By ADAM SHEPPARD, SCOTT STEINLE and CIARA COTEY
Published December 1, 2003
NHL Hitz Pro
ESPN NHL Hockey
System: PlayStation 2
Prices: $49.99 each
Ratings: E
Grades: NHL Hitz Pro, B; ESPN NHL Hockey, B-
Both of these hockey games have plenty to offer. There are several similarities, yet enough differences to make each unique.
NHL Hitz Pro has a good mixture of hockey reality and unrealistic (but fun) situations. Like most quality games, it has updated rosters and stats on every player. Player graphics and movements are superb, and the goaltender skills are excellent. But there are some unrealistic aspects, such as players taking hard checks into the boards and being knocked through the glass. There are also plenty of fights, and with a little skill, players can get knocked out. The game can be played online, which enables you to play head-to-head with friends, family or complete strangers.
ESPN NHL Hockey has a few differences, but is equally fun. It tends to be more realistic (the glass doesn't shatter as it can in NHL Hitz Pro, although you can check someone into the player benches). There are more penalties, but you can turn them off if you just want to play renegade hockey. There are some side games available, such as skills competitions. You can accumulate challenge points and use them to upgrade jerseys, etc. The rosters are updated and complete and, like NHL Hitz Pro, the graphics are strong (including players who look like their real-life counterparts). This game also offers online play.
- ADAM SHEPPARD, Times correspondent
Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction
System: PlayStation 2
Company: Electronic Arts
Price: $39.99
Rating: Teen
Grade: C
Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction has its high and low points. A high point: It's a real-time strategy game on a console. There are very few of those, so a person without a personal computer may like this game.
In Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction, three races of beings battle for survival on a distant planet: humans (also known as Colonial Marines), aliens and predators. The game is drawn on the popular Aliens vs. Predator universe, which is based on the Aliens and Predator movies. There are three separate battle campaigns, one for each species, and each campaign consists of seven single-player missions.
The coolest feature of this game is the way each race obtains or holds on to its troops. Aliens infest other species and use them as hosts. Humans have a fleet of dropships that bring in new troops. And predators land on the planet and use their cloaking ability for stealth.
For most of the game, you command the armies of any one of the three races and attack your enemies. You don't have to collect resources like in most other real-time strategy games. This makes most of the missions simply search and destroy, with predictably bloody results.
The graphics are good for a real-time strategy game.
The down side of this game: the waiting. A lot of the game is spent sitting around letting your units heal. Another negative is that each of the missions offers in-game upgrades - special air strikes, for example - that require payment. By the time you get them, the mission is mostly over. And the worst part is, they don't carry over to other missions.
Overall, Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction is fun. It will keep you entertained for a short period. I found it worth a rental, but not a purchase.
- SCOTT STEINLE, Times correspondent
EyeToy
System: PlayStation 2
Maker: Sony
Price: $49.99
The EyeToy for the PlayStation 2 is a really cool gadget and game that may be one of the first video games the whole family can play together.
It involves using your whole body, not just your hands, as you stand in front of the camera and become part of the action on the TV. Every activity is an excellent way to get couch-potato children (or parents) up, moving and having fun at the same time.
EyeToy is fairly easy to set up - just plug the camera into the USB port on your PS2 and place it atop the television, facing you. I suggest you have someone else help you adjust the camera so you fit inside the given silhouette. A well-lit room is highly recommended.
When you make a player profile, you enter your initials and you will have three pictures taken, one of your happy face, your sad look and a silly pose. The names will be used when recording your high scores, and the pictures are used for the multiplayer battles: the happy picture used when you win, the sad one when you lose, and the silly one before you begin and in between turns.
You can choose the difficulty levels for your game, and each level has a different scoreboard for each game. This game has fun, active and challenging skirmishes all on one disc. Some of them get you bouncing around, trying to dodge punches or to wipe that last square of soap from the top of the window. Some send you into a frenzy of slaps, as evil ninjas fly at you rapidly from pagodas in the background, or as you try to stop demented rats from attacking two girls in bunny suits. A couple have you keep the beat that a DJ throws at you or get into the groove of a funky disco dance.
You send UFOs into orbit, head butt soccer balls and save a girl trapped in a mirror even though it is constantly flipping, rotating and confusing the heck out of you.
It looks like it's more suited for younger children, but looks can be deceiving. Try this game out and you'll have the time of your life.
