You wouldnt be remiss to consider EA Sports latest soccer game a quick sequel to the annual chart-topper, FIFA Soccer. No doubt the publisher wants to cash in on its massive investment in the worlds biggest sporting event. Curiously though, this games producer goes to great lengths to pitch 2006 FIFA World Cup as a sequel to the 2002 World Cup iteration, and not the recent FIFA Soccer 06. This matters why? Mainly because FIFA Soccer 06 was generally considered to be pretty stinky, particularly
Hurrah! At long last Nintendo are releasing the brilliant Animal Crossing in the UK.
It's been a long time coming. The game was originally released in Japan for the N64 years ago, then it got rejigged for GameCube and hit the US last September. And finally, PAL gamers are going to get the chance to see what all the fuss is about.
Animal Crossing is about moving to a new town and living your life: interacting with the inhabitants, making a living, paying off your mortgage, and so on. And
Hurrah! At long last Nintendo are releasing the brilliant Animal Crossing in the UK.It's been a long time coming. The game was originally released in Japan for the N64 years ago - then it go rejigged for GameCube and hit the US last September. And finally, at long last, PAL gamers are going to get the chance to see what all the fuss is about. Animal Crossing is all about moving to a new town and living your life - interacting with the inhabitants, making a living, paying off your mortgage - and
Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the coolest cartoons on Nickelodeon these days. A far cry from the misshapen adventures of the Rugrats, it blends action and magic into a tasty blend of kick-ass Asian action. Just as a show like this can bridge the gap between kids and adults, the game THQ is cooking up brings the series' slick cartoon visuals together with the kind of action RPG gameplay mature gamers have come to love. Think X-Men Legends, and you're getting there.
Avatar's world is
During the formative years of most of GamesRadar's veteran staff, games like Disney's Ducktales and Aladdin were often amazingly polished and fun, in spite of their obvious kid appeal. But somewhere along the line this changed, and cartoon-licensed games started aiming squarely at the rugrats. Good for them, but older game fans were left out.
This is why THQ's upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender is rather interesting. While it's not akin to the best of those old games, it's a very capable,
Baten Kaitos wasn't exactly wheeled out with much of a fanfare, which, frankly is a something of a shame considering it's easily one of GameCube's better RPGs. Even if it was a little, well, odd. Soon, the oddness will continue in Baten Kaitos II.
On the surface it's a fairly traditional RPG. A vast, sweeping epic played out on pre-rendered backdrops. You have the obligatory towns in which to purchase items, meet characters and further plot development, and between these you have the game's
The original Baten Kaitos was something of a surprise. Hardcore, Final Fantasy-style RPGs like this are the bread and butter of the PS2, but the Nintendo audience typically goes in for Zelda style action. But here we are with a sequel - a shocker in and of itself, as support for the GameCube is drying up fast. It's not a slap-dash quickie, either; it's a gorgeous, playable and refined role playing game that will provide you with dozens of bizarre hours of questing. Can't argue with that.
For
Erasers out, then - all references to Advance Wars Under Fire are out in favour of Battalion Wars. And quite rightly so, because this isn't much like our turn-based GBA friend at all. Forget just shunting icons around; you're right in the thick of a war that would get George W salivating.You kick off each mission with a handful of troops, and recruit others you find. Bump into a tank and it's yours, rescue POWs who've inexplicably got flamethrowers on them (as we did) and you can have yourself
By
Edge_
posted February 27, 2006
Bold primary colours, an adorable, tiny hero and the mother of all tidying-up jobs to do.
We've been here before, but Skip's thin tin man doesn't get quite so carried away by his task as Katamari's Prince. Chibi Robo goes about his chores as he finds them, painstakingly, one at a time, and with everybody's happiness - not their mass - on his mind.
At its most menial, the route to a harmonious household is by disposing of rubbish, scrubbing away at stains with a toothbrush or feeding cookie
Chibi (chee-bee) [Japanese]: Little, small, or tiny. Occasionally substituted as a synonym for
