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Reviews Archive
         
         
 
70
ISS Pro Evolution   ISS Pro Evolution
  As usual Konami excelled themselves with this superlative sports title. Wonderful, responsive controls, and great computer AI helped to make this the definitive Football/Soccer title of its generation.
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69
Gradius Gaiden   Gradius Gaiden
  Gradius Gaiden does the classic shmup series proud, providing all the polish and great gameplay you'd expect from such a renowned series. To be honest it doesn't exactly re-invent the wheel, but make no mistake this game is no lazy rehash, the graphics and art design are lovely, and are full of memorable set-pieces (including the return of many classic bosses), and the 2-player mode is particularly awesome.
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68
Klonoa   Klonoa on PS1
  Klonoa is a brilliant 2.5D platform game with some really imaginative, stellar art design throughout. On top of some very solidly designed platforming elements the gameplay has you grabbing the enemies, allowing you to throw them at each other, or use them as a stepping stones for a double jump. The whole thing has a ton of charm, and the elements come together to create a likeable, appealing experience, with the only real issue being the length.
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67
Point Blank   Point Blank on PS1
  Colourful lightgun game which, along with Time Crisis helped to make Namco the undisputed king of the genre on PS1. Point Blank's gameplay is built around quick minigames each of which have different tasks and objectives. The minigame set-up, and fast pace creates an experience containing a lots of variety and enjoyment.
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66
G Darius   G Darius on PS1
  Truth be told I've never been much of a fan of the Darius series, I've always found the power-up system to be fairly uninspired, and levels unmemorable, but all of this changed when I played G Darius. Here we have very clever, very imaginative shooter with a lot of depth and content. The staple power-up system is still there, but the developers have decided to fuse it with the excellent power-up system pioneered in the Mega Drive game Gaiares, essentially you can steal weapons from the enemy ships, with each enemy ship gives you a different style of power-up. The new revamped power-up system, as well as some updated 2.5D style graphics, and branching paths between stages elevate G Darius to being one of the absolute best scrolling shmups of the 32-bit generation.
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65
Future Cop LAPD   Future Cop LAPD
  Future Cop is an under-appreciated mission based game which has you controlling a mech that can transform into a car, its mildly reminiscent of the Strike series of games. Future Cop does its campaign mode very well, the objectives are diverse, the gameplay is filled with cool weapons, and big explosions, and the whole thing can be played co-operatively in an excellent split screen mode, not only that but on top of the main campaign there's also a fully formed strategy game thrown in for good measure too (itself with both single player and multiplayer options). The strategy game is a simple capture the bases and create units affair, but its still very fun in its own right, leading the game to be one of the best deals of its era.
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64
Fear Effect 2   Fear Effect 2
  For those unfamiliar with the original Fear Effect, it was a great Resident Evil style survival horror game with impressive graphics, and cool puzzles that, with its buxom main character (who, according to the plot once worked in a brothel) occasionally trod the thin line of good taste. With this sequel the developers decided to go the whole way with the "mature" elements and revel in excess, the result is a title that's as close to the feel of campy grindhouse sexploitation cinema as the videogame industry has ever gotten! Definitely a unique and engrossing game.
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63
Abe's Exodus   Abe's Exodus
  Member of the Oddworld series of games and the sequel to the earlier (also excellent) Abe's Odyssey. Abe's Exodus is mainly a 2D platformer with a high emphasis on puzzles, the general gameplay focuses quite heavily on trial and error, but its actually done so well here that it manages to work (mainly because you get unlimited lives and respawns are never too far away). The storylines of the two Oddworld games on Playstation were among the most well written, and interesting of the games of the era, with a cast of characters who were fleshed out, and very likeable. The main improvements in this sequel were better balancing, and an improved saving method.
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62
Parappa the Rapper   Parappa the Rapper
  Here we have what many consider to be a genre defining title. Parappa the Rapper pioneered what is now referred to as the rhythm action game, essentially you have to match the musical beats with timed button presses which follow the onscreen prompts. The game has a humourous plot, and is quite accessible, so its very easy to see why it remains so well liked today.
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61
Warcraft 2: Dark Saga   Warcraft 2 on PS1
  Take the original Command and Conquer, change the setting to fantasy, and add some great humour and you have a pretty good idea of what Warcraft 2 is like. The game is a strategy title which has you mining resources, and creating buildings and units in real time to try to obliterate your opponent before they get you first.
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