ShareThisBy CHRIS CAMPBELL
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
("Test Drive Unlimited." Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PC. Genre: Racing. Publisher: Atari. ESRB Rating: E for Everyone. Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5.)
"Test Drive Unlimited" takes a more leisurely approach to racing; after all, you reside on the tropical Hawaiian island of Oahu and spend your time (either offline or online) collecting money, clothing, houses, and most importantly, new cars.
Atari has billed this game as a massive multiplayer online racing simulation and pretty much delivers on that promise from start to finish.
There are plenty of things to do offline, but the main thrust of "Unlimited" is the online component.
There's really no storyline to speak of; you'll either love this aspect of the gameplay or be left wondering just what is the point of the game. But if you are into just getting online and finding street races to participate in, and occasionally playing offline and cruising around the island completing side missions, then you're sure to find "Test Drive Unlimited" to be a nice Hawaiian vacation from the urban streets most racing games provide.
("Spy Hunter: Nowhere To Run." Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox. Genre: Action. Publisher: Midway. ESRB Rating: T for Teen. Grade: 1 star.)
Normally, I have no problem razzing games that are based on feature films, but in this case there were problems with the movie, starring The Rock, so Midway just went ahead and released its game anyway. If the game's plot and action is based off the film's original script, there's your reason for the film's holdup.
It's very strange to see a game come out when the movie it's supposedly based on has not begun filming. The action in this game is pretty standard fare, never really getting into a groove or even establishing an identity of its own, despite having a personality such as The Rock as its star.
What's most disappointing about the new "Spy Hunter game" is that there's little actual driving involved, which was the whole framework of the franchise. Let's just have "Star Wars" without Darth Vader while we're at it.
Without the driving and at least some of the classic gameplay thrown in for good measure, this game is at best worth a rental, and even then, it's disappointing.
("NHL 07." Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC. Genre: Sports. Publisher: EA Sports. ESRB Rating: E for Everyone. Grade: 3 stars.)
The content is pretty bare, but "NHL 07" is worth its price if for no other reason than to check out the gameplay, which features no (yes, NO) button usage during games. Everything is done via the analog sticks and triggers. This is a radical move in modern gameplay and saves "NHL 07" from disaster.
Just about everyone is complaining that the goalies in "NHL 07" give up way too many goals. You earn your scores, but at some point you'll threaten your controller's life when your netminder has still another puck glance off his pads and into the goal.
What EA Sports is doing with its franchises is becoming all-too worrisome. Between "Madden," "NASCAR" and now "NHL," these franchises look and play beautifully, but have almost no game modes whatsoever. Those that used to exist have either been stripped to almost nothing or eliminated.
You'll miss all the modes of play, but the genius control scheme is worth investing some time in "NHL 07."
("NHL 2K7." Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Xbox. Genre: Sports. Publisher: 2K Sports. ESRB Rating: E for Everyone. Grade: 3.5 stars.)
If EA went technical with its analog stick gameplay, then 2K has gone for style in its "NHL 2K7" game, which unveils its new "cinemotion" feature and blows away previous sports visuals in the process.
What makes this feature so worthwhile is that it gives you the option to turn off the play-by-play commentary (that's basically the same as last year's game) and just listen to the game with background music that adjusts to the tempo of the game. More important, the camera has a more fluid and dynamic viewing angle that opens up the on-ice action and brings added life to the package.
It's a style vs. substance debate between EA's and 2K's hockey titles. Want the excellent functionality, go for "NHL 07;" if it's amazing gameplay and visuals, "2K7" is your choice.
