Author: Brad Gallaway

Banjo-Tooie — Review

With Rare's first 3D attempt at the genre on the Nintendo 64, that was exactly the case. Banjo-Kazooie was released to huge fanfare as Rare successfully produced a game that not only did everything the groundbreaking Super Mario 64 did, but did it better. Heaven achieved.

Tekken Tag Tournament — Review

About six months before the release of the original PlayStation, I was fortunate enough to attend a small CES (Consumer Electronics Show) near my home. After waiting in line for nearly an hour, I rushed inside in hopes of getting my hands on a demo unit for this crazy, unknown new game system put out by Sony of all companies. My first experience on the PlayStation was Battle Arena Toshinden, and regardless of what people may say about it now, at the time it was stunning. Still reeling from the mind-blowing experience at the show about a month afterwards, I ran into an arcade machine for the original Tekken.

Mega Man Legends 2 — Second Opinion

Well, Matt definitely wasn't alone in thinking that the original Mega Man Legends was something special in the midst of the usual flood of Street Fighter rehashes Capcom sees fit to choke store shelves with. Personally, it's quite exciting for me to see that the series hasn't been pushed aside and forgotten in favor of more predictable (read: unimaginative sequel) titles.

Dragon Valor — Review

Namco is a name that means a lot to me as a gamer. It touches me spiritually, almost. Not only is it the company that invented Pac-Man, Galaga and a monstrous slew of other hits during the golden days of the arcade, but it continues to be a vital, successful and influential force in the gaming scene today.

Valkyrie Profile — Review

When looking at RPGs lately, it seems to be getting harder and harder to tell them apart. You know how it goes—a young hero from a quiet town is thrown into circumstances beyond his control. He sets out to right a wrong and gathers together a band of friends to help him on his quest. After facing insumountable odds and legions of evil dragons/sorcerers/corrupt rulers, etc., our courageous hero emerges victorious to right all wrongs done to innocent townsfolk everywhere. Justice prevails, you win.

Dino Crisis 2 — Review

For such a young genre, it has quickly gained a feeling of "been there, done that" in the few years since its explosion onto the scene. In fact, looking back at the list of games that qualify as survival horror, I'd pick only three as being the best representatives of what this type of game has to offer: Resident Evil for starting off the craze, Silent Hill for making things truly chilling and Dino Crisis 2 for putting an entirely different spin on how the game can be played.