Game Reviews

I think Dale was more insulted by this title than I was, though I was particularly appalled at the horrendous art direction. Like some kind of outsourced nightmare, everything from the cut sequence, to the pre-rendered backgrounds, to the character sprites, don't just look as if different teams did them, they look as if different companies did them! There isn't any visual cohesion to ground all the other elements in the game.

Perhaps the best aspect of Racer is that it positively draws from the movie, including a temporary boost and repair feature that Anakin Skywalker clearly utilizes in the movie. These two features add an extra dimension because a level of on-the-fly resource management, not often seen in racing games, is introduced.

My suspicions of confusion proved to be correct. Trying to figure out what the developers were going for is difficult and describing the results isn't easy either. The best I can say is imagine the jumping platform elements in Super Mario 64 mixed with the puzzles in Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time; all from a locked-down, overhead, three-quarters perspective.

Rather than wiping out endless hordes of monsters for fortune, glory, and (of course) experience points, Pokémon encourages captivity over annihilation. So much so, that collecting, trading, and training the stubborn little pocket monsters make up the heart of the game.

This is the game of the century and who am I to disagree? After all, I'm one of the converted. Nothing I say or do will have any significant impact on your feelings toward the game or its historical precedence, but nonetheless, I will throw in my two cents and let it float out into the endless sea of cosmic thought that already surrounds this legendary game.

Nintendo remained the only developer that seriously believed great games could be done on the Nintendo 64 (N64) and to finally prove it they decided to produce one of the most epic Role Playing Games (RPGs) ever made and let the consumers decide. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time was to surpass the experience of any of the latest RPGs even without redbook audio soundtracks and full-motion video.

Make no mistake about it, FF7 is a graphical showcase, first and foremost, and an RPG second. No matter what Square says about trying to add movie-like elements to their games to aid in storytelling, they are obviously in love with their SGI machines and are determined to put them to use at any cost. Graphics took such a precedence over gameplay that playing through any part of the game was akin to being lead by a leash; I was allowed some freedom, but if I really strayed, I was snapped back to path by the designers' invisible, yet heavy hand.

One of the most eagerly anticipated games of 1997, Final Fantasy VII (FF7), did not disappoint fans when it finally was released. With plenty of hype already surrounding the game, Sony further promoted it with commercial spots that resembled movie trailers, begging to elevate the integrity of videogames up to a status equal with more mainstream media like film and television.

I wasn't at all as enamored with Jedi Knight as Chi was. Jedi Knight was a great idea but it felt old right from the moment I first played it and I never actually felt like I was a Jedi. Plus, seeing a Jedi storm through levels with a phaser just looks plain wrong and feels even worse. You're given a light saber, a first (to my knowledge) in a Star Wars game, as well as the ability to use the force to push and pull things. They're cool features that are pulled off well but neither can take away from the blandness that saturates the game.

Defying (if not shattering) the laws of physics, Star Fox 64 is the proverbial second lightning strike. While pretty much following the original's format of being a rail-shooter, Star Fox 64 still manages to present itself with a fresh new style and energy.