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| NBA Street - Playstation 2 |
| EA Sports |
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| Object: 3-on-3 street basketball, using real NBA players (and others), this is the logical successor to the old NBA Jam arcade game. It's pretty easy to perform some spectacular moves to score. My favorite? The pump-fake, alley-oop combo, which I would never be able to perform on the real courts. You can create your own player, unlock secret players and new courts, and play against another player. And you can turn off the commentary, which gets stereotypical and annoying after a while. After you get a hang of the special moves and tricks, you will find yourself quickly addicted. Tons of "real" NBA players that you can add to your team, but you'll probably end up just using Michael Jordan, your created player and one of the special players (my favorite is Magma Man) as your three-person squad. |
| Gran Turismo 3: A Spec - Playstation 2 |
| Sony |
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Price:
$50 |
| Fun factor: 10 |
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| Object: This is THE driving game you need for the Playstation 2. An extremely realistic driving simulation, but not so realistic that it makes it boring or difficult. There's a ton of different cars to drive, and the game includes an Arcade mode and a Simulation mode (which makes you race for money to buy more cars). Lots of tracks, great graphics and great sounds. If you own a Playstation 2, you are missing something if you don't own this game. Add a steering wheel and the game gets even better. |
| Knockout Kings 2001 - Playstation 2 |
| EA Sports |
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| Object: A pretty good boxing simulation, this is more than just a "push all the buttons to fight" game. In order to do well, you need to learn combinations, jabs, hooks, dodging and other moves. Thankfully, there's a good training program to get you through all of that. In addition, you can fight with or as many real boxers, including Muhammed Ali and Oscar de la Hoya. This game is a pretty good stress reliever if you've had a tough day at the office. |
| Madden 2002 - Playstation 2 |
| EA Sports |
|
| | Object: If you haven't played one of the Madden football games, you truly haven't played video games. The latest edition has better graphics and great gameplay than ever before. A training mode helps you understand the controls, and the game includes all 31 NFL teams, plus the expansion Houston Texans. A new feature lets you collect "Madden Cards" that you receive once you've done certain things in the game (like shutting out your opponent, or running more than 20 yards on one play). Once you've gotten the cards, you can use them to boost statistics in other games. |
| Star Wars Starfighter - Playstation 2 |
| LucasArts |
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| Object: If you're a Star Wars fan, you need this game. If you're anxiously awaiting next year's Episode II, you can still recreate the action sequences of Episode I (the really good parts of the movie) by flying three different space ships. All the characters are new characters not seen in the movie, but you still get to fly a Naboo fighter. Gameplay is really good, there's good 3D action. If you ever played any of the X-Wing games on the PC, it will remind you of that also. |
| Rumble Racing - Playstation 2 |
| EA Games |
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| Object: Another racing game, this one is more arcade-like and less realistic than Gran Turismo 3. Still, this time you get to use power-ups like oil slicks, tornadoes and little bombs to distract your opponents while trying to win the race. Shortcuts within the race also help you get a better time. In addition, with several jumps in the race course, you can do stunts with your cars to get a boost of speed. There are 32 different cars to unlock, and several tracks to race with, but you have to be really good to unlock all of them. Still, if you're patient, you might just get to them. |
| Gallop Racer 2001 |
| Tecmo |
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Price:
$50 |
| Fun factor: 7.5 |
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| Object: A horse-racing simulation that puts you in the jockey's seat, so to speak. Learn to ride a racehorse, then see how you do against the rest of the pack. It's a difficult game to master, and it will take you several practice races before you see the winner's circle. The horses react in different ways (some are better at the front of the pack, some are better with a slower pace), so reading the instruction manual is a must. If you've got the patience for the game, and really like horse racing, then this is a pretty good title. There's even a betting mode where you can just watch a race and put money down on it like you're at the track, but it's not the same thing. I'd much rather just pretend to be a jockey and try to win the race that way. |
| Triple Play Baseball - Playstation 2 |
| EA Sports |
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| Object: I'm not a big fan of baseball video games, I'd much prefer the action in football or hockey or racing games. But this baseball game isn't too bad. It's not too difficult to figure out the controls, even a baseball video game novice can hit a lot of balls on the easy setting. The graphics are great, they've got realistic ballparks and all the major league players. Even better is the "big league challenge," a home-run derby where you can hit the long ball all day long in a mini-tournament. |
| MTV Music Generator 2 - Playstation 2 |
| Codemasters |
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| Object: Not so much a video game as a miniature recording studio. If you (or one of your kids) is a budding music producer or wants to be a dance-club DJ, then getting them this to try out may be better than spending a whole ton of money on more expensive music equipment. Patience is key with this "game", as you need to spend some time learning about how to lay down tracks, and the differences between rhythm, bass, melody and vocals. Thankfully, the game includes a pretty good tutorial that lets you do just that. The layout of the program lets you put down the tracks in blocks, and once you get the hang of the interface, it's actually quite easy. In fact, you can also change the "skin" of the interface to make it even more entertaining while you program your song.
The program also lets you "direct" a video portion to the music you've made. The video effects remind you of a screen saver where geometric shapes bounce around, or continuous lines dance around the screen. Still, there are a ton of different "riffs" and video effects to keep you busy for a long time, creating music. In addition, if you get the add-on Sampler Kit, you can take audio samples from any source (including your own voice with the included microphone) and add them to your tracks. |
| Spy Hunter - Playstation 2 |
| Midway |
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Object: I know I am dating myself, but I have spent rolls of quarters at the arcade on Spy Hunter way back in the 80's. When I got to review the latest and greatest reinvention of an old childhood friend I was thrilled. After convincing my wife I was "working" I warmed up the PlayStation 2 and got down to business. It took some getting used to at first; I still am a fan of having my smoke screen fill the entire bottom half of the screen and the birds-eye view of the retro Spy Hunter. The updated car has numerous new features including weapons, defense mechanisms (including smoke screen and oil slick) and amphibious capabilities. After getting yourself aquatinted with your new ride in the training portion, it is time for action. The gameplay is awesome, and once you master the controls the destruction begins. If you are a fan of the old Spy Hunter (along with the cool Peter Gunn theme music), you are going to love this one.
-Chris Cormier |
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