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Video Game Reviews
By TRAVIS HARRIS, ANDRE JACKSON and SCOTT STEINLE Super Monkey Ball 2
Super Monkey did it again. Super Monkey Ball 2 is another awesome party game. It starts out in a village where an evil monkey named Bad-Boon takes all of the bananas from villagers. Your job is to go through his mazes and find him while encased inside a ball. There are a lot of levels that can sometimes be hard. After two weeks, I don't think I'm even halfway through it. By the way, you don't control the monkey inside the ball -- you control the maze. As in one of those plastic games you find at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box, you use the controller to maneuver the maze to direct the ball. The only bad thing about the game is there are only six games that can be played in the multiplayer setting. But when you get four of your friends together, the party's on! The game is challenging and the graphics are great, for a game with monkeys running around. Grade: A -- TRAVIS HARRIS, Times correspondent NBA Starting Five
Konami is introducing its first basketball game since college basketball on the Super Nintendo system. NBA Starting Five has all the elements of a fundamental basketball game. Endorsed by Tracy McGrady of the Orlando Magic, NBA Starting Five re-creates fast-paced action and adrenaline-rushing basketball through intuitive game controls, including analog control over passing, rebounding and post moves. The game controls take a little time to get used to, but when you do the action doesn'tstop. The game includes basic menus that most NBA games have, such as exhibition, season, franchise, playoffs and create a player. Create a player mode allows gamers to create their own players to make an unstoppable dream team. Other modes include the season, which allows the gamer to play an 82-game season and simulate the outcome of the games that aren't worth playing. The graphics are only realistic when it comes to replays. When the game is in play, it reminds you of Konami's Super Nintendo college hit. The music and sound aren't much, and the announcers can get annoying. Compared with NBA Live 2003, NBA Starting Five is child's play. I seriously doubt this game will put up any competition against similar titles. But if you want a basic, fundamental basketball game, this is the game for you. Grade: C -- ANDRE JACKSON, Times correspondent Tribes: Aerial Assault
One of the first online-compatible games for PlayStation 2 has arrived. Tribes is the Halo for PS2. It is a first-person shooter that features a variety of weapons, terrains, vehicles and characters that can be customized. It also has five modes of game play: Capture the Flag, Capture and Hold, Hunters, Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch. You can choose from 10 different weapons, including missile launchers, laser rifles and grenades. You can customize your character in light, medium or heavy armor with colors of the different tribes. All of the characters come with a jet pack that lets you fly and rain death on your enemies from above. Choosing light armor allows you to pilot the four vehicles available in Tribes. The smallest of the vehicles, the Gravcycle, allows you to cover great distances quickly on the ground. Then there is the fighter, which is a combat antigravity vehicle. The bomber can destroy an enemy's base defenses, and the transport carries friendlies to combat zones and enemy bases. There are so many different terrains, ranging from snowy mountains to deserts to plains, that nearly every game could be different. The graphics in Tribes are excellent. Explosions look real, and there is never any lagging. The shadows, smoke and mist also look authentic. For online play, you can choose up to 16 teammates. Your team can choose different armor classes and roles for other players to take, such as offense or defense. To play Tribes online, however, you must have a $39.99 network adapter, which is an extremely difficult item to find in local stores. Overall, Tribes is a well of possibilities for fun and entertainment. It is a challenging game that will keep you playing, and it is well worth the money and time. Grade: A+ -- SCOTT STEINLE, Times correspondent NHL 2003
My first impression of NHL 2003 was that it was going to be another boring hockey game, but I was wrong. What I liked most is how realistic everything is. The announcers sound as if they're really there, and they even make jokes. The only thing I disliked is that you can't pick the songs that play in the arena. But you can turn them off if you don't like the music. The graphics are very good for a hockey game. Like a lot of GameCube games, you can get the hang of the controls really fast. Grade: B NBA 2K3
This is not another boring basketball game. NBA 2K3 is serious. It's hard to play at first because you have to learn the controls. But once you get the hang of the crossovers and shooting, it's a lot of fun. It does a lot of realistic things, such as if the ball is going out of bounds, one of the players may dive for the ball to save it. The graphics are off the wall. The only difficulty is playing the computer, which pulls off some unbelievable alley oops. Grade: A Turok Evolution
This game is all about shooting dinosaurs and lizard men, which is hard because some of them hide in caves and trees. I didn't like anything about this game. The load time is long, the weapons are weak, and shooting dinosaurs and lizard men is really boring. The levels are very hard, and the graphics aren't that good. I thought it was going to be like the Nintendo 64 version that's more than just shooting dinosaurs. Grade: F Ty the Tazmanian Tiger
Ty is a really good adventure game. The point is to find the lost Talismans, which is not hard, but it's not easy either. There's a lot of hidden stuff that you have to find, and there are multiple warp portals you have to pass through to move to the next level. I had to go through the first level three times to get out. The only thing I disliked about it was that they talk in an Australian slang, which is hard to understand. The graphics are good, the controls are not too hard, and it's fairly easy to play. Grade: B Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO
I knew this game was going to be good, but not this good. Here's how you play: You pick three fighters and fight in a tournament. Then your fighters battle opponents one at a time. I liked that all of my favorite fighters are in the game, including Terry from King of Fighters 99 from Sega Dreamcast. One of his moves I like to use is a dashing punch with fire coming from his fist. I don't like that the game has two control settings. One is GCISM, which is supposed to be for beginners trying to get the hang of the game, but it makes it hard to do combo attacks. The other mode is ACISM, which is for experienced players who know all the buttons for special moves. And because you can't use the C-stick on special moves, it takes longer to learn them. I would rather have ACISM for everything but with easier moves. But the graphics are the best you'll find in a Nintendo fighting game. Grade: B -- TRAVIS HARRIS, Times correspondent
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