Review Frenzy Team

The Review Frenzy Information Page

Killazilla — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 23:18:39 -0700

Hey guys and welcome to the New and Improved Review Frenzy!

This is the official Information page.

Read on for:

Rules
Formats
Instructions on posting, editing, and scoring your reviews/previews
Staff and positions
Guidelines

Effective immediately we will be using the new templates. You will see them on the top right "Create Review, Create Preview." Use these instead of the "Group message." Put the stuff in the respective sections and post it here. It will be edited and then moved to the special "Review Frenzy Page." Currently it is not on the front page but soon there will be a section on the front page that links to the page and promotes the newest additions. Exceptional reviews will be periodically chosen by the admins and will be added to the main news feed on the front page (Like Jev's Bioshock). Thanks Krunk for making this so much easier!

NOTE: BB Coding is no longer needed because all the stuff will be generated by the template. The only code you must add is the [img] tag for pictures.

We will start with the basic Reviews and Previews but I have many cool things planned for the future.

Every month I will post a list of games and demos that come out that month that need to be reviewed. When posted you will each have the chance to pick one of the games or demos to review/preview. Please write and post your reviews ASAP but make sure you play enough of the game to properly review it.

The Staff

Killazilla: Team Lead and Head Editor
ChuckieJ: Grammar and Spelling Editor
Capn Krunk Webmaster and Editor

Reviewers

shorap
ChuckieJ
QualityJeverage
ClownX
DiamondSoulja

As for reviews. Below I have the formats for both reviews and previews. All your reviews will be written in those formats. Each section of the review has a list of things that should help you when you write your review. You do not have to answer all of those question and do not feel that you are confined to those categories. I know I must have missed some things. Just use them as a source to get you thinking more when you play the game. (BB Coders I will pm you the code formats for both).

When you have finished your review post it in this group and wait for a grammar and spelling editor to look over it (they will post a revised copy as a reply to the post) and then for the BB Coder to code the editedreview. After it is coded and edited, I will update the original post, delete all comments, and move it to the Front Page. Simple as that.

Structure of a Review

Title of thread Review Frenzy review of (GAME)

Review of: game
Author: Your name
Edited by: (editors and coders add your name here when you edit the review)

The Skinny:
A brief description of the game (Name, Publisher, Info about characters and non-spoiler plot.)

Scoring:
Scoring will be based off several criteria: Gameplay, Visuals, Sound. Replay value/longevity, and Learning Curve. All scoring is based on a 1-10 out of 10 scale.

Gameplay: X/10 (How well does the game play?)
Is it fun to play?
Does it work? (No major glitches or broken controls)
Is it innovative or has it been done before? (Is it a clone?)
Is the game balanced? (Are all the weapons equally usable, no “God characters or one weapon that controls the whole game)
Are the levels bland or different and interesting? (Single player and multi player)
Are there lots of options to use or is it a button masher?

Visuals X/10 (Graphics and visual effects)
Are the graphics good? (High def or great art style (such as Okami and Wind Waker) remember a game doesn't have to be HD to look great)
Are they clean? (No graphical pops, frame rate drops)
How are the character models?
Are the animations fluid and smooth?
Are the environments breathtaking? (i.e make you stop to look at them)
Are there any other amazing visuals? (Vehicles, animals, etc)
Is the lighting well done?

Sound X/10 (How is the sound in the game)
Are the sound effects cheesy?
Do the sound effects sound realistic? (Gun fire)
Are there any interesting effects? (Such as echoing gunshots like in Halo 3)
Is the music good? Does it draw you into the experience? (think of Halo's musical scores and how well they blend with the emotion of the moment)
How are the voices? (are they believable or WAY too exaggerated like the COG's In Gears of War)

Longevity X/10, Medium(how long will you be playing the game)
Are their any incentives to play the game a second time?
Are their side quests, unlockables, or alternate endings?
Is it just so fun you want to play it again and again?
add one of these between the title and the score for this section so: Longevity Fairly high, 7.5/10
Low (1-2): (Don’t want to finish the game)
Fairly Low(3-4): (Beat it once and done with it.)
Medium(5-6): (Beat it once and come back to it occasionally)
Fairly High(7-8): (Play it for a few weeks to a month.)
High(9-10): (Can’t put it down)

Learning Curve: X/10, easy, medium, hard, etc (how long it takes to learn how to play the game relatively well)
Easy: pick up and play in under 15 minutes
Medium: 30 minutes
Hard: 1 hour
66th level of Hell: Over 1 hour

Note: This section is probably the shortest. However the rating is a bit tricky. For some games a long learning curve is good, for others it is bad. Think about the game and how easy/hard it was. A game could take you an hour to learn everything but can also be made so that it doesn't matter how long it takes. Just say how long it should take to learn to play the game well, why it takes that time, and how curve affects the enjoyment of a game. THE ONLY THING THAT YOU BASE YOUR SCORE OFF OF IS HOW THE CURVE AFFECTS THE GAME.

Overall score: x/10

The Overall score is the average of the 5 scores. (if you don't know how to do average add all of the scores together and divide by 5)

Previews: (reviews of demos and what they make you think about what eh game will be like)

The Skinny:
A brief description of the game (Name, Publisher, Info about characters and non-spoiler plot.)

The Good What about the demo impressed you? Plot, graphics, gameplay, etc.

The Bad: What was negative about the demo?

Overall Impression: Great, Terrible, Highly anticipated, etc.

What is your impression of the game after playing the demo and how does it make you feel about the full game?

Review Frenzy Team

October and November Game List - Claim your review

chuckiej — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:06:32 -0800

War World (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/1/2008

Mega Man 9 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/1/2008

Fracture (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/7/2008

Guilty Gear 2: Overture (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/7/2008

Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/7/2008

NBA 2K9 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/7/2008

NBA Live 09 (Xbox 360)
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: 10/7/2008

MLB Stickball (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/8/2008

Beat'n Groovy (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/8/2008

Shadow Assault/Tenchu (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/8/2008

Blitz: The League II (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/13/2008

Dead Space (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/14/2008

Saints Row 2 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/14/2008

Golden Axe: Beast Rider (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/14/2008

Rock Revolution (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/14/2008

FIFA Soccer 09 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/14/2008

Age of Booty (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/15/2008

Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/20/2008

Fable II (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/21/2008

Far Cry 2 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/21/2008

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/21/2008

Monopoly (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/22/2008

Portal: Still Alive (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/22/2008

Guitar Hero World Tour (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/26/2008

Fallout 3 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/28/2008

The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/28/2008

Scene It? Box Office Smash (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/28/2008

MotoGP 08 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/28/2008

Disney Sing It (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/28/2008

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode 2 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/29/2008

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 10/29/2008 - ChuckieJ may do it

Tom Clancy's EndWar (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/4/2008

Legendary (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/4/2008

Quantum of Solace (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/4/2008

Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/4/2008

Secret Service (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/4/2008

Vigilante 8: Arcade (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/5/2008

Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/7/2008 - Renegad3 N

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/9/2008

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/11/2008

Mirror’s Edge (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/11/2008 - preview by Sqweryl

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/11/2008

Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/11/2008

Call of Duty: World At War (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/11/2008

Shaun White Snowboarding (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/16/2008

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/16/2008

NCAA Basketball 09 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/17/2008

Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/18/2008

Tomb Raider: Underworld (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/18/2008

Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/18/2008

Naruto: The Broken Bond (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/18/2008

Need for Speed Undercover (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/18/2008

NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/18/2008

Emergency Hospital (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/26/2008

Banjo-Kazooie (Xbox 360)
Release Date: 11/26/2008

Review Frenzy Team

Bionic Commando: Rearmed

chuckiej — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 10:29:24 -0700

Opening

Bionic Commando for the Nintendo Entertainment System was a "cult favorite" known for its use of the player's bionic arm to swing across gaps and not a jump button like most other side-scrolling platformers. Twenty years later, a completely revamped version called Bionic Commando: Rearmed comes to the 360 on Live Arcade. PI PI PI... We have found an intruder...

Platform

Xbox Live Arcade

Publisher

GRIN / Capcom

Visuals Score

Visuals

Forget 2.5D, Bionic Commando: Rearmed is a 2D platformer in a 3D world. That's right - its just a very narrow 3D environment. The barrels, enemies, they're all 3D models.

GRIN showed in a trailer that the characters are true 3D

Since Bionic Commando: Rearmed was totally rebuilt from scratch (read: not a port), GRIN had the opportunity to take the classic art and bring it up-to-date. Each character and model had to look good as a 3D model but also stand out from the background just like in the 8-bit version. Rad's outfit really stands out - he's definitely not your typical soldier. Also, each gun has to look unique enough that they are discernible when he is fairly small on the screen.

Not only is the area of play totally remodeled but the backdrops give more detail about where you are. The rich colors, the explosion and smoke effects and the 3D look and feel make the game that much more engrossing.

Product Link

Sound Score

Sound

I get to take a hiatus from hammering XBLA games on the sound design with this one. The bullets firing, the explosions, even the enemies shouting and moaning in pain really bring you into the game. Again, GRIN totally redid all of the sound - it is not simply a resampling of the old.

The real highlight in the sound department is the music. The NES game's music was honored for its definite militaristic feel and punchy melodies. The theme for Area 1, in particular, has been popular with 8-bit music fans and remade by the NESkimos. For Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Simon Viklund, the game's creative director, took the original songs and remade them with modern electronic styles. While the main theme is certainly given new life, my favorite is from Area 8 called "Power Plant". The NES version was not nearly as fun or punchy. The Rearmed version has a thumping drum track which gives it a completely different feel. Too bad its hard to play the game one-handed so I can have a glow stick in my other hand.

You can listen to the Power Plant track here. I bought the soundtrack as soon as it came out once I heard a few of the songs.

Gameplay Score

Gameplay & Controls

As Nathan "Rad" Spencer, you are sent to rescue Super Joe from the evil Badds who have not only captured him but are building a powerful new weapon called the Albatross.

You could almost call Bionic Commando: Rearmed a port. But you would be wrong.

Twenty years later, Bionic Commando returns to the small (wider) screen

The original game's bionic arm mechanic is there. The maps are essentially the same. You communicate with command and hack into the enemies' communication. You fight mostly the same enemies. It has the same "explosive" ending.

However, here's what was added:

- You carry all the weapons you have collected at all times.
- New weapon types
- You can drop grenades on enemies from above.
- Pick up and throw barrels
- Pick up and throw enemies (essentially the same as pushing them with your arm in the original, but much cooler)
- New enemy types
- You must complete a minigame in order to hack into enemy communications
and most importantly...
- New bosses that require more skill and use of both your bionic arm and your weapons

Bashing a Badd guy with a blue barrel

Overall, the game flows much like the NES version. Carefully swinging around while shooting enemies and avoiding traps. Mastery of your bionic arm is the only way to survive. In fact, the word that most often comes to mind when thinking about the NES version or Bionic Commando: Rearmed is "precision". If you are not precise with how you grab platforms, swing, let go, and catch yourself you will surely die many, many times.

Weapons come along at nice intervals. You get the shotgun and bazooka fairly early but the later weapons are also very handy. One new one is the Vector Cannon which shoots a laser at a 45 degree angle then bounces off the next couple surfaces it hits.

The new enemy types really provide challenges the original Bionic Commando did not have. One of them is the Fly Droid Operator, a person who controls robotic bombs that float around near him and try to detonate near you. Several times I have been swinging around trying to not make a mistake and one of these Fly Droids surprises me.

Some boss battles are hated (Tartarus, anyone); some boss battles are loved (Ganon). In the NES Bionic Commando, the bosses were unsophisticated, fairly easy and almost always quickly beaten. Not so, in Bionic Commando: Rearmed. Starting from the very first level you must begin to master the use of your arm and the weapons you have available to succeed. The first boss (the D-1 Beetle) is a large spherical robot that floats around using thrusters. It is revealed when you hack the enemy communications that it has a weak point in its hull. One problem: when you get there you realize it switches between the bottom and top of the robot, neither of which can you reach with your weapons. But wait, there are barrels on the left side of the room. If you pick those up with your arm and toss them just right, you can hit that weak point. Each boss has a unique way to destroy it that you must figure out. The team at GRIN worked very hard to make sure the bosses were challenging and took advantage of the unique gameplay mechanics.

In an unheard of move, you actually use Rad's arm to beat the boss

My one gripe is actually the controls and it is very minor. At certain times, shooting your arm straight out while standing still is necessary, one of which is during a boss battle. It happens automatically when you are crouching but the default is diagonally up when you are standing. Pushing the analog stick diagonally down seems to be the only way to pull off a standing forward arm projection. This is tough to do in the middle of a battle and I have fallen off a ledge several times due to walking forward when I did not want to.

Longevity Score

Longevity & Drawbacks

For those of you that are pretty hardcore and have "precision", the single player game won't take very long on Medium. I mess up often enough that it takes a while. There are four difficulty levels - Easy, Medium, Hard and Super Hard. Trying your hand at one of the advanced difficulties will certainly make it more challenging.

Additionally, Bionic Commando: Rearmed has more than 60 challenge rooms - these are obstacle courses that will require precise swinging and lots of patience. I am happy just to beat some of them. Moving up the time leaderboards or doing each one fast enough to earn 5 stars is where the challenge really comes in though. Shaving a second off your time can be very rewarding.

Half acrobat, Half soldier

Rearmed also has multiplayer: 2-player co-op and a 4-player battle mode. Only problem is that multiplayer is local only. These days it really should be something that the devs plan early on but GRIN claims it was something that they tried late in the development process and found it to be quite fun. The networking code was going to take too long so they made it local only. One wonders if it was a 360 exclusive (not a 360, PS3, PC simultaneous release) , if bringing it online would have been simpler. I did get to play both modes with my brother when he was over at my house. We were having so much fun that he almost stayed too late to greet the guests showing up at his house that night.

In multiplayer, grab falling weapons and health with your arm

Overall Score

9.2

Amazon link

Closing

Bionic Commando: Rearmed brings the cult classic from the NES to the 360 in style. The campaign, new bosses, challenge rooms and local multiplayer help to prove that the 2D platformer can have a home on the current generation consoles (selling 130,000 copies in the first week). One can tell from a short session that GRIN really dedicated themselves to making Rearmed a strong remake. At 800 Microsoft Points, especially in an era of 1200 point games, Rearmed is a steal. Now get the heck out of here and buy this game, you nerd!

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

ClownX — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:17:26 -0700

Opening

This is Geometry Wars 2. The thing we've all been waiting for. For those of you unfamiliar with Geo Wars, let's summarize. In PGR2, there was an unlockable minigame called "Geometry Wars". This game put you in control of a little spaceship, which shot colored shapes. One stick controlled movement, the other controlled your gun. When the Xbox 360 was launched, one of the first LIVE Arcade titles was Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. This was an updated Geometry Wars, with very pretty graphics, more enemies, and it was awesome. Since then, two titles were released. Geometry Wars Waves, in PGR4, and Geometry Wars Galaxies for the DS and Wii. So where does this leave us with Geometry Wars 2? Here, obviously.

Platform

Xbox Live Arcade

Publisher

Activision

Visuals Score

Visuals

Geometry Wars glows. Everything is shiny, shinier than Retro Evolved. It adds shine, and an element of rainbow (the black holes, explosions, etc.) to the equation. The enemies have all had a slight facelift, and the motion capture animations add a level of realism to the game. This time, it loses a whole point to the fact that Geoms blend in to the large and loud explosions, as do some enemies. Also, the game can get so frenetic that you can lose track of the action.

This is actually a small amount of enemies.

Product Link

Sound Score

Sound

The sound in this game is awesome. Each mode has a different, pumping, awesome techno song. Each enemy, when spawned, has a different sound so you know what to prepare for, and the explosions all sound large. Just about everything has a unique sound effect - including a subtle sound each time you pick up a geom. This audio experience can give even low-level players an almost telepathic knowledge of what is going on throughout the game, even if you can't directly see every single thing happening.

Gameplay Score

Gameplay & Controls

Geometry Wars 2 is really, really fun. It takes GWRE, and reinvisions it, with even prettier graphics. There are a few more enemy types, but as far as I know, the red claw (the bane of my existence) has been axed. New enemies include the orange triangles from Waves, and the pink double squares, also from Waves. The game is now separated into six gametypes, five of which you have to unlock (this is easy).

Deadline (timed Geometry Wars)
King (you can only shoot in certain zones, which decay over time)
Evolved (traditional Geometry Wars)
Pacifism (from the Retro Evolved achievement of the same name, you cannot fire weapons, you must go through gates that destroy enemies around you
Waves (you are assaulted on all sides by waves of triangles)
Sequence, an interesting new mode. It is divided into 20 set levels, with nonrandom enemy spawns.

In King, you must clear a path for your ship to move to the next zone before the one you are in collapses.

The multiplier is the same from Waves and Galaxies, namely, every time an enemy dies, it drops a little green dot, called a Geom. This Geom increases your multiplier. The only points that are knocked off are from gate design. The most frustrating thing is the gate design. The tips of the gates hurt, making close encounters potentially painful. Also, enemies can go through gates, making your timing quite critical. Though those are intentional design choices, I don't like them. Also, for a game that champions what XBLA stands for, there is only Local multiplayer. That really sucks. Geometry Wars 2 also heavily features your Friends Leaderboard so one always knows how far away you are from beating your friends' scores.
I think Sequence deserves a separate mention, for being such a departure from the other modes. It could be called, if anything, the game's "campaign". Each round starts with you with 30 seconds on the clock, surrounded by a couple of enemies. These guys give you hints as to the coming wave. Once they are destroyed, then the round gets harder, usually by plastering the walls with as many enemies as possible. Once they are destroyed, the game moves on to the next round, 20 times. Also, it is worth mentioning that the "Smile" achievement is Sequence-related, and without saying anything, ingenious.

Longevity Score

Longevity & Drawbacks

The randomness of the enemy spawns make for infinite replayability. Some rounds of enemies spawn nearby, adding urgency, but the lucky can get enemies that give you a little breathing room. Geometry Wars, like any "arcade retro" like Pong or Pac-Man is easy to learn, but difficult to master. Gamers are still playing the first Geometry Wars to this date, and the sequel, with its multiple game modes, should prove for more fun. This game is all about the high score, and the hardcore will always find new and challenging ways to increase the score. Also, with friend leaderboards more apparent, one is always trying to get that few more points to surpass their friend.

Overall Score

9.5

Amazon link

Closing

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 is an excellent game. It is the game we love, expanded upon tenfold. It is definitely worth the 800 points. It has simple, addictive gameplay, shiny visuals, an awesome soundtrack, and can be played by just about everyone. For those who liked the first one, the game should be a no-brainer. For those who didn't, I first recommend playing the free demo. The title also has a more accessible gameplay experience, and definitely will bring in new fans to the franchise. I highly recommend its purchase.

Universe at War (X360) Review

GLewis — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:58:18 -0700

Universe At War Review

Once upon a time Real Time Strategy games were something developers never considered putting onto consoles. Lately, many developers are changing their minds; atleast for Microsoft’s Xbox360. The newest addition to the RTS console market, Universe at War, has some confused on how the game will work on the console. The computer version, though generally good, has not been as praised as much as some of the game’s counterparts have; such as Sins of the Solar Empire. However, developer’s petroglyph, creators of Star Wars spin off Empire at War, decided to port their PC gem to Microsoft’s home console. How well did it fare?

Graphics – 6/10

In the current generation of gaming there is this thing know as “High definition.” In layman’s terms, high definition means good looking, or atleast better looking than standard definition. Universe falls short to other current generation titles. It does however, look somewhat ok. Command and Conquer 3 looks definitely better but Universe at War is graphically superior to Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2, the two premier Real Time Strategy games currently calling the Xbox 360 home.

Environments look good for a real time strategy game but only good, it seems that the game could have looked much better based on the PC version. Units and structures also appear somewhat detailed. The overall look of the game just looks to be, for lack of better works, half-assed. For an RTS however, the game looks about benchmarked. So even though Universe at War does not really stun anyone, it just barely misses the bar.

Sound – 6/10

When aliens come to mind two types come along with it. There’s either the Zerg / Flood parasite looking kind and then there’s the high tech advanced civilization kind. In Universe at War, the ladder is pretty much who the player will be playing as and against, expect for the minor instances the player takes the human faction for a spin. The futuristic alien invaders, and defenders, sound like their stereotypes should. From the deep voiced commanders, to the computer generated vocals, it sounds pretty believable.

The only reason Universe at War did not receive a high score is mostly due to the fact that that most of the voice acting, and background music, are really annoying. The American’s the comprise the human faction are again very stereotypical based on other Japanese games. These stereotypes in games are becoming a reality more and more. The high advanced race going toe-to-toe against John Wayne. It’s also, becoming something really annoying.

The looped background music sounds exactly the same throughout the entire game. A little more variety would have been a much needed relief from time to time, like maybe when action picked up, but every time I hoped that would happen I was fall on my face.

Gameplay – 4/10

There are two things that all successful Xbox 360 console Real Time Strategy games have; easy resource management and virtually no micro-management. However, Universe at War succeeds in one of the two areas. Luckily, Petrograph made one resource type and named it ‘resources.’ Also, they made it quite easy to gather and gather quickly. Check one. Unfortunately, Universe at War forces its players to Micro-management their units and upgrades, at times. Mostly due to the fact that it’s extremely hard to remember the controls and use them effectively, micro-management cannot be done in this game.

One other thing the title falls short at is excitement. I could say that the only exciting moment I personally had while playing the game occurred every early on in the campaign when Novus forces flood through their wormhole and make their portal to Earth complete. At that same moment the forces are swarmed into a fight with a large Hierarchy, the bad guys, walking behemoth. This fight proved challenging and really exciting; too bad it did not last very long. In fact, the only fun I found in the game was squashed in the very next level where players quickly learn about “Super Weapons.” Think of it as the faction’s equivalence to nuclear bombs. Of course using the aforementioned super weapon is more effective than massing units so I suppose that smart moves beat out excitement.

The control scheme used in Universe at War is pretty much the worst control scheme I have ever seen to date on the Xbox 360. It would be easier to play halo 3 with the rockband drum set, than to attempt to learn Universe at War’s buggy control layout. It makes no sense why certain things move periodically in the control system and then return to the way they used to be once the player gets accustomed to the new changes.

One aspect that Universe at War does seem to come up with despite its many failures is the games general story. It may have been played out as well as it could have been but for what became of it was not bad. It is understandable and runs smoothly; its just that it would seem to fit better as a first person shooter rather than a Real Time Strategy game. So, the IP is good but nothing really else about the story can have such rave tidings.

Multiplayer – 2/10

Lets think back to StarCraft N64. There was one thing lacking from the game that made it better multiplayer. This would have also been the case for Universe at War. To think that a developer would put this into their title without play testing it as much as possible it unthinkable to me. Controls are even harder to remember, when playing against CPU’s its practically impossible to win and when there are two people playing against each other its so long and drawn out that most people quit before the ending.

Conclusion

For everything that Battle For Middle Earth 2 did good for the future of Real Time Strategy games on home consoles, Universe at War did ten times of the opposite effect. I would suggest this title to everyone who is looking forward to a game that draws up well then completely shoots itself in the foot. Honestly, in hind sight I think I would have given the game a better review before playing the game. I felt a little betrayed after playing through Universe at War for a good bit. After Command and Conquer 3 and Lord of the Ring: Battle for Middle Earth 2; I was hoping that more Good Real Time Strategy games would be in the wake. However, my dreams have become a sorrowful nightmare in its realization. Lets hope Halo Wars fairs much better than Universe at War; or a lot of us here at Podtacular might start rethinking the Halo name.

Scores:
Graphics: 6/10
Sound: 6/10
Gameplay: 4/10
Multiplayer: 2/10
Overall: 4.

Review Frenzy Team