Playstation Reviews S

Silhouette Mirage is one of those quirky anime-style games that you either love or hate. You play a cute little witch named Shyna in this highly unconventional 2D platform/fighter/shooter. Shyna appears either red or blue depending on which side she is facing, and each color enables you to harm a certain class of creature (Silhouette or Mirage). If she's not the correct color when she shoots something, no damage is done and she loses vitality. The developer (Treasure) would later use a similar scheme in their cult-hit Ikaruga (GameCube, 2003), but at least in that game enemies were either black or white. Here, they come in all shapes and colors, including green jack-o-lanterns, blonde rag dolls, tiny fairies, and big stomping mechs. It's rarely obvious which enemies respond to what color, and when it comes to bosses, it seems like you're always on the wrong side! You can "flip" your color via the triangle button, but that initiates a tedious animation. Making matters worse are an excessive number of moves, some of which look effective (like the "grand slam") but apparently inflict zero damage. Then there are various colored meters and indicators whose purpose is never clear. In addition to non-intuitive gameplay, Silhouette Mirage has an incomprehensible storyline conveyed through endless text dialogue. I'm sure Treasure fans will eat up the whimsical prose, but others will just be annoyed. On the bright side, the game's production values are definitely "up there". Clever use of scaling and rotation facilitate some nifty effects, including satisfying explosions with chunks of metal flying every which way. There's a beautiful castle and an appealing downtown stage with a striking night skyline. The game does have its moments, including a funny encounter with a lizard sporting an outrageous Australian accent. In the city, people in an apartment complex get mad at you for making noise and begin throwing TVs and other appliances. Despite the sporatic humor, Silhouette Mirage comes off as one big inside joke. After completing each frantic stage I found myself asking, "What the hell was that all about?!" My friend Jonathan (and long-time Treasure fan) defended the game by saying "You have to be in the mood for it" and "I've played much worse." Denial can be an ugly thing. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.

My love of snow led me to purchase this game, and it paid off. Sled Storm is a realistic snowmobile racer with blizzard conditions, icy mountain scenery, and good multi-player support. The races deliver white-knuckle thrills as you bound over hills, careen through valleys, and sideswipe your opponents to gain position. A steady frame-rate keeps the action running smoothly - even on the four-player split screen! The controls are simple but you have the ability to lean into your turns. Catching air and performing tricks lets you rack up points for upgrades, but sometimes it's not worth the risk of a wreck. I love how the sleds bounce softly over the slopes and kick up snow behind them. The courses are ideal in length and come in two flavors: snocross and open mountain. The snocross tracks are closed motorcross-style courses with banked turns and bumpy sections. I prefer the mountain tracks that wind through scenic forests and along harrowing cliffs. Ramps and hidden shortcuts are abundant and add replay value. You can destroy obstacles like fences and snowmen for points, and I earned 7500 points for running over a rabbit (and yes, I feel bad about that). The steering feels about right and sliding along icy patches is especially fun. The single-player championship is addictive, and I like how CPU racers tend to wipe out, giving you a chance to come from behind. That's important considering you need to finish first to advance. The soundtrack is dominated by Rob Zombie's blaring "Dragula", but it could be worse, right? Not really! It seems like every "extreme" game of the late 1990's had to license that annoying song. Still, this game is one of the best of its kind. Whether playing alone or against friends, Sled Storm provides ageless competitive winter racing action. © Copyright 2013 The Video Game Critic.

An ill-advised title if I ever saw one, Teras Kasi was a clumsy attempt to cram the Star Wars universe into a 3D fighting game. You may recall that 3D fighters were at the height of their popularity in 1997, and LucasArts simply couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon. On paper, Masters of Teras Kasi doesn't seem half bad. Trust me, it's bad. The all-star lineup includes Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia, Chewbacca, a Tusken Raider, and everybody's favorite bounty hunter, Boba Fett. There's also a chick named Arden Lyn who's never even appeared in any of the movies. I suspect she was included to boost the number of female fighters (to two). While each character has his own unique combat skills, none lend themselves particularly well to hand-to-hand combat. Example: the Tusken Raider has a frickin' stick for a weapon. How can he be expected to compete against Boba Fett, armed with a blaster and rocket? It doesn't take much of an imagination to think of even more lopsided match-ups. The entire premise is ludicrous, which becomes painfully obvious when you actually try to play the thing. The special moves are very hard to execute, and get this - shooting your blaster is considered a special move! That's right - you actually need to execute a complicated sequence of button presses simply to pull the trigger! You'll be playing as Han Solo, and Leia will be beating the living [expletive] out of you as you try in vain to get off a single shot! Heck, with controls this bad a Jawa could kick Han's ass. In terms of graphics, the quality is uneven. The fighter selection scenes feature awesome rotating holographs, but in combat the fighters look far less impressive, with chunky bodies and faces that border on hilarious. Incidentally, LucasArts put a lot of effort into the lighting effects. Talk about misplaced priorities! They're hardly spectacular, and the background scenery is incredibly dull! Masters of Teras Kasi is what happens when a substandard concept is poorly executed. Did anything good come out of this game? Yes, a newfound appreciation for Tekken. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.

I vaguely recall this futuristic shooter plastered on the cover of several popular game magazines in the mid-90's. I assume that was the result of money changing hands because this ridiculously bad game quickly faded into obscurity. Like many early PS1 titles Steel Harbinger features a live action intro, and this one is must-see TV. I don't know what's worse - the bad CGI graphics or the acting - but you can't take your eyes off the screen. I was expecting the game itself to be a 3D adventure but it's more like a free-range shooter. You control a digitized babe infected by aliens from space. Her transformation failed to improve her acting but it did make her about ten times hotter. Weilding a pair of high-powered guns and a thong, this chicks blasts spawning aliens while saving aimless humans. It's kind like Robotron 2084 (Atari 7800, 1986) - if you could image that game being 3D and really bad. Enemies include Terminators and dogs with freaking lasers mounted to their heads. The controls really suffer from a lack of strafe. You're forced to run toward enemies to kill them, often colliding with them in the process. Steel Harbinger is best played with the camera pulled far back, but this makes the graphics appear muddy and harder to discern. Each mission feels like a wild goose chase as you frantically scour the post-apocalyptic landscape for some elusive object. There's a surprising amount of gore, with body parts strewn all over the place. I like the idea of entering houses and buildings, but all you'll find is one big empty room. The visual highlight the arctic base with blizzard conditions that serves as the hub of the game. The other stages are disappointing. LA is just a repetitive maze of canals. Las Vegas is a depressing wasteland and you're the only hooker in sight. A title like Steel Harbinger is fascinating to look back on, but man it's almost impossible to take a game like this seriously. © Copyright 2019 The Video Game Critic.

In 1996 a debate raged about which system had the best version of Street Fighter Alpha 2 - the Saturn or Playstation. No definitive answer was reached - until now. In order to finally settle this age-old dispute I had to consult with the foremost Street Fighter expert in the entire world. As luck would have it, that turned out to be my friend Chris who lives just a few miles away. And if you think the odds of that were slim, consider that I also live just a few miles from a restaurant with the "World's best fried chicken". Um... winning! Street Fighter Alpha 2 was the pinnacle of the Alpha series, raising the high water mark for 2D fighting in general. It added three new fighters (Gen, Sakura, Rolento) and brought back old favorites Zangief and Dhalsim. Easy to learn but hard to master, this game has incredible depth and playability. For hardcore players the super gauge has multiple levels of power and you can even perform custom combos. The stages have been given a visual overhaul and are far more intriguing. I'll never forget the first time I saw that hulking Harrier jet plane rise up behind my character in the Hong Kong stage. In another stage you can see a kid in a window playing a video game. And what's not to like about the party cruise stage with scantily clad Darkstalkers mingling with the crowd? It just goes to show that hand-drawn, 2D backgrounds will beat 3D-rendered backdrops any day of the week. So what is the best version of Alpha 2? To find out, Chris and I first played a few rounds with the Saturn version. After getting my ass handed to me repeatedly, we were primed to try the Playstation edition. Chris meticulously examined the graphics, audio, and controls. He was determined to declare that one of the two versions had the edge. After literally minutes of deliberation an exasperated Chris came to a stunning conclusion: They were exactly the same! That's right, he couldn't find any substantial differences between the two games! The Saturn version does include an extra survival mode and illustration library, but they don't carry any weight. In terms of sheer gameplay, both are equally superb. So finally, after 15 years of non-stop trash talking, Playstation and Saturn fans everywhere can put their differences aside and embrace each other in the spirit of peace and harmony. © Copyright 2011 The Video Game Critic.

As a fan of Street Fighter 2 (SF2) since it arrived on the Super Nintendo in 1992, I've purchased more iterations of the series than I'd care to admit. Since most SF2 sequels only offered slight improvements, many fans got tired of the incremental upgrades and the popularity of the series waned. In retrospect however, Street Fighter Alpha was better than many gave it credit for. Although widely regarded as a stopgap measure to tide gamers over until Street Fighter 3, the Alpha series actually did a remarkable job of maintaining the classic formula while expanding the roster and enriching the gameplay. As the last edition of the Alpha series, this game is pretty freaking amazing. The huge 32 character roster includes many new faces and old favorites like Honda and Blanka. In terms of presentation, Alpha 3 is off the charts, with flashy set-up screens dishing out the eye candy faster than you can absorb it. The gameplay is deeper than ever, allowing the player to choose between three fighting styles (X-ism, A-ism, V-ism) which affect the complexity of executing super moves. The action is fast and furious, although matches tend to run longer than traditional Street Fighter bouts. The only thing that didn't impress me about SFA3 is the uneven quality of the background graphics. Some stages look grainy and washed out, and most lack the personality and clever animations Street Fighter fans have come to expect. Likewise the music isn't particularly memorable. In addition to arcade and versus modes, there's a World Tour mode that lets you adopt a character and pump up his abilities by completing series of challenges. Alpha 3's load times are minimal and there's a convenient auto-save. I would probably argue that the Alpha Series peaked at number 2, but this third edition still packs a wallop. Note: This game is also available on a PS2 compilation. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.

This two-disc set contains arcade-perfect versions of Super Street Fighter 2, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, and best of all, Street Fighter 2 Alpha 2 Gold. Oddly enough, despite being the first of two Street Fighter collections, this first one includes some of the later games in the series. The first game in this collection, Super Street Fighter 2, was actually the fourth game in the series. It introduced four new characters: Cammy, Dee Jay, Fei Long, and Thunderhawk. This arcade port gave me a new respect for the SNES version, which features identical graphics but better audio. The music here sounds a bit harsh, and the voices muffled. The second game in this collection is Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. It offers a lot of minor tweaks, but its primary claim-to-fame is its three levels of "turbo speed". Some Street Fighter fans insist on cranking up the speed, but I personally find it too frantic when both players are hopping around like fleas. The third and final game in this collection is Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, which comes as a shock to the system. The fighters are more detailed and rendered in more of an anime style. Quite different from the other two games, most of Alpha's characters are brand new, and a fresh set of backgrounds provide for some memorable scenes. The men's room stage is very comical (with guys at the urinals), and the huge hovering jet in the downtown stage looks amazing. In one stage you can actually see a little kid playing an NES through the window of a house! Alpha's gameplay ups the ante with advanced techniques like a super combo bar, custom combos, and alpha counters. The super-combos provide a satisfying way of turning the tables when you're down. I noticed the bouts in Alpha last longer because attacks tend to incur less damage. I'm not sure what the "Gold" indicates in the title, but this is probably the best Street Fighter game I've played (including Alpha 3 and Street Fighter 3). I would definitely recommend using an arcade-style joystick with all of these games, because the digital pad of the standard Playstation controller is pretty stiff to be executing "sweeping" motions. Considering this is a two-disc package, Street Fighter Collection seems a little sparse, offering no bonus material. The load times are modest, but there's no auto-save feature. All things considered however, this is a pretty outstanding collection. Note: These games are also available on PS2 compilations. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.

Largely overlooked upon its release, this two-disc package is a remarkable treat for gamers with old school tastes. Not to be confused with the lackluster Strider Returns (Genesis, 1990), Strider 2 is a sparkling gem designed specifically for the Playstation. It combines artistic character sprites with exciting layered 3D environments. This offers players the best of both worlds with simple, engaging gameplay set in rich environments with moving camera angles. The main character "Hiryu" can climb on anything, and he can swing his sword in a rapid-fire manner at the endless hordes of ninjas and levitating robots. A double-jump move is a welcome new addition, as is the "boost" meter which augments your slashes with heat-seeking "waves" of light! The fantastic intro stage has you leaping between buildings at night with a gorgeous city skyline looming in the background. From there you'll visit a castle, a lab at the South Pole, and finally, a space station. The jumping and slashing platform action is great, with bad guys that explode impressively and leave blue coins in their wake. You'll face some truly imaginative adversaries like bird-men armed with hockey sticks, and outrageous bosses like a robotic woolly mammoth! Strider 2 might seem boss-heavy, but none of them take long to defeat. Each stage is divided into several brief encounters, and you're constantly being whisked off to new locations. Between stages the storyline is conveyed via slick illustrations which look absolutely razor-sharp - even on my big plasma TV. Fans of the original Strider will witness many familiar sights, including a winding dragon you can climb on and a gravity-defying stage with a floating "core". Strider 2 has a whimsical side as well, with pixelated icons shaped like cows serving as bonuses. The only thing that bothered me about Strider 2 is its unlimited continues, which allow you to complete the game in roughly an hour. It's still possible to play for best time and score however, which are saved to memory card. The option menu includes a rapid-fire option to help avoid thumb strain. Strider 2's second disk holds an arcade-perfect version of the original Strider game, which is yet another fantastic game. I took Strider 2 for granted back in the day, but I won't be making that mistake again. NOTE: Interestingly, the disc containing Strider 2 is (mis)labeled as "Strider", and the one with Strider is labeled as "Strider 2". © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.

This Street Fighter spin-off takes a Tetris-style puzzle game and embellishes it with music, sound effects, and Capcom characters from Street Fighter II and Darkstalkers. The game itself is good, and the fancy window dressing doesn't hurt either. The Street Fighter characters include Ken, Ryu, Chun Li, and Sakura. The Darkstalkers are Morrigan, Felicia, Donovan, and Hsein-Ko. These characters are rendered in a stylized anime style, and have little bearing on the gameplay. I really don't like Ken with that sissy ponytail, and Morrigan looks really dumpy with her hair down. Each side of the screen features a rectangular box that colorful gems fall into, one by one. You stack gems strategically, using the occasional "crash gem" to clear all gems of the same color. It's simple enough for beginners to grasp, yet experts can plan and execute elaborate chain reactions. When your opponent performs a combo, "counter gems" with numbers on them fall into your side. These turn into regular gems after several turns, but in the meantime they tend to pile up and muck with your plans. Puzzle Fighter's gameplay is enjoyable but less intuitive than other puzzle games like Tetris 2 or Bust a Move. Even after becoming fairly good at it, I never felt as if I had fully grasped all the rules. Capcom fans will be delighted with the graphics and sound. The backgrounds are mini-versions of stages from the fighting games, and some of the music is remixed versions of familiar tunes. Some of the new music is excellent, particularly the song that plays throughout the Chun Li stage. Most of the sound effects are taken directly from Street Fighter II. An arcade mode allows you to play the CPU for high score, which is recorded to memory card. The CPU opponent is pretty relentless, and if you let him stick around for too long, prepare for an avalanche of counter gems. There's also a head-to-head versus mode and a puzzle mode that lets you unlock goodies. Puzzle Fighter might not be the most addictive puzzle game around, but it may be the most stylish. © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.