GamesRadar - Xbox 360 Reviews

N+ - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

25/02/2008

It would be easy to simply bitch and moan over the fact that N started life as a free, downloadable internet game. Why should these people expect us to fork over almost 10 bucks for something they were giving away not that long ago?OK, that’s fair. But if you don’t want to fork over those Microsoft points, you’ll be missing out on an absolutely fantastic upgrade to the original game, complete with four-person multiplayer ...

Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade (Review)

8/12/2008

Containing nine of publisher Namco Bandai’s Xbox LIVE Arcade releases and then tossing in 25 old-school arcade games, Namco Museum Virtual Arcade is a tremendous value – IF you don’t have all this stuff already and you don’t mind a few rough edges. But as you might have noticed from the all-caps presentation, that’s a pretty big “if”. ...

Naruto: Rise of a Ninja (Review)

30/10/2007

Oct 29, 2007 Not a fan of Naruto? Havent seen the anime? It doesnt matter. Whether or not you like the cartoon, the game should be enjoyed for what it is - a fun romp for fans and newcomers alike. We admit that we were skeptical. Criticisms of the early version were actually taken on board and the issues have now been ...

Naruto: The Broken Bond (Review)

18/11/2008

Kiddie game? Think again. Last year’s Naruto: Rise of a Ninja was startlingly strong. Buoyed by the positive response, Ubisoft’s Montreal brigade have gone back to the drawing board and crafted a sequel that builds a little sandcastle on top of the original and decorates it with Christmas lights before plonking a fairy on top. ...

Nascar 08 (Review)

3/08/2007

The problem with the NASCAR series is this: even though it drives well year after year, it keeps introducing new things one season, then stripping them out the next. A few years back, a story-based career mode that started with you drag-racing a NASCAR pro at a stoplight and ended with you winning it all was introduced. It was fantastic and everyone loved it. Now it's ...

NASCAR 09 (Review)

20/06/2008

Thundering down a Daytona straightaway, trading paint with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch, and frantically trying to hold your beat-up bucket of bolts together, you realize there’s a decision to be made. Half a lap to go until the finish – do you nudge Junior out of the way and risk a black flag, cut Busch off on the inside, or just maintain your line and hope there are enough fumes in the tank and rubber on the tires to make it to the winner’s circle? ...

NBA 2K10 (Review)

12/10/2009

One the one hand, you’ve got EA’s shiny but occasionally flawed NBA Live; on the other, a game that doesn’t look quite so polished, but is built on a super-solid core that has consistently outplayed the opposition for years. If you’re a casual fan of the sport, then either title will probably serve equally well. ...

NBA 2K6 (Review)

22/06/2007

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 2K7 (Review)

6/10/2006

Now we get it - this is that whole "next generation" thing we keep hearing so much about. The newest hardwood hoops sim from 2K Sports is simply the sweetest looking and sounding b-ball game we've ever played, the kind that makes people stop what they're doing and watch in wonder when it's on the screen (assuming, that is, you've finally dropped some cash on an HDTV). It may not be perfect, but any faults can be forgiven because, well, it's just so damn pretty you can't stay mad for ...

NBA 2K8 (Review)

5/10/2007

Oct 5, 2007 The Phoenix Suns have been the team that's "supposed to" win the championship for a couple of years now. Stocked to the rim with flash, dash, and pizzazz, they've made a habit of running roughshod over teams in the regular season only to fail at crunchtime when the fundamentals of defense and toughness have eluded them. For better and for worse, NBA 2K8 shares a lot of those traits with Steve Nash and company. While it's certainly a treat to look at and play, there are some ...

NBA 2K9 (Review)

9/10/2008

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned NBA rivalry. Whether it’s Lakers-Celtics or Bulls-Pistons, serious competition usually brings out the best in everyone. Clearly, that seems to have happened this season to the gang at 2K Sports, who must’ve been stung by the surprising turn of events last year that had Live jump ahead of 2K in the virtual hoops landscape. ...

NBA Ballers: Chosen One (Review)

22/04/2008

One-on-one basketball is ritual humiliation. Bounce the ball off your opponent’s head, wave it in front of his face, snatch it away, fake him out and leave him crumpled on the floor, but don’t slam it into the basket until you’ve told him at least five juicy facts about his mom. We’ve played GTA, Manhunt and that naughty Mass Effect, but no videogame has filled us with such murderous rage as NBA Ballers did. ...

NBA Live 06 (Review)

4/05/2006

Imagine buying a beautiful new house, but when the day came to move in, all that was there were a solid foundation and a roof. That's NBA Live 06 for Xbox 360. To EA's credit, this is a completely different experience from the current-generation versions, rebuilt from the ground up in every conceivable way. One complaint you certainly cannot level against the game's creators is that they're charging you $60 for a prettier version of the current-gen NBA Live 06 released just a few months ...

NBA Live 07 (Review)

6/10/2006

Man, oh man, we never saw this one coming. On the heels of the two well-received Madden and NHL games this fall, EA had hit their stride with next generation titles - or so we thought. The shockingly bad NBA Live 07 completely floored us, for all the wrong reasons. Gameplay is abysmal, visuals are dreadful (well, only when there is actual motion involved), game modes are limited, even the online aspect is completely busted. It all adds up to a big fat letdown, especially when compared to the ...

NBA Live 08 (Review)

5/10/2007

Oct 5, 2007 Frankly, we didn't think the Live franchise could be saved. Last year's edition on the Xbox 360 was easily the most painful sports game we've played since, well, ever. So much so that we literally feared the moment that we put the brand new edition in our consoles. But a funny thing happened on the way to another scathing review of another not-ready-but-gets-released-anyway basketball title. NBA Live 08 kinda kicks ass. Sure, it may lack more than a bit of the sheen and gleam of ...

NBA Live 09 (Review)

13/10/2008

Anyone who’s been playing next-gen basketball the past few years knows the story of Live. It’s gone from a broken-down catastrophe to a full-fledged winner over the course of its lifetime. This season continues that positive arc, as Live 09 builds on its success and, despite some problems that keep it from all-time greatness, offers a stiff challenge to NBA 2K9’s claim to the championship. ...

NBA Live 10 (Review)

12/10/2009

Being a game that has received a less than enthusiastic reception in recent years, EA Sports’ NBA Live has more room for improvement than most of the company’s other sporting franchises. While it might not have the most solid gameplay foundations to build on, there probably won’t be too many people desperately upset if EA were to tear it all down and start from scratch. ...

NBA Street Homecourt (Review)

20/02/2007

Homecourt isn't really basketball. Oh, sure, technically it is - there are lines on the court, a couple of rims, and a round, bouncy thing that the players all want. But this isn't basketball - it's an epic sideshow of seemingly every stylish way a supernatural meth-binging freak could manipulate a ball, hoop, and backboard. Yes, the gameplay remains almost unchanged from the way the corporate gods decreed it when Street first bombed us on the PS2. This yields an instantly accessible, ...

NCAA Basketball 09 (Review)

24/11/2008

College basketball season has arrived, and with it comes NCAA “Don’t Call Me March Madness” Basketball 09, EA’s newly-branded and suddenly solo hoops offering. Thanks to 2K Sports’ surprising (and, it turns out, painful) decision to bow out of the collegiate basketball arena, it stands alone this fall as the lone choice for Dick Vitale wannabes.

Unfortunately, the wrong developer chose to exit stage left. ...

NCAA Football 07 (Review)

19/07/2006

If your idea of a good time is dancing in a purple wig with your face painted like a bulldog, welcome to NCAA Football. In the latest EA Sports entry to the long-running franchise, NCAA Football 07 dispenses with all the extra gameplay in the PS2 and Xbox versions in favor of brand new (and awesome) graphics. We'll say it again, for clarity: the Xbox 360 version is nothing like the PS2 and Xbox versions. Instead of Campus Legend mode, where you can take some hapless youth through his ...