• Tag Archives PlayStation 2

  • Dead Or Alive 2: Hardcore (PlayStation 2)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Dead or Alive 2 Hardcore is an enhanced version of Dead or Alive 2. I’ve never really cared much for these half versions. Either include what you want in the game at the outset or make enough improvements for a true sequel. Don’t charge me full price for what is essentially an expansion. And this game really does not even provide enough improvements or additions to be labeled as an expansion.

    Anyway, Dead or Alive 2 Hardcore retains the same basic game modes of the original. These include Story Mode, Time Attack, Survival, Tag Battle, and Sparring. They didn’t even bother to update the character roster which is a bit disappointing. Basically, the most important change is probably the slightly upgraded graphics that include improvements to the character models and environments.

    Of course, it doesn’t stop there. You get incredible new content like unlockable costumes! Honestly, I’m not really sure what the point of this release was other than fanservice and to extract more money out of all the suckers…I mean TRUE fans of the series.

    I have nothing against the Dead or Alive series as a whole. They are all pretty solid 3D fighting games. But to make an entire additional game release for which the biggest obvious change is more costumes seems a bit absurd. Again, don’t get me wrong. There isn’t anything wrong with the game, especially if you are a fighting game fan. It’s just that to me it does not offer enough of an upgrade over DOA2 to justify a full-priced game. Maybe I’m just not Hardcore enough…

    Dead or Alive 2 was released for several platforms including the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 (but only in Japan) and of course there was the original arcade release. Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore was only released for the PS2. If you have a PS2 and want to give this game a try, I would bypass the original DOA2 and just get this one for the few slight improvements it offers. It did get positive reviews after all. If you already have DOA2 on any platform then there really isn’t a good reason to get this one unless you are an obsessive collector which I would fully understand. And if you like this half-assed excuse for a sequel, then you’ll love Dead or Alive 2 Millennium…


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  • Spy Fiction (PlayStation 2)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Some video game platforms have so many games released for them that it is easy for there to be a huge number of games that you have never even heard of. Some of them are even good. the PlayStation 2 was definitely one such system. It was on the shelves seemingly forever. In North America alone there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,850 games released for that system. A multitude of others were released exclusively in other regions (mostly Japan). So if you’ve never heard of this one, it wouldn’t be at all surprising.

    The game I am talking about is ‘Spy Fiction’ from Sammy Studios. This is a ‘stealth’ game inspired by games like Metal Gear Solid 2. The plot revolves around investigating a pharmaceutical company that is suspected of developing biological weapons. Threats are made, allegations investigated, plot twists occur, etc. Anyway, the story, while not unimportant, really takes a back seat to the game play in a game like this.

    Speaking of game play, this game has many of the attributes you would expect of a stealth/action game. Sometimes you may need to go in with guns blazing but often your job involves getting somewhere undetected. One relatively unique aspect of this game is the ability to disguise yourself as other characters.

    So why is this game not more well known and why didn’t this game do better commercially? I guess there were a few reasons. There really wasn’t a significant marketing campaign for this game so people were probably not even aware of it early on. Reviews were somewhat mixed which probably didn’t help its case. It is by no means a bad game. It’s just not as good as some of the games it tries to emulate. Metal Gear Solid 2 had been released a few years earlier in 2001 whereas Spy Fiction was released in 2004. Other higher profile stealth games had come along in between. With so many games available for the PS2 it was very easy for it to get lost in the shuffle.

    Having said that, if you are a fan of the genre and were looking for more games like Metal Gear Solid 2 (for instance), then I would think this is one you would want to try. Unfortunately, being a relatively obscure game means there really isn’t an option for playing it other than an original copy on a PS2. Or you can try in out via emulation. However, there are no re-releases to speak of or sequels for that matter.


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  • Mega Man X: Command Mission

    Posted on by Azrael Comment


    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/634585453768605696



    Mega Man has its origins on the NES as an action platform game so it already had a very long history when Mega Man X: Command Mission was released for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube in 2004. However, Command Mission was really more of a spin-off that deviated significantly from other games in the series. Instead of being a platform game it was more of a turn-based RPG.

    While the method of play is different, the locations and enemies will be familiar to those that have played other games in the Mega Man X series. This game was developed by those that had previously worked on Mega Man X7 and the Breath of Fire series. I guess the question is did we really need an RPG version of Mega Man? I love RPGs but I’m not overly fond of turning action games into RPGs. There’s not really enough depth of story here and game play is relatively short and quite linear. Critics liked the battle system but were not crazy about the rest of it.

    Mega Man X: Command Mission was released only for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube. Why you might think these releases would be virtually identical, that was not the case. The GameCube version allowed you to connect your Game Boy Advance to enable a radar function that allowed you to find secret items. The GBA screen displayed a radar that showed the immediate area around the player and any hidden items that might be there. The GameCube version also ups the difficulty a little by having more frequent enemy encounters and steeper experience penalties for retries when it comes to defeating enemies. The PlayStation 2 version on the other hand included an unlockable demo of Mega Man X8. These differences aren’t really deal breakers or makers and reviews were virtually identical.

    If you want to give this one a try then you’ll have to track down an original for one system or the other or give it a try via emulation. The various Mega Man collections tend to skip over the spin-offs like this one and stick to the main series so there haven’t been any re-releases that I am aware of. The differences come down to personal preference so pick the one for your favorite system.


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