People primarily know SNK for two things - their massive library of excellent 2D fighting games, and the hardware that powered many of these titles, the venerable Neo-Geo arcade/home system. Its rather surprising that it took them this long to hop on the happy nostalgia bandwagon and create - what else? - a fighting game celebrating the storied history of the hardware that made them famous. Even though its far from perfect, this console celebration is a good deal of fun. NeoGeo Battle Coliseum ...
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16 Jan 2008

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law

PS2 Review

Jan 15, 2008 We still remember being surprised - and slightly baffled - when Capcom announced Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law at a press event last spring. As an Adult Swim animated series, Harvey Birdman is a novel idea: a lame Hanna-Barbera superhero from the 60s revived as a modern-day lawyer that represents notable cartoon characters. It's heavy on snark, inside jokes and innuendo - but where's the game concept? Luckily, Capcom knows a thing or ten about milking a franchise, and Harvey ...
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16 Jan 2008

Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

PS2 Review

Jan 16, 2008 Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity is missing the sense of speed that we expect from Sonic. It isnt entirely gone, but only shows up in short bursts. The really fast parts tend to happen on invisible (or visible) rails. Everything else seems like the slow part between the shortcuts and boosts. We do like the courses, which are packed with flashy scenery and things that will slow you if you run into them. And were indifferent about the new gravity controls. Part of the lack of a feeling ...
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15 Jan 2008

Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Channel Edition

PS2 Review

Jan 15, 2008 As professional adults, we rarely put much thought to the Disney Channel and its myriad properties aside from discerning whether or not those mass-forwarded nude shots are really of High School Musical's Vanessa Hudgens (they are). But for the tween-and-younger crowd, the house that Mickey built has transformed into a bona fide youth star factory, thanks in large part to Hannah Montana and the aforementioned made-for-TV flick. Between the two franchises, millions of records ...
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10 Jan 2008

RealPlay Puzzlesphere

PS2 Review

Jan 8, 2008 Puzzlesphere might look like potentially the most fun out of the RealPlay range, but that impression couldnt be more wrong. How come? Essentially, you navigate your ‘Xorb through a series of increasingly diabolic levels, a bit like classic puzzler Marble Madness back on the NES, only this is in 3D. You do so by tilting your peripheral in your chosen direction, liberally tapping the green button to apply the breaks. And therein lies the ...
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9 Jan 2008

RealPlay Racing

PS2 Review

Jan 8, 2008 Like the other RealPlay titles, the steering wheel peripheral doesnt add a new dimension of control; it merely adds a new dimension of difficulty - wrecking what might have been a half-decent budget game underneath. Here, there isnt even a half-decent game underneath, but what looks like a half-finished PS1 game. How half-finished? Well, the moment you hit a ramp, your car will start flipping uncontrollably, no matter what. Youd laugh if you hadnt spent full price on the thing. ...
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8 Jan 2008

RealPlay Pool

PS2 Review

Jan 8, 2008 Its a strange time to be a PS2 owner, surviving as they are on a gaming diet composed chiefly of Wii ports denuded of their motion-sensitive gimmicks. But last year, In2Games appeared on the horizon and told PS2 owners not to fear - promising to bring Wii-beating motion control to the venerable ...
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8 Jan 2008

RealPlay Golf

PS2 Review

Jan 8, 2008 In2Games first peripheral/golf game bundle Real World Golf was justly praised for its responsive peripheral (the glove-based Gametrak) and acting somewhat as a teaching tool for the real thing. And yet, two years later, heres RealPlay Golf, fundamentally the same game as Real World Golf, only now with a less intuitive, less sensitive peripheral. Its a massive step backwards. The courses themselves are well planned and present some dastardly challenges; its just a shame you have to ...
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7 Jan 2008

High School Musical: Sing It!

PS2 Review

Jan 7, 2008 How much you enjoy this game largely depends on whether youve actually watched High School Musical and whether, as a result, you want to ‘sing it! If you have, and you do, then the chances are you wont dislike these sickly pop songs and the annoying teenagers singing them as much as we do. Dont get us wrong: we love the song Breaking Free. But the rest are a pretty mixed bag, some of which, like Get ‘cha Head in the Game, arent even really suited to karaoke. Singing ...
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3 Jan 2008

Rock Band

PS2 Review

Jan 03, 2008 The PS2 may be fading in the wake of newer consoles, but it's going out in style. It still gets its own version of Rock Band, the new rhythm action concert simulator from the original Guitar Hero creators, Harmonix. We'll come right out and declare a warning: this isn't as good as the PS3 or 360 versions. It has no online capabilty, so there's no online play and no downloadable content. You can't customize your character. And the World Tour mode doesn't let you choose where to go ...
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