The Vault: Resident Evil (Gamecube)

Title: Resident Evil
Format: Gamecube
Genre: Survival Horror
Expect to pay: £10 - £25

I am a long term fan of the Resident Evil franchise, which dates back to the second game in the series (which before 4 came a long was the best of the lot). Eventually I did go back and play the original PlayStation game to completion and I grew to love it as much as the others, especially the notoriously cheesy dialogue. A few years into the life of the Cube, Nintendo made an agreement with Capcom that would see them develop several titles exclusively for the platform, including Killer7, P.N.O.3 and this remade and retooled version of the first entry in the Resi series.

What you will notice the minute you start playing is the improved look of the game. Gone are the boxy, grainy character models and in their place are highly detailed and realistic versions of Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, etc. The whole of the game has been redone from top to bottom with a fresh coat of paint, and even today it still looks really good, which can't be said about the original. Then we have the rerecorded dialogue, which removes the crap acting of old. This is both a good and bad thing as while it does give what is supposed to be a scary game more credibility, it loses some of the B-Movie naffness that made it so wonderful in the first place.

Other additions to the gamplay include special items that allow you to turn the tables on your zombie attackers and get yourself out of a tight spot such as a knife or a flash grenade, new extremely fast Crimson Head zombies to add some extra scares, and extended and additional scenes that weren't present back in the day. It adds a few hours of extra playtime for those new to the game and refreshes the experience for those that are familiar with the old puzzles and story.

A search of recently completed ebay auctions for the game showed that you could spend as little as a tenner for a copy or as much as £25. Be patient, as there are plenty of copies out there - so wait for one to appear at the right price and then pick it up. You can rest assured that this will not be the only Resident Evil game to be featured in this top 100, there will be a couple more along the way.

"What IS it?". "Blood." "I sure hope it's not Chris' blood" etc etc.

The Vault: Chibi Robo

Title: Chibi Robo
Format: Gamecube
Genre: Action/Adventure
Expect to pay: £15 - £40

As fantastic as I most definitely think Nintendo is, they do tend to wheel out the same old mascots over and over again. How many games have you seen Mario in lately, and Link is almost as bad. For that reason it's great to see them developing a new IP every once and a while. On the Gamecube, they did this with the Pikmin franchise, and they also did it with Chibi Robo, an enthralling and charming adventure game starring a diminutive, cute (chibi) robot whose job it is to clean up the Sanderson household and help out any poor souls (human or otherwise) in need.

When you start the game your repertoire of abilities is severely limited. You have a toothbrush, a built in chibi-copter and that's pretty much about it. The capacity of your battery is extremely low and therefore you won't be able to stray very far from your Chibi House before your juice will start to run out and you will have to return or seek out a power socket. To remedy this you need to earn happy points - these are cashed in back at the Chibi House and when you bank certain amounts you will earn a new higher capacity battery, thus allowing you to explore further and further into the house. Your pal, Telly Vision, with his freaky cross eyed stare, will explain everything to you.

At the start of the game these happy points come mainly from doing housework - either by cleaning up stains using your toothbrush, or by picking up stray sweet wrappers or biscuit crumbs. I know, it doesn't sound like fun does it? But it is thanks to the brilliant and charming way it's implemented. As Chibi walks around different musical notes emanate from the floor, and you also produce other little riffs when you use your tools such as the toothbrush.

As well as the Sanderson family (which include a little girl who spends most of her life dressed up as, and pretending to be, a frog) there are many toys around the house, all of which have a life of their own and most of which have more than their fair share of problems that need sorting out. There's a Buzz Lightyear style space ranger, a princess, a pirate and many more. They all have their own areas of the house, such as the living room, the kitchen, the basement, the attic, the parents bedroom, the kids room and the back garden, and exploring everywhere and doing everything will take a considerable amount of time - especially when you consider that you only have a limited amount of time before that particular section of the day comes to an end. The day is divided up in to several sections and once the time limit expires you are automatically returned to the Chibi House.

Because Chibi Robo was released very late in the life span of the Gamecube, it was largely overlooked as most people had already moved on to one of the next generation systems. It is a great shame that the game didn't do as well as it deserved, but it has managed to get a sequel on the DS, Chibi Robo: Park Patrol which is equally as good. The game can be quite expensive though, on ebay recent auctions have gone for as little as £15 and as much as £40. If you can find it at the lower end of the price scale I would recommend it.

Here's Chibi, staring wistfully into a cup of coffee.

The Vault: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (Gamecube)

Title: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Format: Gamecube:
Genre: Action
Expect to pay: Around £50!

With Solid Snake currently appearing in two very high profile games on two different consoles (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on PS3 and Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii) I thought now would be a good time to take a look at Silicon Knights' re imagining of the original game.

While this essentially the same story and gameplay as the PlayStation classic, it has been somewhat "remastered", with improved visuals, extended cut scenes with incredibly elaborate fight sequences directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (who has also returned to do the same for MGS4). Fans of The Matrix trilogy should feel right at home with the action here.

From a mechanical point of view, the game now plays more like MGS2 and gives you the option to look down your gun from a first person perspective just like that game did. Visually and audibly, the graphics, music and dialogue have also been overhauled, with mixed results. The graphics are undoubtedly improved, however the music has suffered somewhat. From some strange reason, the decision was made to rerecord all of the dialogue with the same actors that did it the first time. It's not a bad job, but the acting was perfectly decent the first time around so hearing the same characters say familiar lines slightly differently is a bit strange.

There have also been other small tweaks to the game. Psycho Mantis now comments on which Nintendo published games you have been playing based on your saves instead of various Konami games, and you can spot action figures of Mario and Yoshi in the background at one point. Does all of this make it a better game than the original? Well, no - it's not better per se, just different. If you are a die hard fan of the MGS series then this will probably be of interest to you - likewise if you don't own a machine capable of playing PS1 games but you happen to own a Gamecube or Wii then you could pick this up if you've always wanted the play the first game in the series (and trust me, familiarity with the earlier games in the series is almost essential to avoid confusion while playing MGS4).

Whether the game is worth shelling out around £50 for (which it regularly goes for on ebay) is up to you. I'm glad I bought my copy when it could be found for a tenner!

Next time: I take a look at an Xbox classic that is worth revisiting or picking up for the first time.

Those who have played the original won't find many surprises here, but the game does look smoother.

The Christmas Gaming Gift Guide Part 3: Gaming on a budget

This weeks update is a bit later than usual, but at least I am managing to update on a regular basis! Here is part 3 of my 4 part Christmas Guide, this time looking at 10 of the best games available for a budget price (which I define as being under £20). Most of the games here aren't new by any means, but they do come highly recommended. I will list the best price I managed to find the game for, but prices vary so make sure you shop around a bit first!

Kingdom Hearts 2 - PS2 - Out Now - Best Price: £10

If you are a fan of Disney, Final Fantasy, Action RPG's, or all of these, then you'll probably love Kingdom Hearts 2. The plot can be a little confusing to start with if you missed the original game, but you will be gradually brought up to speed as you play the game. As well as the usual worlds such as The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, this time you will also visit the characters from Pirates of the Carribbean at Port Royale and also travel to the virtual world of Tron.

Metal Slug Anthology - PSP, PS2, Wii - Out Now - Best Price: £10

7 games for £10 is bloody good value for money no matter who you ask. Granted, they are all pretty much the same sort of thing, but you will have great fun playing through them. Take control of Marco or one of the many other playable characters and take on Nazi-esque enemies, aliens, zombies, giant enemy crabs, robots of all shapes and sizes and many other weird and wonderful creations. The action is extremely frantic in my opinion is a perfect fit for the PSP. For the full details on this game, check out my review from a few weeks back.


Puzzle Quest - DS, PSP - Out Now - Best Price: £15

Take the basic puzzle game concept of Bejewelled, and then fuse it within the trappings of an RPG, and what you get is Puzzle Quest. You gain experience, mana or gold from removing pieces, or you can deal damage to your opponent by taking skull pieces and casting magic spells. Your reperoire of spells and skills increases as you level up, and eventually you will be able to tame beasts and use their skills as well. Puzzle Quest is extremely addictive and I highly recommend it to all.

Final Fantasy XII - PS2 - Out Now - Best Price: £10

£10 is an amazing price for one of the best games of last year (this year if you had to wait for the PAL release). This is the biggest overhaul the series has had since Final Fantasy VII, and I for one really enjoyed it. The graphics, music, storyline and new battle engine all came together to deliver a truely amazing game. Thanks to the rise of the next generation consoles, PS2 games are rapidly reducing in price, much to the gamers advantage. Go and get it now!

Wii Zapper + Link's Crossbow Training - Wii - Out 07/12/07 - Best Price: £20

One of the most enjoyable multiplayer games for the Wii so far was actually the shooting game which was included in Wii Play in my opinion. It's just a shame the levels were exactly the same each time - abit more variety would've have elevated it to true classic status. This could be exactly what I need - a more developed shooting game, set in the familiar land of Hyrule, which comes packaged with the plastic holster than can also be used with games like Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles.

Killer 7 - Gamecube, PS2 - Out Now - Best Price: £5

Killer 7 is one of the most overlooked games to be released within the lifespan of the Gamecube, and also one of the best. It is also, as those who have played it will attest to, extremely weird. The Killer 7 referred to in the title are in fact the split personalities of one man - Harman Smith, who must go up agains the horrible monstrous "smiles". The spiritual successor, No More Heroes, is out soon for the Wii, so now would be a good time to catch up with the original.

Dragon Quest VIII - PS2 - Out Now - Best Price: £15

This remains my favourite RPG that was released on the PS2 for many reasons - amazing visuals, a scintillating score, a fun a plot and enjoyable/addictive gameplay. Plus the fact that it gives over 60 hours of quality entertainment. Anybody who is even remotely interested in Japanese RPG's should go and get themselves a copy of Dragon Quest VIII straight away, and then while away the winter months - combined with FFXII, it's unbeatable!

Burnout Dominator - PSP - Out Now - Best Price: £10

Each of the games in the Burnout franchise have traditionally brought something new to the table, but I'm afraid I can't really say that for Dominator, which was brought out more as a filler title between Burnout Revenge and Paradise with its newfangled free roaming mode.. That said, it's still a brilliant game which works extremely well on the PSP, and is a great improvement over Burnout Legends, with improved graphics and brand new tracks rather than hand-me-downs from previous games. Fans of the series should definitely consider picking it now that it can be found at a bargain price!

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath - Xbox - Out Now - Best Price: £8

Those of you who still have your original Xbox in a working condition should definitely consider purchasing this little gem if you haven't already. Though this game unfortunately put the final nail in the coffin of the Oddworld series due to its monumental lack of sales, that really isn't any indication of the overall quality. It's a first-person shooter with a sense of humour, which combines pure fantasy with the traditions of the Wild West, and is an excellent game.

WipEout Pulse - PSP - Out Now - Best Price: £15

Now this really is an incredible bargain! The latest entry in the WipEout series has only just been released, but it can already be found for £15! The game has more tracks, weapons, teams, and modes - everthing you'd expect from a sequel. The graphics are a noticeable improvement from Pure, and the Mag Strip is introduced which lets your craft flip flop from the ground to the ceiling and back again during the course of a race. Downloadable content is promised, just like the original game (which remains one of the few games to offer such as thing to this day), as is proper online play thanks to the Infrafstructure mode. There should be enough game in here to keep you busy for quite some time.

That's it for part 3. Come back next week for the fourth and final part of my Christmas Gaming Gift Guide, where I take what I consider to be the five best downloadable Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade games and present them to you.

Hidden Gems - Pikmin 2

Although Pikmin 2 has managed to earn itself an average rating of 89% on www.gamerankings.com, I'm willing to bet that it has been overlooked by many gamers out there, myself included until just recently. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that the new look Official Nintendo Magazine was giving it away free with a subscription, I still wouldn't be aware just what a finely crafted sequel it really is.

The first game was one of the very early games on the Gamecube, and it was packed with originality and clever ideas, but ultimately it was very limited. You only had 30 gaming days to try and find 30 items, so if you didn't bring back at least one a day you would have trouble. Nintendo have really worked hard to remedy this though, and the result is one of the most captivating games I have played in some time. It really has that special "Nintendo touch" that many of their best games have.

If you're not familiar with the way the game works, basically you control a little spaceman from the planet Hocotate in a mission to scavenge as many valuable items as you can, in this case to try and prevent his company from going bankrupt. You can't interact with anything in the word directly however - instead you have to enlist the help of the Pikmin - little plant/ant dudes. Soon after starting the game you will discover a few red ones, and then you can propagate and harvest more by cutting down flowers and killing enemies, and then taking them back to the "onion" to be used as fertiliser to grow more. There are many environmental hazards that you will have to find a way around, including water, fire, electricity and giant Pikmin munching insects to name just a few. This is where the different Pikmin types come in to play - red ones are impervious to fire, blue ones can swim, yellow ones are safe from electric shocks, purple ones are as strong as 10 normal guys, and the little sick looking albino white Pikmin are both immune to poison and poisonous to anything that eats them.

The Pikmin crew score a very valuable rubber ducky!

You will be required on many occasions to sacrifice some of your Pikmin to serve the greater good - either in battle with a ferocious bed bug, or offering one of your white ones up as a sacrifice in order to poison your enemy. In this way Pikmin is rather brutal, but then nature so often is in real life too. However brutal the single player mode can get though, it's nothing compared to the multiplayer mode. Some of the epic 50 on 50 Pikmin fights that can take place here rival the battle of Helm's Deep in the Lord of the Rings! The multiplayer mode really helps elevate this game to classic status. There are around 10 different maps each with their own quirks that you can do battle in, with the aim being to either bring back 4 yellow marbles, or the enemies main marble which can be found in their base. You can also lose by having all your Pikmin slaughtered by bugs, or if your spaceman dies. Once both players have a good grasp of how the game plays (which can take a while due to the unique controls and the way the game is set up) things really hot up and some really close tactical battles ensue. I can see myself coming back to this mode for a long time to come and it will most likely rival Mario Kart DS, Super Monkey Ball or Mashed as one of my multiplayer favourites. When you reach a certain stage in the single player mode you also open up a Challenge mode which can be played cooperatively with another player, adding even more depth to the game.

Something else that really enhanced the game is the use of real life objects for the artifacts that you have to find. These include a Nintendo Game & Watch, a Duracell battery, and a 7UP bottle cap. I know many people find the idea of advertising in games abhorrent and usually I would agree with them, but it really works in this context, and the funny alternative names that the sentient ship comes up with for the items really adds character. For example, the bottle cap becomes a "quenching emblem" and the Game & Watch becomes a "Dream Sculptor".

The game has been out for a fair while now so you can probably expect to find it for around £20 new and less than that used. While the Gamecube only came third in the sales battle, it is home to many brilliant games and in my opinion it was the machine with the most consistent level of high quality titles of its generation. Pikmin 2 is yet another example of this, so if you have a Gamecube, check it out!

An army of reds get ready to enter one of the many dungeons.

The RetroModern Gaming Blog 2005 Awards

Here are the highlights of 2005 for me. The games featured year didn't necessarily come out this year, but I did play them this year. Tomorrow I will be giving out awards for the disappointments of 2005, but for today, it's all good!

GBA Game of the Year - Riviera: The Promised Land
A great little RPG which combined plenty of humour with an interesting battle system and some of the best graphics on Nintendo's diminutive handheld. It didn't get a release in Europe and there were only fairly limited quantities on sale in the US, so it might be quite hard to come by now, but it's worth picking up if you can find it.

Runner up - Racing Gears Advance
Not many people are aware if this little game but way back in January of last year it was constantly in the GBA slot of my DS. Imagine a game like Micro Machines or Mashed on the GBA and you'd be on the mark. This is the ideal sort of game for a handheld.

DS Game of the Year - Mario Kart DS
Without doubt this is absolutely the best game on the DS so far. Every thing you could ever possible want from a Mario Kart title and more (who would've expected the Mission mode?). The Wi-Fi Internet mode is the icing on a particularly scrummy cake and combined with the regular multiplayer mode ensure that this game will be a favourite for a long time to come.

Runner up - Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Another inventive and witty entry in the Mario RPG series. The DS has been starved of quality RPG's since it was released by now Mario & Luigi are here to keep players entertained for at least 20 hours of quality gameplay.

PSP Game of the Year - Ridge Racer
I'm possibly a little biased here - Ridge Racer has long been a favourite series of mine, but these are my awards so never mind. The classic RR gameplay was given a boost (pun intended) with the addition of a Nitrous gauge, and many of the best tracks from past games were dusted off and given a thorough going for this PSP "best of" update.

Runner up - Legend of Heroes: A Tear of Vermillion
It took a while for a decent RPG to appear on the PSP, just like with the DS, but finally Legend of Heroes was released back in November. It has a less than perfect localisation, but that hasn't prevented me from enjoying the story and all it's many twists and turns. It's refreshing to play a game where many different characters drop in and out of the story, rather thing joing with the protagonist and following them all the way around the world.

Gamecube Game of the Year - Resident Evil 4
I've been partial a bit of Resident Evil for a long time now, but even I was starting to tire of the clumsy controls and cliched formula. Capcom took a long hard look at the series and finally gave gamers RE 4. No one could have predicted just how good this game would be. Every chapter is crammed full of inventive and exciting set pieces and the amazing soundtrack makes sure you are constantly on the edge of your seat, all the while holding your breath.

Runner up - Batallion Wars
When it was announced that British developer Kuju games was making a Gamecube version of the Advance Wars series and changing it from a turn based strategy game into a third person action game, fans of the series were horrified. After all, Kuju's track record has been average at best (Reign of Fire, Lotus Challenge and War Hammer: Fire Warrior were all less than amazing). Nonetheless, the managed to deliver a very solid and fun little shooter which even reminds me of Halo at times (the chatter of the troops, and the vehicles). Well worth checking out.

PlayStation 2 Game of the Year - Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King.
This game is amazing, spellbinding. I knew Level 5 were adept at getting the most out of the PS2 hardware from past experience with Dark Chronicle, but I never imagined anyone could cram a game that's this long, with such brilliant graphics, a stunning orchestral score and fantastic gameplay, on to one single DVD ROM.

Runner up - Shadow of the Colossus
This also achieves things that I never thought possible on the aging PS2 hardware, but sometimes the cracks show through. The frame rate can get quite unstable when the action hots up which prevented me from ever getting completely immersed in the game. Still one of the most beautiful things I have seen all year though.

Xbox Game of the Year - Jade Empire

Many people weren't overly keen on this game, especially after playing Knights of the Old Republic, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and found the action based battle system to be a refreshing change. The mythical Chinese style setting was wonderful too.

Runner up - Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
It's sad that this game never sold as many copies as it deserved to, as it was well worth it. A western style game set in the bizarre Oddworld, featuring the same sense of humour from the Abe and Munch games. I saw a pre owned copy for £10 the other day, and if you should comeacrosss a cheap copy you should snap it up.

PC Game of the Year - The Movies
This is the best game Peter Molyneux and his team have delivered since Theme Hospital came out all those years ago from Bullfrog. It can get rather tough after a while as you a juggling stars and directors throwing petty tantrums with trying to make the best films you can and managing not to go bankrupt. The movie making aspect has seen a huge community build up already, where you can upload and download home made films for your own entertainment.

Runner up - Sacred Gold
This is an action RPG in the Diablo mould, with plenty of character classes to choose from, some very nice graphics and a verylengthyy quest to work your way through. This Gold edition also includes the Underworld expansion disk which adds about another 15 hours of gameplay.

Overall Game of the Year - Resident Evil 4 - Gamecube
It was a close call but for me, the best game of 2005 was Resident Evil 4. It's now also available on the PS2 with even more content.

Runner up - Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King - PlayStation 2
I very nearly decided to place these two games the other way around, but in the end RE4 had more innovative touches (DQVIII is verytraditionall at heart, but that has a lot to do with why it's so good).

Come back tomorrow for part 2, where I list my worst games of the year, my mostdisappointingg delay, best hidden gem and best retro game.

Tales of Symphonia Review

Tales of Symphonia is the first game in Namco's Tales series to be released in Europe, and if it is a good representation of the series as a whole then I can honestly say it's a great shame that the others never made it.

Each of the games in the series share certain aspects in common - most noticeably the real time battle engine. Instead of your typical turn based RPG battles where you keep pressing the A button and just sit back and watch, the fights here are much more hands on. In the original Tales of Phantasia, the battles were purely from a side-on perspective, much like a 2D fighting game like Streetfighter 2 or Mortal Kombat. However, you're not on your own - you have up to 3 other characters in your party that fight alongside you. While you don't control them directly, you can command them quickly and efficiently to use certain special moves or items thanks to the intuitive menu that can be called up with the Y button. In the battles with regular monsters, you probably won't need to use advanced tactics, as mashing the button generally works, but against the bosses you will need to keep a close eye on the HP of yourself and your allies and be ready to jump in with a heal command.

The more recent entries to the Tales series, Symphonia included, have introduced a new semi-3D version of the battle engine. While you are still locked on a 2D plane with the enemy you are targeting, your enemies and allies are free to run around the 3D battlefield. When you want to change targets all you have to do is hold down the R trigger and select someone else to beat up. At the end of a battle, you are graded depending on how much damage you took, how quick you were, etc. These grade points can be saved up and spent on items at certain stores, or held back until you complete the game. Once you finish the game you can start a New Game+ with your old save file, and buy various things such as double xp, the ability to retain your "titles" and many other things. Throughout the game you will earn various titles for you characters, either at certain parts of the story, or for completing sidequests, or for fulfilling certain criteria in battle. These affect how your characters stats improve when you level up, so you can choose a title that boosts HP, TP (required for magic or special moves), Intelligence or many other stats.

Visually, Tales of Symphonia is gorgeous. It's like the pages of a manga book have come to life. Characters are all very well designed, and the towns and dungeons have a very solid and consistent look to them. The one thing that lets the graphics down a little is the overworld map - it's extremely basic and the monsters that randomly walk around all look the same, giving you no indication what you will actually have to fight should you happen to touch one.

The music is composed by Motoi Sakuraba (I hope I've spelled that correctly), who has been very prolific lately, having written tunes for Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Baten Kaitos, the Golden Sun series and more besides. It would have been nice if the music was fully orchestrated rather than synthesized, but that's not to say the music isn't good stuff. It's nice and varied too, and after a certain part of the game you will get new battle and overworld themes which helps to stop the game getting too monotonous. Voice acting in ToS is spot on, but with the range of talent providing the voices it's only really to be expected. The usual suspects (Cam Clarke, Jennifer Hale, etc) put in very solid performances, as do the other actors who I'm less familiar with. I'm especially fond of Collette's voice over.

I have read in other reviews that the plot is quite weak, but actually I think that's nonsense. While the story might start off quite cliched, it soon develops it's own path and there are many interesting twists along the way. Personally I don't think it matters too much if a story has been told before, as long as it's told well, and Tales of Symphonia certainly is that. What really makes the game enjoyable and keeps the plot from becoming boring, are the characters. They are all very well fleshed out, with decent lines and plenty to say. There are hundreds of optional "skits" that can be viewed during the game, most of which offer insights into the personal lives of the characters and help to develop their relationships with one another.

Tales of Symphonia is also one of the longest RPG's I've played in quite some time, clocking in at least 50 hours even if you just follow the basic outline of the story. If you add in all the sidequests, that time can easily be pushed over the 80 hour mark. There's quite a lot of freedom in the order you can tackle events as well, and certain plot strands could be skipped altogether, which adds to the replayability of the game.

All in all, Tales of Symphonia is one of the greatest games on the Gamecube, and I really hope Namco decides to bring future games in the series over to Europe. They currently have no less than three in production - Tales of Legendia and Tales of the Abyss for the PlayStation 2, and Tales of Eternia for the PSP, so the series shows no signs of stopping now.

Lloyd Irving, hero of the story

Collette Brunel, Chosen One, angel, love interest and heroine of the story.

Resident Evil 4 review

Now on BBC2, another episode of Can't Cook, Dead Cook with your host, Zom B. Chef:

"Greetings. Today I'm going to show you show to cook up some delicious Resident Evil 4. You will need, some salt-cured spanish meat of unknown origin, a pinch of Jaws, a dash of Day of the Dead, a soupson of Metal Gear and a sprinke of Shenmue. Stir well, placed in a greased baking tin and leave for approximately 3 years until golden brown on top. Warning: Eat in small doses - excessive consumption can cause a laxative effect. May contain Parasites."

Yes, the game that has been locked away in the development labs of Capcom for the last few years has finally been unleashed on a public that is in many ways unprepared for what they will see, hear and experience. Many people never got on with the Resident Evil series in the first place, whether it was down to the clunky controls, limited ammunition or a general dislike for the horror genre, and even series stalwarts were beginning to get tired of the same old zombie formula. They've taken the watered down DNA and injected it with an invigorating shot of adrenalin, and as a result they've come up with the best game I've played in years.

There are many reasons why RE 4 is such a masterpiece. The first thing you will notice are the graphics - incredibly detailed, realistically lit and yet given a style of their own through the usage of sepia tones. If you've seen screenshots of the early village sections of the, you will have no doubt noticed just how brown everything looks, but fear not, later stages of the game have a much wider pallet of hues, including the blue-grey of the stone castle, the deep red of blood, and the bright orangey-yellows of a fireball coming straight at you.

Then there is the sound. Not long after starting the game you will start to associate certain noises with fear, and then panic. The snarl of a chainsaw, the shouting of the villagers in an alien tongue, creepy chanting, distancing snuffly breathing, and the relentless pounding of the sountrack that signals that something is out there, and it's coming for you. If you have a surround sound set-up you will hear the villagers (and other foes) behind you, or to the side. It's not uncommon to be fending off an angry mob of 6 or 7 people, and then hear a shrill scream and the angry rip of the chainsaw from behind. Of course, by then, it's too late, and your head is already rolling along the ground...

Next, there's the shear range of set pieces in the game and not knowing what is coming next. To spoil these would be mean spirited of me so let me just say that each and every chapter (all 19 of them) turns the tables on you in some way and it's up to you to instinctively try and get out of whatever trouble your in. These include some truly spectacular boss battles, many of which will see you get torn to pieces (sometimes literally) on your first try. But fear not, because although Resident Evil 4 is harsh and unrelenting in pace, it is also extremely fair.

Every time you enter a dangerous encounter, puzzle or set piece, there's a restart point, so you don't have to reload from the last time you saved a at typewriter like previous games in the series - you just try again. This gives you the freedom to experiment, trying new tactics until you get it right. In the first hour of the game, when you are still getting used to the controls, the pace, and the sheer number of enemies you have to face at any one time, you will most certainly die at least once. It's a harsh baptism into the world of RE:4, but don't give up, just try again, learn from your experience and adjust.

There are elements of RE:4 that you will recognise from other games and films. Again, without spoiling anything, most obvious of these are the codec conversations from the Metal Gear games and the Quick Time Events from Shenmue. Don't worry, the conversations aren't anywhere near as long and rambling as the ones in the MGS series - they usually don't take any longer than a minute at the most. The QTE's are far more dynamic then they ever were in Shenmue too - rather than occurring at prescripted moments, they are context sensitive. For example, if you shoot an enemie in the knee, he will fall down, and if you then close in an image of the A button will appear with "Kick" underneath. A quick press will deliver a swift roundhouse to the head, and if they've been sufficiently weakened already, the head might explode like an over ripe cantaloupe.

No game has demonstrated to the power of the Gamecube better than RE:4. I have counted at least 12 enemies coming at me at the same time with no slowdown at all, and gargantuan bosses. If the Gamecube has not performed as well as Nintendo has hoped, it's certainly not down to the capabilities of the machine itself (or the quality of the games for that matter). I'll save that debate for another time however, or I'll be here all week.

The game is also extremely replayable. The fact that enemies have "hit zones" and the game features realistic physics mean that no two battles every play out exactly the same way. Also, there is a selection of side games and sub quests, both hidden away within the main game and unlocked when you finish the game for the first time as well. I say first time, because you can use your save file to start again, with all the weapons and upgrades you gained during your first play through (or you could try the Professional difficulty).

Yes, I did say upgrades. You will encounter the rather shady looking (and sounding) merchants at various points through the game, often before a particularly nasty battle, and you can buy new weapons and upgrade old ones. There are many statistics that can be improved for each gun, including firepower, firing rate, bullet capacity and reload speed. Reloading can no longer be done from the safety of your inventory screen, it has to be done on the fly, which can lead to some very fraught moments as Leon thumbs some more shells into the chamber of your boomstick. Ammo itself is much easier to come by however, as many enemies drop it when they perish.

The other major addition to the series is Ashley, the daughter of the president, and the whole reason your in this mess in the first place. It's your job, as Leon S Kennedy from Resident Evil 2, to find and rescue he. You then have to protect her for the rest of the game. This sounds like it could be a major pain, doesn't it? It really isn't. She's intelligent enough to duck if you try and aim at enemies behind her, and you can leave her behind in safe locations while you fight. Be careful where you do leave her, however, as she can be carried off to certain doom while you're not looking (bringing back memories of Ico).

Now for some criticism. Although the new controls are a great improvement, they can still prove fiddly in the heat of battle. The laser sights are a great idea (and popping heads with a sniper rifle is extremely satisfying), but aiming still roots you to the spot same as it always has. There's also no ability to side step, but apparently the development team left this out on purpose to heighten the fear of being stabbed from the side. There is a 180 turn that you will use to get you out of many tricky situations, but all in all the controls still aren't perfect.

Then there's the hammy voice acting in cutscenes. I know, it wouldn't really seem like a Resident Evil game without all the overacted lines and ridiculous phrases, but they do undermine the atmosphere of the rest of the game at times.

These small things do very little to spoil the magnifence of the overall package however. It maintains a higher level of quality and fun then any other game I've played this year or last (including Halo 2, GTA San Andreas or Metroid Prime 2). You're never truly stumped, and you can always try again. Those of a nervous disposition should be wary however, as playing the game will inevitably make you on edge. I was very tempted to award Resident Evil 4 a 10, but after much careful consideration I have come to the conclusion that it deserves a 9.

Nevertheless, it remains an essential addition to any Gamecube owners collection, and it's well worth buying the console just to play it if you don't own one already.

9 out of 10.

Not your average Boy Scout camp fire.

Review: Starfox Adventures

Compared to some of Nintendo's other famous franchises, the Starfox series has had surprisingly few sequels over the years. Whereas the number of Zelda games is now in double figures, and the quantity of Mario games doesn't even bear thinking about, there have only been 3 games starring Fox McCloud and his crew (until February 14th, when the eagerly awaited Starfox Assault is released in the US).

Some of you may not have even heard of the series before. It originated on the SNES, with a game that was called Starwing in the PAL territories, and it was a first for Nintendo. In partnership with Argonaut (who recently went bankrupt), they designed the Super FX Chip, which enabled the aging 16-bit system to produce powerful 3D graphics (powerful for the time at least). Starfox was a "on rails" space shooter, with three different routes through the game, each trickier than the last.
You'd pilot your Arwing through varied locations such as Corneria, the mysterious Sector X, the ominous sounding Macbeth, and eventually end up on planet Venom for a showdown with the evil space monkey Andross. Your ship came equipped with lasers and smart bombs, and it could spin to avoid enemy fire as well as flip on its side to fit between small gaps. You were in constant contact with the rest of your team, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare and Slippy toad (and you frequently had to save them).

Years, later, Nintendo made Lylat Wars (or Starfox 64 if you lived in NTSC regions) for the Nintendo 64. Rather than a full sequel, it was really a remake of the original game, but it improved on it in many many ways. The graphics were greatly improved, and free roaming areas were adding alongside the familiar on rails levels. You also got to pilot the Landmaster tank in several of the levels, and this time the splitting path through the game depended on your performance in the previous stage.

Meanwhile, Rare were making quite a name for themselves on the N64 with brilliant games like Goldeneye, Diddy Kong Racing, Banjo Kazooie and Perfect Dark (among others). They started work on a game called Dinosaur Planet, which was set to feature an anthropomorphic female cat called Krystal. Somewhere along the line, it was decided that the game would be moved onto the Gamecube, and also that the Starfox license would be squeezed into it. As fate would have it, Rare's first Gamecube title would also be their last, as they signed a multibillion dollar deal to make games exclusively for Microsoft (which they haven't really delivered on yet). So, does Starfox Adventures do justice to the brand name, and considering it wasn't really designed to be a Starfox game initially, does Fox's presence feel out of place? That's what I'm here to tell you.

Let me just start off by saying that these are most definitely the most impressive graphics I have ever seen on the current generation of consoles (yes I have played, Halo 2, and Chronicles of Riddick, and Resident Evil 4, and I still prefer the graphics in Starfox Adventures). The detail, the beauty, the way that there's no loading times between one area and the next. The vibrant colours, the fantastic day/night cycle. I spent quite a bit of time just standing around in the first person view soaking up all the detail. Then there's Fox himself - this has got to be the best CGI fur this side of Monster's Inc! It's not just reserved for cutscenes either, his fur is that good all the way through the game. Granted, some of this is a personal choice, as some would prefer the dark, gritty, oppressive visuals of RE 4, or the cel-shaded technique used it Wind Waker, but personally, I thought the visual style in SFA was amazing.

The music is pretty damn good too. I completed the game nearly a week ago, yet the tunes are still going around in my head (some game soundtracks have been rather forgettable of late). Special mention has to go to the tunes in Thorntail Hollow, and Cape Claw, with the chanting chorus (it sounds kind of African in origin, but I couldn't say for sure). The familiar Starfox theme is also included in the game in many different guises, from the "New Item" jingle that plays when you pick something up for the first time, to the "Victory" anthem that plays when you return a spellstone to it's temple.

Voice work is generally solid throughout the game, but Slippy Toad is still as annoying as he always was (this at least, shows a degree of consistancy with the rest of the series), and sound effects in general sound authentic.

Now we come to the gameplay, and before I say anything else I should point out that Starfox Adventures is nothing like the other games in the series. It's closest rivals would have to be the modern 3D Zelda games, namely Wind Waker and The Ocarina of Time. The controls are extremely similar, as is the way that you obtain new items or level up your staff to get new powers, which in turn allows you to explore new areas. One new thing it does add to the gameplay though is Prince Tricky, a juvenile Triceratops (or EarthWalker, as they're known in the culture of Dinosaur Planet) who you have to team up with to solve many of the games puzzles. You can ask him to stand on a switch for example, or dig up items from defined spots on the ground.

Overall I'd say that Starfox Adventures is a better game than the Wind Waker, but it doesn't quite match up to the benchmark in this style of game, Ocarina of Time. Why? Well, it's a bit more challenging than WW, you don't have to spend half your time exploring the bloody ocean (although there is some backtracking) and I thought the dungeons were more believably integrated into the world than in the Zelda games.

However, at times you do notice it wasn't originally intended to be a Starfox game, especially due to the fact that the rest of team are relegated to giving out hints, maps and progress reports on the pause screen. There is the occasional Arwing mission as you travel from place to place but they don't have the depth of a true Starfox shooter and are almost impossible to fail.

From a value point of view, Starfox Adventures takes about 15-20 hours to complete and can be picked up brand new for £20 for preowned for about £12. That's not bad at all considering how much fun you will have playing the game, and it's the sort of game you might find yourself coming back to in a year or so's time (if you're anything like me).

So, as long as you know exactly what you're getting (i.e. a Zelda style adventure/puzzle game, not a space shooter) you should be satisfied with Starfox Adventures. If you've already completed Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker, and are looking for more of the same, then I strongly recommend buying this game. Rare's one and only Gamecube title is a gem, and a highly memorable experience. Let's hope Kameo, Conker Live & Uncut and any other projects they have in store maintain the same level of quality.

The Retro-Modern gaming score: 8 out of 10.

Review: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Anyone who's been visiting this site regularly since I started posting on here in September will probably have noticed that I've mentioned Paper Mario on more than one occasion. I discovered the original only about a year and a half ago and enjoyed every minute of it. It really made the most of the N64 hardware, with a unique graphical style, extremely fun play mechanics and lots and lots of humour. I remember shortly after I'd finished it there was a rumour that Nintendo were going to port it over to the GBA as Mario Advance 5, but that idea vanished and instead they made the amazing Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.

About half a year on from that, the first images of Paper Mario 2 arrived. It looked (and still looks) like the original but at a much higher resolution. All of the rather fuzzy looking sprites are now very clearly defined. Although the sequel shares quite a few similarities with the first game, it's by no means a simple rehash however as I shall attempt to explain now.

The story begins when Princess Peach, on holiday with her faithful 'shroom butler Toadsworth, sends a postcard to Mario saying that she bought a strange looking map from a shady looking merchant in Rogueport (you'd think the name of the place would give her a clue that it's not the safest of areas, but she's a bit of a ditz). No sooner has she bought said item and shipped it off to Mario for safe keeping, then she's kidnapped by the X-Nauts (evil scheming alien guys). Mario, being the clever chap he is, realises that she's probably got herself in trouble again and sets off to Rogueport to find out what's going on. When he gets there, he discovers Toadsworth in a state of distress, and soon the map leads them to the fable Thousand Year Door, which according to local legend holds back a demon with the power to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom. It's up to Mario and the assorted pals he meets along the way to travel the world and gather the seven Crystal Stars in order to gain the power to hold the demon, the X-Nauts and Bowser at bay.

The game plays in a similar fashion to the original. Firstly, when not in a town, you can see enemies wandering around. If you jump on them then you score a free hit before the main battle even begins, but if they hit you the same thing applies in reverse. Battles are turn-based affairs, but instead of just pressing the button and watching Mario & Co. attack, you get to participate in the form of action commands. These vary from holding the stick left and then letting go on the count of three for a hammer strike, to circling the stick and other motions. Correct timing scores extra hits, and action commands also work in defense as well. Then there are a variety of moves than you can use by equipping various badges and spending Flower Points (FP) in battle. The amount of badges you can equip are limited by your Badge Points (BP). Experience is this game takes the form of Star Points, and every time you earn 100 Star Point you earn a level. Then you have to decide whether to increase your Hit Points (HP), FP or BP.

This is all very similar to the way things worked on the N64, but the twist this time is that all the battles take place on a stage. Accurate timed hits and spectacular moves are more likely to impress the audience, which in turn leads to more people coming to watch next time and more power in your Star Meter. At the end of each chapter, you get another one of the Crystal Stars and another Star Power, and you can use these to help you out. Star Power include healing spells, earthquakes and sleep inducing moves, and each uses a certain amount of your meter. Finally, you meet a number of other characters on your travels, including a Goomba, a Ghost, and a Yoshi, who each get a turn before or after Mario and each have their own strengths. Yoshi, for example, is the only character that can harm certain enemies by swallowing them and spitting them out again. Outside of battle each of your companions has a special ability as well, such as Yosh's flutter jump, and this is usually the way you gain access to new areas.

There are also a view abilities you gain throughout the game from "cursed" black chests, such as the ability to turn into a plane, roll up into a tube or turn sidewise to fit between small gaps. If all this sounds rather complicated, you needn't worry as everything is explained very clearly as you go along and it's easy to use.

The game has a very witty translation that rivals Nintendo's hilarious english version of Mario & Luigi, and highlights of the story include prize fighting in the Glitz Pit as the Great Gonzalez, and breaking a curse that means that the residents of Twighlight Town turn into pigs everytime the bell in town square rings. After each main chapter there are interludes where you take control of Princess Peach and Bowser as you follow their side of story. Peach's sections are very entertaining as you creep around the X-Naut's base and are assisted by a computer who develops a crush on her after watching her naked in the shower (the perve!).

I know for a fact that cel shaded graphics are not everyone's cup of tea (just look at the fuss that Wind Waker caused) but personally I think the graphics in Paper Mario 2 are fantastic. They look liked a hand drawn pop-up booked, with walls of buildings folding down as you enter. The power of the Gamecube is put to the test on various occasions when 100's of sprites fill the screen at the same time.

There are some nice tunes as well, but it's not the most amazing game soundtrack to ever fill my ears. I particularly like the funked up remix of the original Mario theme that plays near Hooktail Castle at the start of the game. There are no voice overs in the game, and the usual Mario sound effects such as his jumping noises, the ching of coins and so forth are also all present and correct. So aurally Paper Mario 2 is functional at best, but at least nothing is particularly offensive to the ear.

From a lifespan point of view Paper Mario 2 is a much longer game than the original. As well as the main quest, which is likely to take to from between 25-30 hours, there are a whole range of sidequests that can push that time up to 40-50 hours. These include collecting info on all the enemies in the tattle log, finding all the badges, combining items and discovering new recipes, beating a second, harder version of the Glitz Pit, defeating the 100 level dungeon, playing mini games in the Casino and solving all the "Troubles". There is a message board in Rogueport where resident from all over the world post their problems for Mario to solve, and later ones can involve traipsing back and forth across the world several times. This is great news for completist who love to do every side quest in their RPG's but those who just want to get on with story needn't worry as they're completely optional.

So, this all adds up to one of the finest RPG's on the Gamecube (although there is some stiff competition in the forms of Tales of Symphonia, Baten Kaitos and my old favourite, Skies of Arcadia). It is undoubtedly one of my Top 10 games of 2004 and if you haven't bought a copy yet, I suggest you do so. It has more than enough game to keep you happy for weeks to come.

The RetroGaming Score: 9 out of 10

Tis The Season Part 4

Budget and preowned games

Welcome to the fourth part of my Christmas gaming round up. This time, I will be taking a brief look at the best budget games currently available for each system. Firstly, the budget titles. I will only be focusing on two per system and then I'll do a short list of the others, or we'll be here all day!

Gamecube

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Link's cel-shaded adventure is now available as one of the Player's Choice titles. It may not be the best Zelda game ever, being too easy, but it's still a fantastic experience and up there with the best the Gamecube has to offer.

Metroid Prime
Many would argue that MP is the best game available for the Gamecube, and I would have to agree. The sequel may beat it when it's released next Friday, but it won't have the advantage of being just £20. If you are a Cube owner and you haven't played it yet, then treat yourself.

Other Gamecube games under £20 that are worth checking out: Pikmin, Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine, Star Fox Adventures, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Soulcalibur 2, F-Zero GX, Skies of Arcadia Legends, Eternal Darkness, Wario Ware Inc. Mega Party Games. There are many more that I may have missed/forgotten, so if you know of a game that I haven't included here post a comment and let everyone know.

Best Gamecube Preowned Bargains
I'm using Gamestation as a benchmark here, but other stores may offer different (better?) prices.
Beyond Good & Evil - £14.99
Billy Hatcher - £12.99
Gladius - £6.99 - BARGAIN!
Ikaruga - £16.99
Super Monkey Ball - £9.99

Xbox

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
One of the best Star Wars games that LucasArts have ever produced and also an essential purchase for RPG fans. The main quest will last you an estimated 40 hours on your first play through, and the storyline and quests change depending on whether you travel down the path of light or towards the Dark Side. If you missed it first time around, pick it up as part of the Xbox Classics range now.

Halo
If you're new to Xbox, no doubt you will have heard all about Halo and the over-hyped Halo 2. In my humble opinion, the original is still the better of the two, being less glitchy, but the one player modes are really quite similar in both. If you have the money, I recommend you get both Halo's at the same time and go on an epic battle against the Covenant over the Christmas period.

Other Xbox games under £20 worth checking out: Project Gotham Racing 2, Top Spin, SSX 3, Dead or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Mashed.

Best Xbox preowned bargains
Again, these are based on Gamestation prices.

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon - £12.99
Colin McRae Rally 04 - £12.99
Fable - £24.99 (not quite a budget price, but pretty good)
Flatout - £19.99
Ford Racing 3 - £12.99
Panzer Dragoon Orta - £12.99
RalliSport Challenge 2 - £16.99
Secret Weapons Over Normandy - £12.99

PlayStation 2

I'm back, finally, to try and finish this post. It's turned into something of a behemoth. Anyway, PS2 budget games, here we go:

Jak 2: Renegade
There are way more PS2 budget titles to choose from, which makes selecting just two to focus on even harder. One of my favourite games earlier this year was Jak 2, which to the original protagonist, tortured him, gave him dark powers (and a voice) and then sent him into Haven City to do battle against (dum dum duhhh) sinister forces. What followed was an excellent blend of the platform action from the orignal Jak & Daxter, gunplay which was similar to Ratchet & Clank, and a huge living city to expore ala GTA. The gameplay is fun, and I don't agree with critics who said there's too much walking about (a jet bike is never far from you). The visuals are up there with the best PS2 titles and the voice acting is spot on.

Kingdom Hearts
You can't beat a good RPG, and is is one. Uber corporations Square and Disney joined forces to produce the stoy of Sora, a boy who wields a huge key as a sword, who has to band together with Donald Duck and Goofy in order to find out what happened to King Mickey and his friends Rikku and Kairi. There are plenty of familiar faces, from Alice, Tarzan and Hercules to, Aeris, Cloud and Sephiroth. This is truely a magical game, and is perfect for playing at Christmas time. Two sequels are on the way, one on the GBA and one on the PS2.

Other PS2 games under £20 worth checking out: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Ratchet & Clank 2, Burnout 2, Hitman 2, Zone of the Enders, SSX 3, Final Fantasy X.

Best PS2 preowned bargains
As before, these are Gamestation prices.

Battle Engine Aquila - £7.99
Beyond Good and Evil - £6.99 - BARGAIN!
Dancing Stage Fusion - £16.99
Drakan: The Ancients Gates - £7.99
Final Fantasy X-2 - £16.99
Ford Racing 3 - £12.99
Gladius - £7.99
Gradius V - £16.99
Legaia: Dual Saga - £12.99
Mashed - £16.99
Onimusha 2 - £7.99
Project Zero - £12.99
Rygar - £12.99
Shadow Hearts - £12.99
Summoner 2 - £4.99 - BARGAIN!
The Mark of Kri - £6.99 - BARGAIN!

So there you go. These are some seriously good prices for some seriously good games. If you've always envied Nintendo owners for having the Zelda series, then I urge you to try Beyond Good & Evil, as it's the closest your going to get. It has it's own original aspects though such as taking photographs of wildlife for money.

This is taking way too long. Once again, I'll be back soon with the GBA and PC sections.

Tis the Season Part 1

As most of you already know, the Christmas season and the months preceding it are the busiest time for the games industry. All the big releases (and many not so big) are squeezed into October, November and December, and all vie for the customers cash. If you haven't yet decided which game (or games, if you're lucky) you want for Christmas, then this multi part guide is here to help. I will go through what I consider are the five biggest releases on each format, starting today with my favourite console, the Nintendo Gamecube. These aren't in any order of preference, by the way. Later on I will also do a feature on the best looking games of next year.

5. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - 12/11/04
Okay, I've been going on and on about how good this game is recently, but believe me it does deserve all the praise. It's the perfect game for both RPG novices and experts alike, as well as children and adults. What's more, it just feels like the perfect Christmas game.

4. Tales of Symphonia - 19/11/04
Another epic RPG, this time from Namco. The real-time battles keep things lively and there's plenty to see and do. Your quest is likely to last around 60 hours, so there's enough to see you through many cold winter nights!

3. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - 26/11/04
Nintendo are really bring out the big guns this Christmas - quite literally in this case. The original was one of the only games to get a perfect rating the notoriously strict mags Edge and GAMEStm, and surely that says it all?

2. Prince of Persia: Warrior Within - 26/11/04
The original was overlooked when it was first released on the PS2, but fared much better when it eventually came out on the Gamecube and Xbox a few months later. This time Ubisoft aren't making the same mistake, and the sequel is being released across all formats at the same time. The game is much darker than the original - whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen.

1. Mortal Kombat: Deception - 05/11/04
The MK series hasn't really been up to much since Mortal Kombat 2 all those years ago, but the latest entry shows lots of promise - with a puzzle mode, kombat chess and an RPG thrown in. Is it in danger of becoming a jack of all trades, master of none? Time will tell.

Import Corner
For those of you with access to an NTSC Gamecube or a Freeloader disc, you can get your hands on Mario Tennis and Baten Kaitos from the USA before the year is out. Mario Tennis is looking much, much more exciting than the N64 version, and Baten Kaitos is Namco's other big RPG project this year.

That's it for the Cube

Mag Watch - NOM Issue 146

Nintendo Official Magazine #146 November 2004

This is a fantastic issue of NOM this month because it not only features my favourite game of the moment, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door on the front cover, but it also has an 8 page review of the game inside. I have to take issue with a few of their comments though. "Let's be honest, RPG's are rubbish" it begins. This guy goes on to spout such drivel that only goes to demonstrate that he hasn't played many, or at least not recently. Still, he did love PM, so I'll let him off.

Also, continuing their 3 part Mario special are reviews of Mario VS Donkey Kong and Super Mario Ball. I agreed with their criticism of Mario Ball, but I haven't played MVSDK long to enough to form a solid opinion about it.

Further into the mag, there's some launch details about the Nintendo DS, and an actual-size picture of it, which is interesting to see. Previews of note include Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap and Mario Tennis, while in the reviews section are Def Jam Fight for New York, Donkey Konga and little top-down racing game called Racing Gears Advance for the GBA which looks fantastic. It truely is the season for Nintendo fans to be jolly!

Rounding off the mag are a couple of very interesting previews of Resident Evil 4 and Yoshi's Universal Gravitation (which features a tilt sensor in the cartridge, a bit like Kirby's Tilt & Tumble a few years ago). Finally, there's the promise of a cover DVD next month, which I think is a great idea. While I will miss the free gifts that usually come with each issue, I must admit they were rarely of any real use, and a DVD full of clips of new games is better value overall.

As soon as I've finished reading it I will do another Mag Watch feature on the latest Games(tm) and then it will be time for Edge once again!

Hidden Gems Volume 4

Although it gained almost universal high praise on its release, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requeim was overlooked by a lot of people. This is because either they'd never heard of it, or they didn't have a Gamecube and they were of the (incorrect) opinion that it's a kids console.

I bought this game back when it was released and completed it three times in quick sucession. There are three different routes through the game depending of which dark god you align yourself with, and when you finally complete all three you are treated to an extended ending sequence.

The game itself finds itself rather awkwardly inserted into the Survival Horror genre alongside Resident Evil and Silent Hill, but it is quite a different beastie to those two. It's much easier to control for one thing, and the story is much better. It tells the tale of Alex Roivas, as she travels to her grandfather's mansion only to find that he has been brutally murdered. She decides to stay at the mansion and explore to try and piece together what might of happened to him, and you are taken through a series of playable flashbacks from throughout the ages covering her family tree.

Each chapter is like a self contained mini game, and you will be in Rome, France, Greece, England and many other places. The monsters your encounter, and the storyline in general, were heavily influenced by the works of Gothic short story writer H P Lovecraft, so expect words such as "chittering" and "gibbous" to be used a lot.

A lot of the frustrations that plague the genre were neatly circumvented by Eternal Darkness, such as the usually cheap difficulty level. Through the course of the game you learn various runes, which can be used to cast spells. As soon as you figure out how to cast the heal spell, and the one to increase you attack power, you should have no difficulty in getting through the game. This mean the game doesn't offer much of a challege, but the atmopshere and the puzzles mean it remains entertaining all the way through.

One other unique gameplay element of note are the Sanity Effects. If you sanit meter should run out (by seeing nasty monsters or getting hit by them), then various strange effects will occur. These include blood dripping down the screen, the game telling you that the console has had a fatal error, and many other unnerving events. Running out of sanity can be quite easily avoided if you stand around and wait for the bar to refill after each enemy encounter, but it's good fun finding all the different effects.

Eternal Darkness crops up fairly regularly in places like Gamestation, and I have seen second hand copies for as low as £7.99. If you don't usually get on with Survival Horror games, it's worth a look because of the slightly different approach it has to genre. If you are a fan, then this may be one of the best games you play this year.

The History of Paper Mario

To celebrate the impending release of Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year Door (October 11th in the US, and November 12th in the UK), I've decided to post a little recap on the series so far. If you have missed any of the games in the Mario RPG series, or heaven forbid you haven't played any of them at all, I highly recommend that you give them a go.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - SNES
Towards the end of the SNES' life, Nintendo teamed up with Squaresoft to produce this little masterpiece. The graphics were some of the best that Nintendo's 16-bit machine ever produced, and the game featured countless neat little touches and mini games (including Yoshi racing!). It was up to Mario to stop the evil Smithy gang from taking over the Mushroom Kingdom. SMRPG introduced the idea of timed hits, which have been used in every game in the series since and certainly help prevent the battles from coming monotonous. A correcly timed press of the A button would see Mario either score extra damage, or he would block some of the damage if he was being attacked. The game also featured some unique characters that haven't been seen in any Mario game before or since, including Mallow and Geno. A fantastic start to one of most enjoyable series ever!

Paper Mario - Nintendo 64
Paper Mario was unique (at the time, at least) because it used a pop-up book style visual effect. It was very succesful, and the game still looks fantastic today, if a little low-res next to Paper Mario 2. This time Intelligent Systems handled the developing duties (they've also made the brilliant Advance Wars games on the GBA), and they did a brilliant job. Like the other games in the series Paper Mario was a little on the easy side, but there was still more than enough game to keep you happily occupied for around 25 hours. The game also saw Mario team up with a strange bunch of characters, including a Parakoopa, a girl Boo and a Lakitu.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - GBA
Last year saw Luigi finally get his turn in the limelight. However, he still had to share it with Mario. The game used a rather tricky control scheme whereby you used one button for each brother, and often had to use both at once to jump over spikes, electricity or enemies. There were cameos from more recent Nintendo characters such as Professor E. Gadd, who had started up his own coffee shop business called StarBeanz. If you have a GBA, this is an essential purchase, and if you don't, it's worth getting one just to play this game. Better yet, the forthcoming Nintendo DS is backwards compatible, so you can still enjoy all your GBA games on it. This time the game was made by AlphaDream Corporation, who previously made the thematically similar game Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - Gamecube
So finally we come to the next, eagerly awaited installment of the Mario RPG series. Additions to the formula this time include a audience mode. Each time you enter a battle, you will be performing on stage. The better you do and the more spectacular you are the more audience members there will be, and if they are really impressed they will throw beneficial items to you such as mushrooms. However, if you play badly they will throw rotten fruit and other nasty things at you, so you'd better watch your step! The graphics take the style of the N64 original and up the resolution, which makes them amazing to behold. The power of the Gamecube also allows hundred of enemies to be on screen at the same time, which Mario can then bash with his trusty hammer. Intelligent Systems are developing this game once again.

So there you have it. One other thing I should mention is that all the games in the series up to now have featured some hilarious dialogue - the script in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was particularly well translated.

So don't delay, go out and preorder your copy of Paper Mario 2 today!