اقتباس:
Jak x
BANDICOOT BURNOUT
Naughty Dog may have shed its orange fur with the creation of the Jak and Daxter trilogy, but this latest effort reeks of the dirty marsupial. There was a time when comparisons to Crash Bandicoot were done in an air of praise, but as time has gone on this goofy orange **bleep** has become an unfavorable ghost of gaming's past. As much as I enjoyed Crash Team Racing, I don't want to be reminded of it when I play a Jak & Daxter game, especially when Naughty Dog has shown us that it's capable of delivering excitement in ways you wouldn't imagine.
For all intents and purposes, Jak X is the fusion of Crash Team Racing and Criterion's red-hot Burnout series. Although great effort has been put forth to tie this game into the continuity of the Jak series, the result is a lifeless stretch. Jak continues to age, and Daxter seems entirely comfortable in his new pants, but there's little here that adds to the legacy of the characters. The plot seems to have been blindly picked from the Bucket of Horrible Ideas.
On another down note, success on the track isn't dictated by your racing prowess. In several events, I intentionally ran into walls and drove like a drunken fool for an entire lap, then somehow managed to work my way back into the lead. The AI certainly waited around to make the race exciting, and the weapons that I was armed with simply obliterated the competition. The game leans too heavily on both of these crutches, making the thrill of victory seem cheap and undeserved. Thankfully, not every race pits you against other drivers. In Death Race, you must annihilate as many drones as you can. Rush Hour has players smashing their ride into oncoming traffic. In Freeze Rally. you must collect clock icons to keep your overall time down. These events are immensly enjoyable, but are sadly too few and far between.
The game does shine in online play (human opponents don't slam on the brakes for you), and the single player campaign is surprisingly lengthy. Like all Naughty Dog releases, Jak X is phenomenally polished and plays incredibly well. It just stalls out early on and gives players little reason to stick with it.
---REINER
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BOTTOM LINE: 7.75
> Concept: Blends the traditional kart racing weapon-based play with Burnout-like intensity, but offers little that is trult invigorating or fresh
> Graphics: This game is down-right gorgeous and the lack of loading is very impressive
> Sound: Remember the annoying podrace announcer from Star Wars: Episode I? I think he found work. All of the voice actors from the series return
> Playability: Nice driving physics, but the game relies too heavily on catch-up AI and weapons
> Entertainment: The quirky events are fun. Online is a blast, too. The rest of the game is mediocre
> Replay Value: Moderate (Good for a few months or a few times through)
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SECOND OPINION: 7.25
Cart racing has a few things that must be done absolutely perfectly for the title in question to stand up to the many great games already in the genre. Jak X, sadly, doesn't meet this bar. Liabilities like catch-up enemy AI, the early missions being way too easy, power-ups that are crucial but don't last that long, and the game's utter dependence on weapons really just make it feel cheap. But there is some tremendously fast-paced racing here, and these buggies were fun in Jak 3. They're even more so as the star of the show.
---LISA
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اقتباس:
Ratchet:Deadlocked
LIFE AFTER THE TRILOGY
The floppy elephantine ears that pranced across the cosmos now cower beneath razor-sharp steel. All wisecracking robotic sidekicks have been relegated to an inoperative status. With this fourth installment of the Ratchet & Clank series, Insomniac Games is taking a risk by altering the formula that made the first three games intergalactic blockbusters. Along with the battle-hardened exterior of the protagonist, this entry does away with the gadget-related puzzles, platform-based exploration, and most significantly, the inclusion of the much-beloved helper robot Clank.
While it would seem that Insomniac's office should be transformed into a psychiatric hospital, the series actually thrives from the loss of these elements. Rather than injecting new material, Insomniac has instead chosen to focus on and amplify one element: the weapons. These games have always had a knack for smacking players around, but this time the unbridled chaos never ends. As enemies crawl out of the woodwork and descend upon your location in dropships, you'll find that your trigger finger is constantly twitching. Playing a level in this game can be tiring for sure, but it's also an exhilarating thrill ride.
After each stage, you can't help leaning back in your seat and exhaling in satisfaction. The game still rewards players for their efforts in a number of exciting ways. Within the heat of the moment, your weapon may gain a level, which is displayed through more powerful rounds and larger clips. Each weapon can be leveled up 10 times, and bolts earned can be used to purchase a slew of different mods and new armaments.
Variety is once again injected in the form of vehicles, the most impressive of which is a huge spider-like mech called the LandStalker. It's a bit slow, but it does possess multi-target lock-on technology that is very similar to that in Panzer Dragoon. As you can probably imagine, it produces some rather explosive and frantic gameplay.
Although Clank is shoved off to the side as a guiding voice for Ratchet, the series' trademark humor is still interwoven with the chaos and is capable of crippling you with sidesplitting laughter. You'd swear that Pixar had a hand in many of the cutscenes.
The story centers on an illegal combat sport called Dreadzone. Ratchet is forced to compete in this dastardly tournament. Escape is not an option, however, as the Deadlock collar that is fastened around his neck will bring him certain death if he does not accede to the orders of Dreadzone's higher ups. The framework of the game unfolds through this tournament. Worlds are now broken up into stages and objectives that range from destroying every enemy in sight to laying cover fire for your helper bots as they plant explosives. The series' popular grapple swinging and rail grinding are still in the mix as well.
Some of the objectives go by rather quickly, and without exploration to add longevity, the game suffers from being short - no more than eight to 12 hours. Replay is offered in different difficulty levels and a Challenge mode upon the game's completion. Best of all, however, you can play through the entire game cooperatively with a friend. It's every bit as enjoyable as you would hope, too. Of course, if you are into deathmatching, Ratchet's online presence once again packs a wallop.
Although it can be deemed a somewhat sizeable departure for the series, Deadlocked still feels like another great Ratchet & Clank game. If it were longer, I wouldn't mind seeing another installment just like this one on the PlayStation 3.
---REINER
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In the screenshots, there are some captions:
"Each of the weapons can be modified in a number of ways"
"Upon stage completion, players are rewarded with points that can be used to purchase new costumes"
"The worlds are now broken into bite-size stages and challenges"
"Put your skills to the test online against other players..."
"... or ask a friend to help you combat the Dreadzone scourge in co-op"
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BOTTOM LINE: 9
>Concept: Strip the game of its exploration elements and focus on the explosive weapons and vehicles
>Graphics: A maelstrom of mind-blowing effects hammers the screen at all times. The animation is once again steallar, but the soft texturing is looking a bit dated now
>Sound: Absolutely hysterical. The announcer deserves an Emmy.
>Playability: One of the best playing games out there. It's acrobatic, explosive, and easy to control
>Entertainment: A little short, but nontheless awesome
>Replay Value: Moderately High (Good for a long while, but the thrills won't last forever)
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SECOND OPINION: 8.5
Insomniac had been promising a darker, more adult reinterpretation of its excellent Ratchet & Clank series with Ratchet Deadlocked, and I was worried that it might lose some of the humorous charm that helped make it one of my favorite franchises. Thankfully, the look and tone are mostly the same, featuring a host of hilarious new characters. However, the gameplay is very different. This time Clank, and most of the platforming and exploration, are MIA, and in their place is a greater emphasis on hectic, FPS-influenced weapons combat. Although this represents a bit of a gamble, Insomniac is just too good of a developer to deliver a dud. This is a great action game, with well-designed levels, excellent controls, and a great new weapons customization system. Even better, the online component rivals the best serious FPSs on the market. Although I miss some of the variety that the Clank levels brought to past games, I laud Insomniac for taking chances and succeeding.
---MATT
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