ReviewsEH

Reviews E to H

Everquest 2 - PC

As standard a RPG fare as you can get really. The sequal to one of the grandaddies of MMO's, and to be honest, it's basically the same game with a shiny makeover.

Graphics Technically very good. They shine in the right places, everything looks sufficiently bumpy and realistic (in stark contrast to World of Warcraft). However, its all a bit paint-by-numbers, and lacks soul. Its kinda wierd to describe, as all the component parts are there, and very nice, but the whole looks fucking horrible.

Good bits To be honest, I have no clue. I played a week long trial, and at not one moment did I see anything that isn't done just as well, if not better by other games.

Bad bits Its very generic, the graphics are both horrible to look at and hard on your system, it's just not very interesting. Having said that, they are the only major complaints about it too. Its just too...bland.

Score : 5/10

Joose

Eve Online - PC

Most of you know it, but for those that dont, think updated ELITE, but MMOised. For those shocking few who might not know what elite is: Trading/mining/flying about shooting things in space. Also some other stuff, like researching and manufacture. All based around corporations and buisness, set in a very Iain M Banks style fairly believable future-world.

Graphics Shiney, but can be scaled down to run on practically anything. Updated graphics soon promise to make it even shinier.

Good things Sense of community, sense of achievement when you get stuff (as its harder than most MMO's to get things, and easier to lose them), flexibility with characters, reasonably good dev support, very different "feel" to other MMO's, will last you a long time (if you like it). Skills carry on training when you are not logged in. Really, really complex.

Bad things Sucks time from you like a big temporal hoover. You cant really play this casually and get enough from it. Can be crushingly bad when you lose something thats taken you months to achieve because some wanker of a space-pirate. Really, really complex.

Score : 9/10

Joose

Forza Motorsport 2 - XBox 360

Introduction The eagerly-anticipated "next-gen" sequel to the definitive XBox driving game, perhaps the* definitive console driving game.

Gameplay Nice. After a brief period of re-introduction it's clear the old game is still there. Instant gratification with decent cars from the get-go are the hallmark of the series, and that's still the case. Just buy a car, race it a bit, upgrade it, pwn. The original (at least in SP) was never about being the most perfect driver ever, or passing a million license tests, just (sort of) getting the job done. Only gameplay difference I've noticed is in the "hired driver" aspect - rather than train or coach your stand-in, you simply select a CPU driver of a certain level, who then takes a de-facto cut, from 55-100% of your winnings.

Sights and Sounds Well, I thought it looked pretty nice at first, and actually it still does show pretty much what you need to see - but it could do a bit more. Cars are quite ridiculously shiny, but the draw distance doesn't always keep up. Don't get me wrong, it pisses all over anything previously - but it's not perfect. Other games have demonstrated that there can be a lot more "going on" on the screen, but I think the clean interface serves this game well.

Stuff that sucks Umm, it is a bit easy. Okay I know I'm like the supar-leetest drivar evar, but this pushes it a bit. You will always win a computer-controlled race if you have the best PI on the grid, but it's also a piece of piss to win manually with the worst car. MP will put you firmly in your place, but it is a bit of a munchkin-fest getting the unlocks. It doesn't have that many tracks, cars or modes compared to the Gran Turismo series.

Conclusion Best driving game on the 360. For now, at least - the only damn one on next-gen consoles.

Score : 8.5/10

• I love Forza and Gran Turismo equally - they're both fucking excellent games, peerless in their execution and playability.

FatherJack

Guitar Hero 2 - PS2

Take to the stage yet again with the sequel to Red Octane's head banging moshtastic guitar shredder.

For those of you who have never played this or the original it's basically a variation on the Dance Dance Revolution/Dancing Stage Mega/Euro Mix type of game, where you have to match symbols appearing on the screen to button pushes.

The difference with this being that instead of some campy dance mat you use a scaled down model of a Gibson SG electric guitar.

The controller has 5 'fret' buttons and a bar to strum in time with the notes.

The original game featured an impressive number of classic and more modern rock classics from Black Sabbath, Megadeth and Pantera to more modern artists such as Franz Ferdinand, Queens of the Stoneage and Audioslave.

The sequel has an even larger repertoire of songs, although in my opinion the set list is a little weaker than the previous game but still features great songs such as Dick Dale's Miserlou, The Alman Brothers Band's Jessica (Top Gear theme tune) and the Foo Fighters' Monkey Wrench.

The controls in this game seem to work a lot better, especially things like hammer ons and pull offs (where you play one note and then just 'hammer on' the next note, without strumming again.

One thing that bugs me a little is that the rhythms don't always seem to match terribly well with the song, a problem that wasn't present in the original, or was certainly much less noticeable to me.

As a guitar player myself I have found both this and the original to be very fun and addictive, but I don't think it is really necessary to be a guitarist to get a lot out of this game, although it does help if you like the songs on it.

In short my opinion is divided on this game somewhat, although the controls are a lot more responsive this is somewhat spoiled by the fact that there are not many songs on here that I know or like. I think if you are interested in this game it is best to check out the set list before you buy it, and maybe even download the soundtrack, in case, as was the case with me, there are songs on there that you recognise, even if you don't know them by name.

I will give this game 3.5 out of 5 even though the orignal would have got 4.5 or 5

Score : 3.5/5

The Incredible...