Lookin' For the Good Stuff

I recently came across a game that I had seen little of besides a single commercial and a reference from a friend. I had lost track of it among my school work, but have rediscovered it and I would like to share the press release for the game with you.

SEGA
Spartan: Total Warrior™

Platform: PlayStation 2; Xbox; GameCube
Category: Action/Strategy
Developer: The Creative Assembly (a SEGA development studio)
Release: Fall 2005

The first console title from The Creative Assembly, the developer of the million-unit selling Total War PC series, Spartan: Total Warrior lets players lead epic and cinematic battles as a fighter known only as The Spartan. He’s an elite soldier blessed by the Gods, immersed in titanic clashes between mighty Roman battalions and mythological monsters. Using the steel of his blade and powerful magic, The Spartan bravely rallies his countrymen to liberation. Brutal combat meets epic warfare on the war-torn fields of the ancient world as you fight for your life, your freedom and your honor. A richly detailed saga of fierce combat, Spartan: Total Warrior runs on proprietary software that makes it possible to present more than 160 detailed warriors simultaneously engaged in pitched combat. Players can wade into the thick of battle using a wide range of moves, including multiple melee and missile attacks, combos, blocks, shield charges, and evasive stances. These battles take place in massiveenvironments, from arid wastelands to full-scale cities, through dungeons over rugged mountains, and finally to the ultimate showdown in the Imperial Coliseum in Rome.

Features:
• Beautiful cinematic environments feature a wide variety of sweeping vistas,
weapons and foes that truly push the power of current generation consoles.
• More than 160 warriors merge and attack on screen simultaneously, making for
the most grandiose battles ever seen on a console.
• A wide variety of units include Roman soldiers, skeleton armies and classic
mythological creatures.
• Players can acquire new, more powerful weapons and armor, and earn favor and
powers from the gods.
• Varying mission structures present multiple objectives, including escorting,
capturing, destruction, discovery, and survival, keeping the gameplay fresh.
• Arena mode allows players to test their skills against an endless stream of
increasingly difficult foes.

I don't know about you but those features would get me hyped not to mention the videos and pictures at the main site for
Spartan: Total Warrior
Until Next, when hopefully I will have a review for you.

Giant Bugs, and Wanted Criminals

The giant bugs involve Starship Troopers, and Wanted criminals are from the latest addition to the Need for Speed line up.
The former is everything a fan boy could want from a book/movie adaptation. I was actually quite surprise at how it was pulled off since it was not crappy like many movie games. The reason could be that it followed the story of the book and not the movie. The game itself is a relatively standard fps with an array of weaponry and surface coating of storyline, but that is where the similarities end. It is quite obvious that the developer desired to bring the hordes of bugs observed in the movie to life in the game. The kill count you can obtain in any one level is more then most fps I have seen to date. The bugs really do come in swarms and their variety is both interesting, believeable, and deadly. The graphics are relatively decent, but the lack of much of any physics engine, destructible environments, or a competent save feature do play against it. This is where the cheats come in. The game employs the usual god mode and ammo refill cheats, but it includes others of which I believe is the best cheat I have ever encountered. The cheat is called EvilEye, and what it does is kill any bug you stare at, I know cool! Believe me at times you will use it and the bugs still manage to get close to you. Certain bugs with specific weak points do not die from the cheat, but I found this forgiveable.

Finally, Need For Speed: Most Wanted. I have to be honest, I have never played any other game in the series, but if I had to choose this would be the best. It is a quite appealing game with beautiful visuals and stunning cars complete with customizability. Couple of big winners with me. The story is thin, but the journey through is skill testing, every race challenges to improve further. The campaign involves you, the player, climbing the "black list", a list of the top rated street racers, and at about rank 9 I started to say, "Oh my god, I can't believe it will get harder." The game will have you constantly wheezing for air as you cross finish lines with only seconds to spare ahead of your rivals, or make daring escapes from police car pile-ups. It cannot be argued that this is not an adrenaline pumping game. If sometimes you just want to cruise in the car you have proudly built, you can and you can enjoy it with the rich environment. Just try and keep it legal or you'll have caops trailing you in no time.

That's all for now, So Until Next.
PS: I should note that I had to get Starship Troopers shipped from England, as it is not sold in Canada.