A gritty FPS released towards the end of the sixth generation
Developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts in 2006. The game was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles, and later made compatible with the Xbox One.
The game follows the story of Jack Kellar, an operative in a secretive government agency known as the “Black Ops”. The game is set in various locations across the globe, and the player must use a variety of weapons to fight through enemy forces and complete objectives. Kind of similar to another game that features the Black Ops name that would be released a few years later.
One of the standout features of Black is its impressive graphical fidelity for a game released in 2006. The game features realistic textures, lighting, and particle effects, which help to create an immersive and gritty atmosphere. The game’s sound design is also excellent, with a range of realistic weapon sounds and explosive effects that add to the immersion.
Gameplay-wise, Black is a fairly standard first-person shooter with a few unique elements. The game’s “gun porn” approach means that the player has access to a large variety of real-world firearms, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The game also features destructible environments and objects, allowing players to blast through walls and obstacles to create new paths or take out enemies.
While Black is an enjoyable game, it does suffer from a few shortcomings. The game’s story is fairly thin and generic, and the voice acting can be hit-or-miss at times. Also the game’s difficulty is overly punishing, particularly on higher difficulties. There also isn’t much diversity in the gameplay as you can gather from the screenshots, mostly you just point and shoot at enemies. No puzzles to solve or any underwater or driving segments to break up the gameplay.
The story of Black follows Jack Kellar, a member of a secretive government agency known as the “Black Ops”, as he carries out a series of missions across the globe. As Kellar progresses through the game, he begins to uncover a larger conspiracy involving a mysterious arms dealer named Solomon. Along the way, he encounters a number of other operatives, both friendly and hostile, and uncovers more about the larger conspiracy at play.
Ultimately, Kellar discovers that Solomon is attempting to sell a powerful new weapon to a rogue CIA agent named Moffitt. Kellar and his team must then race to stop Moffitt from acquiring the weapon and using it for his own nefarious purposes. Most of the story is told through the FMV cutscenes, which cannot be skipped unless you are replaying the mission. There isn’t any multiplayer element in Black which is odd for an FPS, but it shows most of the effort went into the storyline and gameplay.
An FPS from the developers of the Batman Arkham games.
Urban Chaos: Riot Response is a first-person shooter video game developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released in 2006 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox and was part of the last batch of FPS games for the sixth generation consoles, as the PS3 and 360 were starting to take over.
The game takes place in a fictional city called Union City, where a gang called “The Burners” has taken over and is causing chaos and destruction. The player takes on the role of Nick Mason, a member of an elite police unit called T-Zero, tasked with restoring order to the city.
One of the standout features of Urban Chaos: Riot Response is the game’s emphasis on non-lethal force. While the player is armed with a variety of weapons, they are encouraged to use non-lethal force to subdue rioters and gang members. Failing to do this will impact the mission, and will affect your overall objects and medals of which can be used to unlock additional weapons. Many enemies can be subdued by using the tazer to shock them.
And if you are wondering why the gaming is called The Burner, they like to play with fire, a lot of fire. Expect there to be a lot of burning buildings in the game, and enemies that throw Molotov’s.
The game also features a robust multiplayer mode, allowing players to compete against each other in a variety of game modes. The multiplayer is a lot of fun and adds significant replay value to the game.
The plot of Urban Chaos: Riot Response revolves around the efforts of an elite police unit called T-Zero to restore order to the fictional city of Union City, which has been taken over by a gang known as “The Burners.”
The player takes on the role of Nick Mason, a newly recruited member of T-Zero, who must battle against the Burners and other gangs that have taken over the city. Along the way, Nick will face a variety of challenges, including hostage situations, bomb threats, and other violent confrontations.
As Nick progresses through the game, he begins to unravel a larger conspiracy involving the Burners and their enigmatic leader, a masked figure known only as “Kane.” With the help of his fellow T-Zero officers, Nick must navigate the dangerous streets of Union City and bring an end to the Burners’ reign of terror.
Eleven missions are featured in the game which are set around the city. You start off on Hope Street where the local Police station is under attack. This level serves as a tutorial of sorts which gives you guidance on how to use the various weapons and commands for your NPC’s who can assist in completing the level objectives. Eventually you make your way through the canals, through City Hall, the Dockyards and the City Metroline. Disrupting the gang’s presence as you go along. The game finishes in your own safe house where you must defend it from the criminal gangs. Each mission begins with a cutscene presented in the format of a news report, like something you would see off CNN or Fox News. There are also in game cutscenes and dialog from the NPC’s that explain the mission details.
All missions have a primary objective that must be completed, and special objectives that whilst optional, will unlock medals that are useful later in the game. Many of these are for non-lethal arrests, not harming innocent bystanders, headshots and collecting gang masks (for DNA samples I assume).
Many missions will feature one or more companions that you must protect and keep alive, as they are required to unlock certain doors, or to activate specific objects. The mission will fail if these characters die.
Emergency missions refer to specific in-game scenarios or situations that require immediate attention and intervention by the player-controlled character – Nick Mason, and the T-Zero unit. These missions typically involve high-stakes situations that contribute to the overall narrative of the game. The term “emergency missions” suggests that urgent action is needed to address a crisis or threat within the game’s fictional city.
These missions can vary in nature and may include scenarios such as:
Hostage Situations: T-Zero must rescue hostages held by criminals or terrorists.
Bomb Threats: Dealing with explosive devices that pose a threat to public safety.
Armed Confrontations: Engaging in intense gunfights with criminal elements.
Every so often the game will play a slow-mo sequence of an enemy getting shot, very Max Payne
There is also a multiplayer mode that supports both Xbox Live and System Link. Insignia currently supports this game and it plays quite well though finding enough players for a match will be a challenge, its best to check the official Discord to find other players. Here you can play as either the Burners (gang) or T-Zero and you must fight for control of the map.
A compilation of an expansion pack and two stuff packs.
University
One of the first expansion packs released for The Sims 2, Here sims can move up in the world by entering into the world of higher education. They can move into a dorm, enroll in a class and graduate (or flunk). Sims who have graduated have access to additional careers when they return to their home hood.
It’s worth mentioning the game tries to portray American college life, which will differ if you are not from the US. If your familiar with college-era TV shows like Undergradz, Blue Mountain State, etc, then you should be aware with what the expansion pack is trying to portray.
A new life stage is introduced, Young Adult. This is only available to sims that have enrolled in University, normal sims aging from teens to age to an adult if they choose not to go to university.
Dorms are shared housing that sims can live on. These are cheaper to live in as they do not require rent (though bills must be paid). Each dorm can have a caterer who will serve food in the canteen area. When moving in, sims will need to allocate a dorm room which is where they will sleep in. Other sims will move into any of the vacant form bedrooms.
Regular houses can also be bought, though this is harder since sims are only given 500 to start with for university. This can be increased by applying to scholarships whilst they are a teenager, which depends on the levels of skills, school grade and circumstances (like having a dead parent or an alien sim)
NPC teenagers can be aged to a young adult and made playable in University, the ‘Send sims to Uni’ button in the neighborhood screen can be used for sending sims in bulk.
Sims’ academic performance is tracked through a GPA (Grade Point Average) system. Attending classes, completing assignments, and studying all contribute to a Sim’s academic success. Not having a good enough grade can cause the sim to enter academic prohibition where they will have to repeat the semester.
University comes with its own NPCs. There are a lot of professors who serve as lecturers, which the game allocates two to each subject. Sims will automatically meet these when they attend class, and will sometimes come over to visit as a regular NPC. They can be interacted with and romances, which can be used to get a higher grade. Be careful with the drama professors, they are very romantic and are sure to cause trouble.
Other NPCs include school mascots which will visit the lot and will constantly perform the school dance. Gym teachers who will instruct sims to work out, and Streakers who are students who run around in the buff.
Lastly there is also a Cow mascot which will appear to wreak havoc with other sims, since it’s implied to be from a rival school. I’m guessing campus security isn’t that great.
The Universities
There are three pre-made university sub-hoods, any of which can be attached to each neighbourhood, They are not shared across the different hoods, so each one will have their own copy of lots, dorms and sims.
La Fiesta Tech – Set on a desert, similar to Strangetown. IDK why they named it after the Ford Fiesta car?
Fraternity: Guy, Mickey and Matthew live in a household named after a Skyrim spell
Sorority: DJ, Monica, Sarah and Jessie are one of the geek house lots
Shifting Paradymes – Gunnar, Jasmine and Zoe live in a house and are supposed to be part of a band, hence the household name. They can perm on community lots that have music instruments on them (drum kit, guitar and bass)
Worthington: Francis lives here on his own
Davis – Aldric and Almeric are twin brothers who live on the same lot
Student Housing – William, Blossom and Klara are vacant students who can be moved into any lot or dorm
Terrano – Stella is the lone sim here, and the only alien sim students
Academe le Tour – Supposed to be a typical European university, hence no greek houses are included by default.
O’Feefe – Delilah live on her own here, and has an obsession with the colour yellow
Friends – Mitch and Max live here in very tiny houses. Appears there are two different house on the lot, predating the apartment concept
Sharpe: Roxie and Jonah live here, along with Roxie’s brother Edwin. Jonah looks like Carrot Top
Biggs – Marla also lives on her own here
First Year – Phineaus, Ellen and Chaz all live here in their own household and appear to be a diverse group of different personalities
Students – Emily and Tom live here and are ready to be moved into any dorm.
Sim State University
Bright: Three outcast students. Martin, Jane and Allegra, who remind me of Janice of Mean Girls
Frat Brothers: Your typical college fraternity, with Ashley (who reminds me of Dennis from Always Sunny), Castor, Joshua (the jock) and Kevin (the stoner/slacker)
Tri-Var Sorority: Tiffany, Brittany and Heather
Freshman: Similar to the first-year students from Academe Le Tour, Sam, Jared and Ty are all new to campus
Phoenix: Jimmy is implied to be a foreign exchange student, or an immigrant looking for better opportunities
Swain: Erik is on his own and is also a freshman
Students will return to the main hood once they graduate, and can be moved into any lot or move into an existing household.
Each hood has its own set of community lots, like a library where sims can upskill. Student unions where sims can interact with other sims and dedicated shops.
Greek houses are lots that have sims who are part of the fraternity. They have access to additional interactions, more of which are unlocked when you level up the house, This can be done by making more friends on campus. To become part of a Greek house, your sim will need to befriend 3-5 sims who are part of the Greek house (done by pledging through the phone.
IKEA Home Stuff
Included a bunch of furniture from IKEA. Typically included chairs, tables, beds and decorative objects. The furniture added here is quite cheap making it ideal for low-income or starter families, and for students who have just moved into college. This is also a good addition if you have the Apartment Life expansion pack.
Teen Style Stuff
Adds a lot of clothes and hairstyles for teenage sims. Mainly consists of bedroom sets like the ones seen in Family Fun stuff. these include beds, wardrobes, wallpaper, carpet and end tables that conform to a specific style. These are used to give some style of a teenage bedroom, but can also be used for regular adult sims.
The sequel to one of the best-selling games of all time.
Sims themselves were a lot more complex compared to the previous installment, with sims now being rendered entirely in 3D graphics. In the original game only the head and body could be customized with only three body types and skin colour. Sims 2 made this more diverse with four skin colours being introduced, face sliders to customize the sims appearance and more customizable cloths, (Although you couldn’t change the colour of them, which was something the console versions could do).
Body sizes remained the same with the normal, thin and fat body types, which wasn’t very diverse since the fat sims only look slightly chubby, they are nowhere near the My-600lbs-life level. Then again Maxis would have had clipping issues when the sims had close contact with another sim or object, and would have had to have various different animations for the body types. The concept of genetics was also introduced where sims can pass on their appearance and personality through their offspring, unlike the later game this got pretty complicated with the concept of recessive and dominant genes, later games just kept it simple and combined elements of both sims.
Memories and aspirations are new concepts introduced into the game, with memories serving as achievements that are saved. Aspirations serve as an indicator to a sims mental health, by achieveing ‘Wants’ their aspiraion bar will begin to fill. Fulfilling ‘Fears’ will cause this to go down and when it enters a failure state, sims will break down and will get a visit from a therapist. Points earned from Wants are used to redeem aspiration rewards, which can be used to make skilling or social itneractions easier or to increase the sims lifespan. These cannot be bought for case, only for points.
The concept of genetics and family trees are introduced in this game, where sims can pass on their personality and appearance onto their offspring. The comcept of family relations is also present here, which special socialinteractions being made avaliable to family members.
The Hoods
VeronavilleStrangetown
The original sims game only supported one hood, with multiple hoods being a feature of several of the expansion packs, however these hoods are all set in the same location with very little diversity in the environment. Sims 2 expands on the neighborhoods by allowing the ability to have custom hoods from the base game, and even come with three neighborhoods.
Pleasentview: This is supposed to be the original neighborhood from the first Sims game, but set 25 years later with the Sims themselves having aged older. There are many familiar families like the Goths, Burb and Pleasent. Non of the original lots return, will all the houses being remodeled to take advantage of the new building tools.
Strangetown – One of my favorite hoods because of how eccentric some of the characters are, set in a remote desert.
Veronaville – Inspired by various Shakespeareplays including Romeo and Juliet and The Midsummer Knights Dream. There are three main families who have a very rich backstory. The lots follow either a tudor or an Italian design.
Hoods are based on Simcity 4 small citys, and you can even see the .sc4 file extension allowing for custom hoods to be created using Simcity 4, and then exported to The Sims 2. The terrain level and type could also be customised, although once set you cannot change this within the game. This differs from the original game which was fixedin the neighbourhood type and layout,a dn yiou were limited by the amount of lots (10 int he stock game, 48 in Unleashed) WithSims 2, you are givern the choice of quanitity or size, with larger lots occupying more space.
Pre-made sims
A lot of the premade sims have a storyline allocated to them, although this isn’t part of the gameplay itself, storytelling is a focused component of the game with the ability to take screenshots and capture video through the game. Of which can be collected into a family photo album. Some sims have premade scrips that function when you play them for the first time, some of which will introduce some of the games mechanics and features. The Calientes for example with have a scripted burglar appear on the lot at the first night
Pleasentview
Goth: Mortimer and Cassandra return 25 years older, complete in a new crib with the trademark gothic architecture and a gravestone. Alexander is the son of Mortimer and Bella, who is mysteriously missing (but can be added back into the game with either SimPE or the Sim Manipulator object) .
Pleasant: Daniel has grown up and has a wife Mary-Sue and kids of his own, twins Angels and Lilith. Daniel appears to be having an affair with the maid, whilst the twins have the worst sibling rivalry ever seen
Broke: Brandi with her son Dustin and Beau, live in what appears to be a trailer
Dreamer: Widow Darren and his son Dirk, who are struggeling to pay the bills
Oldie: An elderly couple with no kids, Coral and Herb. I normally have these adopt a kid just to keep their legacy alive, if you prefer to keep their generics there is also a mod that lets you create a baby from the crib directly.
Burb: Daniel Pleasant’s sister – Jennifer who married John Burb, who was also from the original sims game. They have a daughter. No sign of Johnny’s pet dog Tucker
Caliente – Nina and Dina – two sisters who have recently moved in and have already wrecked havoc in the neighborhood. Dina has already had an affair with Mortimer Goth, had previously married Michael Bachelor (Bella’s brother and a sim who was also in the original game). Interestingly their family tree shows they have alien ancestry
Lothario – Don who is the male counterpart to the Caliente sisters, this one also has an affair with both of them, and is engaged to be married with Cassandra Goth
There are also a few NPC’s that are well known, Kaylin Langerak (Who appears in The Sims 3), Gordon King and Goopy Gliscarbo – the NPC with the best fashion sense.
StrangeTown
Grunt: A military-esque family with General Buzz with his three sons Tank, Ripp and Buck Grunt. Tank seems to be the type of sim who is desperate for his fathers attention and tries to emulate him, Ripp seems like a slacker/stoner type who is struggling to find his feet, while Buck is the youngest. Their mother, Lydia divorced before passing away, and her grave can be found in Olive Specters garden, speaking off…
Specter: Olive Specter, one of my favourite premade sims since there is such as mystery around her, why does she have so many gravestones in her yard of different sims, why does she have positive memories of the Grim Reaper, why has she been married multiple times and why did she lose her only child to social services? Living with Olive is her niece, Ophelia who has a punk-rock style, like a black Avril Lavigne during her ‘Let Go’ era or Fefe Dobson.
Smith: The first alien hybrid family consists of Pollination technician 9, his human wife Jenny and their kids Johhny and Jill who live in a house that looks like something off Wisteria Lane (Desperate Housewives)
Singles: Four roommates with Erin (Who is related to Loki Beaker below), Kirsten and sisters Lola and Chloe.
Beaker: Loka and his wife Circe, along with their adopted slave Nervous Subject
Curious: Three brothers who live on some sort of observatory, with one of them being up the duff from an alien.
Loner: Just Ajay on his own, ready to move into a vacant lot. I typically pair him upo with a random townie
LAN Party, 2004 style
Veronaville
Capp – Consort is the oldest surviving member, with Kent and daughter’s Regan, Goneril and Cordelia, who is deceased. Goneril is married to Albany, who is ready to move into a vacant lot. Cordelia issurvived by Juliet, Hermia and Tybalt who live with Consort.
Monty – Based on the Montague family from Romeo & Juliet, Isabella is the matriach of the family, with Antonio and Biana present in the family bin, ready to move into an empty lot.
Summerdream – Oberon and Titania, and their kids Puck and Bottom.
Theres a shocking lack of Macbeth here, maybe that was too spicy for the game?
The new NPC’s
Most of the existing NPC’s serve a similar purpose to the previous game, but you can now interact them by talking or tipping them. If your sim builds up a relationship with them they can also move in with them.
Your typical nanny experiance
Nanny: These will take care of your child and toddler sims and can be set to track your sims work schedule so they will arrive before your sims are due for work. Unfortunately the Nanny’s are either incompetent or senile as they will often neglect the children and will go off and do something else whilst the babies are crying. Also the default-generated nanny’s seen to have very low nice personality points and will constantly fight with your sim. And they will constantly cook meals when there is no need to, and will also keep fetching baby bottles from the fridge despite there being plenty avaliable. Still, they are useful for keeping the social worker at bay. Bartender: Useful for parties, they will tend the bur and will refill and serve drinks. Exterminator: Will remove roaches, but not flies from the lot. You still need to clean up after them but they are useful against large swarms of them.
Dina left the front door unlocked again…
The Maid, Repairman, and Gardener continue to appear and can be contacted through the phone.
Deluxe Edition
This edition comes with the base game and the Nightlife expansion, another edition exists that adds the items from the Celebration expansion.
The Sims Nightlife
Developed similar to the Hot Date expansion pack for the original Sims, Nightlife was intended to bring added depth and variety to the social and nighttime activities of Sims in the game. The expansion aimed to provide players with more opportunities for their Sims to engage in exciting nightlife experiences and explore new aspects of their virtual lives. Here are some of the key intentions behind the expansion:
Downtown is where a lot of these new lots are located, and it can be added to any neighborhood in the game. Once added, Sims can call a taxi or drive to Downtown. Sims can also live in downtown lots, as there are residential lots available. For shops, books, magazines and video games can be purchased from downtown stores, so sims are no longer stuck with SSX3. Video games that can be brought are references to other Sims games like SimCity 4 and The Sims Bustin Out
Like the regular neighborhood lots, Downtown is entirely customizable and new lots can be added and edited as normal lots.
A few new objects have been added, with mobile phones being featured for the first time that enable sims to make phone calls on the go which does not require a landline (no text messaging though). A handheld gaming console can also be purchased along with an MP3 player which plays the same music as the radio stations.
Dates are also a new concept to the game, where sims can ask others on a downtown date. Although this was in the first game, a new scoring meter which determines how well the date has gone based on social interactions and the amount of wants fulfilled during the date. You will be able to see the other sims wants to help fulfill them. Sims are rewarded for getting a high score, they may receive a gift or a card in the mail.
Cars are a welcome addition to the game where sims can drive to different community lots (but not residential lots) This was a similar concept to Bustin out. Sims must purchase and make room for a driveway on the lot, which a lot of the default Maxis lots had little to no support for and require adjustment. Adults can use their car to drive to work, replacing the carpool. They can also drive to work if they miss the carpool, though they are warned if they repeatedly come to work late. Teenagers can also drive which is useful if they miss the school bus.
No premande sims are included unless you count the mysterious Tricou family. There are exclusive Downtown NPCs that will only appear on Downtown lots and are generally intended for dating.
DLC
Shortly after release, EA offered official downloads for the game, which could be downloaded under the ‘Get Cool Stuff’ section of the website. One of which was a Running With Scissor’s, where your sim will pick up and run around with a pair of scissors. Some sort of PSA from Maxis on why you shoudn’t run around with sicssors. There is also an Alienware PC which gives a lot of Fun, but was never upgraded for alter expansions which means it cannot take advantage of features introduced in University (Like completing assignments or scholraships) but modded versions are available which support these features.
The Nightlife expansion also featured exclusive DLC in the from of downloadable Ford cars.
GTA Liberty City Stories is an action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar Leeds and published by Rockstar Games in 2005. It was originally released for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and later ported to PlayStation 2, iOS, and Android. The game is a prequel to Grand Theft Auto III, set three years prior to the events of the game, and follows the story of Toni Cipriani, a former member of the Leone crime family who returns to Liberty City after being forced into hiding.
GTA Liberty City Stories follows the same open-world gameplay formula as the other games in the GTA series. Players control Toni Cipriani, a Mafia enforcer who completes various missions to advance the game’s plot. The game features a large, open-world environment that players can explore freely, either on foot or by using various vehicles. The game also features a range of side missions and activities, such as taxi driving, vigilante missions, and ambulance missions, which provide players with additional ways to earn money and gain experience points.
The game’s combat system is similar to that of other GTA games, with players able to use a range of weapons to take on enemies, including guns, grenades, and melee weapons. The game also features a targeting system that makes it easier to aim and shoot at enemies.
GTA Liberty City Stories follows the story of Toni Cipriani, a Mafia enforcer who returns to Liberty City after being forced into hiding for several years. The game is set in 1998, three years prior to the events of Grand Theft Auto III, and explores the events that led up to the game’s story. As with other GTA games story is engaging and well-written, featuring a range of interesting characters and plot twists. The game’s voice acting and cutscenes are also well done, further adding to the game’s story.
The game perfectly captures what New York was in the late 90s, right down to the music played on the in-game radio stations which feature a diverse mix. RISE FM for example will feature house and dance music that was popular of the era.
The main character of GTA Liberty City Stories is Toni Cipriani, a former member of the Leone crime family who returns to Liberty City after being forced into hiding. Throughout the game, Toni takes on various missions for a range of characters, including Salvatore Leone, The boss of the Leone crime family and Toni’s former boss. Salvatore is a major figure in the game’s story and features prominently in many of the game’s missions.
JD O’Toole is a small-time criminal and owner of the Paulie’s Revue Bar strip club. JD becomes a key ally of Toni’s throughout the game. Mickey Hamfists is a member of the Leone crime family and one of Toni’s closest allies. Mickey helps Toni throughout the game and is often involved in the game’s more violent missions.
Versions
PSP
The game was initially released on the Sony PSP which featured wireless LAN play. This was the first 3D GTA title to be released on a portable console, following the success of GTA Advance.
PlayStation 2
It was later ported for the PlayStation 2 which saw a higher resolution and smoother framerate, though some would believe it was a step back from the graphics we had seen in GTA San Andreas. Still this wasn’t intended to be a mainline GTA title, more like an experimental spinoff.
This version of the game would be released on the PlayStation Network for the PS3 and whilst it uses its PS2 emulator, the build is modified with some of the soundtracks being cut. Most notable is RISE FM with Sneaker Pimps Spin Spin Suger being cut completely. This isn’t the only GTA game to have its soundtrack cut with Vice City and San Andreas also having some of their soundtracks cut.
Mobile / Android
Later Rockstar would port the game onto mobile through the Android and iOS platforms. These serve as a remake of sorts as they feature altered mechanics to make use of the touch screens. The Android version can be controlled via a controller and is fully compatible with Android TV devices like the Nvidia Shield (This is what the screenshots are based on)
Some missions have been altered to make the game easier, likely due to the difficult nature of the touch-based control which these ports were designed for.
Later Android versions would break the game (Android 10 onwards). Patched APK’s exist which make the game playable again. Such versions even include trainer compatibility.
Overall, GTA Liberty City Stories is an excellent addition to the GTA series, providing players with a well-written story, engaging gameplay, and solid graphics and sound design. While it may not be as polished as more recent GTA games, it is still a great game in its own right and is well worth playing for fans of the series or action-adventure games in general.
A racing game set on a typical Japanese city highway, complete with rival traffic that you have to overtake and avoid.
There are three different courses available, each named after difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard). The harder courses have more complicated tracks with sharper corners, and more dense traffic to avoid. They are also set at different times, with the easiest being set in the evening (Sunset Trial), the medium being set at night (Starlight heat) and the hardest at Midnight (The Midnight Run)
There are also four different vehicles to choose from, though there isn’t any difference with their speed or handling, holding the start button down lets you enabled tuning mode, where all the cars have spoilers on them. I assume these are much faster but with less handling.
Initially released in arcades, the game was later ported to the PlayStation in Japan and Europe. There isn’t any new content or game modes added so I can’t really recommend it over the arcade version which has much better graphics. Speaking of, this does run on the Konami ZR107 arcade board which uses the PowerPC 403e running at 32Mhz, but I wasn’t able to locate any information on its graphics hardware except that it uses an Analog Devices ADSP-21062 for its geometry engine, similar to what was used in the Sega Model 2B. it’s likely Konami licensed a 3D accelerator from another vendor.
I’m unsure how it compares to Sega or Namco’s 3D hardware as it only had three games released for it, all of which appear to be racing games.
The spin-off that became more popular that its origin game as it expands on the multiplayer aspect of Unreal.
He asked for a 13 and they drew a 31
There isn’t much point of trying to make sense of the Unreal Tournament lore, especially once the sequels come into play. Basically, the tournaments have become annual sports events (Like Soccer, football or handegg) that are also popular TV events set in a dystopian future where corporations control the government (Just like today).
Game Modes
Additional game modes and be downloaded and added to the game, making it very flexible for new ideas for gameplay. Jailbreak is an example of a new game mode. Because of this, Unreal Tournament, and its middleware Unreal Engine because very popular for game modders to add new maps, skins, and mutations to the game, and helped developers become familiar with the Unreal engine which would become the popular engine for various games (in fact, the seventh generations of western games were dominated by Unreal Engine 3)
Capture the Flag
You have to catch the enemy’s flag and bring it back to the base without being killed. If you are killed the flag you were holding would be dropped and someone from your team would have to pick it up, otherwise, it would teleport back to the enemy base should an enemy team member pick it up, or if the flag remains untouched after a certain amount of time.
Here good team communication is key, as you will want someone to be watching the base flag whilst others go after the enemy flag, you may wish to have team members watch certain points of the arena map, especially areas that have narrow corners or corridors. Some maps have secret paths that lead to the flag, so be careful with those.
Jump boots, one of the powerups
Deathmatch
Pure kill or be killed action, there are two main variants of this game mode, Deathmatch, and Team Deathmatch, with the former being you Vs everyone on the map. Team Deathwatch put you on one of two teams (Red Vs Blue) with the team having the most kills winning the game.
Last Man Standing: Another variant of deathmatch, here you have a limited amount of lives and have to be the last player in the arena to have one or more lives remaining. The lives affect the number of times you can spawn, with one life being deducted every time you die and respawn.
Assault
Each map has an equal set of objectives that must be completed before time runs out. One team has the role of attacking, whilst the other has to defend. When one team wins, another role starts where the teams switch sides with the opposing team defending. Spawn points depend on how far the attacking team has managed to progress, with later spawn points being available as objects have become completed.
Domination
In this mode, there are two teams who had to capture 3 bases in order to gain points. Kills are not essential and sometimes hinder your team, since the opposing player will respawn next to the area they are dominating, making it harder to capture the base. You will preferably want to weaken the enemy player, allowing for an easy kill later. Points are gained when you have captured a base, and the more bases you capture, the faster your team will accumulate points until the maximum has been reached, of which the resulting team will win.
Weapons
Translocator: Not much of a weapon in terms of damage but allows you to quickly teleport around the map. Your fire the beacon and right-click/alt-fire will teleport you to that location. Be careful though, if a player has been destroyed by the translocator, you will die.
Impact Hammer: The weapon that you use when you’ve run out of ammo and can’t find any more so as a last resort you hope you strike lucky with the impact hammer. This only works when you charge it up and sneak behind a player in order to kill them, otherwise it’s best running and finding a new weapon or ammo.
Enforcer: The default weapon that you start and respawn with. Causes minimal damage but gets the job done. The second fire does more dame and has faster speed, but very poor accuracy.
Bio-rifle: Sometimes called the snot gun, fires green-colored gel-like projectiles that stick to any surface. When a player gets in contact it can do some damage. Useful to surround the flag base or the capture point to prevent the flag from being taken. One of those fire and forget guns.
ASMD Shock Rifle: Shoots a stream of energy forward towards the target, the alt-fire shoots a ball of plasma which, when hit with the stream of energy exploded and odes further damage
Pulse Gun: Fires small green balls that are supposed to be energy pulse, nothing really spectacular since it only deals minor damage, but the alt-fire fires a straight green beam which can be linked with the beam from a teammates to increase the damage.
Ripper: Fires off razor blades which bounce off any walls or solid objects, useful for attacking around corners, just be careful since they can bounce back and damage your player
Minigun: Fires a series of bullets after a short delay, since the gun motor has to spin up. Alt fie fires more bullets but is more inaccurate
Flak Cannon: The GOAT weapon, fires a large number of projectiles, deadly upon close contact.
Rocket Launcher: Fires a rocket
Sniper Rifle: It’s a great weapon at a distance, and is somewhat usable at close range. You will really want to use this on CTF or assault games where players are more likely to camp
Redeemer: Fires a nuke into the arenas that deals a lot of damage and a large blast radius, alt-fire shoots a steerable missile but leaves you vulnerable to damage, and the missile can be shot at which will disarm the weapon.
Versions
The game was ported to more platforms than the original Unreal game which makes it more well known with the two console platforms of the time.
Dreamcast
The game was ported to the Sega Dreamcast in 2000, this version came with a few exclusive maps, a redesigned menu system, and HUD and retained keyboard and mouse support. Online play was also supported with you having the modem adaptor and an internet dial-up account. The VMU is used somewhat, it displays the Unreal logo as a looping animation.
Playstation 2
Released early into the PS2 life, this version suffers from a few framerate issues since the game was not very optimized for the PS2 vector units, and was to serve as a concept for future Unreal Engine titles. You can also see the lower resolution textures as the graphics had to squeeze into the PS2’s 4MB VRAM buffer.
Unlike the Dreamcast version, the PS2 version does not support online play at all, as the PS2 network adaptor was not released at this point (Sony originally intended for the iLink connector to be used for online multiplayer/LAN, but only the US release of Unreal Tournament supports this) This version does support the use of a USB keyboard and mouse which can be used for single-player mode and multiplayer, where up to four players can play from one console with the addition of two controllers and two sets of a keyboard and mouse. This does require a USB hub since the PS2 only has two USB ports, unless you use a combined wireless keyboard and mouse which commonly appears in wireless desktop sets.
As four players are on one screen, a big screen TV is recommended like those huge rear projection TVs that were available of the era.
There are also a few console-exclusive maps that didn’t appear in the original PC release, and some existing maps have been altered slightly due to the console’s memory limitations.
PCSX2 1.6 is capable of running the game but will encounter issues with background music stopping abruptly, and the game will randomly lockup when starting or finishing a game.
MacOS
The game was released for the Macintosh platform and is similar to the Windows PC port, and features support for the Macintosh 3D API (Known as RAVE and used the ATI 3D RAGE accelerators, or Nvidia cards on later Macs) and Glide if the Mac has a 3DFX Voodoo card installed. The game runs best on MacOS 9.2 and has issues running through the classic environment on OS X, for both Jaguar and Panther versions of Classic.
A Carbon version exists but this never left the beta stage and lacks a few features compared to the original MacOS version. This uses OpenGL for rendering and a custom User.ini file, which will cause issues if you dual boot with both OS 9 and OS X as they share the same ini file which dictates which 3D renderer the game should use. In order for these to coexist, you will need to have two different install directories of the game.
Windows
The original and lead platform of the game.
Running on an emulated 3DFX Voodoo 2 in PCem
As the game was released in the late 90s, various 3D API’s are supported
Direct3D: Initially supported version 6, with patch v413 introducing DirectX 7 support.
OpenGL
3DFX Glide: Version 2.4 of the API is supported
S3 MeTaL: An API used for S3 Savage graphics card
PowerVR SGL
Software Rendering: If your PC has no 3D graphics card, or is not supported by Direct3D or OpenGL then you can run the game in software rendering instead which uses the CPU for the rendering functions.
The game will run perfectly on modern Windows systems, even on Windows 11.
Saints Row is one wild ride. It’s like Grand Theft Auto on steroids, with an added dose of wackiness and humor – the original one that is, not the zoomer version.
You play as the leader of the Third Street Saints gang, trying to take over the city of Stilwater one block at a time. The gameplay is pretty solid. It’s a sandbox game, which means you can go anywhere and do anything you want. You can drive cars, shoot guns, and even fly helicopters. The missions are varied and exciting, ranging from taking out rival gang members to rescuing your homies from prison. There’s always something to do in this game.
The customization options are also a big plus. You can create your own character, from their physical appearance to their clothing and accessories. You can also customize your cars and weapons, making them unique to your playstyle.
But where Saints Row really shines is its humor. This game is hilarious from start to finish. The dialogue is sharp and witty, and the characters are all memorable in their own way. The game never takes itself too seriously, which makes it a refreshing change of pace from other, more serious sandbox games.
Some of the characters in the game
The Protagonist – The player-controlled character and the leader of the Third Street Saints gang.
Julius Little – A founding member of the Third Street Saints who helps the Protagonist take over the city of Stilwater.
Johnny Gat – A charismatic and violent member of the Third Street Saints who becomes a close friend and ally of the Protagonist.
Lin – A tech-savvy member of the Third Street Saints who helps the gang with their computer-related needs.
Aisha – The Protagonist’s girlfriend and a former member of a rival gang, who becomes a strong supporter of the Third Street Saints.
Dex – A member of the Third Street Saints who is known for his business acumen and negotiating skills.
Troy – A high-ranking member of the Los Carnales gang, one of the rival gangs the Third Street Saints must defeat.
Victor Rodriguez – The leader of the Los Carnales gang, who serves as the primary antagonist of the game.
The Gangs
The Third Street Saints – The main gang that the player controls in the first three games of the series. Originally a small-time gang, they become one of the most powerful and influential gangs in Stilwater and later in Steelport.
Los Carnales – A Mexican-American drug cartel that serves as the main antagonist gang in the first game of the series.
Vice Kings – An African-American gang that controls the southern part of Stilwater. They are the main antagonist gang in Saints Row 2.
Westside Rollerz – A gang that specializes in street racing and drug trafficking. They are one of the three gangs that the Third Street Saints must defeat in Saints Row.
Activities
The game features a variety of activities that players can engage in to earn money, gain respect, and improve their skills. These activities range from traditional side missions to more unique and unconventional challenges. Escort where the player must escort a VIP to a destination while protecting them from enemy attacks, Mayhem – The player must cause as much chaos and destruction as possible within a set time limit, Hitman – The player must assassinate a target without being detected by the police or rival gangs and Racing – The player can participate in a variety of street races to earn money and respect. There are other side activities like Insurance Fraud. There are also additional activities like drug trafficking, Insurance fraud and Snatch, many of these reward you with respect that is required to start certain missions, and rewards you with cash.
Like many open-world games set in urban environments, it does touch on some social and political issues, albeit in a somewhat satirical and exaggerated manner. The game prominently explores the world of street gangs and criminal organizations. It depicts the power struggles, violence, and territorial disputes that are often associated with gang culture, which can be seen as a commentary on issues related to urban crime. The game features corrupt law enforcement officials and politicians, which is a common theme in many crime-related narratives. It suggests that the line between criminals and those meant to uphold the law can sometimes blur.
Stilwater, the fictional city where the game is set, is depicted as a city with areas suffering from poverty and decay. This portrayal may reflect issues related to urban blight and inequality in real-world cities.
When the game was originally released in 2006, it was one of the few Xbox 360 exclusive titles, despite later sequels being multiplatform. It was re-released for the Xbox One as part of the backward compatible titles and can be brought digitally or played by using the Xbox 360 discs, though it still remains exclusive to the Xbox family of consoles.
Ridge Racer 6 is a fast-paced and adrenaline-fueled racer that’s easy to pick up and play, but difficult to master. The game features a wide variety of cars and tracks to choose from, each with its own unique handling and feel. The controls are responsive and tight, and the drifting mechanics are especially satisfying. However, some may find the game’s AI to be a bit too aggressive and unfair at times, especially at the last section of the world tour.
Like other Ridge Racer games, it features a mini arcade game based on a Namco property, in this case it’s the original Pac-Man. The interface is very similar to Ridge Racers on the PSP, with a very similar menu structure and HUD design, this would also carry over to the iOS version.
The game makes use of its own brands of cars that feature unique handling and statistics, with some cars performing better at drifts. Some examples of fictional cars that are known to be included in Ridge Racer 6 include the Kamata Fiera, the Danver Bayonet, the Assoluto Bisonte, the Terrazi Wild Gang, and the Himmel 490B. Each of these vehicles has its own unique strengths and weaknesses.
Harborline 765 – a city course that winds through a harbor area.
Southbay Docks – another city course that features tight turns and narrow streets.
Highland Cliffs – a mountain course with plenty of twists and turns.
Sunset Heights – a coastal course with plenty of jumps and high-speed sections.
Midtown Expressway – an urban course with long straights and wide corners.
Seaside Route 765 – a coastal course that takes place along a scenic seaside highway.
Lakeside Parkway – a course that features a long straightaway and tight turns around a lake.
The World Tour mode is a game mode in Ridge Racer 6 that allows players to compete in a series of races across a variety of different locations and tracks. In this mode, players progress through a series of Grand Prix events, with each event consisting of multiple races that take place on different courses. I believe this is also the first Ridge Race title to feature online lay over the internet, using Xbox Live, which remains active to this day.
As players progress through the World Tour mode, they earn points and unlock new cars, upgrades, and tracks. The difficulty of the races increases as players advance through the Grand Prix events, providing a challenging and engaging gameplay experience. In addition to the standard races, World Tour mode also includes a variety of special challenges and events, such as time trials, drift challenges, and lap battles. These challenges offer a unique twist on the standard racing gameplay, and provide an additional layer of depth and variety to the World Tour mode.
The Nitro game mechanic in Ridge Racer 6 is a system that allows players to temporarily boost their car’s speed and acceleration, giving them a strategic advantage during races. The Nitro system works by filling up a meter that is located on the game’s heads-up display (HUD) when players perform certain actions, such as drifting or drafting behind other cars. Once the Nitro meter is full, players can activate the Nitro boost by pressing a button, which causes their car to accelerate at a significantly faster rate than normal. This can be particularly useful during key moments in a race, such as when players are trying to overtake opponents or catch up to the pack.
In addition to the standard Nitro boost, Ridge Racer 6 also features a “Full Nitro” mechanic that can be activated when players have filled their Nitro meter to its maximum capacity. Full Nitro provides an even greater speed boost than standard Nitro, and can be particularly useful for closing large gaps between players or pulling away from the pack.
The game was only ever released for the Xbox 360, but was ported to the Xbox One as an Xbox 360 backward-compatible title. This isn’t Xbox One X enhanced which means it does not benefit from the higher resolution the Xbox One X provides.
Many of the tracks and cars appear in Ridge Racer 7, a PS3-exclusive game. Some of the music tracks that feature in R6 could also be downloaded for the PS3 as DLC.
Speaking of DLC there are numerous unlock codes to enable machines to be unlocked, and you can also purchase additional songs that were featured on the PSP version of the game.
The song downloads are rather large for their size, which makes me think these are using a lossless format, or they feature additional files. I always assumed Xbox 360 games used the WMA format for audio, or at least the Xbox version of it which should result in a smaller file size. It could also be for surround sound or additional channels, as the songs have additional effects when you fire off Nitorus.
A quick warning, the DLC become attached to your save file and you cannot load your save without them, this becomes more problematic as the Xbox 360 store becomes more ‘broken’. In order to redownload the DLC I had to navigate through the download list in the Settings/Account section of the Xbox dashboard. They no longer appear in the game information tile of the dashboard.
A better way is to purchase them from the Xbox One store (console or Web) which will then push them to the top of the download list on the Xbox 360, which makes it easier to download. Remember to save the files to the same storage location as your gamesave, the hard drive or memory unit is best.
Also a nice touch, you can change the race announcer from the standard voice to the robotic system voice, or Heiachi from the Tekken series. And there’s an option to lay the Mac-Man game from earlier.
Overall, Ridge Racer 6 is a fantastic racing game that’s sure to please fans of the genre. The game’s stunning visuals, tight controls, and satisfying drifting mechanics make for a truly exhilarating experience. While some may find the game’s AI to be a bit too aggressive, it’s a small price to pay for an otherwise fantastic racing experience. As it stands, it was a great launch for the Xbox 360, and a taste of what HD gaming would bring for racing games.
Inversion, released in 2012 for multiple platforms, aimed to offer a unique twist on the shooter genre with its gravity-manipulating mechanics and a focus on destructible environments. Developed by Saber Interactive and published by Namco Bandai Games, it generated some initial buzz due to its innovative concept.
It’s best thought about as a Gear of War clone with gravity gameplay mechanics.
The story of Inversion centers around the protagonist, Davis Russel, and his quest to rescue his missing daughter in a world invaded by an alien force known as the Lutadores. Set in the fictional city of Vanguard, the game explores the aftermath of a catastrophic event called the Inversion, where gravity has been altered, leading to widespread destruction and chaos. Davis Russel, a police officer, and his partner Leo Delgado find themselves separated from their families when the Inversion occurs. As Davis navigates through the decimated city, he discovers that the Lutadores are using their advanced technology to control gravity and oppress humanity. Davis encounters an underground resistance group called the Resistance 33, led by a man named Dr. Raymond Gonzales, who holds knowledge about the Lutadores and their motives.
Throughout the game, Davis embarks on a journey to find his daughter and unravel the mystery behind the Inversion. Along the way, he confronts various Lutadores forces, including powerful bosses and their minions. Davis gains access to a gravity-manipulating weapon known as the Gravlink, which allows him to manipulate gravity, alter the environment, and combat enemies. As the story progresses, Davis discovers the Lutadores’ true intentions and their connection to his missing daughter. The narrative explores themes of family, sacrifice, and the fight against oppression. Davis must overcome personal challenges and make difficult choices to save his daughter and liberate humanity from the grip of the Lutadores.
Inversion’s core gameplay mechanic revolves around manipulating gravity to alter the environment and combat situations. While the concept was intriguing, the execution left much to be desired. The gravity manipulation abilities lacked fluidity and precision, making it challenging to execute actions with the desired accuracy. The controls felt clunky and imprecise, hindering the overall enjoyment and responsiveness of the gameplay.
Inversion features numerous combat encounters throughout the game. However, the combat lacked depth and strategy, resulting in repetitive and monotonous gameplay. The enemy AI is often predictable, and the lack of varied enemy types and tactics diminished the challenge. Additionally, the AI of allied characters proved to be lackluster, failing to provide meaningful assistance or engage players in cooperative gameplay elements.
One of the touted features of Inversion was its destructible environments. Players could use gravity manipulation to collapse structures and create cover. While this added a layer of dynamism to the gameplay, the destructibility felt scripted and limited, lacking the freedom and interactivity seen in other games with similar mechanics. The impact of environmental destruction on gameplay and strategy was not fully explored, resulting in missed opportunities to enhance the overall experience. In most cases, you will use the gravity mechanics to clear debris so you can progress to the next area and that’s about it.
They really could of added secret areas to the levels that could have been uncovered using gravity that would reward you with additional ammo or collectibles that could flash out the backstory. Again very similar to Gears Of War but it adds a lot more depth to the game itself.
Versions
Like most seventh-generation games, it was released on the HD twins (Xbox 360 and PS3) and on the PC (Windows). Nowadays it’s difficult to obtain this game digitally, meaning physical copies are the only feasible way.
Windows
This version was available on Steam, but has since been delisted for users outside North America. I had issues running the game on Windows 10 & 11, with the game refusing to launch. Only way to play the game was to use an older Windows 8 machine. There are supposedly fixes available online but unfortunately I was unable to get them to work.
Also announcing is the lack of Stream achievements despite this game being released in 2012, many Steam games were supporting achievements by then.
Xbox 360
The preferred console platform, but sadly this is not compatible with the Xbox One.
PlayStation 3
Pretty much the same as the 360 version but suffers from a lower frame rate.
Drew1440: Blog 