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Blood Omen 2

Eidos has once again delivered us an epic title that promises the great graphics that we have become accustomed to seeing in their past blockbuster games. BO2 gives us that and much more, but first lets look at the graphics. The environments in this game are huge, just as we have been used to seeing in the past titles that are related to this series. They are well detailed and they do come to life. The slums of Meridian look real grimy and you can almost smell the stench in the air as you first feed on the lost souls that inhabit this decrepit town.

The gameplay is bit of a mixed bag as well. On the one hand THQ tried to devise a different way to present the gameplay. They came up with a variation of Tecmo's Bust-A-Groove mechanics with the addition of a circular display which adds something different to the mix. As the disc moves in a circular motion, players must line up the proper button and direction sequence as the spinner passes over a particular button press. As in past rhythm games, you are assessed for accuracy by being given a perfect, good, poor and missed score for each move. For the first few plays this takes some getting used to but once you have the knack of it, the real challenges start to begin.

The main character is J.C. Denton a rough 007 type of individual who prefers to take care of his enemies secretly and quietly. There is the option to blow your way through missions with run and gun tactics, but that method forces confrontations with some very formidable soldiers, which will more than likely not keep you alive for very long. The game rewards those players with the smarts to take out each threat one at a time, using electric rods, gas grenades and sniper rifles as your weapons of choice. You can interact with every single thing in the environment. Some items are useless while others will find their own creative uses. The biggest playability tactic is the on-going ability to upgrade Denton's various abilities.

The worst part though is the control, which accounts for nearly all of the games difficulty. More often than not you end up flying into the ground rather than blowing stuff up because of it. Although Asmik Ace skewed towards realism, I never felt like I was flying a high-tech jet. When your speed gets low, you can kiss your handling goodbye.

If you have played the original game that was ported to the PS2 last year, then Racer Revenge will feel very similar and that is a good thing. In many ways Racer Revenge is to the original Racer as SSX Tricky was to SSX. Racer Revenge takes the best elements of the original and refines them to the next level. Therefore, Racer Revenge is not necessarily a new game but rather a reworked title with a number of upgrades. On of those upgrades is a stronger focus on pod combat. Being able and sometimes encouraged to ram opponents to their death makes the game seem more like Episode I. In addition, taking out opponents at times will give you more tugruts to spend at Watto's upgrade shop. Therefore, you can approach each race differently.