Game Boy Advance

xXx

As negative as this review is, it should be noted that xXx is not a bad game - it is just a very poorly done licensed game. In truth, the license actually hurts this game more than it helps. Had this same game come out and not been related to a movie, it would have been a passable side-scroller. After watching the excitement of the movie, the game seems less than stellar.

xXx is a very routine, somewhat unimaginative game design, with very little innovation in its gameplay and slight absence of a true gaming challenge. That doesn't make it bad, just very underwhelming...especially after all the overly gratuitous explosive action sequences that the film pieced together. Activision's game is also a bit on the short-side because of its average difficulty...the entire game can be plowed through in a day. The designers attempted to increase the game's value by offering unlockables...but this feature was not as fleshed out as well as the team's previous movie license game: Spider-Man. Whether or not you like the flick, xXx the Game won't quite give you the rush you're looking for...unless you get your kicks finishing slightly-better-than-average action titles.

On foot, the enemies are easy to defeat; they all stand and shoot. Once you've mastered the crouchandshoot you can watch their bullets whistle over your head while you aim for their kneecaps - only the robotic sentry offers any real opposition. The music is grating, but there is the option to turn it off and play just with the sound effects. Like most recent releases on the GameBoy Advance, you won't need those pesky passwords as the game automatically saves. But there's not much here that we haven't seen produced with more originality in other games.

Unless you really love Road Rash, or you just can't live without every XXX movie tie-in, there's really no reason to subject yourself to XXX the game. Sure, it looks pretty, but that doesn't justify 11 levels of the same old thing.

XXX est vraiment l'archétype du jeu à licence, du jeu sorti pour profiter d'un succès cinématographique. Alors, s'il vous plaît, messieurs les éditeurs, développeurs, ne serait-ce que pour votre crédibilité, essayez de sortir des jeux aboutis. On a l'impression avec XXX d'avoir une version Beta dans les mains. Le mode de jeu style Road Roash vient toutefois réhausser un petit peu le niveau de XXX. On évite ainsi que les joueurs soient TOTALEMENT pris pour des abrutis.

As the movie Vin Diesel choose to propel him to stardom, you could be forgiven to think that he didn't need another mention, but Mr Diesel has had the foresight to setup his own games company. xXx could only be better if the man himself had made it, even in dark basic. This is a shoddy piece of license work with flashes of potential (which the film has in bundles) but too much is gaming by numbers, and overall it leaves you cold. It's not so much xXx but late night Channel 5 softcore Shannon Tweed sludge. Invest your cash in the DVD, or peruse the 'special interest' section of Amazon for something with three X's that's more worthwhile. Or you could get a nice packet of mints.

I can respect the movie for wanting to be nothing more than an action-packed good time, but I can’t condone this lackluster title. XXX is about as soulless as the faceless Activision suit that signed off on its feast of mundane side-scrolling. Don’t expect the three motorcycle tracks to make things interesting, because you’ll only find a paltry Road Rash imitation instead. I don’t blame Vin Diesel – he did his job perfectly in the movie. No, I blame Activision for using his likeness in a manner that is offensive to gamers and the term “action” in general.