Old School Productions:Game reviews
Bust-A-Move Rhythm and Dance Action
If you`re a dancer or have any kind of rhythm you`ll love this game!! Even if you don`t have any rhythm (like some of the OSP and AnimeXtreme members) this game is still addicting and after playing the game for about an hour, you`ll have the rhythm you`ve been looking for all your life..well...maybe not but you`ll love the game regardless.The game is called Bust A Move, no it`s that Bubble Bobble game. It`s a dance competition game. It`s been compared to Parrapa the Rappa, but Bust A Move is in a class all it`s own.
One of the best features of the game is how true-to-form the dancers are. I used to be in dancing (many, many moons ago), and I can honestly say that the people at Enix know their stuff well!
The other great feature is that you can go head-to-head in 2 player mode.
You have 10 players to choose from at first, each with their own style of dancing. Players are:
Heat , Strike(Who looks a little too much like S. Roman), Kelly, Pinky, Shorty, Hiro-Kun(Saturday Night Fever!!), Kitty-N, Gas-O, Frida, and Hamm (bares a striking resemblance to yours truly).
There are also 4 hidden characters:
Capoeira, Columbo, Burger Dog, and ROBO-Z(the HUGE boss character).
The characters in the game move at 60 frames per second, which makes for smooth moves throughout the game.
The object of the game is to make your character dance to the beat. On the screen you`ll see a bar with commands for your directional pad and either the "X" or "O" button. You have to do the d-pad command within a 4 beat measure and then on the 4th beat press whatever button is on the bar at that time.-EXAMPLE: The bar will have a command like-UP UP RIGHT X-On the 4th beat hit the X button. But once you get the beat down for a certain stage, dont think the rest`ll be that easy.
Each stage has a different song with different speeds and tempos. Some songs have moments of silence and off beats to distract your timing. Winning is determined by of course how many times you screw up-or DONT screw up that is. Also it depends on if the camera is positioned on you through most of the match and more importantly at the end of the match. Bust-A-Move will be coming to the U.S later this year under a new name("Bust-A-Groove"-not too shabby) and different music.
-"BustaRyons"
DragonBall Final Bout
Here we are with Bandai's latest addition to the DragonBall series of fighting games(and they say SF has too many). The difference is that this one is coming to the US, and it's polygon based. Bandai has churned out their usual hunk of junk. The characters move very slowly and jerky. Execution of moves is slow. As usual, the game centers around who can kame-hame-ha the other guy first and bang buttons fast enough(though this does sum up the whole DB series in a nutshell). If only Bandai could put some effort into a DB title, they could have an absolutely fantastic game. Bandai, give this one to Namco, let them run amok with it and see what you get(and in the meantime, give them Macross and Gundam, Mmmm Macross w/Ace Combat 2 engine). I bet you'll turn out a game that had as good graphics as Soul Edge with the originality of Psychic Force and the usual Namco charm, plus a beautiful CG opening(Though the opening is the best part of the game). Well, Bandai won't change the crap mill, so two thumbs down to this stinker.
Not all OSP members feel this way, maybe they'll post their own reveiw, to prove me wrong...-Cerebus
Chris R's rebuttal
Because I`m the new guy in the group,I dont wanna go ballistic on the first
review that "Final Bout" got but as this being the first Dragonball game I`ve
ever played..I LOVED IT!!!! This game is a MUST for any DragonBall fan.If you
like the fighting in the TV series and movies,you`ll absolutely go crazy for
it.
It plays just like the anime,the polygon characters are done very well.
The 2 things I like the most about Final Bout is fighting in the air, and
the tug of war with Kamehameha`s or Big Bang Attack or...(you get the
idea).That is something truly unique in fighting games.S.Roman and Chris P.
know how much I love this game.I only have a couple of complaints,do we have
enough Son Goku`s or what?
Like S.Roman,I would have liked to see a few more characters like..Radditz,or
Pikehan or that Chicken guy from the last DBZ episode(just kidding). But
really,I would have been happy with more than just 1 Son Gohan character,they
should have had one of the young Gohan`s or Chibi Trunks and Goten would have
been cool.
Bottom line:Get the game it`s worth every penny.When you get it, use Son
Gohan.
See ya at Regional 3!
-Chris"Gohan"Ryons
S.Roman's semi-rebuttal to the above commentary
First of all, I can attest to having played close to two-thirds of the existing DBZ games in circulation. With that bountiful selection in mind, I can safely say this is one of the better DBZ-inspired fighters in recent memory. It certainly attones for the sloppy experiment that Legends(PSX) was. My compliments to Bandai for faithful polygonal versions of characters that have seen platforms ranging from the Arcade to the super-unseen Playdia. On top of that, a majority of the moves
executed are lifted accurately from the manga/TV series. What I can best describe as utilitarian backgrounds grace this soft. Music is more than adequate, once again making reparations for
the critical blunder Legends' tunes.
My only real complaints are after-taste based in nature. Case in point: I DO realize the significance of the Super Saiyajin theme that's been running since '91, but can we see some diversity in the hidden characters, for Christ's sake?! Look at how many variants there are playable for Goku alone. I'm assuming
I may never witness a DBZ game with Pike, Bojack's crew or even some of the much maligned jinzo ningen(androids) if Bandai maintains their pro-Saiyan track record. At least give Kaoishin
a run for the money...
Reiterating what I hope will be the standard(eventually),
this game really could use some form of sidestep. And to really
nitpick, how about adding Kai-oh-sama's gravity room from the Cell Game episodes for some tense, 3-D action?? That is one stage
I would pay to see drafted.
Well, that just about wraps up my opinion(for now), so please do yourself a favor and pick this up as a solid diversion.
And get a couple of friends for the tournament mode while you're
at it! It's just a shame we have to wait a few more weeks for Regional 3, by then everyone will simply resort to kamehameha-ing
their opponents into oblivion...
-S. Roman
Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha
Sorry, wrote this awhile ago and forgot to upload it
Street Fighter EX+Alpha is Arikia's noble experiment of a 3-D SF, and it succeeds fantastically. From the smooth 60FPS models, to the horde of new characters, this game should have been named SFIII. The new fighting styles of people like D.Dark and Hokuto add fresh blood to the tired SFII genre. Old characters have new tricks,(Ryu and Ken have to preform EACH spin of their hurricane kick) and have had makeovers. Showing up in the special home version are Sakura and Dhalsim(Why do they keep giving us Zangief and Dhalsim? How about Blanka or Vega(Balrog)? Anyway, the game is really the best SF game out there for 32-bit(though they're all great) buy it, you won't be sorry.
-Cerebus
Time Crisis
Well, we really can't claim, arcade perfect with Namco's
latest masterpiece, but it comes darn close. The GunCon is all
the promised, delivering the first accurate light gun to a home
platform. As expected, no cool force feedback *kachunk* feature,
but oh well. The only complaint is the poor positioning of the
duck button, but you just have to get used to sliding your hand
quickly. The graphics are slightly grainy, but no big deal because
the game runs nice and fast, amazing for a System 22 conversion.
I only played for a couple minutes, so this is the best review
I can give at this time. it is definatly on my purchase list
because it's one of the best gun games of all time. Recommended.Cerebus
Starfox 64
Starfox 64 is the latest upgrade for Nintendo's next-gen system.
But is it any good? Well, the much touted Rumble Pack is nothing
more than a slight gimmick(but still neat). It's kinda fun feeling
the throb of the thrusters as you shift into turbo(Go Power Rangers
Turbo Go!)New lock on missles add to the mix, and the 4 player mode
is a blast! The analog control isn't that great though, it's not really
much different than a pad in terms of movement. Other than that, it's
a really great game-Cerebus
Tobal 2
Tobal 2 is definetely an improvement over 1. With enlarged nicely
shaded characters, as well as Tekken 2 type air juggles and fireballs,
Tobal 2 rocks!. The control is still a little slow, but the sheer variety
and strategy are great. Fireballs take off about 1/8 of your life for a normal one,
but if you charge it enough, you can lose almost all your life. The light
sourcing is particularly impressive on these attacks. New characters include
a guy who fights with monkey style(the only one I saw, and beat his butt with
Chuji). Tobal 2 is yet another masterpiece from Square, what else can we expect?-Cerebus