Famine3h
Reviews
Transport Tycoon (PlayStation)
A. V. O. I. D.
The Good
It's Transport Tycoon. Transport Tycoon is good.
The Bad
This one isn't. Let's skirt round the huge hang-ups caused by 2MB RAM and go straight in for the major programming flaws. As soon as you build planes, everything goes to pot - instructions set to any vehicles are randomly changed and you'll frequently find planes and boats circling at the top of the map. But no bother, because if you can get to 1969, the whole game freezes for ever.
The Bottom Line
Appalling. Which is a pity, because PC Transport Tycoon is great.
By Famine3h on November 5th, 2002
Spyro: Year of the Dragon (PlayStation)
The best PSX platformer ever made..?
The Good
It's Spyro! Again!
Spyro has a whole new bunch of moves and tricks to try out. The skateboarding levels in particular are absolutely brilliant fun, as you'll see when you pull your first "Twisted Lime" (don't ask). Sheila's levels are great, Sergeant Byrd's levels are brilliant and there's even a hint of the Metal Gears in there with the Agent 9 sniper-a-thon levels.
There are in-jokes coming thick and fast, with a particularly funny "The Matrix" gag being amongst the best parts. The erudite yeti, Bentley, is pretty funny too.
The Bad
There's a few points where you really must have a guide to hand to complete a part, and that's never a good thing. There's also a few too many cases of "Let's stick in a long, death-defying leap to a distant platform".
Bentley and Sparx's levels are a little dull too, but little else is wrong.
The Bottom Line
If you like Spyro, this is a must-have. If you like Crash, this is a must-have. If you like war games and tanks, this is a must-have, if only to get you to lighten up a bit. Easy to get into, tricky to master (always a good sign) and a laugh a minute.
By Famine3h on November 4th, 2002
Spyro 2: Season of Flame (Game Boy Advance)
Not as good as Playstation Spyro
The Good
It's Spyro! On a handheld!
The same ridiculously addictive gameplay is there, again with all the sub-games and puzzles within puzzles.
The Bad
The best levels on PSX Spyro had large worlds to explore. The worst ones had islands in space you had to hop between or die trying (not much of a puzzle, is it?). The ONLY levels on GBA Spyro have islands in water (you can no longer swim) you must hop between or die trying. Granted, this is probably due to hardware limitations, but smacks of being unimaginative.
Of course, this is further compounded by the fact that Spyro now plummets like a meteorite, so you're going to be dying a LOT (although with infinite restarts-from-last-world-hub-position, it's just a pain rather than unworkable).
Sheila's levels are dull, Agent 9's levels are nonsensical. And there's no more of that lovely Spyro voice acting (again hardware, so no biggy).
The Bottom Line
Still Spyro. Still addictive. It'll occupy a fair few train journeys. But if you're new to Spyro and only want one Spyro game, get the PSX Year Of The Dragon instead...
By Famine3h on November 4th, 2002
Worlds of Legend: Son of the Empire (Amiga)
Legend for those who couldn't get enough of it...
The Good
You can bring in your Legend characters (after all, it IS supposed to be a sequel with the same guys) with all their gold & experience as they finished the first game. But the game is made harder if you do - no wandering around idly slaughtering millions of monsters. The puzzles are at least as tricky and lateral-thinking inducing (including one requiring you to slaughter most of your team - bizarre). Clear progression of the characters too.
The Bad
You characters DON'T bring their weapons with them if you import them - like somehow they all dropped off on their way over to the Empire from Trazere... One puzzle had me stumped for hours because a key was hidden under a rock (nothing else in either 2 games is EVER hidden under a rock). Without the taverns as a source of info (as in Legend), talking to "Aunt Sushianna" is vital, but there's just the one of her and getting to her past 4 lots of hostile armies is not my idea of fun.
The Bottom Line
If you want more after Legend, it's great. If you've never played Legend, it's great. Errr, basically it's great. One of the Amiga classics.
By Famine3h on October 22nd, 2002
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PlayStation 2)
Huge, and hugely fun
The Good
Jak & Daxter has it all - there are easy bits, too easy bits, hard bits and "whoops!". The entire world is lovingly created and essentially every part of it flows together into one large ribbon - from Samos's hut at the start to Gol & Maia's Precursor Robot at the end. Daxter is amazingly lovable and a great deal more sarcastic than everyone in the whole world ("Don't step into the light Jak! DON'T STEP INTO THE LIGHT!"). The day/night cycling is gorgeous, the puzzles are just about right and there's simply tons of subgames to get involved in.
The Bad
Not much. Sometimes Precursor Orbs are ridiculously hidden, or far too easy to come by. The occasional must-make-an-inch-perfect-jump-or-else moment which belies the otherwise mostly natural environment.
The Bottom Line
Possibly the greatest platform-type game ever made.
By Famine3h on October 18th, 2002
Worms: The Director's Cut (Amiga)
Worms DC: The Ultimate Party Game
The Good
Worms: The Director's Cut is the ultimate extension of the original Total Wormage idea. Stuffed chock-full of amazingly destructive weapons (the Ming Vase has to be seen to be believed, especially if you place it in a tunnel), in-jokes about the Concrete Donkey and the opportunity to blow up Jessica Fletcher. The graphics remain the same as the cutesy original (before the advent of the fat cartoon Worms of Worms: Armageddon) and there's a nearly infinite variation in levels.
The Bad
Occasionally the AI is far too intelligent, or far too dumb. There have been occasions when an AI worm has just walked off the edge of a cliff, or utilised a complex series of ricochets (accounting for gravity) to place a cluster bomb under your Worm's nuts...
The Bottom Line
There is simply no better game to play than Worms DC when drunk, and it's pretty fine sober... It's suitable for kids, adults, megalomaniacs, psychopaths and pyromaniacs alike (the last three usually ALSO being kids). Simply brilliant fun - and there hasn't been a game as much fun as this before or since.
By Famine3h on October 10th, 2002
Sensible World of Soccer '96/'97 (Amiga)
The best football game, the best Amiga game, the best GAME of all time...
The Good
SWOS is pretty much the perfect game - the realism is where you want it (in the player stats), and the gameplay is just pure fun. The controls are as simple as you'd like, with no outrageous button combinations to give secret tricks only a handful a spods know and the management level is exactly as complex as you'd like it to be to remain fun. And the tactics editor works like a dream.
Oh, and for a spot of fun I managed Mnchester Unted, sold all their best players and got them relegated (right down to Division 3) and have since guided the mighty Owls to 4 seasons in a row of unbeaten glory. Now what's not to like about that?
The Bad
Every now and then, the AI will decide it's not going to lose this game, and suddenly your goalie becomes a dope. Oh, and it's impossible for an AI opponent to get injured or even sent off. An additional problem occurs with the player values in management mode - when you sell a player on, his value reverts to whatever his default value is. Other than that...
The Bottom Line
The football game all others should be - pure fun, but with the realism you want. A laugh a minute, with sounds to complement and cute-as-pie graphics. Simply the best game to ever be released. Ever.
By Famine3h on October 8th, 2002