GamesRadar - PS2 Reviews

Hard Rock Casino (Review)

3/01/2007

It's likely that you're reading this review due to one of two reasons: either you just caught Rounders on cable and are really excited to learn how to play poker, or you know absolutely nothing about gambling or having fun in Vegas and want to live the high-roller life through your PS2. Well, anyone who has gambled before knows that the real way to have fun is to beat other people and to make money. To make a gambling game a blast to play it should include one or both of those elements. Does ...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Review)

1/07/2009

Seven months. That’s how much extra time EA Bright Light has had to tweak and polish Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince after its release date was pushed back thanks to the movie’s theatrical slippage. The time could have been spent perfecting one of the most valuable game licenses. ...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Review)

28/06/2007

To be frank, if you dont know your Dumbledore from your Dementors, your Sirius Black from your Severus Snape, or your Hagrid from your Hermione then youre advised to run far, far away from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In the fifth and most recent game tie-in, there are absolutely no concessions to Potter virgins. New characters are at a premium, so instead of getting bogged down introducing more eccentrics on top of an already bloated cast, youre immediately thrown into the ...

Harry Potter Goblet of Fire (Review)

22/06/2007

For the fourth foray into the Hogwarts school of magic, Electronic Arts has apparently decided enough is enough. No more interesting adventure. Away with compelling spell casting. All that's left is action, loads of dialogue from the film and a healthy dose of ...

Harvest Moon A Wonderful Life Special Edition (Review)

15/02/2006

There are no gangsters on the Harvest Moon farm. It's just as challenging as GTA and there's as much to do as in True Crime, but the difference is, it makes you smile with contentment. The grass is green, the sun is shining, flowers are blooming and you're having a great time. It really is a wonderful life. It may look like a game for kids, but it's obscenely complicated. In fact, there's as much to worry about in Harvest Moon as in real life. First off, you have to make the farm successful - ...

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (Review)

16/01/2008

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 ...

Haunting Ground (Review)

21/04/2005

Despite their exposed flesh and frail dispositions, survival horror heroines have traditionally kept a stiff upper lip when faced with dreadful scenes, as if they've seen it all as many times before as you have. But direct Haunting Ground's Fiona Belli to examine a blood-slicked pillar and she starts in fright, heart rate quickening and vision blurring. It's an early indication that while the game's events may never truly scare you - it's magnificently bizarre, but not as harrowing as a Silent ...

Heroes of the Pacific (Review)

22/06/2007

Its odd that so many choose to concentrate on the European Theatre of Operations. Storming Normandy and the grim struggle for Stalingrad provide meaty scenarios, but theyre only part of the story. On the other side of the world a different type of war was being waged. A war fought in the endless blue of sea and sky. Heroes flings you into this frightening azure void with an alarming lack of ceremony. Much like the young pilots of the day youre thrown into the thick of things before youre ...

High School Musical: Sing It! (Review)

7/01/2008

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 ...

Hitman: Blood Money (Review)

30/05/2006

Creeping quietly down the hall, the harsh fluorescent lighting gleams off your bald head. Your target walks a few paces ahead, unknowingly striding into certain doom. As you round the corner, you carefully unwind the fiber wire and prepare to throttle your quarry to death. You raise the deadly garrote, but before you can strike, you accidentally bump the back of your target's knee with your own, alerting him to your presence. He turns around and lets out a scream that alerts everyone within a ...

Hot Shots Tennis (Review)

17/07/2007

When Hot Shots Tennis turned up no one really gave it a second serve… until orgasmic Monica Seles-esque screams emanating from our gaming cage convinced us otherwise. Rather than copying Virtua Tennis 3s game mechanic of priming your shots before clouting the ball as soon as possible, Hot Shots Tennis relies on delicate timing. An intuitive set of icons above your players heads provides you with instant feedback as to whether youre hitting too early, too late or more cleanly than Rafael ...

The Hustle Detroit Streets (Review)

22/06/2006

Mix pool with high-stakes gambling and you'll get - surprisingly - an almost entirely unenjoyable game. The Hustle offers 10 variations on the classic game of billiards, though they must be unlocked over the course of a story mode that's about as engaging as an informercial, set to the strains of generic bar rock. From there, 170 vaguely distinguishable opponents await while bystanders offer side bets. No matter which locale you're mining for respect, you'll wind up wanting to nuke the place ...