June 28th to July 4th

Section: 

Welcome to Spider-Man week! On Wednesday the Spider-Man 2 movie opens in theaters and itÂ's already garnered some very favorable reviews. On the video game front all eight million versions of the game ship today. The PS2, Gamecube and Xbox versions look great and have a very favorable buzz. The PC version on the other hand, is something that should be avoided at all costs apparently. Console versions will run $49.99 and the PC version will be $29.99. In other news, IÂ'd like to take a moment to welcome 1Dgaf to the staff and please forgive him any funny talk. HeÂ's English.

On DVD this week weÂ've got Cold Mountain, The Perfect Score, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, CSI: Miami first season, the first season of Wonder Woman and more.

Galactic Wrestling: Featuring Ultimate Muscle
Platform: PS2
Ships: June 29th
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: Game Rankings shows an average score of 56% and the screen shots are unimpressive to say the least. NEXT!

Perimeter
Platform: PC
Ships: June 29th
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: I tried the demo of this one and it didnÂ't do much for me but then it does have an average ranking of 81% at Game Rankings so what do I know?

Soldiers: Heroes of World War II
Platform: PC
Ships: June 29th
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: The demo of this WW2 RTS showed promise. Environments are totally destructible, you can control individual units directly and the graphics were top notch. Unfortunately, it didnÂ't seem to run too smoothly.

- Certis

Comments

Soldiers: Heroes of World War II
Platform: PC
Ships: June 29th
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: The demo of this WW2 RTS showed promise. Environments are totally destructible, you can control individual units directly and the graphics were top notch. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to run too smoothly.

Demo states it's 80% finished code. I strongly believe that they will iron it out. Demo got me all warm and fuzzy inside. Mewaaaaaaaants!

The PS2, Gamecube and Xbox versions look great and have a very favorable buzz. The PC version on the other hand, is something that should be avoided at all costs apparently.

Yeah, pretty bizarre. From what I've heard, they made a conscious decision to put out a "kiddie" version for the PC and regular versions for all the consoles.

Spiderman2 console is quite excellent. Just make sure you watch the movie first. Also Bruce Campbell is back as the training guy except this time he is in the whole game instead of the first half. Kudos!

I can atest to optimistic's claim, spider-man 2 is quite the fun game.

Mini-Review:

Have to get this out right away - this game isn't pretty. It's comparable to first gen PS2 releases, with the low poly count and muddy textures. I think it must have something to do with Riddick setting the bar too high..

When it comes to voice acting, Toby is his usual, wimpy self. Bruce Campbell is both funny and sarcastic, and it's a laugh to hear him in the game. At one point I actually got pissed off at one of his comments and verbally assaulted the TV screen with something along the lines of:

"Shut the f*ck up you sarcastic piece of trash, who the f*ck do you think you are, I was playing games while you were making crappy B-Movies in the woods.. asshat."

Yeah, what can I say, I have a problem with a video game condescending me and pre-judging my abilities. But I cooled down, and settled down to play a bit more. The girlfriend just shook her head, the only time she's seen me this verbal with a game was when I would make fun of Seaman.

S2, like so many other games these days, has been "GTA'd". Instead of wasting your time with missions, you can bounce and web-sling your way through the urban jungle looking for random crimes, or just relaxing after a hard day at work. There's something very calming, almost zen-like, when you hurl yourself off of a building and sling your web at the last second before you hit the depths of the street. Oh, and don't worry if you fall from the top of the tallest building - Spiderman just brushes it off!

In short, it's a brainless, licensed action game that is fun for a while. It's not bad at what it does, but it's not great either. Either way, the masses will be lining up for this like it's a box of fresh Krispy Kreme's.

5/10