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Video Games : Electronic Arts Games : PlayStation 2
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Electronic Arts
The greatest battle of the new football season is not between any real world club but between the virtual giants of FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer. Konami's game has always been the favourite but last year FIFA closed the gap to such a degree that the title race has never been closer. This year's FIFA uses a completely new game engine, for the first time built specifically for the next gen consoles. But improved graphics and animation are only the half of it, with just as much focus going on the artificial intelligence thanks to the new "35 point decision engine". What this basically means is that every player on the pitch is fully aware of those around him and constantly thinking about tactics and position when not under your control.
Other changes include better modelled physics for taking a shot on goal, which take into account everything from air pressure to the angle of your foot. You're also able to create your own special moves to replicate every possible trick from real life. There are also new game modes including Be A Pro which challenges you to play the role of a single player through a whole season or career. On top of this there are revamped online leagues to play a virtual season in the Premier League, Bundesliga, French League or Mexican 1st Division against real opponents. With 620 licensed teams, 30 offline leagues and 15,000 players as well FIFA might just have made enough new signings this year to put it over the top.
Harrison Dent
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Electronic Arts
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Electronic Arts
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Electronic Arts
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Electronic Arts
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Electronic Arts
While Electronic Arts' other sports games may be locked in a deadly rivalry with their competitors there really hasn't been a golf sim to go head-to-head with Tiger Woods for years. There doesn't seem to be too much laurel sitting going on though, especially since this is, like many Electronic Arts games this year, the first time the game has been designed specifically with the next generation of consoles in mind. Naturally that means the most realistic graphics yet, not only for the course itself but also for Tiger and the other real-world golfers. Their faces and expressions look totally life-like and on the PS3 and 360 you can use a webcam or digital camera to import your own face and graft it to your own in-game custom golfer.
In terms of gameplay the major new feature is the concept of "shot confidence" which monitors your performance through your whole career, adding an extra degree of tension to difficult shots but also allowing you to examine your game in detail to find out where you're going right and wrong. After criticisms that last year's game was a bit thin on options this new game has the greatest number of courses ever including Westchester Country Club, TPC Boston, Cog Hill and East Lake. There's also the expanded GamerNet mode which acts like a sort of YouTube just for the game, allowing you post in-game videos and challenge other people to a game in an online world dedicated to nothing but golf.
Harrison Dent
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Electronic Arts
If there's one thing to be said of the Need for Speed series, it's that it never stays the same for long. After only one sequel EA have decided to give the underground night racing theme a rest and let you drive in the sunlight for a change. You're still a super-illegal street racer though and indeed much of the game revolves around you being pursued by the police in some very Blues Brothers-esque chases.Appearing to take a leaf out of Burnout's book, the game encourages you to make the most of traffic and roadside objects, in order to put off the long arm of the law or simply one of your fellow racers. The demo race so far seen features a lot of weaving in and out of traffic and some very cinematic touches such as zipping underneath a giant lorry carrying tree logs, which then spill out on the road behind you further aiding your escape.
The graphics in the game have definitely received a boost from the last one and appear far more detailed and ambitious in scope than Underground. Unsurprisingly the ability to customise your car is still a large part of the appeal, although again there's a big distinction between extras that are just for show and performance tuning that actually has an effect on the way your car performs.
It probably still won't please hardened petrolheads but if you just want a simple, accessible racing game it looks like Need for Speed is set to deliver once more. --Harrison Dent
This preview is based on an incomplete version of the game; features or problems mentioned above may not appear in the finished game.
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Electronic Arts
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Electronic Arts
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Electronic Arts
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Electronic Arts
If there really isn't any such thing as bad publicity then Mercenaries 2 is already doing superbly. It certainly already has its fair share of infamy, after being denounced by the Venezuelan government as propaganda for the U.S. Army and even dragging Bono (who part owns developer Pandemic) into a row over its probity. Mind you North Korea weren't too keen about the first game either and that turned out all right.
The reason poor Bono's name has been dragged into the dirt is that the game's plot revolves around a U.S. led invasion of Venezuela after a dictator takes control in a coup. It's pretty hard to get offended about a game as gleefully silly as this though as its interests are clearly not politics but simply blowing things up as creatively as possible. As before you're dropped into the war zone and free to ply your mercenary trade with whomever you want. However, this time you're in charge of your own PMC (Private Military Company) and get to set up your own base and recruit your own soldiers.
Owning your own PMC gives you a lot more control over how exactly you play the game in what is essentially Grand Theft Auto in a warzone. Everything you see can be completely destroyed from innocuous shrubbery to be the biggest buildings. You can now swim as well and there's lot more vehicles and gadgets, from helicopters to grappling hooks. With an online co-op mode as well even Hugo Chávez couldn't fail to be entertained (maybe).
Harrison Dent
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Electronic Arts
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Electronic Arts
Bringing familiar faces and locations from the hit film, EA's tie-in game The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King could be easily written off at first glance as a simple cash-in. It's therefore a very pleasant surprise to find such an addictive and high quality game nestling at the heart of it all.The developers have, as with the enjoyable Two Towers tie-in, opted for a beat-'em-up in the style of old classics such as Golden Axe. It proves to be a wise choice. Seamlessly incorporating some of the finest cinematic moments from the film, the game is a frenetic, rip-roaring and hugely entertaining affair. And surprisingly, it's a well-thought-through and highly challenging one too. The gameplay rewards the player willing to try things other than the same old moves, and through a series of combos and upgrades, it constantly pushes you onward. It's no one-weekend wonder either, with a healthy long-term challenge packed in.
Downers? A couple of levels don't quite reach the standards set by the game's best, and the toughness of the challenge may also deter more casual gamers. They'd be really missing out though, for not only is Return of the King one of the best movie tie-ins of recent times--certainly eclipsing the aforementioned Two Towers title--it's a tremendously enjoyable game in its own right. It's just a shame now that EA have run out of films and books, as we'd happily thirst for another instalment 12 months down the line. Best make the most of this one, then... --Simon Brew
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Electronic Arts
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Electronic Arts
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Electronic Arts
Medal of Honor returns to its console roots with this first outing on the PS2 for Lt Jimmy Patterson. This time the setting is June 6, 1944--D-Day and beyond--and the game begins with you storming the beachhead at Normandy. Frontline definitely lives up to its name, and from the outset the action is intense. As you rush up the shingle, comrades falling beside you and artillery ringing in your ears, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were on the set of Saving Private Ryan. Players of the PC incarnation will recognise this mission from Allied Assault, but here is where the similarities end; Frontline is a new game with new objectives and levels designed perfectly for the console.If you survive D-Day you enter the real meat of the game--Operation Market Garden (Arnhem). From scuttling a U-Boat to clearing checkpoints in the town itself, the missions are brilliantly designed. The true playability of the Medal of Honor series is how immersive it is: narrative, graphics and sound all combine to give you one of the most gripping first-person shooters on any format. Backgrounds are beautifully detailed, and the sound really sets the game apart. The control system is also intuitive, with the option to customise your controller or choose one of the two default options: MOH Sharpshooter (two analogue stick-control) or the original controls used in the PSone's Medal of Honor.
There are only two criticisms that can be levelled at the game. Firstly, the artificial intelligence errs on the stupid side, with enemies standing around watching comrades get shot, and although this changes with the difficulty level it never responds in a particularly "human" way. Secondly, you can only save at the end of a mission (always a feature of console conversions), so it's quite frustrating to be unceremoniously dumped right back at the beginning after battling your way through a level. But hey, this is war, after all, and these are small niggles about what is a genuinely phenomenal game. Sign up now: the Allies need you. --Kristen Bowditch
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Electronic Arts
Just as the Harry Potter movies seem to be getting better with each sequel, so to the games have been improving with every new release. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire shows every sign of being the best yet with a greater emphasis on playing all the characters and not just Harry.Harry, Ron, and Hermione are all playable (and they look like the actors from the film too) and each has their own special abilities, strengths and weakness. These can be augmented by collecting and using Collector's and Creature Cards as well, almost like a proper role-playing game.
Perhaps the games greatest draw though, other than much improved graphics, is the co-operative mode which allows you to play all the way through the game with up to two friends joining in. There'll be no arguments over who gets to be Harry either as everyone has to work together with the most powerful spells only being possible by everyone combining their powers. The spell casting itself works in a different way than before with the analogue controllers being used to move your wand around on screen--you can even feel it shake as the rumble pack of your controller kicks in.
Harry haters still won't enjoy this on principle, and to be honest it's neither the most original or difficult game ever made, but for fans of the films and books it looks absolutely wizard. -- Harrison Dent
This preview is based on an incomplete version of the game; features or problems mentioned above may not appear in the finished game.
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Electronic Arts
Finally the James Bond games have done what the films should've done years ago: they've gone back to the `60s. From Russia with Love doesn't seem to have all that much to do with the film of the same name (it seems an odd choice anyway since it was the least gadget heavy of all the movies and even vaguely realistic in parts) but it is highly evocative of Connery era Bond in general.Even ignoring the `60s angle, the fact that the game is obviously trying to distance itself from the risible GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is another obvious boon. It's a third person adventure much more in keeping with Everything or Nothing, with a similar mix of on foot and vehicle combat, with particular emphasis seeming to be given to the jetpack from Thunderball.
Although Bond looks and sounds (thanks to newly recorded dialogue by the man himself) like Sean Connery the game also has a role-playing element where you can customise your character according to your preferred style of play. There's also an online and split screen multiplayer mode for you to compare these settings with friends.
Alas there doesn't yet seem to be any sign of a mini-game allowing you to ferret out bad guys according to their incorrect choice of wine at the dinner table, but in all other respects this is shaping up to be the ultimate retro Bond game. --Harrison Dent
This preview is based on an incomplete version of the game; features or problems mentioned above may not appear in the finished game.
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Electronic Arts
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Electronic Arts
