Herodelic

A point and click title that feels ripped from early kid websites as it is insaely bare bones. Inbetween story parts there are minigames which you unlock as you beat them. They are all pretty awful and it would have pissed me off as a kid. The only plus to this is the sound of finding something as it sounds like the old Windows pop up sound. The PS2 game is leagues better than this.

Another title released in the final year of the PS1's life in the US and an odd one at that. It's a port of the GBA version so the pixels are stretched out and look terrible. The audio and sounds are equal in quality. Why they didn't make it more like the original game which had amazing pixel work at the time is insane. This game is basically all mini games that are randomly chosen but a little roulette bar. You see you are doing odd jobs to try and save an orphanage.There are actually multiple endings to this depending how much money you make in the end. All the mini games are based off of Stooges skits ranging from getting crackers out of soup, running down a street for a violin, an obstacle course in a hospital and supermarket, and a food fight. I'll be honest, I've never watched the Stooges as I'm not a boomer but I'd rather watch them than play this version of the game. There's very little info about this version of the game and the only stuff I could find on it was that it was a....Costco exclusive?? While the final year was not great on the Playstation, there were better titles than this to play.

At the time this game was something special in certain ways. Yes the missions were repetitive and it got old fast but the maps were interesting. Mostly because the draw distance was something unseen on a console. Later the studio would be the Red Dead studio and I like to think this was the start of them doing crazy draw **** physics are alright and the cars are a bit boring but for an afternoon this game is alright. Multiplayer is fun though and can be hectic. It's cool to think this was a building block into the GTA world in some ways.

When you look at this game and what was out already for snowboarding titles it was a pretty big change. While the style would come more with Tricky this has the grit and elevated the genre to a level only Tricky could surpass. Between the amount of characters and courses as well as the stats and outfits for each there was quite a lot you could do in this game. While other launch title X-Games Snowboarding had way more customization this had the arcade feel down perfect.Pulling off tricks was easy and the stages felt fast and the amount of secret paths were surprisingly high. The music is great and I enjoyed most of the stages except for that one that felt like a pinball map, seriously the bumpers ****. This game also feels really dark graphically and I wonder if that was intended or not. Is it worth playing instead of Tricky? Not really, but there are fun things if you want more games similar to Tricky.

One of my favorite games as a kid that I still play every few years. While it is not as magical as it was for me at one point I still think this is a fun non-Final Fantasy game from Squaresoft. The combat is a bit rough as I find the sword to be a bit shorter than it is so I'm often missing swings even some time into the game. The world feels small but is prolonged by quite a bit of back tracking. I still enjoy this game and think others should try it if they are curious about it.

The one that started them all, the memories of this and the next titles are special to me. I appreciate the concept this game started but yeah, this one is pretty bare. The setlist is also one of the weakest in my opinion, though anytime I hear "Smoke on the Water" I get mad so it could be that.

A pretty big step up from the previous title, with a banger of a setlist and enjoyable venues. Between what felt like my fingers falling off during "Freya" to spending too many hours trying to master Jordan I love this damn game

Another great title in the franchise with many additions I really liked. I feel like the difficulty got ramped up in this one for the expert songs or they just had harder songs to play. The set list is pretty good and the story mode is pretty enjoyable.

While the setting kept me away for awhile from it after finishing this I came to rather enjoy it. The traversal made exploring the city enjoyable and I liked the switching between both perspectives. The combat was my favorite part and I felt like it built upon 8 just right. The story took awhile for me to like but a little before halfway through it **** me in and I actually cared about the other teammates. My only issues with this were later one when exploring bigger areas I was just....over them? Not that they were bad but I almost wanted more interaction in other parts of the city instead. Overall it is still enjoyable but not my favorite Ys title.

At this point and time football was the big one with Gameday and 2k being the biggest enemies to Madden. There existed other offshoots like Blitz but each one of those had something a little different from each other. The fidelity in this like seeing their eyes move and expressions when they get hit or score a touch down is a big jump from the previous gen. It's easy to say every Madden is the same, especially with later titles but in these still early"ish" years they had fun. With not realistic teams like mummies, cowboys, and aliens as well as unlockables based on how you played it is a complete opposite of how the games are now. It's sad, as while this is more sim than other titles at the time, it's pretty arcadey compared to what exists now.

Seeing the jump from the PS1 NHL titles to the PS2 was intense back in the day, a huge graphical improvement. The game feels way more arcadey than what exists now of the franchise and I prefer it. To me NHL is meant to be over the top(in games) and this at times felt broken, especially the momentum system. To be fair, I play these games to check people and get into fights so I may not be the best judge

As a fan of the franchise it was cool to see the evolution from the PS1 to the PS2. While comparing it to its previous title is hard as I think R4 is way better, I do like this game. Driving feels a bit off in this but after awhile I got the hang of it. It feels.....empty for some reason, like it is missing something but I can't think of what exactly. It definitely feels more realistic than previous titles not only due to graphics but the car physics as well.

It has a very in depth tutorial section with a real teacher helping you learn many ways of playing and different tricks to do. Ofcourse this feels a bit harder to do in a game than possibly real life but at least it tried. You can unlock new opponents and pool cues by winning matches. Problem is when you win a match there's almost a roulette drawing so the next "mode" you play in the tournament is different. There is a frozen shot mode which I found to probably be the most enjoyable part of this game but even then it's not saving the sinking ship. The music is good and has a track or two that slaps. Overall, I have yet to find a pool game that feels "right" for me, but maybe as I play more of the ones on the PS2 I will find one.

As a fan of the arcade version I was curious how the console port would be. While not as great holding a pretend rifle the aiming felt alright with a controller. The game is short and sweet with branching paths and cheat codes to use. It did get a big overwhelming later in the stages but it was still fun to finish. After beating it I decided to try the GBA port as well and you know what, it was really cool. Seeing this game as a demake actually works really well and plays great. It is weird playing it on a smaller screen but the experience is almost the same.

The 2nd snowboarding game to launch with the PS2 and it is a much different take on it than SSX. With a more sim approach to it there is less flash and more precision, in a way that is a struggle to enjoy. Being able to create a character and dress them up with real brands was cool and the "lounge" where you do jobs for money looked awesome. There are a few different modes but a majority of content is in the career. Something that stood out to me were the replays, the angles and look of it felt very of the time for snowboarding videos. Maybe playing this after SSX was a bad idea as the controls felt super stiff never felt gratifying even with basic tricks. Ice screws you over but the maps are decent. They are all based on the real tracks used during the Winter X-Games at the time.

I've played this on both PC and PS2 and my recommendation is obviously for the PC as it is all around amazing. For now I will talk about the PS2 port as I played a bunch of it recently and it felt a bit different than what I was used to. There are many layouts for controller and I highly recommend looking for a different one as the default is AWFUL. The aim assist is a bit insane as well which is nice in a fast paced game like this. I ended up hooking up a keyboard and mouse and while yes it plays a lot better, it does not fix the bad framerate. The more people and explosions the worse it gets and nothing it worse than knowing you are aiming and shooting at an enemy but because of frame drops you just miss all your shots.Aside from that the game has some special PS2 only maps and has character portraits for the characters. I didn't know each port had their own exclusive maps and some of them were actually fun. Overall I really love this game but stick to PC, with Epic putting it on the Internet Archive for preservation means you can play it for free at anytime.

Truly a flawed gem. The music is amazing and sounds on par with early Animal Collective in a lot of ways. The story is interesting and if you take the time to read a bit of the fan translated short novel it helps. You can switch between two different characters who have different stories and for the most part dungeons. I never found the game difficult and most of my frustrations were from my own dumb doing. The combat can be a bit annoying especially using ranged attacks as there is no lock on. If you face the way the enemy is there is a chance you'll hit but sometimes still miss. The vibe of this game is amazing with every area feeling different as well as having a different color tone that fits the area well. I can see this game not being many people's cup of tea but I really liked it even if it is far from perfect.

It's obviously a bit dated now but looking back at what was available at the time this game stood out to me. While the AI could get aggravating at times the atmosphere is what got me. You have full maps of New York and London which are surprisingly detailed at the time with many landmarks sprinkled throughout. Since you are able to control the weather and pedestrian/car traffic it lead to creating a nice driving experience in free mode. Turning on rain with crowded streets in New York was a vibe with it's slick roads and shiny cars. There's over 40 cars to unlock and lots of challenges to do in the arcade mode. Career mode has you racing 3 racers per map multiple times to unlock the champ on each map. In doing so you unlock new cars to use against them. Overall I really liked this game even if the AI and controls annoyed me at time. If you're curious to see what Rockstar was cooking before GTA 3 with it's maps then I'd say check it out as it's cool to see what was before.

The story is non existent but it was fun seeing things unlock with every stage completed. The amount of characters and goodies you'd unlock for multiplayer was cool. The map maker is surprisingly good for the time and I had a bit of fun playing it with a friend. The AI is bs on hard and some stages just became an unfun maze on hard as well. A decent launch title for the time it came out but lacks really anything nowadays unless you want to play multiplayer, which the sequel would probably be better with anyway.

Comparing this to other games at the time this came out you could see some potential in it. With a variety of weapons and 9 stages there was quite a bit of game to be played. The controls took some getting used to as the aiming felt a bit off if you tried to do it manually. Boss fights were enjoyable though some were a bit unfair later on. I genuinely liked trying different weapons as they all felt unique. It's a squad based shooter that has you commanding your squad and editing their loadouts. While the commands never felt like they changed much they did feel different depending on the gun they were using. Co-op squad games somewhat existed before this with some Spec Ops titles so it was a bit off not seeing this game have it but it was fine. The story is pretty bland though it does have its twists and turns. Overall the game is okay though there's not really any reason to go back to it unless you want to see what launched with the PS2.

Gungriffon Blaze is definitely more of an arcade mech game compared to not only the other titles in it's franchise but the other mech title during the PS2 launch, Armored Core 2. With only 6 missions, not counting the alternatives, it's a must to replay them for better score which in turn unlocks new things such as gear and new mechs after earning many points. I found myself grinding the early missions for this reason which got old pretty quickly. You find loot boxes in the world and depending on your score you can only open a certain amount of them after the mission, limiting what you get. While the whole story isn't presented in much detail in game, the manual covers the back story well. The thing I hated most about this game were the controls, left stick to aim and right stick to move was awful. You can change controls before a mission but for some reason the sticks can not be reversed. Overall the quick missions and gameplay were fun but that's about it, the controls just really bog this down.

I think the high point of the game is the gameplay, what starts out very easy ramps up slowly and ultimately gets a bit tricky towards the end was awesome. The gameplay loop of picking units, sending them to battle, and reaping the rewards was such a comforting loop that I kept wanting to play more. Setting units up with their skills and equipment was kinda overwhelming after awhile but the optimize button helps in a pinch for some of the less useful units. Some of the fights were huge and I would have loved to see more of them but honestly I was happy with most of the fights. The story was okay but pretty basic compared to their last title 13 Sentinels. The 7 hour demo basically throws most stuff at you but does save some fun stuff for the full game.