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Video Game Reviews
By SCOTT STEINLE, ADAM SHEPPARD, JEFF GUSSOW and CHUCK MURPHY Rygar: The Legendary Adventure
Rygar is a heroic Roman warrior who has been called upon to protect Princess Harmonia of Argus, an island under Roman control. As soon as he arrives in Argus, however, she is captured by the huge and merciless Titans, who rip up her kingdom in the process and throw Rygar into a deep crevice. He is awakened by a strange voice that gives him the Diskarmor, a powerful shield made by the gods. Now Rygar is on a quest to defeat the Titans and save the princess. The graphics in Rygar are superb. They are smooth, flow well and never lag. The game has beautiful backgrounds. Mountains and Roman columns shrouded in mist are well-defined and realistic looking. The cinema graphics also are outstanding. The Diskarmor that Rygar carries is an interesting and versatile weapon. It is a round, spiked shield on a chain that can be hurled at enemies to hurt them. Or, you can use it to grab enemies and swing them to hurt others, toss them in the air or just beat them up, or use it to block enemy attacks. There are combo attacks as well. The game also has great music, performed by the Moscow International Symphonic Orchestra and Izzy Cooper. The orchestral music fits the heroic nature of the game well. The voices of the characters, however, sound exaggerated and cheesy. Overall, Rygar: The Legendary Adventure is a great action-adventure game, with depth and all kinds of possibilities for fun. Grade: A -- SCOTT STEINLE, Times correspondent The Simpsons Skateboarding
If you love skateboarding games, the Simpsons Skateboarding most likely isn't for you. While the game offers a multiplayer option, there are only two modes under that format, and only three modes for single player. It has 10 different levels and eight characters (including, of course, Homer, Lisa and Nelson) to choose from. While the game can be challenging, the game play is far from exciting. There is a variety of skateboarding tricks, but all are fairly basic. You can improve your stunts, but not the board. And the graphics leave a lot to be desired. It's easy to get bored, especially since the levels offer no great obstacles. The music is also unspectacular and borders on annoying. The game does a good job, however, of capturing the Simpson characters: Homer has a realistic "d'oh," and Lisa is the brains of the bunch. If you love the Simpsons and the characters, you might find this enjoyable. But for skateboarding junkies, Tony Hawk would be a better buy. Grade: C -- ADAM SHEPPARD, Times correspondent Whacked
Whacked takes game shows to a new level. And, parents beware, it's a low level. This isn't a PG-rated Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. In this game, violence is good and sex appeal is better. While the violence isn't realistic, it does take everyday objects such as plungers, rubber ducks and staple guns to beat the living daylights out of your opponent. Hosted by Van Tastic, a loudmouthed Jay Leno lookalike, this game requires players to kill chickens and other challengers to release stars needed to win the game. The scenarios aren't that exciting, and you have to beat nine scenarios before moving on to the next stage (there are four stages total). At the end of the four stages, you receive the mysterious prize that is locked away in the vault. This game is not for young players. One contestant, called Lucy, loses her clothing and is covered up with "censored" signs, and vulgar language is also implied but cut out by the censors. High schoolers may get a laugh out of some of the corny jokes for a few minutes, but other than that this game is too mature for anyone above the age of 15. Grade: D+ Power Rangers Wild Force
Pokemon come and Pokemon go, but Power Rangers seem to go on forever. The object of this game is to use four of the Power Rangers Wild Force to take on the Org, described as an ancient race of monsters brought back to life. From there, the plot is pretty familiar to anyone who has ever played a fantasy-battle game for computer, video console or GameBoy. The animals of the Org intend to take over the Earth. The Power Rangers must stop them. They will need to collect health and invincibility items to have a chance at beating the Org. As they complete each of 10 levels, they collect animal crystals which help them to grow and challenge the ultimate bad guys along the way. The game makes good use of the controls on GameBoy Advance and scores well in ease of use, even for a 5-year-old. But many parents may consider it too violent for a child of that age. While it is rated E, for Everyone 6 and up, it's really more appropriate for the 7-year-old and up. Additionally, the game graphics are not what gamers have come to expect from GameBoy Advance. The Power Rangers and their foes just don't look right. The game manual promises that the game is better when played by more than one person at a time, connected by cables (and requiring additional copies of the cartridge). But it was not tested in that manner. Grade: B- -- CHUCK MURPHY, Times staff writer
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