Thursday, August 25, 2005
Darkwatch
Playstation 2 or X-Box
Three stars
Recently, one genre has been completely disregarded by video game developers: the vampire-themed, western, first-person shooter. Fortunately, the folks at Capcom have released Darkwatch, arguably the best and only game the genre has ever seen.
The game puts players in the role of Jericho Cross, a veteran gunslinger out for one last train robbery. Unfortunately, this train happens to be carrying a vampire lord. Things continue to go awry for Jericho as he finds himself turned into a vampire.
Jericho’s newly-found vampire abilities give the game much of its uniqueness. Players can use “blood-vision” to see important items and enemies, float through the air using the “vampire jump,” and utilize a number of short-term powers, learned throughout the game based on players’ good and evil decisions.
Graphically, the game looks superb. Environments are fairly detailed and the character design is great — although much of the game tends to be too dark to notice these things.
The only other drawback is its longevity. The game’s single-player portion is fairly short, and the multiplayer component is a fairly bare-bones package.
Regardless, Darkwatch is highly recommendable, even as just a rental.
Vampire-western fans should be pleased.
— Andrew Campbell
Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir
Playstation 2
Three stars
Edward and Alphonse Elric are back on Playstation 2 to solve the latest mystery surrounding the “philosopher’s stone.” The storyline is somewhat original, but takes a lot from the first few episodes of the animé.
The combat in this game is more fast-paced than its predecessor. The fighting is still pretty straightforward with hack-and-slashing button combinations, but it doesn’t seem as sluggish as the predecessor. The graphics have had an upgrade as well, by way of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai — going from polygons to cell shading.
The game still harbors RPG (role playing game) elements with leveling up the Elrics — with each new level you gain points to disperse between them.
Transmuting has become easier too. One, it takes less time to transmute objects and two, the pair of brothers that play the protagonists of the storyline don’t have to find objects to turn into weapons (like spears and swords). Now Edward has the ability to form these weapons from the ground.
This game plays a lot like the first one, but you can tell it’s had some work done to it. Still, it may only appeal to those who enjoy the series. The game sells for $39.99 at stores like Best Buy.
— Chris Moore
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