower paced songs on the album, but it's still good. Not the best song, but it surely is a good one with pretty good lyrics.

The War: 9.5/10. I love the main riff. Good lyrics, which mainly talk about, you probably guessed it... war. The best thign about this song though is definitely the guitar work though. But that plus Tom's voice equals magic. Very good song.

The Gift: 9.5/10. This may very well be the first AvA song I heard because I downloaded it. Great lyrics, and OF COURSE, great vocals from Tom make this one of the best on the album in my opinion.

It Hurts: 8.5/10. The main thing said in this song is "It Hurts" ... several times ... and it really stays the same tempo throughout the whole song. This is one of the worst on the album to me.

Good Day: 9.5/10. I loved Tom's vocals in this song. The lyrics are like most songs, just about "oo baby I love you... mmm don't dump me." But it's still good.

Start The Machine: 8.5/10. Slower paced song the whole song, really, and a really "peaceful" way to end the album.

AvA seems very much to me like a more modern U2 for some reason. Slow paced, meaningful lyrics, and just overall great stuff. The only thing AvA needs to work on is how long their intros are and closes. Many times it would seem as if a song was over, and it just kept on going and repeating the same line over and over. The lyrics also get repetetive sometimes. Anyway, I sincerely hope this band doesn't split now. Stay together, Angels and Airwaves. Stay together, for the kids.

We Don't Need to Whisper definitely deserves a: 9.6/10

You absolutely must buy this CD.

Game Review ( The Movies - PC)

This is my review of The Movies; a game that had huge potential, and didn't show it all.

Graphics: 9/10. The graphics are really nice and move nice and slick on a 1 GB RAM computer. The animations are nice, and it all just adds more to the experience.

Sound: 9/10. Music playing in the background and even a radio station guy talks time and time again. The character voices are decent, and the sound effects are cool.

Control: 8/10. It's not so much that it's hard to control, it's just that there are so many different things in this game that you have to do it's hard to remember them all.

Fun: 7.5/10. The Movies is a game that is so much in depth, it's not that much fun of a game to play. It's not bad, but it could easily suck hours and hours of your life away depending on how well you expect to make a movie. Making a movie in this game is a very hard task because there are so many options. The fact that this game is somewhat like The Sims also makes this game hard, because you have to take care of all your players other wise they will just get mad. The Movies is a great game, but it requires a lot of commitment, a lot of time, and a lot of patience.

7.8/10

Hardware Review (Nyko Airflo Controller - PS2)

Airflo was a great idea, but a cheap design. I had the same one, but it had white grips. Anyways, I had this thing for about a month and my cousin had dropped it ( lightly ) on the analog side. Sadly and pathetically, the analog stick broke and could not be fixed. Thus, making this a huge waste of my $40. Another thing not to good about this controller is the fact it feels big in your hands. It's good for racing games, but when I play SOCOM ( Used to playing with a standard PS2 controller ) it just feels big and hard to use. The fan works well and you can adjust the speed; no problems here, because it's pretty freakin' silent, but it doesn't work very well. You will feel most ( if not all ) of the air just coming out through the back of the remote instead of out of the grips. Either way, this is an expensive controller that is not well made and easy to break. Hell, the same thing happened to my friend when he dropped his. I would really not reccomend this controller. The best PS2 controller is and always will be the standard one.

6.3/10

Game Review (Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade - PSP)

I rented this game mainly because I needed a new RPG to start playing. I was extremely suprised at how good this game was; but it does have a few problems. Here's my review.


Graphics: 6.5/10. Cool and interesting creatures, decent looking worlds, the graphics are okay, but nothing super spectacular for a PSP game. There is very, very, very little character customization. Alchemist, Druid, Berserker, or Knight, and then only about 4 different selections for your hair, and 3 for skin color, and there you are. There are also ocassional slowdowns in gameplay too when the music loops. A good thing, though, is that the loading times are reasonable at about 30 seconds.

Sound: 6/10. The sound is just, there. Each creature makes it's own little sound, but there are subtitles, and your character only will make slight grunts. The music can get very annoying, as well. The sound is not really good at all.

Control: 7/10. The only problem with the control really is just the slightly annoying camera angle. In my opinion, this game would have been better just if the camera was better because you could get a better look of what you are doing and where you are going. Also, doing the special abilities isn't the easiest thing either; you use the D-Pad to cycle around, and if you are one of those people who will take a long time to do so, you will probably die.

Fun: 7/10. Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade is a fun little portable RPG with several places to visit, and it's all in good fun. But the biggest problem in this game ( it's really annoying ) is the weight. You will be finding yourself quite often having to go through your inventory and looking at things you want to drop for other things you want to pick up. That's the biggest problem with the game. What is cool, is that you can link up with a friend. ( I don't know for sure if you can play with more than one ) If you need to play a PSP RPG, this is one of your few choices, and I recommend you try it out, even if it is pretty damn challenging.

7.2/10

Game Review (Star Wars Battlefront 2 - PS2)

The first Star Wars Battlefront was exceptionally good, but for whatever reason, it got old really fast, so you couldn't play it for longer than a half hour to an hour. Here's my review.

Graphics: 8/10. There is a slight improvement over the first game. The enviroments look a wee bit better, the characters do too, but there is not much different here. The overall look and feel of the game sticks to how Star Wars Battlefront was, so anyone who played the first one will easily be able to play this one, too.

Sound: 9/10. The sound is awesome with surround sound. Great Star Wars symphony beats during gameplay and at the menus, nice talking during gameplay by the characters such as "Get the Wookiee!" when your team is getting slaughtered by Wookiees to "What do you think you're doing?" When you "intentionally" or intentionally team kill. Great sound.

Control: 8.5/10. The control for this game is really, really easy when you have auto aim on. When it is off, though, it can be very difficult unless you are an avid 1st person or 3rd person player. It gets the job done.

Fun: 8/10. This game is better than the first in some ways, not in others. Strangely, you can't even prone in this game for whatever reason, which makes sniping hard to do unless you find a good spot in bushes or something. Of course, there are new levels, and space battles, but the space battles are fairly boring unless you have a friend to play with because they can take quite awhile ( I've played some 45 minute space battles. ) One big dissapointment about this game, though, was how there weren't more Star Wars Battlefront 1 maps in this game. There are maybe 5 at most, and it's kind of sad, because there were some really, really fun SWBF1 maps. SWBF2 has Hoth, Geonosis, Kashyyyk, (Which looks much different from the original game so it looks more like it did fromt he movie ), Endor, and Tatooine Mos Eisley. There is more, but I could only think of those. Another thing that this game features of course, is the new Jedi mode. You can play as a Jedi if you go on some sort of kill streak. This is fun, but really unfair to the other team because it is real mass murder. There is also a Career Stat Tracker, showing your kills, deaths, and awards. SWBF2 is an excellent Star Wars game, but doesn't do too much more than the original did. If you have the first, you may be skeptical about getting this one because it has a lot of the same stuff, but if you are a true fan, you will buy this one without a second thought.

8.4/10

Game Review (King Kong - PSP)

King Kong for the PSP is a really short, boring, do-it-on-your-own game, and this is my review.

Graphics: 7/10. At first, the graphics seem really, really good. But after awhile, you will notice you are fighting similar creatures for the most part, and the levels are pretty much the same old dark levels that have similar landscapes.

Sound: 6.5/10. It's there. Creature's noises, King Kong's noises, foot steps, the guns, the grunts from everything else... nothing special though.

Control: 6/10. The controls are bizarre. You hold down the L button the whole time to keep your gun out and use R to shoot. You don't even have to realyl aim at something to shoot it, either. You use triangle, square, O, and X to look around. Pretty weird controls.

Fun: 6/10. This game is extremely short, extremely repetetive, and sadly, the story starts out like it will be a good one, but just dies after the opening video. If you are a fan of King Kong, this is worth a rental. If you aren't, you might just want to not bother with this game. Very, very passable.

5.8/10

Game Review (Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition - PSP)

When I bought my PS2 around launch date, I got Midnight Club. I was not at all pleased with the game and really didn't like it. I also tried Midnight Club 2 and didn't like that, but since I had the Block Buster Game Pass I rented this.

Graphics: 8.5/10. The graphics are really, really good. The cars have really nice reflections, the citys look real nice, the car customization is unbelievable... the only problem with the graphics is the occasional slowdown in framerate, which can be annoying at times. Other than that, the graphics are still really good.

Sound: 7.5/10. I was not really pleased with the soundtrack for MC3:DE. Most of the music is just rap; which I don't care for. There are some rock bands like Jimmy Eat World and Nine Inch Nails, but those are just 2 of the very few rock bands that are even in this game. I'd say 85% of the songs are rap. The cars sound great, though.

Control: 8.5/10. Control couldn't be much easier, really. Analog stick to move, X to gas, triangle to brake or reverse... that's about it. Really quite easy to control.

Fun: 8/10. MC3:DE is overall a pretty good game, and an excellent portable racing game. The biggest problem with this game though is definitely the loading times. They are just over a minute long ( I counted, I was bored. ) The longest loading times are when it loads into a race or into Career Cruise mode. Also when you're customizing your car, make sure to have a hefty amount of battery life left. It took be about a half hour just to get my decals, paint, windshield, body, and engine and stuff done. The loading times are really annoying and constant. Other than that, this is a great game that has multiplayer so you can race against your friends, and a decent career mode ( not much of a story ) that has three levels, including Detroit and San Diego. This game will get repetetive after awhile, though, but if you need the Club anywhere you go, you should get this, or at least rent it. ( P.S. This game is extremely similar to Need For Speed games; I could have easily mistaken it for Need For Speed Underground or something. So if you liked that, try this. )

8.3/10

Game Review (Spongebob: Yellow Avenger - PSP)

Spongebob: Yellow Avenger (SYA) came out without me knowing, and I saw reviews on websites such as IGN. ( Which gave the game a 5.7 ) I wasn't expecting too much out of this game, but since I have the Game Pass at Blockbuster, I rented this anyways. This is the story: The Dirty Bubble got pushed into a washer and he turned into a whole lot of small bubbles. It is up to the Yellow Avenger; A.K.A Spongebob; to capture all these buckeroos and save Bikini Bottom. Here's my review.

Graphics: 8/10. These are some really nice cel-shaded graphics. The graphics obviously look better than the DS version of the game, and there are really nice character animations as well, so there is really no problem with the camera angles or doing anything as far as moving around is concerned.

Sound: 6.5/10. I was really dissapointed with the sound. I was expecting to hear voices from the showm but really, the only thing you hear in this game is a little music in the background and the squeaking of Spongebob's boots. It's not too annoying, until you have been playing the game 3 hours straight. That's the time when you turn the volume to mute.

Control: 7.5/10. The control is fine. You can use the D-Pad ( I wouldn't reccomend ) or the analog nub, which makes the moving a lot easier. Most of this game is just a 3D side scroller, except when you walk in places like the Krusty Krab, Spongebob's House, Squidward's Pad, stuff like that. Either way, the control really is not bad at all. You just side scroll left or right and basically just jump around onto platforms, and onto the citizens head's to get the bubbles off. This can be frustrating, though, because sometimes when you jump it may delay or something, or it's really picky as to where exactly you have to land on their head.

Fun: 7/10. Since this game is relatively short, this game is really just an excellent rental. For fans of the series, they should definitely rent this game. It is a decent amount of length for the game ( I've played for three hours and I'ma bout 30% thru the game, but it really depends on how fast you are at games. ) And this would be a great game for kids. The only real problems with this game is just the fact is doesn't have character voices, which was a let down, the chores are tedious and you will have to back track a lot. Chances are, if you know where people live in the show, you will have a better chance of finding what you need. There are 9 different locations to visit around the "Spongebob World" including Residents area, the City of Bikini Bottom, Goo Lagoon, Jelly Fish Fields, Rock Bottom, Mrs. Puff's Driving Class, and more. You can also of course interact with favorites from the show, such as Mr. Krab, Pearl Krab, Squidward, Patrick, Sandy, Mrs. Puff, Larry, and even some lesser known characters such as the "surfer dude" Scooter, and the police officer Officer Nancy. Like I said, this game is well worth a rental, but not neccesarily a buy.

7.2/10

Game Review (MLB 2K6 - PSP)

MLB 2K6 was kind of a dissapointment. 2K5 for the PS2 was a good game, and I was expecting the same here.

Graphics: 7/10. The character models look great, the stadiums look somewhat close to how they actually look, and that's about it. The fans look like sickening chunks of vomit ( can't expect much for it being a PSP ). The character movements are also realistic; which is cool, but it's really bad if you are playing in the outfield. A thing I also noticed, is that some players don't have helmets on when their batting, and some don't have their hats on when they're in the outfield. For me, I noticed that Vladamir Guererro has this problem. Nothing big at all, but it obviously was a mistake made.

Sound: 7/10. The annoying "hardcore elevator music" at the main menu is really annoying. 2K5 didn't have really good music either, though. Just those ESPN beats. The commentators get the calls done, but about 70% of the time, it's not on time. They will often call a play 5 seconds or so after it happens. When you hit the ball, it makes a strange sound, too. It makes the same sound every time, and it just doesn't sound like a bat on ball. It's kind of a sound that would wake you up in the middle of the night after something fell in the garage.

Control: 6/10. These controls are really just pretty damn frustrating. Initially, I thought I couldn't live with pitching; trying to aim the ball at the corners to get these guys swinging; but I did get used to it. That isn't my big problem though; I'd definitely say the fielding is worse. If a ball is hit in the outfield and you for whatever reason accidently move the analog nub in the wrong direction and try to go back towards the ball, you will miss it because the people just take so long to turn around. Another annoying thing that in a real baseball game would easily get a guy out, is the horrible infielding. If there is a ground ball, the guy ( usually the short stop ) will just lob it over to 1st base, when he really should rocket it; which often gets the man on base. Hell, many times there will be an inside the park homerun if your outfielder misses a ground ball rolling into the open. It extremely annoying and pretty much ruins this game.

Fun: 7/10. This game is really not as bad to the point where it's not playable, but it really is not buyable. Rent this game and check it out, you will either like it or won't. There is Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure online play, though, but I haven't played it yet because my Wi-Fi is broken. Wait for the MLB 2K7 addition, or if you can't wait and have a PS2, pick up MLB 2K5. It's a more "complete" game. MLB 2K5 doesn't have trivia during loading times though like MLB 2K6 ;].

6.8/10

Game Review (Banjo-Kazooie - N64)

I've had this game since way back when it was released; I just never got the chance to write a review.

The Story: Banjo's sister, Tooty, was "the most beautiful girl around" and Grunty the witch wanted her beauty, so she pulled an Amber Alert and took her to her lair. Banjo's lazy bum the whole time was sleeping. It's up to you to get jiggy's and notes and what-not to stop Grunty and get Banjo's sister back.

Graphics: 9.5/10. Awesomely different and creative worlds. From a sewer, to a pirate ship on an island, to a desert and into an icy snowland, there are tons of different and unique worlds to play through. The graphics are stellar for the N64, with bright colors and cool characters with good animations. This is one of the best N64 games as far as graphics go next to games like Donkey Kong 64 and Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Sound: 9/10. There aren't really any voices in this game; just kind of sound effects that are different for each character. Blubber on Treasure Grove Cove sounds like he's burping or throwing up, Kazooie sounds like a gagging bird, Banjo sounds like a big old hick of a bear... and so on. The music in this game, though, is some of the catchiest and the best music i've heard in really any adventure game. The music doesn't really get old, and whoever created it is brilliant. Overall, the sound is really, really good.

Control: 8.5/10. Being an adventure game, there are a lot of different controls for a lot of different moves. And since the N64 controller is the way it is ( pretty annoying ) it's easy to get confused even after playing for hours on end, just because you go brain dead. The controls are a bit strange at first to do some of the attacks, but you will get used to them anyways.

Fun: 9/10. A great game from beginning to end. Get the jiggys, move on. Get the notes, move on. That simple? No. This game is challenging and is for all ages, even if it does have a kiddy approach. The game lasts maybe 40 hours or so depending on how fast you get through the game. Great characters, great level design, and fantastic music makes this a must buy. This is one of the best games on the N64, and I.M.O., the best adventure game. Pick this game up now; it is better than its sequel and the Game Boy Advanced ones, even if all three are fantastic. Buy this game!!

9.3/10

Game Review (International Superstar Soccer '98 - N64)

International Superstar Soccer '98 (ISS-98) is probably the best soccer game I've ever played. It may be '06, but this is better than any other next gen soccer game. Here is my review.


Graphics: 8/10. Really good graphics for the N64; but the colors are pretty bright, though. The fouls look good when a player gets hit, and the animations are good. And obviously, no loading times.

Sound: 7/10. A decent announcer with a bit of an annoying english accent does the commentary. He does it better than some sports games that came out on the N64, but he doesn't say much and only has a few lines. There is very little other sound in this game.

Control: 8/10. A to pass, B to shoot, Left C to slide. That's all you need to know. The only problem for me is that I tend to get the pass and shoot buttons messed up, but these are really simple to learn controls.

Fun: 8/10. With a friend, this is probably the most fun you will have with a soccer game. Without one, that's another story. The A.I. on single player seems to run a lot faster than you making it nearly impossible to get a good shot on the goalie. On multiplayer, this isn't so, which makes multiplayer the best thing about this game. Go to your local EB Games and see if this game is available.

8.3/10

Game Review (Rugrats In Paris: The Game - N64)

I couldn't say I'd expect much from this game. It is a kid's game. But it's not that bad. You start the game on 1-player, and Kimi basically says how you need to get a helmet to defeat the big bad snail guy, yadda-yadda-yadda. From then on in story mode, you pick your character, and just walk around picking up tickets and buying things. It's not that fun, it's really slow, there is only a little theme park music in the background... this game is better in two player, where you can play bumper cars, golf, and a few other mini games.

Graphics: 7.5/10. The characters look the best as they ever could on a Nintendo 64. These are great cartoony graphics.

Sound: 7/10. The voices sound fuzzy and somewhat unclear and there is very little sound; no little talk-to-selves when you are running around in story mode, and all you hear is the theme park music. It puts me almost to sleep.

Control: 7/10. Slow controls... the babys walk extremely slow, and you can't run and turn at the same time. If you want to turn, you have to stop moving, which makes the game take awhile to get to a-to-b.

Fun: 7/10. This is an OKAY game. There are 5 different parks that you can goto, that are all different in their own way. Ooey Gooey World, Main Gate to Euro Reptar Land, Golf Park, Princess Theater, and Reptar Island. It's a DECENT game for someone who's bored on one player, but multiplayer is where it's at. If you buy this game, I highly reccomend you have a friend with you to play multiplayer. This game isn't the best Rugrats game though; If you have a PS1/PS2 buy Rugrats: Search For Reptar (PS1). It's a better game. Have fun.

7.2/10

Movie Review (Office Space)

This is a great movie that was made by the creator of Beavis and Butthead, Mike Judge. Mike Judge even played a part in this movie as Jennifer Aniston's manager.

This movie is about a man (Peter) who gets fed up with his job and is sick of wasting his time in an office and he just wants to do what a human is "meant to do". Which is nothing. He encourages other workers ( Samir and Michael ) to both do as he does. Eventually they all work together to steal money from the company. The plan backfires, and they decide to pay the money to the company. However, the building burnt down and that was the end of the business. Samir and Michael get new jobs at a similar place, while Peter becomes a construction worker. This is a great movie that has quite a bit of humor, and very good story line. Anyone who hasn't seen this definitely should.

P.S. The beginning of the movie is exceptionally funny. :)

8.7/10

Game Review (Tony Hawk's Underground 2: Remix - PSP)

Tony Hawk's Underground 2 for the home consoles were really good Tony Hawk games because they were just a whole lot different from the rest of the games in the series; really unique and strange. Here is my review for THUG2 Remix for the PSP. This game is a lot like the console versions, but there are a few things different about this game. First, the character customization is a little bit better because there is more choices for items to put on your character. Not a lot, but there are a few. Second, the levels appear in different orders, and some of the older levels from past Tony Hawk games appear in this version instead of the console ones. For instance, on both versions you start off in the level Training; which is exactly the same for both versions. But the next level on the PS2 or any other console would have been Boston, but on the PSP it's Santa Monica, which is in Tony Hawk 2 I believe as well as Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.

Graphics: 8.5/10. The graphics in this game during game play looks very similar to the earlier versions of this game. They look really good for a handheld. There is really just one thing that I don't like: the vides/cutscenes. Normally in a game the cutscenes have better graphics than the actual in-game graphics, but in THUG 2 Remix, the graphics are actually worse, and the graphics are really glitchy and blurry. The videos are definitely not pretty to watch, but the overall in game graphics look really, really good.

Sound: 9/10. The sound is pretty much the same as the earlier versions, there are even some songs from the older version's soundtrack in this one too, but there are also different songs; not just the same exact ones that are in the PS2 and Xbox versions. The voices are well done, and the rest of the skateboard sounds sound good, too.

Control: 7/10. Yeah. Controls... I never really had a problem with a single games controls until I played this game. These controls are just confusing, stupid, and makes you wonder more than once "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T SONY HAVE TWO ANALOG STICKS PUT ON THE PSP!?!?" Since you can't change the controls, yes, SINCE YOU CAN NOT CHANGE THE CONTROLS, this is how you play. You have to skate around with the D-Pad; which sounds okay, but since the PSP is known for it's somewhat unresponsive D-Pad, it really isn't easy to do. If you try to press two buttons on the D-Pad at once ( Like turning while on your board without moving ) it's actually very hard to do unless you are off your board because you have to press down extremely hard for this to work; and it isn't even worth it. You will find yourself in some kind of a race to get points in story mode, and you won't be able to do it because the controls are so out of whack. When you press L to get off your board, you can use the D-Pad to walk, or analog stick to run. The rest of the buttons pretty much are just like the PS2 version; X to ollie, Triangle to grind, Square for flip tricks, and O for grabs. The controls are just terrible for me because of the fact you HAVE TO USE the D-Pad to move; I would have much rather been able to use the analog stick.

Fun: 7.5/10. All-in-all, this is a decent game worth checking out even if you have played the console versions. Sure this game's controls are mediocre, the nice graphics, the good soundtrack, the somewhat long gameplay makes this a buy to hardcore fans. There is even Ad-Hoc multiplayer ( short distance multiplayer ) for up to ( It's either 4 or 8 players ). That adds to the experience. It would have been nice to have Infrastructure, though. ( Online ). So whether you've already beaten Tony Hawks Underground 2, THUG 2 Remix has some new levels, some older levels Underground 2 didn't have, and it's portable. If you are a die-hard Hawk fan, you should buy this game; even though the controls really are pretty damn bad.

8.1/10

Game Review (1080 - N64)

I used to love this game; but now it's dated and now that I look back on it, it's not as fun now, either way, here's my review.

Graphics: 8.5/10. This is a more realistic snowboarding game, so there are very realistic colors; unlike snowboarding kids or anything with very bright colors. 1080 features very realistic physics and is very sophisticated. Anyways, the graphics I remember loving mainly because of the powdery snow. I liked to edge in deep snow just because it was it was so fluffy. For that, this game got what it got in this category.

Sound: 9/10. Whether you go through a foot of snow or right accross jagged ice, there's a different noise. There is a different sound for everything, which is strange because really for the most part in many games on the N64 there is the same or a very similar song for everything in the game.

Control: 8/10. Very, very realistic and solid, but It's frustrating for that reason. it is really realistic so you really have to land FLAT to get land, which can be frustrating for little kids. There is also damage; so if you get beat up a lot you will not win the race.

Fun: 8.5/10. Nice and realistic, great events, and different difficulties for every age and cool characters make this a must play for any owner of an N64.

9/10

Game Review (Chopper Attack - N64)

I remember the day i got this game. It was the day my grandma finally bought an N64 for her house, and she got Cruisin' USA as well as this game, thinking my grandpa may play it. She was wrong. He never DID sit down to play this game. And I don't blame him.

Graphics: 6.5/10. Graphically, this game is okay for an N64 game. It gets the graphics down pretty well for the system, but it isn't anything spectacular.

Sound: 6/10. There are those chopper sounds, the people screaming, the people over the speakers, the annoying rock music. It's very, very, very sub par.

Control: 5.5/10. These take some time getting used to and it is rather frustrating at times. The choppers barely and rarely move where you want them to, which is very annoying because it does in some ways seem realistic, but since it's a game, it should have been a lot easier. It's a struggle just shooting a tiny little guy below your chopper.

Fun: 6/10. This game is MEDIOCRE. It has upgrades you can get before and after every mission, a nice variation in levels, a number of different choppers to select; but it's just not fun. I really don't reccomend this game.

4.7/10

Game Review (California Speed - N64)

I bought this about a year ago at EB Games for about $3.00. I was hoping for a good old classic N64 game. Damn was I wrong.

Graphics: 6/10. Bad framerate and the graphics are TRYING to be good but fail which makes for a crash fest into walls because the colors are blurred and it's really hard to tell where you're going.

Sound: 5/10. Vroom...Vroom..SHIFT..Vroom..Vroom..SHIFT. You got the idea. You hear cars shifting gears and annoying wannabe techno like music in the background. So aggrivating it should be put on mute.

Control: 5.5/10. The controls for the most part don't even respond. It is about a half second delay on any button press, and there is not any realism at all in this game.

Fun: 5/10. What the hell were the creators thinking? Bland graphics, horrible gameplay, extremely unrealistic... so on. Even if you like racing games on the not-so-realistic side, this game still shouldn't be bought. This was a horrible game! In every way! You will not have fun! DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!!

3.7/10

Game Review (Madden 64 - N64)

This game is just like the Super Nintendo versions of Madden, but this game is really not good.

Graphics: 6/10. For an N64 game, this is not good. They only look a little bit better than the SNES Madden's.

Control: 6/10. I find it somewhat difficult and it just doesn't feel right on an N64 controller.

Sound: 6.5/10. Madden is there, but it is fuzzy and when you hit someone they make a stupid little "tech umpf" as I call it. It's really annoying and it's pointless.

Fun: 6/10. This game fails. Just like the SNES with nothing more than an updated roster; there really is no fun to be had here and you are better off not playing it. I think it's a good thing it was only $3.99. Hell, there are better sports game for lower prices. If you're a fan of a "realistic" football game, try this, but if you want the best football experience on the N64 even if it is exaggerated and not realistic, try NFL Blitz/BFL Blitz 2000.

6.1/10

Game Review (All-Star Baseball 2001 - N64)

I bought this game just recently and I was instantly stunned at how great the graphics looked for an N64 game. Here's my review:

Graphics: 9/10. For an N64 game, this is some of the best on the system. Sure it was a late N64 game, hell, the PS2 was already out, but this is a great game with well done character animations and plesent stadiums.

Sound: 8/10. It works. The commentary isn't bad, the overall sound is decent quality, but there is nothing that really stands out in this game.

Control: 8.5/10. Great and unique batting/pitching. You line up the batting icon with the pitchers icon to hit; and i wish more games nowadays would have a way of hitting like this.

Fun: 7.5/10. This is a great N64 sports game, the thing is, it's not really too fun unless you have a buddy to play with. The game goes pretty slowly, and there are times when you pitch that the pitch will just rapidly turn towards or away from the batter with no explanation. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour for just one game for me and someone else; on new generation games like the PS2, it takes 20 minutes to 30 minutes. It's still a decent game, but you really can't get a lot of runs in a game unless you are playing against a rookie. This is still a good game; especially with the fact I bought this game for only $1.99. Definitely buy it if you can find it for a price like that. If you do plan on playing a season on this game, you will need a fresh standard N64 memory card, because it takes up all the space.

7.8/10.

Game Review (NBA Hangtime - N64)

This is a revew for the N64 game, not the PS1 game. The N64 version isn't available on amazon. NBA Hangtime is not nearly as good as NBA Jam for a few reasons. First, the weird graphics are pretty annoying. They are the actual pictures of the player's heads, and the bodies are animated. It's very strange. There is also only one camera view; which is the "broadcasting view" like you see on TV. Here's my review.

Graphics: 6/10. These are not good much at all. Like I said, they are very strange and different graphics, and that isn't a good thing. They are really quite ugly.

Sound: 5.5/10. Mediocre at best. The announcer is annoying and the music being played has just as bad quality as the rest of the game.

Control: 6/10. They do not respond well at all. If you play against the computer, you have one computer guy on your game you can somewhat control and not control. This game has 2 on 2 basketball and it is just really frustrating how you just can't control both players entirely.

Fun: 6/10. This game has good stats if you have a memory card, and you can also create your character with quite a few different choices for your body and what not. This is a game that you should not buy unless you are a hardcore unrealistic basketball game. This is the NFL Blitz of basketball, but it is really not good. This game with a friend is a lot better than going solo. I got this game for $3.99 at EB Games, and I'm glad it didn't cost anymore.

6.3/10

Game Review (Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror - PSP)

First off, I'd like to say I wasn't expecting this game to be at all what it is. I was expecting a half-assed game that was similar to the crap heap Syphon Filter; but I was wrong. Why? Because this game is amazing. I saw the reviews of 9 and above all over the net, so I decided to rent this. I am glad I did. It is just a fantastic game that blends in Goldeneye 007 gameplay in with Spinter Cell. Here is my review:

Graphics: 9.5/10. Some of the best graphics ever on a PSP game. The ingame graphics are great, but the video's ( like the one at the beginning of the game ) is absolutely stunning. They look damn realistic, the only real problem is that the lips don't move realistically; other then that; these are some freakishly nice looking graphics even for the PSP.

Sound: 9/10. Nice voice-overs. Nice gun sounds. It's all really good but nothing special. Hell, there is music in the background at times; and you hear chitchat among A.I. characters.

Control: 9/10. Really quite similar to SOCOM Fireteam Bravo in ways... you can use L to lock on, and R to fire at the guy, or to look around you can use the triangle, circle, X, and O buttons. The controls can definitely be frustrating at times though because it can be a matter of life or death depending on how quick you can line the crosshairs up on a guy long range before he kills you.

Fun: 9/10. I've only played single player ( my wifi is broken at the moment ) and so far I am amazed at how spectacular this game is. It took me about 10-15 minutes to get used to the controls, the graphics look amazing, the sound fits well, and it's just an awesome game to play. If you like playing games like Splinter Cell, SOCOM, or hell, just shooting games in general, you have to play this. It's confusing, hard, and aggrivating at times, but after you get through it you won't experience it for awhile. This game really is just a some-what difficult game, but for the most part, it isn't bad at all. Even if you don't like shooters; this is still worth a look. I haven't even PLAYED the Multiplayer yet; that has to be some killer stuff. Have fun.

9.2/10

Music Review (If Only You Were Lonely - Hawthorne Heights )

Hawthorne Height's Silence in Black and White was so much better than this CD. Some of these song names are just so Emo it's unbelievable. Dead in the Water? Where Can I Stab Myself in the Ears? Come on. What the hell is that. Anyways, this is still a decent CD... here's my review.

This Is Who We Are: 9.5/10. This really is an excellent song. I just like the opening riff and the way it's sung. Great way to start the CD.

We Are So Last Year: 8/10. Not that great at all. I really only like this song because of the guitar work.

Language Lessons: 9/10. Another good song. I like the vocals a lot.

Pens and Needles: 9/10. Another great song... I like the guitar riffs once again. Nice beat, decent lyrics, I like it.

Saying Sorry: 9/10. Obviously the first single for this album. It's a good one but it's getting old. The lyrics also are pretty lame and repetitious.

Dead in the Water: 8.5/10. Straight up Emo from the song name to the lyrics, but I like the vocals in this song. I

I am on your Side: 7/10. Really the same beat and whatnot throughout the entire song. A weak spot on the CD.

Breathing in Sequence: 7.5/10. So-so track. Nothing special about it at all.

Light Sleeper: 7/10. I really once again just don't like this one.

Cross Me Off Your List: 7/10. Doesn't really speed up, until the chorus, and is just a slow boring song.

Where Can I Stab Myself In The Ears: 7/10. Stupid song name. Boring song.

Decembers: 6.5/10 Horrible way to end the CD. Slow, boring song that will put most people to sleep.

Overall, the beginning of the CD is pretty good, but it goes all downhill from there, making this CD one that you shouldn't buy, but maybe rip a copy of.

8.6/10