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Okay, here are my 2 reviews of Red Faction and Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. In my opinion, these 2 games are probably the best out on PS2, and also probably the best in their genre (GT3 definitely.)
Gran Turismo 3:
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a car racing game! Sorry about that, but I get very excited when I think about Gran Turismo 3, as it’s not just the real driving simulator, it’s the real driving stimulator!
So? You ask, what’s so good about 6 cars speeding around a couple of miles of tarmac? Or what’s so great about 2 rally cars racing it off on a couple of miles of dirt? Well, I plan to answer those questions, and just for you, give some extra info on what makes Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, such a special game.
Well, where should I start? With the gorgeous graphics? The easy and enjoyable gameplay!? The amazing length of the game!?!? First, I think I’ll tell you the basic idea of the game. In the main single player mode-Gran Turismo mode, as it’s so ‘originally’ named, you are given a garage, and 18,000 credits. The main aim of the game is to acquire your driving licenses, win as many races from the 5 leagues as possible while collecting as much money and as many cars as you can along the way. There are 2 different ways of getting cars-you can just buy them from all the different companies across the world, or you can win them by coming first in a specified series of races, or as many would like to call it, a championship.
But you must play the game wisely. Try to complete the beginner league before going onto amateur, as you’ll end up with a load of good cars that will either make all your races in beginner totally and utterly dull (for instance, I won each race in the 4 Wheel-Drive championship on beginner with my Tickford Falcon XR7 Race Car by over 30 seconds,) or most of them will not be legible for the races you must win to complete GT3.
There are many other little options that will enhance your experience. Car washing, testing, choosing tyres and of course, tuning (improving) the performance of your car are all great features, and are what make GT3 a class above the others. There’s a wide selection of car manufacturers to choose your vehicle from. Whether it’s a normal hatchback, a Speedster, an especially-designed sports car, a rally vehicle or a monster like the Escudo Pikes Peak Version, they’re all there-over 150 of them. And unlike GT2, you will need most of these cars. All of them have been created perfectly, down to the tiniest of sponsors. And I have to tell you, they are absolutely breathtaking. This brings me onto the graphics.
As soon as the tiny portion of music plays, signifying the start of a race, you are taken aback by the realism. The circuits are brilliant-with easily noticeable racing lines, marks where people have spun off and different typed of tarmac are also easy to point out. Rally tracks are even better, as you slide around the twisty corners dirt flies from the tyres, and it’s also very hard to pass someone, as the dirt blocks your view badly. The environment is picturesque; with beautiful landscapes, awesome stadiums, funny people that take photos of you all the time and I know people can occasionally get annoyed about me saying this, but the way the sun glares at you is absolutely…there are no words to describe it! Polyphony digital have done a marvellous job with the visual area of GT3, and it is enthralling to play a game with such fantastic graphics.
The length of the game is huge. I played it for about 1-2 hours every day last month, and have only managed to get 33% of GT3 completed! Another bonus is that to get every car in the game you must win every big championship and every Endurance race at least 4 times! And with 2-player battles, time attacks, and arcade mode to enjoy as well, GT3 will last for years!
So, if you own a PS2 and don’t have GT3, go out and purchase this peach of a title for a price that is no where near worth how much fun this game will bring you. If you don’t have a PS2, then get the special little PS2+GT3 package, which gives you an amazing console and an amazing game all in one.
Thanks for reading, Ant.
Red Faction:
You are Parker, lured to Mars by the Ultor Corporation’s promise of a better life. Many came to work for the massive mining company, not knowing what hell awaited them when they got there.
They were abused daily from the Ultor Guards, they had to timeshare they’re beds with about 8 other miners, and worst of all, a plague is sweeping through the barracks, killing off many miners. As the days went by, miners became more angry and frustrated, and the plague got worse and worse. Someone named Eos appeared to be trying to fight Ultor, by writing stuff on walls, and annoying the Corporation by not giving them any clues on who she was.
The mood was very tense. All it needed, was a spark.
One day, a guard and a miner had a small arguments in one of the mining tunnels. There was a scuffle, and then gunshots. Suddenly, all hell broke loose. The Red Faction had began the Revolution, led by Eos.
As Parker, you will have to travel though many different places in the Ultor Corporation, killing guards, accompanying people to Eos, finding out secrets about Ultor and perhaps killing a few rather-hard-to-beat Bosses on the way.
So, how does the gameplay fare? Well, if we quickly forget the extremely poor controls that are already set for us (but you can configure them, thank God,) then gameplay is another great thing about this game. The PS2’s Analog Controllers make it easy to move Parker, and you can change the sensitivity in the options mode. As well as using a primary and secondary function on literally all of the 15 weapons available, you can also jump to get onto boxes etc, and crouch if you want to go into stealth mode. Some parts of the game may look like they require stealth, but you don’t have to-stealth has always been somewhat hard in First-Person Shooters.
A very good addition to the gameplay is that you could even call this game a multi-genre. This is because there are 5 fully armed land and air vehicles to use in the game-including. These can be used to travel to other places faster, drill through walls, or when you’ve been invaded by guards you can use the powerful weapons they are enabled with.
There is a Training Mode, but we’ll ignore that as it’s rather easy (as in so easy that you’ll complete it in under 5 minutes the second time you do it,) and we’ll go straight to the most innovative part of Red Faction-Geo-Mod Technology.
Geo-Mod Technology enables you to destroy and alter the environment any where you want to! Sometimes pointless holes will be created, and you’ll be in a room full of craters (this is thanks to too much use of the Rocket Launcher,) but occasionally it comes in very useful. I got annoyed as I couldn’t find the way into this locked control station, and finally tried planting a Remote Charge on the wall outside the door. It exploded, leaving a nice big hole for me to go through, and hit a few switches inside. Lovely.
Lets go onto graphics. At first you may be disappointed-the faces seem to be rather poorly animated, and the textures are nothing special. But as you get further into the game, and you come across different types of walls, you will begin to realise how detailed and realistic the environment is, as well as the weapons. Reloading is always a beautiful thing to watch, unless you’re being attacked by many guards, of course.
Faces have always been hard to do, and although they’re not all that detailed, the eyes and mouth move very well.
Once you’ve finished the single player mode, or in fact, before you’ve finished the single player mode, there is a multi-player deathmatch mode to enjoy.
So overall, what do you get? Well, you get a great first person shooter, with an enticing plot, some great gameplay, Geo-Mod Technology, undetailed-but-still-pretty-good faces, great environments and an enjoyable multi-player mode.
What more could you want from a PS2 game?? Surely this an AAA Title, and Red Faction has finally shown what the PS2 can really do.
JOIN THE REVOLUTION-PLAY RED FACTION
Thanks for reading, Ant.
Gran Turismo 3:
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a car racing game! Sorry about that, but I get very excited when I think about Gran Turismo 3, as it’s not just the real driving simulator, it’s the real driving stimulator!
So? You ask, what’s so good about 6 cars speeding around a couple of miles of tarmac? Or what’s so great about 2 rally cars racing it off on a couple of miles of dirt? Well, I plan to answer those questions, and just for you, give some extra info on what makes Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, such a special game.
Well, where should I start? With the gorgeous graphics? The easy and enjoyable gameplay!? The amazing length of the game!?!? First, I think I’ll tell you the basic idea of the game. In the main single player mode-Gran Turismo mode, as it’s so ‘originally’ named, you are given a garage, and 18,000 credits. The main aim of the game is to acquire your driving licenses, win as many races from the 5 leagues as possible while collecting as much money and as many cars as you can along the way. There are 2 different ways of getting cars-you can just buy them from all the different companies across the world, or you can win them by coming first in a specified series of races, or as many would like to call it, a championship.
But you must play the game wisely. Try to complete the beginner league before going onto amateur, as you’ll end up with a load of good cars that will either make all your races in beginner totally and utterly dull (for instance, I won each race in the 4 Wheel-Drive championship on beginner with my Tickford Falcon XR7 Race Car by over 30 seconds,) or most of them will not be legible for the races you must win to complete GT3.
There are many other little options that will enhance your experience. Car washing, testing, choosing tyres and of course, tuning (improving) the performance of your car are all great features, and are what make GT3 a class above the others. There’s a wide selection of car manufacturers to choose your vehicle from. Whether it’s a normal hatchback, a Speedster, an especially-designed sports car, a rally vehicle or a monster like the Escudo Pikes Peak Version, they’re all there-over 150 of them. And unlike GT2, you will need most of these cars. All of them have been created perfectly, down to the tiniest of sponsors. And I have to tell you, they are absolutely breathtaking. This brings me onto the graphics.
As soon as the tiny portion of music plays, signifying the start of a race, you are taken aback by the realism. The circuits are brilliant-with easily noticeable racing lines, marks where people have spun off and different typed of tarmac are also easy to point out. Rally tracks are even better, as you slide around the twisty corners dirt flies from the tyres, and it’s also very hard to pass someone, as the dirt blocks your view badly. The environment is picturesque; with beautiful landscapes, awesome stadiums, funny people that take photos of you all the time and I know people can occasionally get annoyed about me saying this, but the way the sun glares at you is absolutely…there are no words to describe it! Polyphony digital have done a marvellous job with the visual area of GT3, and it is enthralling to play a game with such fantastic graphics.
The length of the game is huge. I played it for about 1-2 hours every day last month, and have only managed to get 33% of GT3 completed! Another bonus is that to get every car in the game you must win every big championship and every Endurance race at least 4 times! And with 2-player battles, time attacks, and arcade mode to enjoy as well, GT3 will last for years!
So, if you own a PS2 and don’t have GT3, go out and purchase this peach of a title for a price that is no where near worth how much fun this game will bring you. If you don’t have a PS2, then get the special little PS2+GT3 package, which gives you an amazing console and an amazing game all in one.
Thanks for reading, Ant.
Red Faction:
You are Parker, lured to Mars by the Ultor Corporation’s promise of a better life. Many came to work for the massive mining company, not knowing what hell awaited them when they got there.
They were abused daily from the Ultor Guards, they had to timeshare they’re beds with about 8 other miners, and worst of all, a plague is sweeping through the barracks, killing off many miners. As the days went by, miners became more angry and frustrated, and the plague got worse and worse. Someone named Eos appeared to be trying to fight Ultor, by writing stuff on walls, and annoying the Corporation by not giving them any clues on who she was.
The mood was very tense. All it needed, was a spark.
One day, a guard and a miner had a small arguments in one of the mining tunnels. There was a scuffle, and then gunshots. Suddenly, all hell broke loose. The Red Faction had began the Revolution, led by Eos.
As Parker, you will have to travel though many different places in the Ultor Corporation, killing guards, accompanying people to Eos, finding out secrets about Ultor and perhaps killing a few rather-hard-to-beat Bosses on the way.
So, how does the gameplay fare? Well, if we quickly forget the extremely poor controls that are already set for us (but you can configure them, thank God,) then gameplay is another great thing about this game. The PS2’s Analog Controllers make it easy to move Parker, and you can change the sensitivity in the options mode. As well as using a primary and secondary function on literally all of the 15 weapons available, you can also jump to get onto boxes etc, and crouch if you want to go into stealth mode. Some parts of the game may look like they require stealth, but you don’t have to-stealth has always been somewhat hard in First-Person Shooters.
A very good addition to the gameplay is that you could even call this game a multi-genre. This is because there are 5 fully armed land and air vehicles to use in the game-including. These can be used to travel to other places faster, drill through walls, or when you’ve been invaded by guards you can use the powerful weapons they are enabled with.
There is a Training Mode, but we’ll ignore that as it’s rather easy (as in so easy that you’ll complete it in under 5 minutes the second time you do it,) and we’ll go straight to the most innovative part of Red Faction-Geo-Mod Technology.
Geo-Mod Technology enables you to destroy and alter the environment any where you want to! Sometimes pointless holes will be created, and you’ll be in a room full of craters (this is thanks to too much use of the Rocket Launcher,) but occasionally it comes in very useful. I got annoyed as I couldn’t find the way into this locked control station, and finally tried planting a Remote Charge on the wall outside the door. It exploded, leaving a nice big hole for me to go through, and hit a few switches inside. Lovely.
Lets go onto graphics. At first you may be disappointed-the faces seem to be rather poorly animated, and the textures are nothing special. But as you get further into the game, and you come across different types of walls, you will begin to realise how detailed and realistic the environment is, as well as the weapons. Reloading is always a beautiful thing to watch, unless you’re being attacked by many guards, of course.
Faces have always been hard to do, and although they’re not all that detailed, the eyes and mouth move very well.
Once you’ve finished the single player mode, or in fact, before you’ve finished the single player mode, there is a multi-player deathmatch mode to enjoy.
So overall, what do you get? Well, you get a great first person shooter, with an enticing plot, some great gameplay, Geo-Mod Technology, undetailed-but-still-pretty-good faces, great environments and an enjoyable multi-player mode.
What more could you want from a PS2 game?? Surely this an AAA Title, and Red Faction has finally shown what the PS2 can really do.
JOIN THE REVOLUTION-PLAY RED FACTION
Thanks for reading, Ant.
Page:
Pro Evo wrote:
> Some good reviews. Were you just posting them to up your word count?
Your
> setting a bad example mister notable,ant,sir.
:)
I don't need to up my word count, I'm 1st in the all-time one. :D
And I posted these to tell people on the forums how good these games are. Also, I don't visit this forum enough, so I thought I'd let my presence be known.
> Some good reviews. Were you just posting them to up your word count?
Your
> setting a bad example mister notable,ant,sir.
:)
I don't need to up my word count, I'm 1st in the all-time one. :D
And I posted these to tell people on the forums how good these games are. Also, I don't visit this forum enough, so I thought I'd let my presence be known.
Here is mine of Red Fraction:
Up to now the best first person shooter would be Timesplitters, but now there is something to challenge it, Red Fraction.
A good starting point are the graphics, the graphics engine in this game is very solid and well detailed, which is something the PS2 has not really had yet. The frame rate is good but never really gets as good as Timesplitters, however it never faults even with the low frame rate and the worlds do look a lot crisper. All of the vast environments look and feel very real whether you are on the surface or walking in the many corridors. Also the characters look very detailed with good animation, the explosions too are something special to look at. All in all it looks very nice. To accompany the visuals is a great set of sound which changes as you play through the game, at one point there may be no sound, but as the mood changes it may be more noticeable. Also the sound affects are there to set the mood, the explosions sound good and the sound of firing the range of weapons. The voice acting too is impressive.
The game play is as you would have thought of any good shoot-em-up. You walk around the levels shooting the enemies, which is very satisfying as there is some excelent animation, the men when shot sway and stagger about with there last breath, but there is also some sections where stealth is needed, but its no MGS. Also there is a chance of driving 5 different vehicles, including an ATV, submarine and star fighter each coming with its own weaponry. The Environments have a fairly large range, from large caverns to narrow corridors. This means that you will have to adapt your method of play to suit the surroundings. A new thing that is included into the play of the game is the Geo-mod Technology. What this means is that you can blow everything up that you want, this is not the normal blowing everything up though, this is blowing up chunks out of walls, blowing escape tunnels in floors, destroying land bridges and all sorts of other things. While it at first seems useless eventually you will find that it becomes very useful, if you cant find a key to a door, blow up the wall to get around it. Soon will be blowing up holes all over creating short cuts and well, just having fun.
The game itself takes some time to finish, which is good as a lot of games lately are too short. However as well as the single player mode there is good two-player death match mode. In this you can have computer-controlled enemies as well. At the beginning as usual you pick the difficulty setting, but even on easy or medium the game still gets hard in the latter stages, but because of this the game does not use the end of level type saving system, instead you can save where ever you want. This is a good feature but it takes a lot of space up from your memory card. The AI at first is something great, the enemy group, hide and do all the sorts of things that humans would be expected to do, however it is not long before you realise there main method of attack is to fire-retreat-fire, which after a while gets a little boring.
In all the controls of the game are quite simple, but you will never reach the accuracy using the dual shock 2 pad as you would get using the mouse and key bored, it’s the same all the time with these types of games. Red Fraction though is not mouse and key bored compatible so really you have no choice in what to use. So because of this the developers included an auto-aim system that does help.
Putting the minor flaws behind this is easily one of the most enjoyable first person shooters on the PS2, and you wont go far wrong buying this.
Up to now the best first person shooter would be Timesplitters, but now there is something to challenge it, Red Fraction.
A good starting point are the graphics, the graphics engine in this game is very solid and well detailed, which is something the PS2 has not really had yet. The frame rate is good but never really gets as good as Timesplitters, however it never faults even with the low frame rate and the worlds do look a lot crisper. All of the vast environments look and feel very real whether you are on the surface or walking in the many corridors. Also the characters look very detailed with good animation, the explosions too are something special to look at. All in all it looks very nice. To accompany the visuals is a great set of sound which changes as you play through the game, at one point there may be no sound, but as the mood changes it may be more noticeable. Also the sound affects are there to set the mood, the explosions sound good and the sound of firing the range of weapons. The voice acting too is impressive.
The game play is as you would have thought of any good shoot-em-up. You walk around the levels shooting the enemies, which is very satisfying as there is some excelent animation, the men when shot sway and stagger about with there last breath, but there is also some sections where stealth is needed, but its no MGS. Also there is a chance of driving 5 different vehicles, including an ATV, submarine and star fighter each coming with its own weaponry. The Environments have a fairly large range, from large caverns to narrow corridors. This means that you will have to adapt your method of play to suit the surroundings. A new thing that is included into the play of the game is the Geo-mod Technology. What this means is that you can blow everything up that you want, this is not the normal blowing everything up though, this is blowing up chunks out of walls, blowing escape tunnels in floors, destroying land bridges and all sorts of other things. While it at first seems useless eventually you will find that it becomes very useful, if you cant find a key to a door, blow up the wall to get around it. Soon will be blowing up holes all over creating short cuts and well, just having fun.
The game itself takes some time to finish, which is good as a lot of games lately are too short. However as well as the single player mode there is good two-player death match mode. In this you can have computer-controlled enemies as well. At the beginning as usual you pick the difficulty setting, but even on easy or medium the game still gets hard in the latter stages, but because of this the game does not use the end of level type saving system, instead you can save where ever you want. This is a good feature but it takes a lot of space up from your memory card. The AI at first is something great, the enemy group, hide and do all the sorts of things that humans would be expected to do, however it is not long before you realise there main method of attack is to fire-retreat-fire, which after a while gets a little boring.
In all the controls of the game are quite simple, but you will never reach the accuracy using the dual shock 2 pad as you would get using the mouse and key bored, it’s the same all the time with these types of games. Red Fraction though is not mouse and key bored compatible so really you have no choice in what to use. So because of this the developers included an auto-aim system that does help.
Putting the minor flaws behind this is easily one of the most enjoyable first person shooters on the PS2, and you wont go far wrong buying this.
Some good reviews. Were you just posting them to up your word count?
Your setting a bad example mister notable,ant,sir.
:)
Your setting a bad example mister notable,ant,sir.
:)
very good review of red faction ant
ive got the game and i think its amazing even though i ve already completed it i am half way through it again
it is just amazing
ive got the game and i think its amazing even though i ve already completed it i am half way through it again
it is just amazing
Okay, here are my 2 reviews of Red Faction and Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. In my opinion, these 2 games are probably the best out on PS2, and also probably the best in their genre (GT3 definitely.)
Gran Turismo 3:
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a car racing game! Sorry about that, but I get very excited when I think about Gran Turismo 3, as it’s not just the real driving simulator, it’s the real driving stimulator!
So? You ask, what’s so good about 6 cars speeding around a couple of miles of tarmac? Or what’s so great about 2 rally cars racing it off on a couple of miles of dirt? Well, I plan to answer those questions, and just for you, give some extra info on what makes Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, such a special game.
Well, where should I start? With the gorgeous graphics? The easy and enjoyable gameplay!? The amazing length of the game!?!? First, I think I’ll tell you the basic idea of the game. In the main single player mode-Gran Turismo mode, as it’s so ‘originally’ named, you are given a garage, and 18,000 credits. The main aim of the game is to acquire your driving licenses, win as many races from the 5 leagues as possible while collecting as much money and as many cars as you can along the way. There are 2 different ways of getting cars-you can just buy them from all the different companies across the world, or you can win them by coming first in a specified series of races, or as many would like to call it, a championship.
But you must play the game wisely. Try to complete the beginner league before going onto amateur, as you’ll end up with a load of good cars that will either make all your races in beginner totally and utterly dull (for instance, I won each race in the 4 Wheel-Drive championship on beginner with my Tickford Falcon XR7 Race Car by over 30 seconds,) or most of them will not be legible for the races you must win to complete GT3.
There are many other little options that will enhance your experience. Car washing, testing, choosing tyres and of course, tuning (improving) the performance of your car are all great features, and are what make GT3 a class above the others. There’s a wide selection of car manufacturers to choose your vehicle from. Whether it’s a normal hatchback, a Speedster, an especially-designed sports car, a rally vehicle or a monster like the Escudo Pikes Peak Version, they’re all there-over 150 of them. And unlike GT2, you will need most of these cars. All of them have been created perfectly, down to the tiniest of sponsors. And I have to tell you, they are absolutely breathtaking. This brings me onto the graphics.
As soon as the tiny portion of music plays, signifying the start of a race, you are taken aback by the realism. The circuits are brilliant-with easily noticeable racing lines, marks where people have spun off and different typed of tarmac are also easy to point out. Rally tracks are even better, as you slide around the twisty corners dirt flies from the tyres, and it’s also very hard to pass someone, as the dirt blocks your view badly. The environment is picturesque; with beautiful landscapes, awesome stadiums, funny people that take photos of you all the time and I know people can occasionally get annoyed about me saying this, but the way the sun glares at you is absolutely…there are no words to describe it! Polyphony digital have done a marvellous job with the visual area of GT3, and it is enthralling to play a game with such fantastic graphics.
The length of the game is huge. I played it for about 1-2 hours every day last month, and have only managed to get 33% of GT3 completed! Another bonus is that to get every car in the game you must win every big championship and every Endurance race at least 4 times! And with 2-player battles, time attacks, and arcade mode to enjoy as well, GT3 will last for years!
So, if you own a PS2 and don’t have GT3, go out and purchase this peach of a title for a price that is no where near worth how much fun this game will bring you. If you don’t have a PS2, then get the special little PS2+GT3 package, which gives you an amazing console and an amazing game all in one.
Thanks for reading, Ant.
Red Faction:
You are Parker, lured to Mars by the Ultor Corporation’s promise of a better life. Many came to work for the massive mining company, not knowing what hell awaited them when they got there.
They were abused daily from the Ultor Guards, they had to timeshare they’re beds with about 8 other miners, and worst of all, a plague is sweeping through the barracks, killing off many miners. As the days went by, miners became more angry and frustrated, and the plague got worse and worse. Someone named Eos appeared to be trying to fight Ultor, by writing stuff on walls, and annoying the Corporation by not giving them any clues on who she was.
The mood was very tense. All it needed, was a spark.
One day, a guard and a miner had a small arguments in one of the mining tunnels. There was a scuffle, and then gunshots. Suddenly, all hell broke loose. The Red Faction had began the Revolution, led by Eos.
As Parker, you will have to travel though many different places in the Ultor Corporation, killing guards, accompanying people to Eos, finding out secrets about Ultor and perhaps killing a few rather-hard-to-beat Bosses on the way.
So, how does the gameplay fare? Well, if we quickly forget the extremely poor controls that are already set for us (but you can configure them, thank God,) then gameplay is another great thing about this game. The PS2’s Analog Controllers make it easy to move Parker, and you can change the sensitivity in the options mode. As well as using a primary and secondary function on literally all of the 15 weapons available, you can also jump to get onto boxes etc, and crouch if you want to go into stealth mode. Some parts of the game may look like they require stealth, but you don’t have to-stealth has always been somewhat hard in First-Person Shooters.
A very good addition to the gameplay is that you could even call this game a multi-genre. This is because there are 5 fully armed land and air vehicles to use in the game-including. These can be used to travel to other places faster, drill through walls, or when you’ve been invaded by guards you can use the powerful weapons they are enabled with.
There is a Training Mode, but we’ll ignore that as it’s rather easy (as in so easy that you’ll complete it in under 5 minutes the second time you do it,) and we’ll go straight to the most innovative part of Red Faction-Geo-Mod Technology.
Geo-Mod Technology enables you to destroy and alter the environment any where you want to! Sometimes pointless holes will be created, and you’ll be in a room full of craters (this is thanks to too much use of the Rocket Launcher,) but occasionally it comes in very useful. I got annoyed as I couldn’t find the way into this locked control station, and finally tried planting a Remote Charge on the wall outside the door. It exploded, leaving a nice big hole for me to go through, and hit a few switches inside. Lovely.
Lets go onto graphics. At first you may be disappointed-the faces seem to be rather poorly animated, and the textures are nothing special. But as you get further into the game, and you come across different types of walls, you will begin to realise how detailed and realistic the environment is, as well as the weapons. Reloading is always a beautiful thing to watch, unless you’re being attacked by many guards, of course.
Faces have always been hard to do, and although they’re not all that detailed, the eyes and mouth move very well.
Once you’ve finished the single player mode, or in fact, before you’ve finished the single player mode, there is a multi-player deathmatch mode to enjoy.
So overall, what do you get? Well, you get a great first person shooter, with an enticing plot, some great gameplay, Geo-Mod Technology, undetailed-but-still-pretty-good faces, great environments and an enjoyable multi-player mode.
What more could you want from a PS2 game?? Surely this an AAA Title, and Red Faction has finally shown what the PS2 can really do.
JOIN THE REVOLUTION-PLAY RED FACTION
Thanks for reading, Ant.
Gran Turismo 3:
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a car racing game! Sorry about that, but I get very excited when I think about Gran Turismo 3, as it’s not just the real driving simulator, it’s the real driving stimulator!
So? You ask, what’s so good about 6 cars speeding around a couple of miles of tarmac? Or what’s so great about 2 rally cars racing it off on a couple of miles of dirt? Well, I plan to answer those questions, and just for you, give some extra info on what makes Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, such a special game.
Well, where should I start? With the gorgeous graphics? The easy and enjoyable gameplay!? The amazing length of the game!?!? First, I think I’ll tell you the basic idea of the game. In the main single player mode-Gran Turismo mode, as it’s so ‘originally’ named, you are given a garage, and 18,000 credits. The main aim of the game is to acquire your driving licenses, win as many races from the 5 leagues as possible while collecting as much money and as many cars as you can along the way. There are 2 different ways of getting cars-you can just buy them from all the different companies across the world, or you can win them by coming first in a specified series of races, or as many would like to call it, a championship.
But you must play the game wisely. Try to complete the beginner league before going onto amateur, as you’ll end up with a load of good cars that will either make all your races in beginner totally and utterly dull (for instance, I won each race in the 4 Wheel-Drive championship on beginner with my Tickford Falcon XR7 Race Car by over 30 seconds,) or most of them will not be legible for the races you must win to complete GT3.
There are many other little options that will enhance your experience. Car washing, testing, choosing tyres and of course, tuning (improving) the performance of your car are all great features, and are what make GT3 a class above the others. There’s a wide selection of car manufacturers to choose your vehicle from. Whether it’s a normal hatchback, a Speedster, an especially-designed sports car, a rally vehicle or a monster like the Escudo Pikes Peak Version, they’re all there-over 150 of them. And unlike GT2, you will need most of these cars. All of them have been created perfectly, down to the tiniest of sponsors. And I have to tell you, they are absolutely breathtaking. This brings me onto the graphics.
As soon as the tiny portion of music plays, signifying the start of a race, you are taken aback by the realism. The circuits are brilliant-with easily noticeable racing lines, marks where people have spun off and different typed of tarmac are also easy to point out. Rally tracks are even better, as you slide around the twisty corners dirt flies from the tyres, and it’s also very hard to pass someone, as the dirt blocks your view badly. The environment is picturesque; with beautiful landscapes, awesome stadiums, funny people that take photos of you all the time and I know people can occasionally get annoyed about me saying this, but the way the sun glares at you is absolutely…there are no words to describe it! Polyphony digital have done a marvellous job with the visual area of GT3, and it is enthralling to play a game with such fantastic graphics.
The length of the game is huge. I played it for about 1-2 hours every day last month, and have only managed to get 33% of GT3 completed! Another bonus is that to get every car in the game you must win every big championship and every Endurance race at least 4 times! And with 2-player battles, time attacks, and arcade mode to enjoy as well, GT3 will last for years!
So, if you own a PS2 and don’t have GT3, go out and purchase this peach of a title for a price that is no where near worth how much fun this game will bring you. If you don’t have a PS2, then get the special little PS2+GT3 package, which gives you an amazing console and an amazing game all in one.
Thanks for reading, Ant.
Red Faction:
You are Parker, lured to Mars by the Ultor Corporation’s promise of a better life. Many came to work for the massive mining company, not knowing what hell awaited them when they got there.
They were abused daily from the Ultor Guards, they had to timeshare they’re beds with about 8 other miners, and worst of all, a plague is sweeping through the barracks, killing off many miners. As the days went by, miners became more angry and frustrated, and the plague got worse and worse. Someone named Eos appeared to be trying to fight Ultor, by writing stuff on walls, and annoying the Corporation by not giving them any clues on who she was.
The mood was very tense. All it needed, was a spark.
One day, a guard and a miner had a small arguments in one of the mining tunnels. There was a scuffle, and then gunshots. Suddenly, all hell broke loose. The Red Faction had began the Revolution, led by Eos.
As Parker, you will have to travel though many different places in the Ultor Corporation, killing guards, accompanying people to Eos, finding out secrets about Ultor and perhaps killing a few rather-hard-to-beat Bosses on the way.
So, how does the gameplay fare? Well, if we quickly forget the extremely poor controls that are already set for us (but you can configure them, thank God,) then gameplay is another great thing about this game. The PS2’s Analog Controllers make it easy to move Parker, and you can change the sensitivity in the options mode. As well as using a primary and secondary function on literally all of the 15 weapons available, you can also jump to get onto boxes etc, and crouch if you want to go into stealth mode. Some parts of the game may look like they require stealth, but you don’t have to-stealth has always been somewhat hard in First-Person Shooters.
A very good addition to the gameplay is that you could even call this game a multi-genre. This is because there are 5 fully armed land and air vehicles to use in the game-including. These can be used to travel to other places faster, drill through walls, or when you’ve been invaded by guards you can use the powerful weapons they are enabled with.
There is a Training Mode, but we’ll ignore that as it’s rather easy (as in so easy that you’ll complete it in under 5 minutes the second time you do it,) and we’ll go straight to the most innovative part of Red Faction-Geo-Mod Technology.
Geo-Mod Technology enables you to destroy and alter the environment any where you want to! Sometimes pointless holes will be created, and you’ll be in a room full of craters (this is thanks to too much use of the Rocket Launcher,) but occasionally it comes in very useful. I got annoyed as I couldn’t find the way into this locked control station, and finally tried planting a Remote Charge on the wall outside the door. It exploded, leaving a nice big hole for me to go through, and hit a few switches inside. Lovely.
Lets go onto graphics. At first you may be disappointed-the faces seem to be rather poorly animated, and the textures are nothing special. But as you get further into the game, and you come across different types of walls, you will begin to realise how detailed and realistic the environment is, as well as the weapons. Reloading is always a beautiful thing to watch, unless you’re being attacked by many guards, of course.
Faces have always been hard to do, and although they’re not all that detailed, the eyes and mouth move very well.
Once you’ve finished the single player mode, or in fact, before you’ve finished the single player mode, there is a multi-player deathmatch mode to enjoy.
So overall, what do you get? Well, you get a great first person shooter, with an enticing plot, some great gameplay, Geo-Mod Technology, undetailed-but-still-pretty-good faces, great environments and an enjoyable multi-player mode.
What more could you want from a PS2 game?? Surely this an AAA Title, and Red Faction has finally shown what the PS2 can really do.
JOIN THE REVOLUTION-PLAY RED FACTION
Thanks for reading, Ant.
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