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Preview by Lynxara
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Hudson Soft
Release Date: 1/30/07
Genre(s): Mini-Games
Category: Cartoony
# of Players: 1-4
The talented folks at Hudson Soft developed the various Mario Party games
for Nintendo, and in Fuzion Frenzy 2 they’re pretty much doing the same
thing for Microsoft. To match the 360’s sportier audience, the character designs
have a bit more of an action-cartoon vibe to them, and they look much better on
the 360 than they did on the Xbox. All six of the original playable characters return,
along with rumors of a new, hidden seventh character.
What sets Fuzion Frenzy 2 apart from the other Hudson titles in this vein
is the way it incorporates Xbox Live into the gameplay, and its tournament
mode. Fuzion Frenzy 2’s mini-games are strewn about seven planets, most
grouped together by some obvious theme. You clear tournament mode by
dominating so many planets (selectable when you start a tournament,
up to five) by clearing all of the mini-games there and winning that
planet’s Battle Royale. During tournaments you play “Card Get” games
to gather up “Frenzy Cards” that let you manipulate the rules of the
tournament as you go.
Online or off, Fuzion Frenzy 2 is pure party game. If you don’t want to do
the standard tournament mode, you can simply play individual games you like
in Mini-Game Frenzy mode, or create your own tournaments in Custom mode.
The mini-games themselves all use colorful 3D graphics, and seem designed with
both young players and older gamers in mind. Usually, they involve collecting
something or similarly outracing the other players to perform a particular
task, with some hazards thrown around that can penalize you in various ways.
It’s fun light gaming, and definitely good for making sure little gamers don’t
up and start trying to play that copy of
Saints Row you probably have sitting around.
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Preview by HonestGamer
Publisher: TBA
Developer: Edge of Reality
Release Date: 2007
Cipher Complex, Edge of Reality’s take on the whole “government likes you enough
to grant you carte blanche but won’t admit you exist if you get caught” sort of
game, is an in-your-face twist on the genre presently dominated by Sam Fisher and
Solid Snake. Built on the Havok engine, it boasts stunning particle effects, detailed
character models and a glossy sheen that makes something crystal clear: graphics
and action weren’t afterthoughts.
You can see it in the big details, like a hallway that fades into the sweet darkness.
Two soldiers patrol the lonely chamber, guns diagonal across their chest, faces
down. You can see it in the small ones: John Cipher stands at one end or the
corridor, leaning against a wall with a bloody knife the size of a lead pipe hanging
almost negligently from an arm so muscular it would make Arnold Schwarzenegger
wake in a cold sweat. Biceps and veins bulge.
As one soldier strays further from his comrade than is wise, Cipher steps out from
behind the wall, lifts his hapless adversary with one arm and slams him against the
wall. He’s like James Bond, if England’s finest ditched the martini for an extra 50
pounds of pure muscle. The soldier’s bones crack against the concrete and he goes
down in a heap. Already Cipher is moving on to the other patrolman. He hasn’t
even broken a sweat.
The blend of stealth, action and a visual kick in the abdomen are just what some
gamers are seeking. It’s hard not to look at Cipher Complex as a long-overdue
upgrade to the genre. The folks at Edge of Reality would certainly like your
consideration and, after what we’ve seen, we’re ready to say they just might
deserve it. Sometimes you don’t see the good ones coming.
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Genre(s): Action
Category: Stealth
# of Players: 1
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