PSM and GMR review scores

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

GMR

THUG (all systems) -10
Karaoke Revolution (PS2) -8
Tak & the Power of Juju (PS2)- 7
Rogue Squadron III (GC)- 7
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (PS2)- 9
Amped 2 (Xbox)- 7
Kill.Switch (PS2/Xbox)- 8
Castlevania:LoI (PS2)- 8
WWE Raw 2 (Xbox)- 5
Voodoo Vince (Xbox)- 7
Scooby Doo (Xbox)- 6
Monster Trucks 4x4 (PS2/GC)- 4
Links 2004 (Xbox)- 7
ESPN NBA Basketball (PS2/Xbox)- 8
NBA Live 2004 (All)- 8
NBA Jam (PS2/Xbox)- 6
Gladius (All)- 7
SWAT: Global Strike Team (PS2/Xbox)- 6
Bloody Roar 4 (PS2)- 4
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (PS2/Xbox)- 5
Fifa 2004 (All)- 8
Harry Potter: Quiddich World Cup (All)- 8
Disney Party (GC)- 2
Go Go Hypergrind (GC)-6
Top Spin (Xbox)- 9
Final Fantasy X-2 (PS2)- 9
TMNT (All)- 6
Secret Weapons Over Normandy (PS2/Xbox)- 8
Metal Arms (All)- 7
Socom II (PS2)- 9
Rogue Ops (All)- 6
Kirby Ai Ride (GC)- 4
Beyond Good & Evil (All)- 9
Sphinx (All)- 8
XIII (All)- 6


PSM

SSX3- 10
ESPN NBA Basketball- 9
Warhammer 40,000- 9
FIfa Soccer 2004- 8
NBA Jam- 6
NBA Live 2004- 8
Karaoke Revolution- 8
Kill.Switch- 6
Gladius- 8
Metal Arms- 8
SWAT: Globad Strike Team- 8
Smackdown: Hre Comes the Pain- 9
Castlevania- 9
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando- 10
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu- 6
Crouching Tiger: Hidden Dragon- 7
RoadKill- 7
Rogue Ops- 6
Time Crisis 3- 9
Xgra- 6
Socom II- 10

[Glockstar]

<div class=\"smallfont\">GMR

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (PS2)- 9
Metal Arms (All)- 7


PSM

Metal Arms- 8
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando- 10
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Now how did I know that the pro's were going to love R&C2? :rolleyes:

Well, after playing the demo, I'm not so enthused about the game anymore, myself.

The camera bugged me.
What's really weird about it bugging me is that it works almost exactly like it did in the first R&C - which I loved. So why does it bother me now? Well, I'm not sure exactly. I think that it's because I thought it was quite an innovation in the first game to be able to exercise such control over the camera. So much so that I overlooked it's... faults. What particularly bugs me is that it frequently swings out of position, and worse... the mother scratchin' thing frequently gets too dang close! It's like, 'Back off, already... I... can't... see'! After cursing the camera in the R&C2 demo, I went back to R&C1 to try to see where they went wrong - only to discover that R&C1's camera was messed up in nearly the exact same way! Who knew?!? :eek:

But where I said that I got over it with the first game, I'm not so ready this time around. I'd rather try something new... so I'm going with Metal Arms:GITS instead (and gonna transfer my $10 reservation/deposit on R&C:GC over to Ninja Gaiden)! :D

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

The camera in the first R&C annoyed me as well. It wasn't bad as Dead to Rights' camera, but at times it didn't want to do what it was supposed to. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I like Castlevania: There's no worrying about the camera, since it is fixed and doesn't present a problem while playing.

[Cuddly Knife]

<div class=\"smallfont\">Maybe that's one of the reasons why I like Castlevania: There's no worrying about the camera, since it is fixed and doesn't present a problem while playing.</div>
I don't know about that one.....yet. I played Castlevania on the new OPM demo, and I thought that the fixed camera was more of a hassle then a convenience. Why? Well, sometimes when I was fighting a number of enemies, some of them would be off of the screen just a little bit, but enough to where I couldn't see them winding up for their attacks. Also, when I first fought that rock-monster, if I tried to circle him, he would go out of view, and I couldn't see when he was going to throw his hand-chain dealy. It would've been much easier if I could at least rotate around to see what I needed to see. They have extra buttons that aren't used, so they could've done something with that. At least we could've had the option to have a fixed camera or not. But then again, I'm biased, because I was really hoping that this series would've stayed 2-D. Somehow, I fell that it would've been more original, especially with all the clones these days.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I probably don't have that problem since I rarely stand still while fighting. Some games need a manual camera, but this one did a good job, IMO.

If they made this Castlevania in 2-D, I probably wouldn't have picked it up.

[Cuddly Knife]

<div class=\"smallfont\">
If they made this Castlevania in 2-D, I probably wouldn't have picked it up.</div>
Why? Have you not played any of the older Castlevanias?

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

<div class=\"smallfont\"><div class=\"smallfont\"></div>
Why? Have you not played any of the older Castlevanias?</div>

I sure have. I have Castlevanias 1-3, and my favorite is Symphony of the Night. But considering the consoles that are out now, it would have been a waste to not try a good 3D Castlevania that stuck with the main theme (unlike those clunky N64 titles). I can see if it was a new franchise from a company struggling for a hit (Capcom), but Castlevania has been around and 2D-ed to death. It was time to move the franchise forward, and I think they did a great job of doing that.

[Cuddly Knife]

<div class=\"smallfont\"><div class=\"smallfont\"></div>

I sure have. I have Castlevanias 1-3, and my favorite is Symphony of the Night. But considering the consoles that are out now, it would have been a waste to not try a good 3D Castlevania that stuck with the main theme (unlike those clunky N64 titles). I can see if it was a new franchise from a company struggling for a hit (Capcom), but Castlevania has been around and 2D-ed to death. It was time to move the franchise forward, and I think they did a great job of doing that.</div>
I think making a killer 2.5-D 'vania would've been a much fresher approach than 3-D, but it might be because I'm more into the old-school way of gaming. It just seems like 3-D has been done to death, and other than new-ish moves for the main characters, the stage layouts are all too similar.
Contra is a good example on how 2-D games should sometimes remain 2-D. Every Contra up to and including the ones on the SNES and Genesis were and still are killer games, but then they made Legacy of War(?) for the PS1 and that sucked ass. It was an overhead view game. Every 'vania game up to and including SotN was in 2-D and they rocked hard(especially Super Castlevania IV) but now they have the new one in an almost 3-D overhead view looking style, and that makes me feel a little weary about how much fun it could actually be. I just feel like I've played it all before.