Both the Xbox and the GameCube have been released now. But games like Grand Theft Auto III show that the Playstation 2 is not going to lose the console battle lying down. The PS2 is starting to have game after game of must-haves. Grand Theft Auto III is definitely one of them, with its unique and entertaining play,and its sights and sounds. All are top-notch.

The original Grand Theft Auto was an addicting and original game when it was launched on the original PSX. The carjacking, criminal-thriving game played like no other video game title. The mission-based game play also had the ability to drive around the city, wreaking havoc in a free-for-all around Liberty City, USA. The only thing lacking was the game’s graphics. The game featured a top-down view, high from above Liberty City.

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I pre-ordered SSX Tricky, the sequel to the awesome PS2 launch title, SSX knowing very little about it, other than that it was a new SSX game and that it was on DVD, meaning more storage space for enhancements, characters, etc.

If you liked SSX, you’ll like SSX Tricky. The game isn’t a huge departure from the original released last year. Basically, SSX Tricky is a tricked-out version that pushes realism further away and embraces some mind-blowing new tricks and a few new features that enhance game play.

With the media move from CD-ROM to DVD, EA Sports Big were given more room for music, sound, commentary and most importantly the tracks. While none of these were slouches in the original title they all have been tweaked and enhanced in Tricky. A few of SSX’s characters have returned, but many new faces are now present, all with different characteristics and riding styles. Another character-related enhancement is the fact that you now have relationships with the other players. A shove during a race can translate into making a once-neutral rider in to an aggressive enemy who will take shots at you as you descend the slopes.

A lot of the original courses are back for Tricky, but in all honestly, most are almost unrecognizable. Tricky also adjusts the course based on the mode. Obstacles not present in the race mode pop up in the freestyle, offering more chances for big points.

The biggest enhancement in Tricky are the new uber tricks. The boost meter along the right-hand side of the screen fills as tricks are performed, the bigger the trick, the more boost you earn. When the meter fills up, the uber tricks become available. You are alerted to these events by samples of Run DMC’s “Trick to Rock a Rhyme.” I was thrilled initially, when I heard the samples, but in all honesty, the frequency of the samples now grates on my nerves. The uber tricks are quite amazing, but purposely outlandish. One in Mac’s arsenal of uber tricks consists of him doing a mid-air handstand on his snowboard, before spinning it. A word to the wise though, make sure you have some major air before attempting one, as they take a lot more time than any of the standard tricks.

Other than the samples of Run DMC getting tired, my only other complaint is also uber trick related. Uber tricks are initiated by holding a shoulder button (or sometimes several shoulder buttons) and then hitting the square button. The square button, is also used to tweak out holds to earn more points. But because of this overlap in controls, I find myself often accidentally initiating uber tricks when there is not room, nor time to successfully complete them.

While the control overlap is definitely a major annoyance, the rest of the game is pretty much flawless. The frame rate is smooth throughout the game while at the same time, the courses are extravagantly large and impressive both graphically and architecturally.

The character renderings are a bit more cartoon-like this go-around, but it fits Tricky perfectly, as the new trick capabilities are exact real-world themselves.

Snowboarding games never did much for me, but both SSX and now SSX Tricky are not the normal snowboarding title. They’re loads of fun and seem to be enjoyable by the avid and the casual alike gamer alike. EA Sports Big did a wonderful job of creating an enhanced SSX game that isn’t just a simple rehash of the original. SSX Tricky is not a complete overhaul, but tons of fun regardless.

Either SSX or SSX Tricky are crucial titles for any gamers’ PS2 library. Personally I have both and think both are worth every penny spent on them.

My rule of thumb with console games is to rent them before they become permanent parts of my collection. I’ve been burned too many times on crap games, so I’ve been really anal about playing before buying.

When I bought my PS2 back in February, I couldn’t just buy the system. I obviously wanted to have something to play in it, besides DVDs. So I broke my fundamental rule of console gaming. I bought two games that day. I got burned slightly on one, but I just couldn’t go wrong with Madden 2001. Everything, I’d seen, heard and read was all positive.

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When I sat down to play RollerCoaster Tycoon, I meant to play maybe for an hour. I ended up playing it for eight hours straight.

The object of the game is to build and manage an amusement park, not just roller coasters, as the name may suggest.

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Boot-up of SquareSoft’s The Bouncer shows that even a few short months after the Playstation 2 has become available, developers are making games that look great, meaning that even more great looking games are yet to come. Unfortunately, The
Bouncer looks amazing, but that’s mainly what you do in this "game" — look.

The graphics, both foreground and background are completely amazing. The character designs are first-rate, with details adding to the realism, like the wisps of hair that bounce around on Sion’s head, to the spiked horns sprouting from Volt’s head. The emotions revealed through facial expression are great, but I really felt that I was watching a movie, rather than a PS2 game.

Intros ranged from a few seconds to several minutes. They were great to watch, but as the game progressed, they became longer while the parts where having a controller in-hand became shorter.

When the controller was in-hand, fighting enemies, the fighting isn’t much ahead of Final Fight, or even as far back as the Double Dragon series. While you did have the incentive of beating them to see some more breath-taking scenes, the more you play, the less you want to watch, or even play.

Additionally, the camera angles often were pretty bad, with you running toward the camera, making it impossible to see where the enemies were up ahead. There were also times in the subway scene, where you’re running aimlessly to keep ahead of the closing doors and out of the times I did, it never got caught once. There was little challenge here. I think they were included so they could add more time to what was actually interactive on this title.

Had I bought this one, I’d be sorely disappointed, because a DVD action movie has a cheaper price tag. SquareSoft incorporated Dolby Digital 5.1 sound during the cinematic scenes and it sounds wonderful, but again, the Matrix is cheaper and more entertaining.

The game isn’t even that challenging. I’ve beat the game with one character within a couple hours of booting it up and am working through with another, but the storyline really doesn’t change enough (there are parts, but it’s just not enough) for this one to be worth much more than a couple hours of play. The local used game store had several copies of it, and now I see why. There’s little replay value in this one.

The Bouncer really makes a good showoff piece for the PS2, but SquareSoft forgot about putting some game in there. If the cut scenes had ended up having more actual game play in between, it’d be a must-have for the PS2 collection, but as it is, it’s a maybe-rent.

The big hype around Zone of the Enders was that it came packaged with a demo of Metal Gear Solid, but discarding this game and just playing the MGS demo is crazy, as ZOE is a good game in its own right. My intuition was to pop MGS in first, but decided to put in the one that has its name on the box. Overall, it’s an entertaining and visually pleasing game.

The whole game is centered around a young boy controlling a mech, though they are called frames in the ZOE universe. He accidentally enters one in fear and ends up fighting countless enemy frames.

The training missions are really quick to go through and are worth the couple minutes it takes to run through them. The computer demonstrates, then you can try for yourself. The time it takes to do these missions is basically the ZOE learning curve. Once you dive into the real meat of the game, you’re ready for just about whatever comes your way.

Visually, the game looks nice. Little details such as a technology shimmer when your machine lands, to the buildings. I was impressed flying over the cities and seeing the buildings. It further made you want to defend them from destruction, though the orange glow of the fires looked nice too.

This is a good example of where the graphics are pretty good, but it’s the game play that makes it worthy of your time and money. The controls are smooth, and while all the PS2’s controller’s buttons are utilized, it’s still a breeze to use and within a few minutes, I was kicking major frame butt. Part of what I like is that you not only have a whole arsenal of long-range weapons, you have the ability to get close to your enemies and slash away. Using the dash slash, there’s nothing more beautiful, nor fun than slicing and dicing enemy metal.

The story isn’t anything groundbreaking, but it’s decent. You do spend a fair amount of time listening to the computer’s instructions, but it’s not to the point that you’re constantly yearning to start blowing stuff up. Well, alright, you’re going to always want to blow things up, but you get the point.

My biggest complaint is the camera angles. While flying in circles, the camera is always behind. Once you start heading forward (i.e. letting go of the left analog), the camera snaps into position. While, most of the time this is an annoyance, in battle it’s more than that.

Additionally, the game has all kinds of missions, but they are all pretty similar and one only wants to sit and play this one for a while before it’s time to do something different, or pop in a different title.

There are 4 skill levels to keep the game interesting. My recommendation is to play one of the middle two as Easy is beyond easy — more like super simple. The most difficult of levels is a little too hard to start out on.

This game is a lot better than most of what I’ve played for the PS2 so far, save SSX and Madden 2001, but I think I’d still be hesitant to buy it. Instead, I think I’m going to search for this one used or on eBay. I think most could justify buying this one at full price, but if you can, find it used and add it to your PS2 library. Just make sure that your Metal Gear Solid Demo disc is included when you snag this one previously played.

I bought my Playstation 2 back at the beginning of February and since then have rented and played a lot of crap titles. But one that I actually own and haven’t regretted for a second shelling out 50 big ones for is EA Sports Big’s SSX.

The game is a snowboarding game with controls, visuals and audio that shows off the Playstation 2’s power and finesse, but it’s not just a flashy eye candy title to boast the PS2’s power. It’s a must-have for its intense game play and replay value.

The premise is pretty simple — you’re racing others down slopes filled with obstacles and perils that also offer you the best areas to get trick points and showoff what a badass you are.

These trick points are part of what make this game better than any other freestyle game I’ve played. Sure in the old Cool Boarders titles, you could do tricks to showoff, but you’ve still got to finish the race. In SSX, by doing tricks you earn boost that you can use at will, enticing you to have a good mixture of style and speed through the courses. Why developers never thought of this concept before is a mystery, but congrats to the SSX development team.

The controls are very precise and you have total control over your snow boarder, thanks to the PS2’s analog controller. I must admit though I’m a little disappointed in the PS2’s controllers. I’ve already broken one from playing SSX day and night. My R1 button tends to stick a lot now and is worthless for playing SSX now. But that’s not SSX’s fault. Blame Sony on that one. Regardless, the controls are great.

Tricks are performed via the four shoulder buttons (L1, L2 and R1, R2) to do board grabs, while the control stick or pad are used to do flips and spins. It will take several runs to perfect jumps and grabs and a few more to figure out the flips and spins. It’s a little frustrating, but never to the point that playing SSX is not a complete joy.

The courses are absolute works of art, and no screenshot I’ve seen yet has done the breath-taking graphics justice. At our new townhouse, we’re going to have a larger TV and I can’t wait to boot up SSX on that baby.

The game’s frame rate is absolutely amazing and gives a great feeling of the rush of speed. In the two player split-screen racing, the graphics and frame rate drop noticeably, but the game is still amazing.

Another addition that adds a lot to the game play is the fact that the courses are so long, and all have multiple ways to make it to the finish lines. Some of the courses take upwards of 8-10 minutes to complete and there’s a lot of variation on how you get from start to finish — enough to keep most interested in the game for long periods of time.

I have nothing bad to say about this game. It’s great fun and doesn’t lose any of that fun as I play it more and more. The competition gets tougher as you get better, so it’s constantly a challenge.

If you have a PS2, this should be in your collection. Word is SSX DVD is coming out by Christmas. I don’t know the details on it, but am interested to see how they are going to improve on such a sweet game.

I was thrilled when my copy of Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec for the Playstation 2 arrived a day earlier than its official release date. I dove right into it and played for hours. I loved it and wanted to immediately write my review that night. But to really do the justice GT3 deserved, and to be able to sample more of the game, I decided to wait to write my review.

I’m now up to 18% completion and showing no signs of being bored or disappointed in this game. If you’ve played the other two Gran Turismo series games on the PSX, this isn’t going to be a shocking or groundbreaking game, but that’s not a bad thing. The first two games on the Playstation were unlike an other racing game before or since — while they all have a great arcade single race modes, the game is at its best in its simulation mode — totally addictive, amusing and realistic, all rolled into a game with more sweet vehicles than I can count.

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