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Monster Rancher (PS)
by Secre During one of my periods of unemployment and with far too much time on my hands I became re-addicted to one of my childhood favourites. I did actually write this review then but somewhere along the lines it got lost in one of my many, many notebooks and it's only re-surfaced now. Before I start this review I must point out that this game ... was first released in 1997, which would have made me about nine years old when we first got the game. How many games in the world can successfully grip both a nine year old and a twenty two year old? My guess would be that there aren't a lot, but Monster Rancher can and successfully has! So, what is it? Well, Monster Rancher in the EU version is actually Monster Rancher 2 as far as the Japanese and American public are concerned as we never got the original Monster Rancher game. The basic purpose of the game is that you raise a series of monsters in order to enter them in fighting tournaments and the higher you get your monster in the tournaments, the higher level both you and your monster become. This means that you have to train the monsters in set stats like power, intelligence, skill and speed whilst teaching it new moves to fully take advantage of its fighting style. There are two types of tournament that you can take part in, the first is the cash flow fights which you gain large amounts of money or items allowing to you to do more expensive training or buy expensive items. The second are the official IMA fights in which you are fighting to move your monster up in rank allowing you to fight and gain more powerful monsters. So far this probably sounds a lot like I'm describing a Pokemon game, and I suppose Monster Rancher does have definite similarities to this worldwide craze. But there are also some very important differences; first of all it is far more based on your monsters loyalty to you and your training style. With few loyalty points it will fool around in battle and in general be an annoying little brat. Secondly, you have far more choice on what attributes you want to train, as you can only train one skill per game week and as the game does not reward well rounded monsters you are best advised to pick and chose what you want. The third difference is that if you push your monster too hard it will get injured, run away or play truant and in addition no matter how well you train it and treat it, it will die. All of the monsters have a life span of between 3 and 4 game years, although some of the smaller and more fragile monsters have much shorter life spans. These time constraints make the time you spent with your monster precious and you need to use it as effectively as possible. So, how do you get monsters? Well, there are three ways to do this. The first is the simplest, all you need to do is pick up a basic monster at the market, but be aware that it will be weak and not get you very far in the tournaments. It's ok for a starter to get you a little bit of money to begin with, but it won't get you very far. The second way is probably the over-riding genius of the game and one of the big reasons why it is such a fantastic game. This is called the shrine, and the basic premise of it is that you put a CD-rom into the playstation instead of the playstation game whilst at the shrine and it is read to create a new monster. Each CD creates a different monster which means that if you so wished you could probably play until the day you die. This is one of the best aspects I have ever seen in a game, and I wish that it could be incorporated into other games. The third way you can gain new monsters is by using the lab to breed two monsters together. When you pick the two monsters that you want to breed you are shown a list of monsters that they could merge into and the percentage chances of you managing to breed that monster. This is also a successful way of creating new monsters because skills, techniques and stats are also bred onto the new monster creating a much stronger second and third generation monsters. Controls The controls for the game are very simple and very easy to pick up, this is true of all the elements of the game including the battling. In battle you simply use the directional buttons to move forwards and backwards which will bring you in and out of range of certain attacks. This counts for both your moves and your opponents moves as there are four ranges of moves that you can use and to fully use the battling capabilities you need to learn moves from each range. But the basics are that it is X to attack, square to change the move that you have on a specific range and R to scroll across your ranges - you can't get more simples than that really! Graphics At this point I will remind you once again that this is an early PS1 game and so it would be unrealistic to expect the kind of graphics that you will see on the latest PS3 games. The world of computers has moved on quite dramatically in 14 years as I'm sure you're all aware! That said, the graphics aren't bad. They aren't pixellated and there is a fair attempt at 2D. But probably more importantly, they are cute and you can tell that this was one of the over-riding aims; the monsters are meant to cute, even down to the way in which they interact with you, and this has been achieved. In many ways the graphics style reminds me a lot of Nintendo's classic style, insofar as they are not meant to be realistic but instead are created with the aim of being endearing. Sound Track Whether you like the sound track or not really does appear to be a matter of opinion as the music is simple and repetitive with different tracks for different events. Now, personally I like the music, which in itself is fairly rare as most computer game music drives me insane and causes me to compulsively reach for the mute button! However, several other people including my brothers girlfriend have been driven insane by the music and have said that it makes them want to go on a mad killing spree. My response I have found this game to be as entertaining and as addictive as it was when I first got it at the tender age of nine! During my period of unemployment (to which I am now looking back wistfully), I managed to waste hours (and probably entire days) of my life on it, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it! And like any really good computer game it has ensured that both me and my brother have yelled and sworn fluently at the screen when things didn't quite go our way, on several occasions I have been screaming at the computer on behalf of my brother...who himself is swearing profusely enough to make a trooper blush. We have by no means reached the highest thresholds of the game; in fact we've only reached A level because my brother drugged his monster to the high heavens to increase his accuracy...which has the side effect of shortening its life. There are however, a couple of downsides to the game. The biggest issue must be the sheer amount of glitches in the game. This isn't just a problem with our copy as we have bought several copies thinking that this was the reason, but after doing a small amount of internet research I've found that this is a common problem that many people have had with this game. Due to this we have found that it is a very good idea to save at least once every game month, before every tournament and before any expensive training exercise. If you don't do this then it goes beyond exasperating and you are running the risk of destroying your computer or screen due to the fact that you have thrown the remote in a fit of temper after losing a game years' worth of data! My second niggle is probably more die to my bad luck and general bitterness, but every move in the battles has a percentage chance of hitting and it appears that the game massively favours the computer opponents in this as I will miss a 90% move and the computer will hit a 5% move. Alternatively, the game hates me and loves itself. I hate random number generators! Conclusion This is a fantastic game but you do need to save often and be prepared to lose a fair percentage of your life to this surprising addictive game! In addition; if you are looking to get a copy of this new you are going to be in for one heck of a struggle. Even looking for it second hand the prices range from between £15.99 and £42 on Amazon at time of writing. It's not going to come cheap, but I wouldn't regret paying the money! Read the complete review |
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Colony Wars 2 Vengence (PS)
by Bullydc1 CW Vengeance is the sequel to colony wars released in 1998 by the same developers psygnosis. GAMEPLAY AND PLOT This time you play Mertens, an imperial Navy pilot. After one of the many endings in colony wars the league sealed shut the worm hole leading into the empires home system , sol. The remaining forces left in sol, ... depleted and starving began to turn on themselves in a civil war, fighting over the last resources available. This is where the first game finishs and this one starts. One man though, unites the survivors- Kron. A generation later and Mertens is a space pilot fighting for Kron as the imperial survivors start their trip out of sol. There are less missions then CW1 but this game still has the same branching plotlines. This time there are 6 endings ranging from Kron relaising his victory over the league, but there are many more bad endings which in end up with you in prison, or waiting to be executed by the league, whilst Kron is paraded and torture as a war criminal. This game is more difficult to play then the first, the layout on the HUD is the same, same 3D radar, same hull/ laser controls on the left and the enemies same stats on the right. As mertens you a abit brain washed seeing the empires previous ways as civilising and reaching out, not domineering. With most of the missions you are escorting and assualting enemy position and mines etc. But in the 'good' endings you find out that Kron used to be a league pilot, but he disagreed with the leagues leader 'the father' and the was sacrificed in the last mission against the empire, but Kron survived and the whole story you find out, has been about him getting his revenge (this is the cut scene you see at the beginning where the starship is falling to earth. CW2 also has the introduction of an enemy 'ace' the widowmaker, who flies an incredibly fast ship and causes you all sorts of problems. You still get the sense of speed wiht the moving stars and you can afterburn boost across the battle zone now rather then just keep flying at regular speed which can take ages if youve gone really far out. You can upgrade the speed , weapons and handling of your craft and the games supports the dual shock rumbler pack. SOUNDTRACKS/S-EFFECTS The laser effects sound much better, as does the in game commentary, which didnt annoy me half as much. The best thing is the score. When you see the different endings you get proper clips from real symphonies like beethoven and mozart. GRAPHICS Again vastly improved and amazing to think it was just a year later ! Planets now look more detailed, rather than balls of colour, ships are still renedered a bit sloppily.But the weapons effects are better too. SHIPS & WEAPONS You get a choice of 5 craft called things like Hex and the Diablo, and you can play one land mission craft called the spook which isnt myuch fun really. All the anti hull/ shield and sensor lasers are here, the scatter laser and tracker beam and this game allows you to upgrade weapons so they are more powerful. Read the complete review |
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Rayman (PS)
by ooomdmdooo This was my very first game on my play station. It is also the game that made me fall in love with gaming i general. In the game , you play as the character Rayman (The person on the front of the box) and you have to battle your way through 60 levels which become harder as you progress through the game. The controls are quite ... simply but I wouldn't recommended this game for someone under 6 years. You play as Rayman on his quest to defeat Mr. Dark. (The main bad guy). On your quest , you have to collect tings which give you more lives and various other power ups. Power punch , extra health etc. As Rayman chases Mr. Dark he come across many different 2D lands and terrain. These vary from a jungle all the way to a paint world where you have to make your way across rubbers covered in ink and spiky pins! The music also changes from area to area which really sets the mood and makes you gaming experience more exciting! You can save your game two ways which is really useful. You can save by using a standered memory card or by a password. When you complete a level you are given a password so that you can get to that level again after you have finished playing. Also , if you get stuck on a level , you can search for the passwords online! The graphics are excellent for a game this old ! They are bright , colorful and just make the game a better experience! Rayman's animations and voice help to make the game better and more fun for all the family as well ! Overall , an excellent game , perfect for younger gamers and older gamers alike! Will bring countless hours of fun! Read the complete review |
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1 review Playstation Game / Genre: Simulation |
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1 review Playstation Game / Genre: Simulation |
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