Xbox Reviews A-B

Now this is a real-time strategy game even I can get excited about. Aliens Vs. Predator actually lets you play three parallel campaigns as the marines, Aliens, or Predators. I began with the marines and immediately struggled with the non-intuitive control scheme. The manual wasn't much help but I figured it out. During each mission you'll lead a party composed of infantry, comm techs, synthetics, and medics. Medics automatically heal humans, but since they can only tend to one at a time, it's good to have two or three of these guys on hand. Your mission objectives typically involve transporting items, repairing installations, or destroying alien nests. The overhead view strikes a nice balance, providing a wide-angle view without limiting the graphic detail. When a clash occurs, the battles are thrilling to watch. There's so much chaos you don't know where to look! Aliens splatter acid when shot and I like how their bodies twitch when they're dead. You can call on supply ships for additional personnel, and holding off waves of attackers long enough for reinforcements to arrive is suspenseful as hell. Extinction becomes more interesting once you start experimenting with personnel combinations and weapon upgrades. One advanced weapon even lets you initiate a computer-guided missile strike from orbit. Replenishing your party after a costly battle is a drawn-out process, and between battles there are plenty of lulls in the action. Unexplored areas are dark on your map, forcing you to "feel your way around" in a slow, time-consuming manner. Certain mission objectives like "collect 20 alien skulls" feel more like errands ("17 more to go!"). The orchestrated musical score lends weight to the story, and distinctive sound effects (like the scanner) are practically lifted from the films. You have the option to save your progress at any time via the pause menu (sweet). I enjoyed the marine campaign, but couldn't really get into the Alien and Predator campaigns. I guess my interest was starting to wane. It takes a patient gamer to appreciate Aliens Versus Predator, but if you're willing to invest the time there's a heck of a lot of content here. © Copyright 2013 The Video Game Critic.

I've always been a sucker for snowboarding games, so it's odd that I missed this one the first time around. I suspect Amped got overshadowed by the critically-acclaimed SSX series on the PS2. Anyway, Amped delivers a fast-paced, trick-heavy downhill experience, and I actually prefer its wide-open, natural courses over those crazy "fantasy" courses of SSX. Amped's graphics boast inviting mountain peaks, powdery snow, and the occasional cabin or lodge nestled in the snowdrifts. Strategically placed ramps and rails lets you perform spectacular stunts, and scattered photographers encourage you to show off your stuff. The controls have a definite learning curve, especially with regarding to performing spins or flips. The landings are unforgiving, and you'll often find yourself in an awkward mid-air position. I recommend taking your hands off the controls for a second or two before landing to give your boarder a chance to right himself. Amped's sense of speed is terrific, and there are really no lulls in the action. The game does have its share of glitches however, and it's not uncommon to become lodged in the scenery. Also, since the game scores grinds by how long you're on a rail, you can rack up some insanely high scores by sliding a very short distance (very slowly). An addictive career lets you gradually unlock new mountains, gear, and sponsors, but some of the challenges are poorly designed. How are you supposed to impress a sponsor with flips and spins when there are no ramps to jump off?! The game manages to be fun despite its frequent frustrations. Its terrific guitar-driven soundtrack will get you totally stoked, and if you get annoyed with any tune, just hit the "white" button to skip it! I could do without the game's smart-assed commentary however ("Try landing that next time!"), and where are those goofy cartoon voices coming from? The multiplayer mode is turns-only (no split-screen), which is seriously lame. Amped has some rough edges, but there's still enough wintry goodness here to keep you busy over the cold months. © Copyright 2010 The Video Game Critic.

In 2003 I picked up this bargain bin title for $4 new at BJ's. I didn't think I had anything to lose until I played the first stage. Aquaman's swimming controls have all the finesse of a nuclear sub and I found myself getting seasick trying to grab those glowing icons (which I would end up passing right through). Hang in there - it does get better. Aquaman is not the clean-cut blonde from the old Superfriends TV show but a Greek god with a scraggly beard and gold hook for a hand. Despite being released 15 years prior to the movie this game is surprisingly faithful to film! It even features Black Manta as the villain! The gameplays involves swimming around submerged cities beating up gangs of robots while occasionally detonating an explosive charge. Locating your objective is pretty easy thanks to bright red indicators, but it's hard to tell which way that 3D arrow is pointing. The fighting action is respectable considering you're underwater. When you come within close proximity of a bad guy the camera automatically adjusts to put you both on a 2D plane. This lets you pound buttons to unleash combination attacks that get progressively more complex. Most battles are one-on-one but occasionally the robots will try to make an Aquaman sandwich. My favorite part of the game is the ability to call on marine animals like dolphins and sharks to tow away pesky foes. Some missions have a nice sense of urgency, like the one where you need to protect a palace from attack. Pay attention to the comic book cells between missions which can shed light on your objectives. Adding variety are mini-sub stages with plenty of rapid-fire shooting and lock-on missiles. While methodically destroying a massive undersea freighter the game calls to mind Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (GameCube, 2005). The orchestrated music makes the action feel momentus, but the game's flaws are evident. Most of the gameplay is rinse-and-repeat and the bland undersea scenery can't hold a candle to Atlantis (Intellivision, 1983). Visual glitches abound including annoying invisible walls. Despite its shortcomings however Aquaman has aged just enough to acquire a quaint, old-school appeal. And when you view Aquaman in the context of the recent film, the game is probably more relevant now than it ever was back in the day. © Copyright 2019 The Video Game Critic.

If you're looking for a little fun on a winter afternoon, this exhilirating snowmobile racer won't let you down. Like its predecessor Hydro Thunder (Dreamcast, 1999) Arctic Thunder feels like a virtual rollercoaster ride and you careen down mountain slopes and blaze through tunnels at breakneck speeds. There are a dozen fantastic stages that take you through Himalayan ruins, Washington DC, Chernobyl, and Area 51. There's even a Halloween track! You'll see awesome sights like a Russian sub breaking through the ice and a Frankenstein monster suspended from the ceiling of a haunted castle. Some stages are way over the top but there are also scenic locations like the Swiss Alps with its pristine white slopes and and quaint villages. The tracks are wide and inviting and you're constantly noticing something new. There's a nice sense of speed as well - even in the four-player split-screen mode. The controller vibration however tends to get a little out of hand. Arctic Thunder is fun but shallow. Instead of crashing into walls or trees you just carom off everything. Heat-seeking weapons wreak havoc but even when you blow up the game places you right back on the track - at full speed no less! In fact I'm not convinced there's any penalty for wiping out at all, and that takes a lot of tension out of the game. The developers went so overboard with power-ups you just tend to use them immediately just to make room for the next one. You enter initials for your best times in arcade mode and "points mode" lets you unlock tracks, vehicles, and characters. I became addicted to unlocking all the tracks because they are so fascinating. I should also mention the load times are remarkably short - almost instantaneous! Unfortunately, the game has a bug that causes the audio to cut out periodically. With little substance but plenty of instant gratification, Arctic Thunder is like the comfort food of winter games. © Copyright 2017 The Video Game Critic.

This ill-advised title attempts to combine BMX biking with erotic strippers, and it's not exactly a match made in heaven. You have to question the state of mind of the Acclaim executive who said, "Yeah, this is a good idea." Languishing in bargain bins since its inception, BMX XXX may well be the worst video game ever conceived. This game is so tawdry that after reviewing it I had to take a shower. While not truly X-rated (more like an R rating), it pushes the boundaries of bad taste with its pimps, prostitutes, crude humor, nudity, and profanity. At its core, BMX XXX is a marginal dirt bike game with maze-like stages loaded with ramps and icons. In addition to performing Tony Hawk-style stunts, you'll need to gather certain items in a limited time, or locate hidden objects. The controls are abysmal. The A button is used to accelerate but releasing it "hops", so you end up hopping all over the place. The steering controls are responsive, but since the poorly designed stages are heavily constrained you often find yourself bouncing around like a pinball! Stage locations include the Bronx, Vegas, a Dam, and Area 51, but they're all terrible. The audio effects are truly obnoxious, both in terms of their volume and quality. Expect a lot of vagrants shouting obscenities like "get the [expletive] outta here!" The only thing XXX has anything going for it is its uptempo soundtrack, which even includes a track from Green Day. The juvenile humor is cringe-worthy, the graphics are riddled with glitches, and the whole package is sloppy in general. If you select a female rider, the characters still address you as if you were a guy. Clearing stages rewards you with short videos of topless dancers, and while the girls look good (duh!), the dark, grainy videos are not worth investing hours to unlock. If you want to know how bad BMX XXX is, keep in mind that parents didn't even bother to complain about it! That's saying something! © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.

Despite its PC origins, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance is a terrific Xbox game. If you've played Diablo (Playstation) or Record of the Lodoss War (Dreamcast), you'll feel right at home with this overhead hack-n-slash adventure. Dark Alliance is more action-oriented than your standard RPG, feeling more like Golden Axe than Final Fantasy. The puzzles tend to be of the simple lever-pulling variety, and most of the strategy involves choosing the appropriate weapons or spells for each new confrontation. The outstanding graphics should please Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) fans, complete with monsters taken straight from the D&D Monster Manual. The townships and dungeons are meticulously detailed and realistically lighted. Even clichéd environments like the sewers look terrific thanks to some of the best water effects I've ever seen. The characters are significantly larger than Diablo, allowing for a greater level of detail and control. The blood flies as you swing your sword, and each kill is satisfying because the bad guys don't continually regenerate like they do in some other games. Tiny kobolds flee in fear, skeletons shoot arrows from afar, huge gelatinous cubes slide around, ghosts walk through walls, and headless zombies wander aimlessly. There are loads of items to collect during your journey, and you're constantly upgrading your weapons and armor. While at first you'll want to pick up every item you find, eventually the weight limit kicks in, forcing you to be more selective. The well-designed control scheme gives you the ability to heal yourself on the fly, although switching weapons can be somewhat awkward. Interacting with characters conveys an interesting storyline, and the voice acting is not bad at all. Ominous music and crystal clear sound effects like creaking doors complete the immersive experience. There are ample save points and a two-player mode to boot. Some may find the action a little repetitive, but there's really not much to fault with this game. If you have a mind for adventure, you can't go wrong with Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance. © Copyright 2003 The Video Game Critic.

For a video game based on a movie, Batman Begins is pretty darned good. Some of its graphics are absolutely gorgeous. Who would have thought that docks, a staple backdrop in so many action games, could look so magnificent? I actually had to stop playing to enjoy the scenery a few times. The character animation is excellent, and controlling Batman is a breeze. Performing complex moves like climbing off of a vertical chain and onto a horizontal pipe is so easy that you'll think the game is reading your mind. The basic gameplay involves eavesdropping on thugs, freaking them out by triggering "accidents", and interrogating those you sneak up on. Keeping a low profile is advisable, since causing a ruckus results in thugs pouring out of the woodwork. The fighting action is simple and satisfying, with Batman performing a variety of stylish martial arts maneuvers on his foes. Despite its strong Metal Gear influence, Batman Begins never feels frustrating or tedious. The stages are very linear, and the game always keeps you headed in the right direction. At one point I even asked myself, "Am I playing this game, or is it playing me?" I decided it doesn’t really matter as long as I'm having a good time. This is one stealth game even a casual player can enjoy, although some hardcore gamers may object to the constant "handholding". Batman Begins is nicely paced, and I didn't even mind the early training level (those are usually so annoying). Spicing up the action are gadgets like an optic wire (to see through doors), lock-picking mini-games, and lengthy Burnout-style driving stages. Grenades and Batarangs are useful weapons, but these are only available at specific times, which can be frustrating. There are ample checkpoints, so you won't need to repeat the same areas too often. The storyline differs somewhat from the film but the cut scenes feature a generous helping of movie footage. An ominous orchestrated musical score adds dramatic flair, and it's reminiscent of Psycho at times. Despite being a bit shallow, Batman Begins has all the necessary ingredients of a good superhero game. Numerous unlockables include cast interviews, movie footage, alternate batman costumes, and mini-games. Fans of the Caped Crusader are in for a treat. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.

Batman: Dark Tomorrow begins with a cinematic introduction boasting fluttering bats, fading credits, and an intense musical score by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It's impressive, if you can get past the fact that Bruce Wayne walks like Frankenstein and his mansion looks more like Cinderella's Castle. When you start a new game Batman is pitted against waves of thugs wearing animal masks and armed with machine guns. Besides kick and punch attacks, you can deploy gadgets from your utility belt like bat-a-rangs, smoke bombs, night vision goggles, and grapples. Dark Tomorrow has considerable depth but it's not very playable. Swinging between rooftops with the bat-cable is clumsy, and one accidental slip sends the Dark Knight plunging to his death. The designers tried to incorporate stealth, but Batman creeps so slowly in "sneak mode" that it's unbearable. The combat is ruined by the fact that you must apply bat-cuffs to all the bad guys you beat down. Otherwise they just get back up! Applying the cuffs is time-consuming, and the cuffing animation is unintentionally hilarious because Batman doesn't appear to know what the hell he's doing (where do these things go?). It's frustrating when you're messing around with the cuffs while all the bad guys are pumping lead into you. It just goes to show: just because an idea is original doesn't mean it's good. The controls suck in general. Sometimes Batman will grab onto a ladder and sometimes he won't. You cannot aim upward with your bat-a-rang, leaving you defenseless against thugs on ledges. But by far the worst aspect of the game is the camera. Your view abruptly changes so often that it's hard to tell which way you're facing. You'll need to depend on your radar display to ensure you're not backtracking. And if you think the camerawork is disorienting in the streets, wait until you enter a building. On a positive note, the load screens are short and you can save your progress at any time. When Batman loses his life, he makes one final attempt to stand before collapsing from exhaustion. After trying to play this train wreck I felt the same way. © Copyright 2012 The Video Game Critic.

The first Bloodrayne sucked me in with its seductive heroine and occult theme, but with this sequel the formula is wearing thin. Rayne is a half-vampire redhead with knives attached to her arms who's trying to destroy her family bloodline. The action begins at a masquerade ball at a luxurious mansion, but later moves on to more urban settings including a meatpacking plant, sewers, and even a honky-tonk bar. Sporting a new haircut, Rayne has a few new moves up her sleeve, including the ability to grind rails, wield blood-powered guns, and use a harpoon to fling bad guys into fans, fireplaces, and trash compactors. A bizarre control scheme is used to swing from bars, but once you get used to it, it's pretty decent. You'll encounter some hideous monstrosities, but the bulk of your time is spent fighting a steady stream of generic thugs. At any time you can toggle between various play modes using the directional pad, including "aura vision" (reveal clues), "blood rage" (increased offense), and "dilated perception" (the obligatory slow-down mode). This dilated perception (aka "bullet-time") mode is not only a really tired concept, but it often belies the action on the screen as you see Rayne's blades pass harmlessly through the bodies of her enemies. It's similar to the light saber issue in Star Wars games - one swing really should finish off any foe. Bloodrayne 2 offers plenty of splattering blood, but it can be hard to tell who's doing the hurting during the mayhem. The environments are detailed and highly destructible, but they're often reused, which is lame. The audio is solid, and I especially like the Prodigy-style music that kicks in during major fight sequences. The difficulty level is about right but the checkpoint spacing is woefully uneven. At one point the game completely locked up on me - a cardinal sin for any console game. Bloodrayne 2 isn't the worst sequel I've played, but I don't think many gamers will be begging for a follow-up. © Copyright 2006 The Video Game Critic.

As Microsoft's entry to the new "cooperative combat" genre, Brute Force puts you in charge of a four-man squad on a series of galactic missions. Each character possesses his/her own special abilities that are suited for specific situations. Tex is an all-around tough guy who can wield two weapons at once. Brutus is a talking reptilian beast with quickness and "heightened senses". Hawk's specialty is stealth, and her ability to become invisible and sneak up on unsuspecting enemies comes in handy. Flint is the sharpshooter of the group. Although the look of the game is similar to Halo, Brute Force is played from a third-person perspective. You can switch control between characters on the fly, and the other team members behave according to your orders. These orders include "move to", "fire at will", "cover me", and "stand ground". The system for issuing orders is confusing at first, but it's necessary to learn. A novice may be tempted to overlook the "team" aspect of the game, but a Rambo mentality won't get you far in most missions. Brute Force includes all the standard weapons you would expect, such as machine guns, rocket launchers, a sniper rifle, and various types of grenades. The scenery isn't noteworthy, but I like the variety of enemies, including marauding reptilian men, savage zombies, and teleporting wizards. Unlike SOCOM (PS2), which included a series of complex objectives with each mission, Brute Force only asks you to wipe out all of your enemies in each stage. The single-player mode is enjoyable enough, but the split-screen multiplayer mode is confusing, and my friends quickly grew impatient with it. If you really want to play multi-player, I'd advise trying the on-line options (I myself did not). Brute Force is a respectable action title. It's not one of my favorites, but at $20 it's a reasonable purchase. © Copyright 2004 The Video Game Critic.

Much like the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is better than you might expect! The production values are top-shelf, with genuinely creepy environments, intuitive controls, and intelligent voice dialogue provided by the actors themselves (except for Sarah Michelle Gellar). The game offers a mix of exploration, puzzle-solving, and even sniping, but you'll spend most of your time showing monsters what the wrong end of a karate kick feels like. As a kung-fu hottie of the highest magnitude, Buffy beats down vampires, hellhounds, spiders, shambling zombies, and assorted other supernatural minions. The spiders look pretty gross, and the decomposed zombies keep coming back - even after losing a few limbs. The impressive fighting engine dishes out fluid and surprisingly elaborate attack combinations. Sometimes Buffy can dispose of a foe with a single, well-timed backhanded stab, and it's satisfying to watch a vampire disintegrate into dust. There's no shortage of weapons, including crossbows, flamethrowers, holy water, shovels, and even baseball bats. It's easy to throw enemies, and chances are, there's a sharp piece of wood sticking out somewhere closeby! Tossing vampires in front of moving trains is another enjoyable pastime. Certain locations are inspired by the show, including the high school and the Bronze nightclub. Realistic moonlight, fog, and flame effects convey an eerie atmosphere, and there are some genuinely frightening sights, like a contorted body crammed into a locker. Equally unnerving is the otherworldly music and disturbing sound effects like creaks, growls, and giggles. Locations like the mausoleum border on photo-realistic, but the cemetery feels too maze-like and the industrial areas are downright boring. Fortunately, none of the stages are particularly long. Another issue is the monotonous battles caused by too much monster respawning. She only killed like one or two in each show, yet she plows through them by the dozen here! Through it all Buffy tosses out some great lines like "You want a piece of me?! I'll give you the whole damned pie!" You go girl!! The characters are dead-ringers for the real actors, and their lips even match the dialogue. The controls are simple and responsive, although switching between weapons is a bit of a hassle. The fact that Buffy runs and climbs quickly allows the game to progress at a brisk pace. There's a nifty auto-save mechanism as well. All in all, this is a very well constructed game that I'm sure will become a collector's item, considering the show's cult status. Feel free to bump up the grade by one letter if you're a fan of the show! © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.

When I started playing Chaos Bleeds, I was like, "Wait a minute, this doesn't even look as good as the first Buffy game!" It's true. The environments aren't nearly as detailed or dark, and indoor areas like the Magic Shop look far too spacious and clean. The characters appear more cartoonish and their faces look like dolls. In terms of gameplay, Chaos tries to copy the first game, even taking you to similar locations such as a graveyard, factory, and sewers. The same monsters are back, so expect plenty of those crawling torsos you stomped in the first game! So what's new here? Well, those bat-faced vampires look pretty ugly, and the giant spiders are extra-crispy this time around. There's also an appearance by that creepy ventriloquist dummy (*shudder*). Chaos Bleeds is playable, but it lacks the polish of the first game, and its stages vary drastically in terms of duration and difficulty. Switching weapons is a constant hassle, and I hate how you have to be unarmed in order to perform a throw or use an item. Vampires and zombies respawn continuously, artificially lengthening the game. Buffy has plenty of martial-arts moves, but too often she misses her target and continues out her string of moves at thin air. The repetitive fighting is tiresome, and the puzzles are unimaginative. When I had to locate a handle to close a steam value in a sewer, I asked myself "Didn't I do this in the last game? What's next, a fuse box puzzle?" Sure enough, there was a missing fuse right around the next corner! The camera angles are glitchy, and at one point I could not exit the first-person crossbow view (until I died). Several of the show's actors lent their voices, but not Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy) or Alyson Hannigan (Willow). Buffy's replacement is dead-on, but Willow's seems to be overacting. The dialogue lacks the wit and irony of the show, and comes off more like dialogue that's trying to sound like the show. A two-player mode is included, but these games are pathetic! Whether you're collecting bunnies or fighting zombies, random events cause both players to switch characters or worse yet - switch scores. Fans of the Buffster can bump up the grade by a letter, but only because of the fun unlockable videos which include outtakes and interviews with the cast. Note: An astute reader pointed out that this was a cross-platform game that was likely watered down by the PS2. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.

Oh sure - everyone's jumping on the Burnout bandwagon now, but I've been a fan of the series since the first edition. That said, I think this third installment is somewhat overrated. Although originally published by Acclaim, the Burnout franchise is now in the hands of gaming's "evil empire", Electronic Arts. EA certainly added plenty of features, but I think they may have gone off the deep end. In general, Burnout 3's races are chaotic and there's too much of everything. Even basic maneuvers net you crazy points and cause gaudy graphics to flash across the screen. It's too easy to take out other cars - simply rubbing against them can send them tumbling end-over-end. Points are awarded for everything - even crashing! Since the series is known for its high-impact wrecks, EA incorporated a new mechanism that lets you "guide" your crash into other cars while in slow motion. That's fun for about five minutes, but I prefer to get back into the race immediately. Winning any race in the single-player mode awards you with a laundry list of new items and unlocked stages. It's really too much to keep track of, and the sense of reward is diminished as a result. There's also an excessive amount of turbo available, so you can use it for practically an entire race! Burnout 3's "crash mode" now includes a two-player split-screen contest, but it's less fun than I expected. You can't tell what the hell's going on, and players' scores are inexplicably "switched" on occasion for no good reason. EA has also incorporated a few of their "signature" features, like the annoyingly hip DJ "Striker" and plenty of grinding guitar music. I've been pretty critical so far, but there's no denying Burnout 3's relentless, arcade-style gameplay. The sense of speed is palpable as you grind guardrails and weave through traffic. I love the "whooshing" sound effect when you narrowly avoid a collision. The "watch-only" tutorial is great, and the game's replay value is above reproach. An impressive number of tracks from around the globe are included, and the scenery looks terrific. Overall, Burnout 3 is certainly a solid title, but in some ways it's too much of a good thing. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.