07/01/00

Brad's Quickies: July

Square continues its relentless assault on my social life with Legend of Mana, and Sony delivers a quality time-burner with Legend of Dragoon in another release-packed week.

 Legend of Mana – Playstation – Square/EA. This one really snuck up on me. I had been waiting for a sequel to Secret of Mana for years, but Square’s nonstop release schedule almost made me overlook it. So how did it turn out? Pretty damn good. Many of the things that made Secret of Mana great have returned, including the multi-player and action-based gameplay. It’s still 2-D, with some of the best hand-drawn art you’re ever gonna see. The tunes are pretty good, as well. Unfortunately, the innovative "ring" menu system from the first game has been dropped in favor of another of Square’s increasingly cumbersome set-ups. Also, the game seems to be more of a series of mini-quests than a full story, which some may not like. However, the "Land Make" system, by which you decide where each section of the game world will be located, as well as the overall quality of the title, counteract any of its faults. If you’re a fan of the original, or action RPG’s in general, pick it up.

Legend of Dragoon – Playstation – SCEA. Touted as Sony’s answer to Final Fantasy, this title actually comes close to fulfilling that claim. Everything in this game looks like it was ripped from FFVII-VIII, but it still manages to seem original. The battle graphics and pre-rendered backgrounds are all very nice, but they fall just short of FF’s excellence. Ditto with the soundtrack and spell effects. However, where this game excels is the story and battle system. The story has been very well done, with a surprisingly competent translation, considering Sony’s past hack-jobs. It stays pretty coherent throughout, unlike most of the Final Fantasy storylines. The battle system takes the extra punch of Squall’s Gunblade one step further. Almost every character can do "Additions", which involve hitting a button according to the onscreen prompts, and up to seven hits are possible. Striving to complete Additions really helps to make the random battles interesting. Even the character designs come off really well. They are all pretty cool, and never come across as weird (Cait Sith, anyone?). This is definitely one of the best games of the year, so if you’re looking for an RPG, you won’t go wrong with Legend of Dragoon.

Space Channel 5 – Dreamcast – Sega. We all drooled over this one at E3, so I was dying to play it all the way through. The verdict? I still love this game. It just oozes style from every pore with its neo-retro look. The music rocks, and the choreography is just plain groovy. This also has one of Sega’s best translations ever (although that’s not saying much), as anime diva Apollo Smile has become of the voice of Ulala. The audio cues, as opposed to the onscreen meters seen in most games of this style, are very intuitive, as well. If this game has a shortcoming, it’s that it is, indeed, somewhat short. There are only four levels, plus one bonus level, but they are pretty lengthy. Anyone with a bit of skill will still be able to finish this one in a few hours, but it’s so good that I doubt anyone will mind playing through multiple times. If you dig cool chicks and tunes, and don’t mind the glorified "Simon Says" gameplay, then you’ll find a lot to like in Space Channel 5.

Gauntlet Legends – Dreamcast – Midway. After the truly horrendous versions on N64 and Playstation, I figured that this game would follow its brethren into oblivion. In all actuality, though, it turned out pretty good. The visuals are as good as, if not better than, the arcade original, with sharp backgrounds and high-poly characters and enemies. There are a lot of enemies onscreen, too, with no slowdown whatsoever. The control is tight, and works well with the DC pad. There are also extra characters and levels not seen in any other version. Unfortunately, the gameplay gets really old after about 10 minutes. After all, all you do is mow down wave after wave of enemies, destroy the generator, and repeat. Sure, you can raise levels and snag items, but that does little to bolster the gameplay. If you don’t mind lots of mindless action with pretty graphics, then pick it up. Those looking for depth, however, should look elsewhere.

Starcraft 64 – Nintendo64 – Nintendo. Ugh. I knew when I first saw this game at last year’s E3 that it was gonna suck. What we have here is a PC game ported to a console that is ill-equipped to handle the translation. The resolution is so low that it’s nigh-impossible to discern one unit from another. The analog stick is a sad replacement for a mouse, and cramming all of the PC game’s commands onto the N64 controller just doesn’t work. What’s really sad, however, is the two-player: It’s split screen! Yeah, it’s pretty hard to figure out what your buddy’s doing when you can just look over at the other side of the screen. This is a game that should never have happened, so let us never speak of it again.

Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol – Playstation – Take Two. You know, when a game costs 10 bucks, I don’t expect much. I do, however, expect more than this. Sure, the visuals are first generation at best, and there’s no sound to speak of, but, hey, it’s only ten bucks, right? But, when you throw in some of the worst gameplay I have ever seen (and I have seen some BAD stuff, kids), this game isn’t worth the disc it’s printed on. The control is sluggish in the extreme, and your Rangers move like they’re seriously handicapped. The damage caused by weapons seems to be completely arbitrary; you can take out a guy at 200 yards with a pistol shot to the foot, but an entire clip from a machine gun at close range has little effect. There also seem to be quite a few "magic bullets" flying around, as you’ll get hit by seemingly invisible enemies no matter where you are, whether you’re lying behind a hill or standing behind a wall. On top of all that, the missions give you very little direction, and it’s very easy to run around having no idea what your objective is. This game is just plain bad, and should be avoided at all costs.

Street Fighter EX2 Plus Alpha – Playstation – Capcom. This is one series that should never have gone to 3-D. The controls just don’t work well in 3-D, and they didn’t work well with the Playstation controller to begin with. The visuals are cleaned up a bit from the first game, but they still look pretty bad. The characters animate fairly smoothly, but they are very blocky, and the arenas are also pretty bland. The new characters are lame, as well. Throw in some of the worst loading times I have ever seen and slow-as-molasses gameplay, and you’ve got a craptacular fighting game. Hell, even the Playstation2 version of this game sucks. This series needs to go away forever.

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