Tecmo

2002 was a year of big-name games and even bigger hype. Some was deserved, some wasn't, but it was hard to avoid being bombarded by the media for those certain titles that shall go unpromoted in this review. Besides the discs that "everyone" was buying, there were a significant number of smaller efforts with gameplay as good (sometimes even better) than the so-called blockbusters.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Violence

Fatal Frame is a scary and original horror experience. While not a great game, it does deliver on its promise to explore the survival-horror genre from a fresh perspective.

It pains me dearly to score a Tecmo game so low, but in all good conscience I just cant let them slide. Theyve always been known for extremely fun, solid and original games despite (generally) not having cutting edge graphics. Breaking with that tradition in Fatal Frames case, the graphics arent that bad but they seem to have gone astray when it came to the gameplay department. Very, very disappointing.

I'll admit that I'm not much of a fan of fighting games on consoles. I usually spent my time playing the Street Fighters and Tekkens in arcades because I believe the experience of a fighting game is much more exciting when you're actually playing against a human opponent. Considering that most of the people I hang around don't really care for video games, it's been hard for me to ever have a good experience with a fighting game at home. I always end up convinced that the computer cheats and is out to get me (which aggravates me to no end).

According to the ESRB, this game contains Mature Sexual Themes, Violence

Game Description: Dead or Alive 3 gives gamers the ability to enjoy a richer, more intense, action-packed experience than was previously possible on a video game system. Dead or Alive 3 is a 3D fighting game transplanted from the arcade to home, specifically for the Xbox. Tecmo has done extensive research into the technical capabilities of the Xbox and is convinced it is the ideal platform on which to showcase the latest entry in its extremely popular franchise.

Tecmo's Dead Or Alive series has, unfortunately, always been the Frank Stallone of fighting games. The original was released to a small Japanese audience on the short-lived Sega Saturn, and its subsequent 1998 release on the Playstation played second fiddle to Namcos blockbuster Tekken 3.

Among the many NES classics we've all played and forgotten about, Blaster Master is one that still manages to amaze today. I remember marveling at the game's remarkable special effects when it came out 12 years ago, and even as I play it now, I'm astonished at how cool the shots and explosions look.