GamesRadar - Xbox Reviews

Madden NFL 08 (Review)

Oct 11, 2007

Oct 11, 2007 It's easy to forget about that big black machine that we've had stashed away for awhile now. Remember the original Xbox? EA sure does, as they've given owners of Microsoft's first game console a swan song worthy of its short but spectacular lifespan. As what is almost certainly the final game to be released for the system, Madden 08 is the best football game you'll ever play on a current-generation machine (including its PS2 ...

Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders went through (well, across one corner of) development hell on its route to the shelves. Three changes of publisher meant that the game that finally hit stores was missing a few key features that Phantagram felt would really push it into the realms of excellence. Heroes aims to refine the originals still brilliant concept to earn the Kingdom Under Fire series the place in gaming history its predecessor failed to secure. But has it managed it this ...

Doom 3 (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

Who would have thought that anything bad could happen from mixing the occult and ancient alien technology? It's up to you, Space Marine, to thwart the invasion from a Hell dimension that has started on a Mars research station and threatens to spread to Earth. Theres no disputing that Doom 3 has some of the prettiest graphics ever on the PC, showing some of the ugliest monsters ever to throw fireballs at your head. The creatures that stalk you in the darkness are pretty terrifying if you hold ...

NBA 2K6 (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

Games have been progressing to the point where they are nearly photo-realistic. Now that consoles can re-create pro players in dynamic digital detail, animating those on-screen pros fluidly and realistically becomes equally important. The most convincing graphics in the world won't suspend your disbelief for very long if the polygonal players move like mere action figures. Clearly, the designers behind NBA 2K6 realized this too, because the animations in the latest NBA 2K series entry are ...

NBA Live 06 (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

LeBron. Iverson. Shaq. T-Mac. Unlike the college game, the superstars of the NBA unquestionably dominate the action. NBA Live 06 replicates this with its new freestyle superstar moves, further cementing Live as an undeniably fun hoops franchise. The freestyle superstar moves enable the league's best players to perform risky but incredible feats that can turn the tide of a game, just as they do in real life. For instance, playmakers like Steve Nash can zip no-look passes to get teammates an ...

Rainbow Six Lockdown (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

Its been a whole year since the last Rainbow Six game, Black Arrow, and developers, Red Storm Entertainment seem to have taken a long hard look at things. From the onset Lockdown feels tighter and more intuitive than any of its predecessors and, like the protagonists within the game, have righted many of the wrongs that have gone before. One of the first things youll notice is that command of your three tactically minded comrades has been tightened up. While having fewer commands for your team ...

Capcom Classics Collection (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

Classic compilations appeal to two types of gamer: the old-school, roughly 30-something player who waxes nostalgic about when these games were new, and the less discerning, volume-conscious gamer who quickly deduces, "$20? Thats less than a dollar a game!" If you dont fit into either category, move along. For those still here, after moving on from the obvious choices (Street Fighter II and a Final Fight that's still fun despite being ravaged by age) and exploring the rest of this sprawling ...

Heroes of the Pacific (Review)

Jun 22, 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 ...

Full Spectrum Warrior (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

Full Spectrum Warrior is like no other video war game on the market. Originally developed as a training tool for the US Army, the game arrived on consoles bearing hallmarks of strategy and action. As players patrol an urban corner of the Middle East questions will crop up - is this chess? Is it propaganda, and if so for what? And is war always this ...

Battlefield 2 Modern Combat (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

Military shooters keep popping up like dandelions. It's sometimes hard to tell them apart. Heck, even their commercials look identical. EA's Battlefield series has always carved its own path, however, with its unique large-scale warfare. But the landscape of consoles is a different battleground altogether, and this series both flourishes and flounders in its new setting. On consoles, your game needs a single-player campaign mode; there's no getting around it. Instead of slapping a half-assed ...

Burnout Revenge (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

What could be better than Burnout 3: Takedown? For arcade speed fiends, almost nothing - except maybe Burnout Revenge, the easy-to-play, adrenaline-soaked sequel that puts the "car" in "carnage." The Burnout series has always been about two things: speed and risk. Drive against traffic and invite near misses with oncoming cars and you'll be rewarded with boost, which helps you taunt death even faster. The more aggressively you drive, the greater the reward. Slow-motion crash replays make your ...

50 Cent Bulletproof (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

Conventional wisdom says that first you crawl before you walk. 50 Cent Bulletproof shoots this theory in the face, and decides to try to outrun a freight train before doing either. As you can imagine, it ends up falling a little flat. When working to get 50 Cent, his crew, Dre and Em, and 50's music and his videos into the game, the developers forgot one minor detail: the ...

Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

Unlike what the news would have you believe, the only crime stemming from Grand Theft Autos popularity is the theft of its own content. A petty crime at best, but the market is about to be inundated with two-bit clones trying to muscle in on San Andreas turf. ...

Cold War (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

After the better part of a days play, we stopped loathing Cold War, and actually started enjoying ourselves. We began to appreciate the horrific menu-obsessed mechanics, which relegate almost every action into a time-consuming bore. We agreed the animation no longer seemed like a slap in the face to anyone who spent money on their cutting-edge game machines, and instead seemed minimalist, thus freeing more memory to be squandered on character-building design ...

Burnout 3: Takedown (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

When you start up a new racing game, what's the first thing to do? If the answer is crash the cars, then Burnout is the only game you need. With gameplay that encourages dangerous driving, Takedown, the third and best in the series, is the best action racer on any console. It's packed with high-tension contests and spectacular crashes. Michael Bay should be jealous. You'll be ...

Serious Sam 2 (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

All these so-called "authentic" war-themed shooters are fine and dandy, but what if your one of those people who thinks the gritty realism of is a bummer? Step forward square-jawed hero, Sam, for a second outing. With a stash of noisy whack-ass weapons and vehicles, a ridiculous plot thats so thin you could stick a miniskirt on it and call it Kate Moss, and little more to do than frag your way through a near endless succession of ludicrously designed but grin-worthy enemies, Sam is the perfect ...

The Sims 2 (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

As successful as the Sims 2 juggernaut has been on the PC, the designers of this newly minted console remix probably could've offered a straight port of the same content. After all, if PC players can't avoid an unhealthy obsession with cooking, cleaning, working, dealing with relationships, and decorating the Bed, Bath and Beyond out of their little virtual people's homes, console players would probably develop the same affliction. However, that isn't what happened. While the signature ...

Dynasty Warriors 5 (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

Dynasty Warriors must seem so strange to those who haven't played it. There have been about a trillion games in the series, and they never seem to change. The same faces, situations, soundbites... Dynasty Warriors 5 (which isn't actually the fifth in the series, confusion fans) is, to untrained eyes and thumbs, the same as DW4. But, for those who are sick of the series by now - you ardent warriors who've found every weapon, and aced every expansion pack - it's a slight, enjoyable ...

Harry Potter Goblet of Fire (Review)

Jun 22, 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 ...

LEGO Star Wars (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

You should have seen the new Star Wars films by now, if not to be entertained, then at least for the sense of closure you get from seeing Anakin have that helmet slapped that dried apple head of his. Of course, listening to his woeful cry of “noooooooooo” as he sees what hes become, were suddenly reminded that Lucasfilm should have called it a day right before the Ewok Caravan of ‘Hate and quit while they were ahead. The cutscenes from Lego Star Wars, similarly, give the ...