Brian Peterson Phantasy Star Online (Xbox)
The classic Dreamcast title is back in Xbox form, enhanced with Voice communication abilities to rid you of the annoyance of typing. This version includes episodes 1 and 2 and is just as addicting as it was 2 years ago!
Burnout 2 (Xbox)
This Developer's addition gives fans of the series 15 new crash modes, new car skins, and the ability to add your best scores to the Xbox Live scoreboard. Crashing has never been so fun!
Patrick Klepek Red Faction 2 (PC, GCN, Xbox)
Not exactly playing these for my own enjoyment, but I digress. I thought Red Faction was above average when it was released, but looking back on it, I'd never touch it again. The sequel has little or no relation to the original, and I am completely unmotivated to move forward in the game. It's such an average first person shooter in every degree, and the whole Geo-Mod stuff is overblown to the point of making me laugh; it's only used a handful of times as part of useful gameplay, and even then, there's nothing about them that any other game couldn't work into the engine. Geo-Lame, more like it! Fortunately, I don't have to force myself too far in; I'm simply playing portions of each game to get a feel of the port quality on the GCN, Xbox and PC. Look for a review on Gaming Age early next week.
Ninja Five-O (GBA)
If you haven't read my review on the site yet, do it! Ninja Five-O is one of the coolest GBA titles I've had a chance to play in several months. Chances are you were a fan of Shinobi or Bionic Commando or Rolling Thunder years back. What would you do if a company combined all those games into a single, cohesive piece of ass-kicking software? That's what Ninja Five-O is, and it saddens me to know that it will be completely overlooked by most gamers. You owe it to yourself to check out this absolutely addicting side-scroller. There truly aren't enough recommendations I can give about it, and if you pick this up and somehow don't enjoy it (unless you complain about the difficulty; then, you're just a wuss!), I'll send you a video of me playing Dance Dance Revolution when I was 14. No joke.
Kevin Jones As of late, I have been playing Golden Sun: The Lost Age, when I am on the move. This game is really an epic classic; I can't stop saying great things about it! And I have been getting funky with NBA Street vol. 2. This game is off the hook! (as we say in the rough streets of Seattle) It captures the essence of street balling, without being the slightest bit realistic. Really a blast to play, alone or with friends!
Ernie Halal Namco Museum (Xbox)
That's right, Namco Museum. During a barbecue last weekend with eight friends (including wives and girlfriends) the idea for a double elimination Galaga tournament came up and pretty soon we were drawing brackets. Few of the people in this group had played a video game in years, and this trip down memory lane wasn't just for nostalgia. It was competitive, loud, fun and cost a few of us some money. It was a blast, and on top of having fun, I may have added one or two more casual gamers to the world. But judging by the glares from a couple of the wives I'm not sure the idea of making it a weekly thing, like poker night, is gonna fly.
As far as the title of this feature, yes, I'm still playing it now. Obviously I need to practice. I didn't win the tourney even though I own the damn game. :-(
Jim Cordeira Golden Sun: The Lost Age (GBA)
After putting a lot of time into Golden Sun, I eventually realized I missed a small, very vital item towards the beginning of the game. Arghhh! Needless to say, the game has me hooked. One of the best traditional RPGs I've played in quite a while.
