showing 9 games

namepublisher(developer)year arrow_downwarddescription
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Interplay Entertainment (Snowblind Studios)2001Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance combines fast-paced action and adventure in the popular world of Baldur's Gate. It features an epic tale of intrigue, alliances, explosive spell effects, and highly detailed creatures and environments, and allows for both single- and two-player cooperative play. Characters are customizable, each with unique powers, appearance, and abilities.
This is the first console game to feature Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd Edition rules in real time. The game features Dolby Digital sound, comprehensive voice acting, and a completely original soundtrack.***
[32]***EAN-13: [code]5026102005519[/code] (Interplay, PAL) - lang: eng, fre, ger, ita, spa***Black Isle Studios is mentioned but their involvement is not elaborated.
Virgin Interactive Entertainment worked as exclusive distributor in Europe.***[b]voice overs[/b] - does not cover the protagonist in dialogs, but he/she still does say short phrases here and there.
[b]dialog-sentences[/b] - there's very little choices, though.
[b]suicidebombers[/b] - floating single-eyed gasbags
[b]karmic creatures[/b] - some zombies release poisonous fume on death.

[b]pop-up mooks[/b] - only some

[b]caninoids[/b] - gnolls
[b]sasquatch[/b] - yeti

--- averted
hazardous powers / safe powers - fireball is harmful to the caster, but meteor swarm and flame "shield" isn't. the others dont't have the capability for harming the caster (based on visual feedback). As such, this is too mixed case to mark as either.***[b]Characters/classes:[/b]
* Vahn, human archer (arcane archer)
* Kromlech, dwarven fighter
* Adrianna, elven sorceress***1 player and 2 players cooperative play.
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Drakan: The Ancients' Gates  Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (Surreal Software)2002In the ancient, decaying world of Drakan, the immortal Spirit Dragons are being held captive. Rynn, a brave female warrior, and Arohk, a fearless dragon, are called upon to save these spiritual leaders, as well as the last remnants of mankind. Embarking on an enchanted journey through eight vast, foreign environments, Rynn and Arohk use magical spells, resourcefulness, and more than 50 powerful weapons in their quest to save civilization. With an immersive story line, stunning graphics, and intense battles, Drakan: The Ancients' Gates places you within a world of magical creatures, mysterious lands, and courageous conquests.***[b]missing images:[/b] title and actual in-game screens (both on foot, riding arokh, possibly when fighting with bow and magic)***GTIN: [code]711719342229[/code]

Product ID: [code]SCES-50006[/code]***Unlike its predecessor, "Drakan 2" had actual role-playing elements thrown in, though only limited to gaining experience and selecting which of the three skills (melee, ranged or magic) you increased with time. This was refreshing, since you couldn't max her out on everything (not even two of 'em), so it paid to pick out one as your strongest skill and the others as nice backup plans :)

The game felt annoyingly claustrophobic to me compared to the previous game which had vast-ish locales with plenty of room to walk in any direction. With Drakan 2 this was changed for tighter areas that seemed to stop too soon in any direction for my liking. Even when flying with Arokh the areas were awfully tight and you had to contend with the other dragons for space in your aerial battles. Only in few places did you have sufficient room, compared to the previous game where you pretty much always had plenty of room (except maybe when you were flying in the tunnels, but that's a given). In Drakan 2 you're flying over "vast" deserts and whatnot, yet you have almost as much space as you had in some subterranean caverns in the previous game.

The joy of seeing, and playing as, Rynn and Arokh again were enough for me when I first played this game (actually years after it was quietly released), but the game is sadly not particularly outstanding despite being the successor of the best dragonriding game I've ever played (yet).***In the ancient, decaying world of Drakan, the immortal Spirit Dragons are held captive, as a fearsome alien race called the Desert Lords overrun the land. Rynn and Arokh return in this sequel to critially acclaimed Drakan: Order of the Flame to awaken the ancient Dragons of The Order and free the land from its oppressors.

Embarking on an enchanted journey through eight vast, foreign environments, Rynn and Arokh utilize magic spells, resourcefulness and more that 50 powerful weapons in their quest to save civilization. With an immersive storyline, stunning graphics and intense battles, Drakan: The Ancients' Gates places you within a world of magical creatures, mysterious lands and courageous conquests!
[Surreal]
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Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter  Capcom;CE Europe (Capcom)2002The story and location (the world) are unrelated to earlier BoF games, gameplay also was revised almost completely. Besides using some very recognizable parts of the series (Ryu, Nina, transformation into a "dragon", etc.), the reason for labeling this game under BoF is a marketing mystery. If they had bothered to completely cut ties with BoF, the experimental nature of the game would've likely been received much better instead of being targeted by BoF fans with scorn. The greatest flaw of the game to me is the complete lack of voice overs which is somewhat unusual for games this "new".***[b]difficulty-single[/b] - despite this, every time your whole party dies the game gets easier as current party XP and gained skills are transferred back to the point when you made the save. This can be omitted, though.
[b]midas' touch[/b] - Ryu's dash and D-dive abilities.

[b]bioroids[/b] - the genics.
[b]pigmen[/b] - duke genics
[b]minotaurs[/b] - deathcow genics
[b]blobs[/b] - the various goo creatures
[b]insectoids[/b] - there's a variety, though most commonly you see the ant-like midget humanoids who work in the fairy colony.

[b]minigames[/b] - the fairy colony management. It's much more useful and time consuming than it might sound based on it being a minigame.

[b]performance issues[/b] - with 3+ enemies and placing one or more magical wards (especially electrical) the camera movement and movement circle appearance becomes stuttery.

--- notes for future
gar genics (garsniper, garpike) have the head of a seahorse***They live in another time, another place. A labyrinth-like world devoid of all light; where civilization has been forced to live underground for generations. Man has no recollection of how life once was. Yet a Ranger named Ryu is determined to discover the world above and begins an adventure to make his way to the surface. Can he lead his people back to freedom?

* For the first time on PlayStation 2 comes a brand new Breath of Fire instalment.
* Visually stunning cel-shaded subterranean world settings.
* Revolutionary new battle system that allows players to set up traps and decoys before going into battle.
* 3-D underground worlds evolve based on your playing style for a different gameplay experience each time.
* Encounter countless challenges, battles and adventures in this action-packed RPG adventure.
[Box blurb]***EAN-13: [code]5055060921005[/code]

Product ID: [code]SLES-51496[/code]***Reach for the Sky
It's an epic quest of magical proportions. You live in another time, another place, devoid of all light sources. You are now part of the underground world. Foil your menacing enemies to reach your ultimate mission. Only you can discover the way out of the labyrinth-like dungeon that envelops you and your friends. Escape your underground captors and you'll reach the world of the living. Breath of Fire V is the first of the series to appear on the PS2, and offers visually stunning cel-shaded subterranean worldsettings and an entirely new real-time/ turn-based battle system. Breath of Fire V will keep you impressed for a long, long time!***I've heard almost nothing but bad things about this game, probably because it's quite different from its predecessors, but I quite liked it. The most notable change from previous Breath of Fire titles it the new battle system, which plays more like a strategy RPG similar to Arc the Lad. Also, Dragon Quarter is more like a giant dungeon crawler instead of a traditional Japanese RPG with an overworld to explore. This game is a lot more challenging than its predecessors and if you're upto the challenge, I think you'd find the game quite entertaining (and you can pick it up for dirt cheap online!).
[cjlee001]
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Drakengard  Square Enix;Take 2 Interactive (cavia)2003Cast in a chaotic world of dragon pacts and warfare, Drakengard combines unique action RPG elements into a profoundly tragic saga. Developed by team members from blockbuster titles as Resident Evil Code: Veronica, the Bust-a-Groove series and Ace Combat, Drakengard seeks to immerse the player in an all-new gameplay experience, combining reality and interactivity.***
[12]***Japanese version
[32]
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Hunter: The Reckoning - Wayward VU Games (High Voltage Software)2003In this 3rd person action-shooter set in the fantasy world of White Wolf role-playing, players act as human monster-hunters protecting and defending lives of the innocent. Players can expect the same non-stop action, outstanding graphics and authentic White Wolf storyline that make the Hunter: The Reckoning franchise so successful and addictive. With psychotic and highly dangerous new characters joining the original Hunter team, new environments and weapons, players are armed to battle creatures of the dead in order to fulfill their mission to fight evil. Let the hunt begin.***
[12]***
[32]
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Star Ocean: Till the End of Time Director's Cut  Square Enix;Ubisoft (tri-Ace)2004[spoiler=Code in hideout;Hide]256[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Saving Farleen and Tylene;Hide]Kirsla, south-east exit[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Cuprite key;Hide]Bottom floor, north-east corner[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Mosel dunes;Hide]Exit is found in north-east; look for discreet ruins near an oasis cut by stones, near a rock "wall".[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Urssa/Marquis;Hide]Found in Mountains of Barr, north-west part of the same region you enter the copper mine.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Dragon reliefs;Hide]These require dragon windpipe flute, obtained from much farther into the mountains from a graveyard. You can play about four tunes with the flute depending on the length of time the key is pressed (and supposedly hardness), match the tune with the description of the relief. The other tunes are needed later

Happy / yellow - short, chipper tune; short, light tap
Playful / green - mellow/sad tune; long, light tap
Sad / blue - mellow tune; short, hard tap
Angry / red - long-ish, fast paced tune; long, hard tap

You can practice the presses away from the reliefs to avoid the spawning of the dragons when you get the tune wrong. IMO the playful and sad tunes are the wrong way around.

Doors with changing relief needs all tunes played on matching emotion relief. They need to be played in order starting from the one after blank. Failure seems to reset the sequence.[/spoiler]
Aqueduct entrance is at the south-west corner of Airyglyph. In case you've forgotten.***[b]healing/energy stations[/b] - blue symbols on the ground which are free, and inns which cost little to use.
[b]grinding[/b] - although you can avoid most battles in the open, you'll have serious issues later on. Such as 24-25 level character being unable to defeat the sub-boss on the way to Marquis. Regular enemies on Barr mountains being too tough at similar level, level 30 being insufficient for the first regular enemies on the second disc (they're effectively harder than the Marquis boss battle you recently beat).

-- creatures seen only briefly (not worh tagging)
skeletons, giant chameleon-like creatures, giant porcupines, giant spiders, bats, some dog-like creatures, flying giant fish, giant horned tortoises, witches, treants, lone fairy, plant-like tentacle creatures, frog-like humanoids, lizardmen, mycoids, caninoids, inorganics (rock/soil and crystalline), and some others. generally speaking, it's a mishmash of seemingly random "monsters" working together against you.***[b]REACH FOR THE STARS[/b]

[b]Fayt Leingod's[/b] idyllic family holiday is brutally cut short when a mysterious military force attacks planet [b]Hyda IV[/b]. Separated from his loved ones, Fayt sets out on an emotional quest to be reunited with them.

[b]A sci-fi universe[/b]
Stunning graphics and cut-scenes

[b]10 playable characters[/b]
Upgrade system and customizable weapons

[b]Real-time dynamic battle system[/b]
Challenging mix of action, tactics and breathtaking spells

[b]An open-ended plot with multiple endings[/b]
Many side-quests and a gripping storyline

Director's cut additional features:
* New characters, enemies, areas and much more
* Exclusive 2 player versus fighting mode
[Box blurb]***EAN-13: [code]3307210171146[/code] (PAL; Director's Cut only mentioned in the back cover; SLES-82028; 2 DVDs)
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Zombie Hunters  D3 Publisher;505 Game Street (Tamsoft)2005"Zombie Hunters" is the same version of the "Zombie Zone" with some extras like being able to handle Aya's sister, Saki, or Riho and Makoto Futaba as well as a few extra costumes for each character.***The only challenge this game offers are when you enter berserker rage and start losing your health constantly. This either means you have to use an item that comes in limited supply to dispel it or find a statue that cures the state. Otherwise this is plain and simple hack&slash with nothing to interest you (unless watching a girl hack zombies for hours is entertaining to you), and there doesn't seem to be much story either to invigorate any interest.

Berserk mode is entered when the rage meter maxes out, this is tied to how bloody your character gets. Although you can clean your sword whenever you want, this has little effect on how bloody you yourself are. Extremely bloody sword has a habit of getting stuck in enemies and cleaning it only serves to avoid this. There are only few ways to counter berserk mode, avoiding getting blood on you (avoid fights that aren't necessary, though there aren't many), clean yourself as often as possible (happens automatically near certain statues), and using certain one-shot items that clear your rage meter. Neither the statues nor the items are very abundant, so this is actually the most pressing problem you have in the game. Enemies also occasionally drop red orbs that boost the rage meter significantly. You can completely avoid berserk mode by kicking everyone to death, but this is extremely slow compared to slashing them up with your sword.
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Baroque  Atlus USA;Sting;Rising Star Games (Sting)2007 labelimageminimize
Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes  LucasArts (Krome Studios)2009Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes lets Star Wars fans young and old live out the sweeping galactic adventures of the Clone Wars. For the first time ever, players can fight as their favorite Jedi and clone troopers from the pre-eminent animated television series - from familiar faces like Anakin Skywalker to new heroes like Clone Captain Rex. A brand-new storyline, which bridges the gap between season one and two, takes the player on a multi-faceted adventure to stop a mysterious techno assassin's destructive plot. Built around two-player cooperative action, the accessible controls and family-friendly gameplay bring Star Wars fans across generations together like never before to fight the evil Separatists and restore peace to the galaxy. Play as your favourite Jedi heroes including Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Mace Windu, and Kit Fisto. Slice and dice your way through Separatist droids with your lightsaber and Force powers and use your agility to perform amazing leaps and navigate levels filled with interactivity. Turn your enemies into weapons as you commandeer droids and use their unique abilities to blast enemies and solve puzzles as a Jedi. Be part of an elite clone trooper squad with unique gameplay that puts fire-power at your fingertips. Blast droids and unleash devastation with heavy weapons like rocket launchers and thermal detonators as Commander Cody, Captain Rex and all of your favourite clone troopers. Compete against a friend with in-level challenges for rewards and points to be spent to upgrade your character and unlock bonus items. labelimagesubject
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