Video games

By ROBB GUIDO

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 5, 2000

Silent Bomber
SYSTEM: PlayStation
PRICE: $39.99
COMPANY: Bandai

This game puts a new spin on your typical arcade-style, shoot-everything-in-sight game. That's right, it's a bomb-everything-in-sight game. Nice graphics and good action make it worth your time.
Grade: B+


Maken X
SYSTEM: Dreamcast
PRICE: $49.99
COMPANY: Sega

One genre desperately in need of something new is the Doom-style first-person category, and Maken X provides that something. As a supernatural sword, you can "brainjack'' characters, who in turn use you to slash and block enemies. While different, it's a little shallow.
Grade: B

F1 World Grand Prix
SYSTEM: Dreamcast
PRICE: $49.99
COMPANY: Sega

This is one of the best looking and deepest racers to grace Dreamcast. F1 has an international platter of race courses that are finely detailed and a car setup screen as specific as any. Too bad the controls are so touchy or this might have been fun.
Grade: C+


Mission: Impossible
SYSTEM: Game Boy Color
PRICE: $29.99
COMPANY: Infogrames

Just in time for the opening of Mission: Impossible 2 comes the first Mission: Impossible game for Game Boy. The shooting and use of gadgets are fine if you don't mind the small graphics.
Grade: C

Gex 3: Deep Pocket Gecko
SYSTEM: Game Boy Color
PRICE: $29.99
COMPANY: Eidos

That slick lizard with the smart mouth is back for Game Boy Color in a 2-D action game. Game play is pretty limited as you scratch off objectives and collect remote controls.
Grade: C+


Carmageddon
SYSTEM: Game Boy Color
PRICE: $29.99
COMPANY: Infogrames

Carmageddon is the lowest of the lows for Game Boy with action that hardly matches its wild title. Bad control, Lilliputian graphics and a Teen rating don't help matters.
Grade: F

Test Drive: Off Road 3
SYSTEM: Game Boy Color
PRICE: $29.99
COMPANY: Infogrames

If it seems as if Infogrames releases a lot of games, it does. And none is worse than its Test Drive series for Game Boy. Races are slow and graphics are hard on the eyes, though Test Drive does include a rumble feature.
Grade: D

- Robb Guido is an avid gamer who lives in Clearwater.

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