FFVII: Dirge of Cerberus Review By Zathura

Game-Title: FFVII: Dirge of Cerberus
Platform: Sony PS2
Genre: Action
Date: 8/27/06
name: Zathura

Presentation-Rating: 7

Presentation-Comments: The story and cutscenes try to make up for what's lacking in gameplay, and as a fan of FFVII, I think they do a fair job. Sometimes however, the lengthy cutscenes throw a monkey wrench into the gameplay, literally putting your game on hold for 6-10 minutes while you listen to drawn-out and overdramatic dialogue. They do present a lot of history on Vincent however, who was undoubtedly one of the most underrated characters in the original FFVII, so it's nice that they devoted a game solely to him and his somewhat confusing past.

Gameplay-Rating: 5

Gameplay-Comments: Mediocre gameplay, the shooting (which the game focuses on) could use a little more variety than using about three weapons throughout the game. The customization feature is a nice idea, and does add some kick to your firepower, but little else. You fight the same two enemies throughout most of the game, namely generic looking guards and hounds, with a few minor alterations like flying gargoyles and bazooka-toting battle suits. I will say that the controls are excellent. Vincent's movements are fluid-like, especially when your weapon is lowered, and I have encountered no real problems with the camera or movement systems. The levels are strictly linear, with almost no exploration involved. You just run from one end of the stage to the other, gunning down anything that moves. Boss fights are insanely easy, with slow-moving, easy to dodge attacks. Most of them can be beaten simply by strafing around them in a circle with your machine gun.

Audio-Rating: 8

Audio-Comments: Gotta give them credit. Final fantasy has never disappointed me with their choice of music, and Dirge of Cerberus is no different. The music changes from stage to stage, and is rather pleasant to listen to.

Graphics-Rating: 6
Graphics-Comments: Actually, it isn't fair to only have one graphics score on this game. I would say the character models get a 7 or 8, while the backgrounds and scenery get about a 5. The cutscenes are well done however, and the pre-rendered cutscenes look as if they're taken straight from advent children.

Longevity-Rating: 6

Longevity-Comments: It's a 12 hour game at best, and actually more like 10. There are twelve chapters in the story mode, but when you finish, you unlock about 45 extra missions that are played independently from the main game, and these are pretty fun. There is a little bit of replay value in extra hard mode, as you can carry-over all your weapons, upgrades, and gil from a previous playthrough on normal or hard.

Overall-Rating: 6

Final-Thoughts: I would like to say I'm disappointed that you see nothing of cloud, tifa, barret, etc. except in cutscenes. There is minor interaction with cid, leaving yuffie and cait sith as the only supporting characters you see in-game. Red XIII is non-existant except for about 10 seconds in the ending. Fans of the series will want to pick it up just because of what it is. Non-fans will probably want to stay away, however, as I'm sure there are better action/shooters out there that are more enjoyable. Even if you are a fan though, I'd suggest letting it come down in price, instead of dishing out $50 for a new copy...it just isn't quite worth that.

Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow review by Sergio

Game-Title: Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Action Adventure
Date: 08/12/06
name: Sergio

Presentation-Rating: 10
Presentation-Comments: The game presents itself extremely well considering this is a sequel to an awesome game on GBA. The little presentation movie at the beginning is something worth seeing if you've played Aria of Sorrow.

Gameplay-Rating: 10
Gameplay-Comments: I could not ask for better game play. The stuff you can do is amazing, and the controls are simple and customizable.

Audio-Rating: 10
Audio-Com! ments: In my opinion, this game has one of the best soundtracks ever heard in the Castlevania series. The sound effects are awesome, and the voices are cool too!

Graphics-Rating: 8
Graphics-Comments: Even though this game is played on a 2d basis, it still has way cool graphics. It's even been compared to that of Symphony of the Night.

Longevity-Rating: 10
Longevity-Comments: If you've finished the game once, you still need to collect all of the souls. You still need to beat Julius mode to see what happened on his side of the story. Thirdly, you can beat Boss Rush mode with the best time possible. And descovering everything might be a challenging experience. Shall I go on?

Overall-Rating: 10

Final-Thoughts: I'm a huge Castlevania fan, and I was extremely satisfiedwith this title. It has everything a Castlevania fan would like.

WARRING FACTIONS review by Robin Sadlier

Game: WARRING FACTIONS
Platform: PC Game
Genre: MMORPG
Date: 08/08/06
name: Robin Sadlier

Presentation-Rating: 7
Presentation-Comments: Well, its a browser-based web-strategy game, so don't expect 30 frames-per-second of rendered brillance. The layout has been thoughtfully presented, with plenty of clean profesional icons and tables layed over some very nice photos of the depths of space. It can be initially a bit daunting navigating your way around the control screens but only beacsue there's so many of them.

Gameplay-Rating: 10
Gameplay-Comments: Warring Factions strength lies in its enormous level of playability and involvement. Jokingly titled 'War-Crack' by its player-base the diversity of paths open to players makes it tremendously playable.It runs on an enormous 3-dimensionsl universe map, which is updated by the minute. Emphasising interraction with other players and the freedom to exist trading, researching, mining, colonising, waging war, exploring or pursuing diplomacy it has become my firm favourite amongst the throngs of MMORPGs out there.

Audio-Rating: 1
Audio-Comments: I have found one sound effect in the whole game - two if you include the plainitive cries of my partner asking me to turn the computer off and finally come to bed.

Graphics-Rating: 3
Graphics-Comments: There's not a lot of graphics, being as it is mainly text-based. The 3-D map of the universe is the game's main graphical endeavour and it is very nicely laid out.

Longevity-Rating: 10
Longevity-Comments: "....I just can't stop playing ..."

Overall-Rating: 10

Final-Thoughts: Its certainly not for everybody. Its quite involved and most of the player-base is over 18. Being quite nerdy is definitely a plus, as is a good grasp of maths and english. If you like your games 'FREE', 'involving' and enjoy the interractive side of online gaming, I couldn't recommend anything better than Warring Factions

Kingdom Hearts 2 Review by Sergio

Name: Kingdom Hearts 2
Platform: Sony PS2
Genre: Action / RPG
Date: 07/25/06
name: Sergio

Presentation-Rating: 10
Presentation-Comments: The way the game presents itself is just astonishing. You cannot help but watch the opening and be awed.

Gameplay-Rating: 7
Gameplay-Comments: I found the game play in this Kingdom Hearts to be somewhat of an overkill compared to the original. It goes without saying that the gameplay is still great, but it doesn't offer as much of a challenge compared to the original.

Audio-Rating: 8
Audio-Comments! : The sound effects and music in this game are great. Small improvement from the original.

Graphics-Rating: 9
Graphics-Comments: One thing that is certain that changed is the graphics. They are better and more clearer. Advent Children like graphics in the opening and the closing movie.

Longevity-Rating: 8
Longevity-Comments: Like the first Kingdom Hearts, you still have more stuff to do even if you defeat the final boss, only this time they are more challenging. You still get to fight Sephiroth which is always a huge challenge.

Overall-Rating: 9
Final-Thoughts: Even though this title isn't as challenging as the first one, it is still worth playing to find out how the story "ends".