EA Sports has all of your sports games covered with popular franchises like Madden NFL 2005, MVP Baseball 2004, NHL 2005, NBA LIVE 2005, NCAA Football 2005, and NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup.
My Top Picks
Must-Have Games for the PC
Battlefield Vietnam, Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, Call of Duty, City of Heroes, Far Cry, Ground Control II: Operation Exodus, Doom 3, and Unreal Tournament 2004.
The last two—Doom 3 and Unreal Tournament—are my favorites, but parents and grandparents be warned they are both intended for mature audiences because of the level of violence.
The Unreal Tournament series has helped define the multiplayer shooter. With the release of the 2004 version, the finetuning continues—Epic Games has introduced new elements and reinstated some old favorites.
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| Atari’s Unreal Tournament 2004 |
The Onslaught mode is the clear favorite. Its mechanics are perhaps the most sensibly designed in the genre, giving you access to the controls of the 12 air and ground vehicles. With the popular mission-based Assault mode returning to join eight other game types, you’ll find more to do in Unreal Tournament 2004 than in any two or three other titles.
The highly anticipated release of Doom3 isn’t a sequel so much as it is a reenvisioning of the original 1993 classic: a teleportation experiment on a Martian military base goes awry, unleashing an army of undead creatures from hell. The photo- realistic images and real-time shadowing add an element of survival horror that the cartoonish graphics of the original could never hope to achieve.
The only thing scarier than the game’s demonic enemies are the system requirements: to play this game in its full, maxed-out glory, you’ll need a high-end PC with a bleeding-edge graphics card—potentially $500 for the card alone.
Doom3 has been taken to a whole new level and the Doom Universe is mind-boggling.
Xbox Favorites
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, Colin McRae Rally 04, Deus Ex: Invisible War, ESPN NFL 2K5, Grand Theft Auto double pack, Madden NFL 2005, and MLB SlugFest: Loaded.
Pushing the limits of the Xbox hardware is Halo2. This title expands on everything that made the original game great, plus it adds a wealth of technological and game play advances.
Graphics are significantly improved; the AI (artificial intelligence) is enhanced; destructible and interactive environments, plus an advanced real-time lighting engine are just a small part of Halo 2’s evolution of design and technology. Every improvement in Halo 2 is designed to take
game play to a new level, and in the end, tell a better story.
PlayStation 2 Favorites
Champions of Norrath, ESPN NFL 2K5, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, Madden NFL 2005, Manhunt, Maximo vs. Army of Zin, Shark Tale, and the Mega Man Anniversary Collection.
In addition to serving up the same great presentation and game play the Madden series is known for, the 2005 edition adds an explosive new feature on defense: the Hit Stick. This is similar to using the huge cross-checks in EA’s popular NHL Hockey games. Hit the right thumb pad as you approach the ball carrier, and your player will lower his shoulder pads and go for the knockout.
You’re also given more control of your defensive strategy before the snap; you can make individual changes such as sending a linebacker on a blitz or moving a safety up into a flat zone. Be quick about it, though, the offensive team won’t wait for you to run through a series of adjustments.
True Madden diehards can opt for the more expensive Collector’s Edition (a PS2 exclusive), which includes trivia challenges; video features; and three earlier, fully playable iterations for old-school gridiron action.
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| DreamWorks’ Shark Tale |
DreamWorks’ Shark Tale allows gamers to experience the fun and adventure of the DreamWorks’ movie by assuming the role of Oscar, a fast-talking little fish working his way up the food chain, who becomes an unlikely hero as he searches for an easy path to fame and fortune.
Players undertake more than 25 adventure-packed missions set in their favorite film locations and new environments exclusive to the game.
Shark Tale does not quite play like a full-fledged game; it is more a collection of mini-games. I would recommend it for kids who love the movie or enjoy the short mini-games.
A Retro Gamer’s Dream
With the Atari Flashback Classic Game Console, you can play 20 of the most popular video games of the ‘80s. The games were groundbreaking back then, and are still as fun as ever. The flashback includes 15 Classic Atari 2600 Games and 5 Advanced 7800 Games. Bounce off the walls in Breakout. Shoot through the chaos of Centipede. Hit hyperspace at just the right time in Asteroids. Do it all again, with legendary games that set the standard for video game consoles. This one is definitely at the top of my list.
Game Ratings
Before picking up any of these titles, be sure to check the box for the game’s rating by The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). The ESRB rating system helps consumers choose the games that are right for their families. The ESRB has rated more than 10,000 games since 1994, and more than 350 publishers have submitted products to the ESRB for ratings.
Have a computer or technology-related question for Joe? E-mail your question to: askjoe@ericksonmail.com.