Zack’s Big Honkin’ Game Guide: Page 16

 

Overlord

360 PC Teen

A Pikmin knock-off that starts slow and suffers from iffy controls and a lack of  inovation. Sports more graphical fog than should be seen in a next-gen game.

6/10

 

Bioshock

360 PC Mature

A top-notch shooter with beautiful, deeply immersive settings and deep, nuanced gameplay. But the story isn’t all it could’ve been and it fades at the end.

9/10

 

Spider-Man 3

All Platforms Teen

Just as disappointing as the movie was. It’s essentially the same game they put out for the last 2 movies with the handicap of the 3^rd movie’s story.

4.5/10

 

Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80’s

PS2 Teen

Nothing more than a cheap and dirty cash-in with less songs than, and recycled characters and venues from Guitar Hero II. Luckily the song list is good.

6.5/10

 

NCAA Football 08

360 PS3 PS2 Xbox Everyone

Fun additions to the already engrossing and newly renamed Campus Legend mode, and a robust set of replay options keep the college game at the top.

9/10

 

All-Pro Football 2K8

360 PS3 Everyone 10+

2K is back to challenge Madden without the NFL license. The gameplay and creation mode are sharp but there’s very little to do beyond that.

8/10

 

Madden NFL 08

All Platforms Everyone

All this year’s additions are gameplay-based and most work well. The rest is still the same old Madden. If you like it you’ll buy it and if you don’t you won’t.

8.5/10

 

God Of War II

PS2 Mature

No one does crazy hacking and slashing like Kratos, and he’s still the best with huge, inspired boss battles and a robust combat system that makes every fight fun.

9/10

 

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

All Everyone 10+

If you’ve ever wanted to tag along and perform menial tasks with Harry and his chums here’s your game. If you want something to actually play look elsewhere.

5/10

 

By Zack Rovinsky 

Zack’s Big Honkin’ Game Guide: Page 15

Forza Motorsport 2

360 Everyone

The best sim racer, pure and simple. The races are tight and intense, the tracks and cars look great, the career mode is deep, and customization options abound.

9.5/10

 

Grand Theft Auto:Vice City Stories

PS2 PSP Mature

There are some interesting additions here, such as expanded hand-to-hand combat, but the PS2-era formula is wearing thin and this story is the thinnest of the series.

8/10

WarioWare: Smooth Moves

Wii Everyone 10+

A ton of fun with friends and even alone. The mini games are as wacky as ever, and the form system helps the wiimote movements feel right for each game.

9/10

 

Red Steel

Wii Teen

Imprecise controls and lackluster AI keeps the first Wii FPS from living up to the console’s promise. Most likely to go down as an interesting Wii experiment.

5/10

 

Need For Speed: Carbon

All Platforms Everyone 10+

More of the same from the top street racing franchise, not that that’s a bad thing. The racing is still fun, and the autosculpting and canyon races are nice additions.

8/10

 

Yakuza

PS2 Mature

The Japanese take on GTA has its moments: a good story, RPG elements, an ear-scalding amount of swearing, but the targeting system leaves much to be desired.

6.5/10

 

WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2007

PS2 360 Teen

The control, graphics, and creation system benefit from next-gen power but, maddening gameplay inconsistencies and horrific load times mar the experience.

6/10 

 

Sonic The Hedgehog

360 PS3 Everyone 10+

Between the mind-numbing load times, the unwatchable cutscenes, and the moronic sidequests. The same camera and control problems still haunt Sonic in 3D.

4/10

 

NBA Street: Homecourt

360 PS3 Everyone

Still the best streetball game and still a ton of fun. The homecourt challenge mode is a solid and intuitive career mode and the video packages are facinating.

8.5/10

Zack’s Big Honkin’ Game Guide: Page 14

Kingdom Hearts II

PS2 Everyone 10+

A great sequel that fixes all the problems with the original and adds enough to keep the formula interesting. The best of both worlds from Square and Disney.

9.5/10

 

Tomb Raider: Legend

360 PS2 Xbox PC Teen

Learning from the mistakes of Angel Of Darkness, Lara’s latest romp revitalizes a faltering series while borrowing liberally from other games, but in a good way.

8/10

 

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

360 PC Teen

A possible sneak peak at the future console RPGs. Features a huge sandbox environment with tons of stuff to do. Purchasable extras may rub some the wrong way.

9.5/10

 

Rumble Roses XX

360 Mature

Slightly improved gameplay and visuals can’t redeem this flimsy excuse to show busty women in skimpy outfits and vaguely homoerotic wrestling situations.

5/10

 

The Godfather

PS2 Xbox PC 360 Mature

The largest game budget ever was not wasted in making one of the greatest movies ever into a game. A great deal of fun despite the issues that accompany any GTA clone.

8/10

 

Driver: Parallel Lines

PS2 Xbox Mature

Largely succeeds in taking the series back to its wheelman roots, but the on-foot portions are still trying to be too much like GTA, albeit with terrible audio.

7.5/10

 

Onimusha: Dawn Of Dreams

PS2 Mature

True to the Onimusha formula of hack-n-slash gameplay and spectacular cutscenes. The cutscenes are still the best, but the hacking and slashing is getting old.

8/10

 

The Outfit

360 Mature

A cartoony take on WWII that is more strategy than shooting. The formula is interesting, and works best online. Offline, the AI can’t support the gameplay.

7/10

 

Arena Football

PS2 Xbox Everyone 10+

Even for fans of Arena Football, the game is too thin in features and unbalanced in gameplay to provide much enjoyment. Non-arena fans will just be confused.

6/10

 

By Zack Rovinsky 

Zack’s Big Honkin’ Game Guide: Page 13

Black

PS2 Xbox Mature

Criterion makes good on its promise of destructability and focus on the weapons, but the rest of the game doesn’t feel like all it could be. Plus new guns come slowly.   

7/ 10

 

Fight Night Round 3

360 Xbox PS2 Teen

The first game to truly feel “next-gen”, with unbelievable graphics on the 360. Otherwise it’s more of the same Fight Night, and that’s a good thing.        

9/ 10

 

Full Auto

360 Teen

Car combat in amazingly destructable environments. Tons of fun while showing the potential of next-gen hardware to create more interactive environments.   

8.5/ 10

 

25 To Life

PC PS2 Xbox Mature

It’s amazing that such long delays were needed to produce what is, essentially, a bad PS1 game. This game has no redeeming qualities other than annoying politicians.   

2/ 10

 

Perfect Dark Zero

360 Mature

Intended to be the leader of the 360 launch, in reality it’s a mediocre FPS that  disappoints because it doesn’t aspire to be more. In short, we’ve played better. 

6/ 10

 

Project Gotham Racing 3

360 Everyone 10+

Sets the tone for racing in the next generation not with better graphics, but by masterfully blurring, and at times erasing, the line between online and offline play.        

10/ 10

 

Ridge Racer 6

360 Everyone

Sticky physics and a lack of customization options doesn’t exactly scream next gen. This type of drift racing is likely on it’s way out. Stick to PGR 3.       

6.5/ 10

 

Kameo: Elements Of Power

360 Teen

A decent platformer for a system that’s not going to see many, but six years in the oven has raised expectations higher than what the game actually delivers.   

7/ 10

 

Star Wars Battlefront II

PS2 Xbox Teen

Bigger is better for Battlefront. Bigger stages and more vehicles, weapons, and single-player missions address some, if not all, complaints about the original.      

8.5/ 10

 

By Zack Rovinsky 

Zack’s Big Honkin’ Game Guide: Page 12

Dead Or Alive 4

360 Teen

Has expected character additions and graphical improvements, but a hurried launch left the game feeling incomplete. Can’t be to 360 what DOA 3 was to Xbox.

8.5/ 10

 

MVP 06 NCAA Baseball

Xbox PS2 Everyone

The new analog stick control makes a valiant effort to make up for the loss of the MLB license, but the fact remains that it’s still college baseball.

7/ 10

 

Soul Calibur III

PS2 Teen

A great sequel that takes a big step for fighting games by adding character creation. Only problem is the bulk of gameplay rests with the hit-and-miss RTS-style mode.

9/ 10

 

Condemned: Criminal Origins

360 Mature

A decent survival-horror game that makes great use of the 360’s sound and visual capabilities, but tries too hard to freak gamers out with creepy imagery.

7.5/ 10

 

Call of Duty 2

360 PC Teen

The 360’s best launch title. Improves production values and controls to create a more immersive experience than ever before. An adrenaline rush start to finish. 

9.5/ 10

 

Shadow The Hedgehog

PS2 Gamecube Xbox Everyone 10+

Sonic Team takes another stab at 3-D, this time with guns! All the framerate, control and other problems return along with new gun-related targeting issues.

5.5/ 10

 

Ratchet: Deadlocked

PS2 Teen

A new, arena-style, Ratchet that has its hits and misses. The combat portions work but the gameplay is a bit shallow without the platforming.

8/ 10

 

Blitz: The League

Xbox PS2 Mature 

Out of the loss of the NFL license something wonderful happened, the Blitz series rediscovered its anti-establishment soul. Too bad the graphics are so horrific.

8/ 10

 

Shadow of the Colossus

PS2 Teen

Like no game ever made before, made entirely of boss battles and huge spaces to explore. The new darling of the games-as-art crowd but it’s not for everyone, though.

9/ 10

 

By Zack Rovinsky 

Zack’s Big Honkin’ Game Guide: Page 11

 

 

Peter Jackson’s King Kong

All Platforms 360 Teen

A cinematic and engrossing, if linear, experience that is disappointingly short. As close as it gets to playing the movie, for better or worse.

8/ 10

 

Gun

Xbox Gamecube PS2 360 Mature

Simple and fun western shooter that just doesn’t have the variety needed to keep gamers coming back to and open-ended world.

7.5/ 10

 

Need For Speed: Most Wanted

All Platforms 360 Teen 

The merging of the last two NFS gimmicks makes for fun and varied gameplay, but the use of real video is a bit painful.

8.5/ 10        

From Russia With Love

Gamecube PS2 Xbox Teen

EA tried too hard to re-create the classic Bond film and ended up with a game that is deliciously heavy on ambiance but light on gameplay.

5.5/ 10

Battalion Wars

Gamecube Teen

The console update of the classic GBA Advance Wars series is a nice third-person strategy game with a horrific, near-unusable targeting system.

6/ 10

 

Ninja Gaiden Black

Xbox Mature

A directors cut with bonus levels, downloadable content, and a toned down difficulty. Good for those who were curious about the series but scared off.

8/ 10

 

WWE Day Of Reckoning 2

Gamecube Teen

A disappointing sequel to a better original. Tries to change too much about the combat system, and inadvertently mucks it up. The best wrestling is still on the PS2.

6/ 10

 

SOCOM 3

PS2 Mature

Still the best in squad-based shooting and the PS2’s online powerhouse. The only disappointment is the massive amount of graphical fog.

8.5/ 10

 

Serious Sam II

Xbox PC Mature

The very definition of mindless shooting. With a goofy sense of humor and simple mechanics, it’s sure to make Serious Sam fans happy.

7/ 10

 

By Zack Rovinsky