Page 70 - Phonebox Magazine June 2007

Issue 1
Hi and welcome to a new section for the Phonebox. Gamebox is a feature that aims to bring you news, previews, and reviews of the latest games and future releases, as well as topics and discussion that revolve around the world of video games and a quick look back to a retro game every issue.
Contrary to popular belief, the Playstation 3 is selling better than expected, with record numbers of pre-orders for launch and sales of 3.5 million units
since the consoles launch. Although this will alleviate the doubts of the consoles unpopularity, the PS3 has a long way to go before catching the Nintendo Wii’ s 7 million sold units. Microsoft’ s Xbox 360, originally thought to have sold 10 million units has suffered harsh criticism by gamers this month, as this figure is actually the console’ s shipments and the Xbox, despite being out for over a year has only sold around 6.5 million units.
Gamers are excited about the release of the Halo 3 beta this month. This will give people the chance to play the first code for the game and report bugs to Bungie, the game’ s developer. Halo is widely regarded as the world’ s best First Person Shooter (FPS) so the beta release should serve to set the release ball rolling. A preview of Halo 3 will be featured in the Previews section next month.
A new PS3 firmware update has been announced that should coincide with the release of Sony’ s ‘ Home’ system for the Playstation, an almost virtual life allowing PS3 owners to chat to one another, play games online and even decorate their own virtual living accommodation. The new firmware should enable access to the Playstation menu during gameplay. Expect a Feature next month.
EA games has announced a new game called ‘ Boogie’ , which is scheduled for release by the end of 2007, for the
Nintendo Wii. The title entails dancing with the Wii’ s motion sensitive controller to make your character pull off different dance moves, which can then be recorded and broadcast on the Wii’ s online Network. Expect simple gameplay that should be fun for the young and old alike.
A similar feature to this has been announced on the greatly anticipated ‘ Skate’ , also from EA studios. A competitor to the long running Tony Hawks series, Skate hopes to achieve a more realistic feel for the sport by introducing analog control to capture the feeling of pulling off a trick. Users can then record themselves and create a video of their tricks which can then be broadcast across the internet to anyone, even those without a games console. Skate is set for release on the PS3 and Xbox 360 this summer.
Timeshift is an Xbox 360 game that looks set to take many good ideas and combine them into one. Set for release in June, Timeshift is a First Person Shooter that has you playing as Michael Swift, a US air pilot hired to test out prototype time control devices. Having gone back in time to collect data for the military, your actions have altered the present you knew and its your job to set it straight. The game contains many futuristic weapons but, ultimately its appeal is the ability to manipulate time whilst remaining unaffected, in layman’ s terms, time will rewind but you can move normally. Doing so will then alter the course of the future you just rewound, or slowed down, or stopped altogether. Timeshift will either succeed or fail because of its original gameplay and ideas, but in the end, only time will tell.
In this section I will briefly detail a few of the latest releases and review and rate them. All games I review I have played and scored, from an
unbiased perspective, based on various aspects, including design, story and gameplay. These scores are simply a guide as to which games are great and which are not, and are not intended to cause controversy. Retro game reviews will feature in future issues and will be based on playability and how well they have aged. Future issues will have more reviews but for now, Enjoy.
News
Previews
Reviews
Spiderman 3 is as
expected. The game places the player in the webslinger’ s
shoes and you play through the plot of
the movie. There are other storylines to
play through but in essence they are
the same fare, with different enemies, and are all told in the cutscenes which, for 360 and PS3, have mediocre visuals, when compared with what those consoles can do. The gameplay is as can be expected from a movie tie- in .... bland. The fights have you bashing the same button repeatedly and the cammera makes it very difficult to see what your doing. There are plenty of side missions to complete but these do little to extend replay value, as they are all similar. The web slinging through new york feels great but isn’ t enough to warrant the cost of the game. The PS3 version has an additional character, the ‘ New Goblin’ . His hoverboard is controlled by the PS3’ s motion sensing controllers. A good gimmick but unfortunately nothing more. Ultimately the game reflects the movie, entertaining but flawed. It will sell millions because of the popularity of the film, not though because its necessarily any good. 7/10
God Of War II for the PS2, is a game that deserves its hype.
You play Kratos, the new god of war, having killed Aries in the first installment. You are betrayed by Zeus and stripped of your power. The game that follows is your quest for revenge. The mythological story is brilliant
and the cutscenes are amazing, especially the pre-rendered ones which look graphically more fitting on a PS3 or 360 as opposed to PS2. The game is designed well with plentiful enemies, varied gameplay, a deep combat system, with magic and various upgradable weapons, and some truly stand out moments. The button matching mini games, where you press the
onscreen command to continue a cinematic action sequence, return and are as fun as ever. The level design is very linear which leaves little room for exploration which although frustrating, is intentional and keeps the story and the player focused. The platforming sections are great and fit well along side the puzzling sections, enabling the player to test their brains and Kratos’ agility at the same time. All in all, God Of War II is a great game and fully deserving of its score. 9/10
Spiderman 3
If you have any ideas, questions or opinions on the page and its contents, or want a specific game reviewed email me at seb-giambrone@hotmail.co.uk The more requested games are more likely to be reviewed.
God Of War II
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