RATING SYSTEM:
10: A very, very excellent game
9: A awesome game
8: Really great game
7: Quite a good game
6: It's alright
5: A good game
4: A pretty poor game
3: Quite bad
2: Not worth trying
1: An absolute load of crap
0: Snap the CD/DVD

COMPLETED:
IN ORDER OF RATING
10/10
---
9/10
Ace Combat 04: Distant Thunder
Grand Theft Auto 3
Jak and Daxter
Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec
8/10
Silent Hill 2
Smugglers Run
Red Faction
Smugglers Run 2
Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3
7/10
007 Agent Under Fire
Project Eden
Shadow Of Memories
Twisted Metal Black
6/10
Simpsons Road Rage
World Rally Championship
Midnight Club Street Racing
5/10
---
4/10
---
3/10
---
2/10
Driving Emotion Type S
1/10
---
0/10
---

COMING SOON:
Medal of Honour: Frontline - coming soon!
Gran Turismo Concept: Tokyo-Geneva 2002 - coming soon!
Prisoner of War - coming soon!
Final Fantasy X
Half Life
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty

GAME: Ace Combat 04: Distant Thunder
RATING: 9
3 GOOD THINGS: Awesome plane detail, VERY realistic looking ground, easy to play.
3 BAD THINGS: A little bit short.
REVIEW: The graphics in AC 04 have to be seen to be believed. When flying at any height, especially over 3000 meters, the ground looks photo-realistic and...........well it's too hard to explain, but it is the most realistic graphics i have ever seen.
The game's 9/10 rating is because of quite a few things. One, being the graphics of course. Another would be because it has my most favorate Fighter Jet in the word. The F15 Eagle. (still considered to be the most advanced fighter jet in the world.)
There are lots of other planes to choose from of course, and some of them include the F14 Tomcat, B2 Stealth Bomber, and lots more. (can't remember what they are called).
The story is the best yet in a Ace Combat game and makes the game seem more realistic. Instead of FMV, it features cartoonish pictures (which change every now and then) and it's a welcome change from computer generated cut-scenes.
The planes are easy to handle and don't take long to get used to, wereas the combat part of the game takes a little longer to get used to, but it is also very well done and you can have some really awesome dogfights with enemy fighter jets.
This is the best flight simulation game which i have ever seen and played, and i really hope Namco make a sequel.

GAME: 007 Agent Under Fire
RATING: 7
3 GOOD THINGS: Really good car detail, lots of Bond gadgets, plenty of replayability.
3 BAD THINGS: Cars sound sort of the same, not really long enough.
REVIEW: The makers of the "Need 4 Speed" games desigined the cars in 007 Agent Under Fire. And it shows, with the car detail being up to the standard of Gran Turismo 3. The handling of the car is very tight and responsive too, but the sound of the car is the only thing letting it down. If this is what the cars in Need 4 Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 are going to be like, then i can't wait.
Anywho, this Bond game seems very.........James Bondy and has all the right sounds, looks and class of JB. There are lots of cool gadgets to use such as the Q Laser which has a laser on it, to burn through locks, and another is the Q Claw (i think that's what it's called) which, if you aim it at a ventilation shaft or something, grapples onto it and pulls you up to that vent. And that is what is used to climb up buildings that have no other access. The game has a good mix of driving and first-person shooting etc. and it all merges together quite well. I know most of my reveiws aren't very descriptive of the game itself and this one isn't any different. That's because i don't write the reviews as sson as i play the game. So i forget most of it. Oh well. Not many people read this anyway, so it doesn't really matter. :(

GAME: Simpsons Road Rage
RATING: 6
3 GOOD THINGS: Authentic Simpsons voices, nice graphics which are true to the cartoon, really big towns.
3 BAD THINGS: Taxi missions get a little repeditive after a while.
REVIEW: This is the best Simpsons game i've played so far. Mind you, i have only played one other. And it was on the Sega Mega Drive. But that's not important.
SRR is a lot like Crazy Taxi and it is obvious that they have tried to copy the ex-Dreamcast game. But IMO they have done a better job than Crazy Taxi and if that game was reviewed on this page, then it would have got a 4/10 wheras this game gets 6/10. I like it better than Crazy Taxi because i really, really like The Simpsons.
But anyway. The voices sound exactly like they do in the cartoon series and the transition to 3D has'nt hurt their looks that much. And some of the things they say (and they say a lot) are quite funny. There are lots of Springfeild residents in the game such as; Cheif Wiggam, Homer, Grandpa Simpson, Snake, Oto, Moe, Hans Moleman, Principal Skinner, Ralph, Reverend Lovejoy, Nelson, Millhouse and lot's more.
Most are playable and have thier own cars too. Marge has the Canyonaro, Groundskeeper Willie has his Tractor, Lisa drives an electricity powered car and so on.
There are plenty of things to unlock and you get to choose what gets unlocked. So you can unlock any track you want, OR any car/character you want.
But overall the game is really good, and is worth trying.

GAME: Project Eden
RATING: 7
3 GOOD THINGS: Good character details, challenging puzzles, nice level design.
3 BAD THINGS: Dumb AI team-mates, hard puzzles, nothing new after completing the game.
REVIEW: This game is better than most say it is. Mainly because you can control one of four characters and change between any of them whenever you want. You also can tell them to follow you or stay back. So you could play Andre` who can repair things, Minoko who can access control panels and open doors/diable sentry guns while in the control panel, Carter who is the boss of them all, and can open certain doors, and last of all Amber who is a really tall roboty thing and she is the only one who can walk through contaminated areas, and through flames and over electrified floors etc. Try that with anyone else, and they will die. But when i saydie, it doesn't mean the end of the game for that character. Infact you do not have any "lives" like in other games.
The develpoer has invented things called "Regen Points" (short for regeneration point) and they are scattered throughout the entire game. They also bring your health up to the max if you are hurt at all. And another cool thing is that you can never run out of ammunition. So when your ammo bar is low, just go to the nearest Ammo station thingy, put your hand on it, and your ammo bar will fill up. These too, are scattered throughout the game.
I'd explain the storyline but it is too hard to understand and the ending is very, very confusing with much of your questions still unanswered.
But it is worth playing though, so pop down to your local video/games shop and rent it out.

GAME: Silent Hill 2
RATING: 8
3 GOOD THINGS: Very scary, great fog effects, really amazing lighting.
3 BAD THINGS: As much as i try, i can't think of any bad things.
REVIEW: Silent Hill 2 has got the best lighting effects i have ever seen. When you shine your torch at a railing or something the shadows of it show up realisticly on the wall behind. It's too hard to explain, so you have to see it for yourself.
I only finished the game in it's easiest mode, as i was too nervous to try the harder modes. (i'm a wimp, i know). The traditional fog reappears once again, but this time it's main duty is not to release the strain on the processor (like the PsOne game) but to add atmosphere, and it does that job with flying colours. Namely grey, black and white. (the tree main colours of the game) Apart from to occasional red (blood) and green (grass) there is not very much colour in this game. Which some may think is bad. But not me. I think that the game would'nt be as atmospheric if it had lots of different colours.
Anywho. The game revolves around the main character (can't remember his name) and he turns up in Silent Hill looking for his dead wife Mary, who somehow sent him a letter telling him to go there, after she had been dead for about 3 years.
So the whole aim of the game is to find her. Along the way you will meet some "interesting" characters and monsters/zombies and there is a certain monster which appears throughout the game, but like Resident Evil's "Nemisis", you can't kill it/them till the end. They are called Pyramid Heads if you are wondering. And they are VERY freaky.
If you are a fan of Survival-Horror games, don't miss this one.

GAME: World Rally Championship
RATING: 6
3 GOOD THINGS: Awesome scenery, amazing track detail, lots of steep hills
3 BAD THINGS: Crap car damage, can't drive off the track, not very realistic.
REVIEW: WRC is the first rally game to appear on the Playstation2 so far. Not including GT3'S Rally mode. In fact WRC is only just better than Gran Turismo 3's rally mode. Only because of the track lengths etc.
The worst thing about the whole game is the inablity to drive off the track, into the feilds, mountains etc. which are all driveable. When you go off the track, the game counts down from 3 seconds and when it gets to zero, it returns your car to the track. A most unwelcome feature. If they did'nt want anyone to drive off the track, they should have put up more barriers. That was a stupid mistake, and it partially ruins the game. Another bad thing is the "lightness" of the cars. Whenever you go over a jump, or off the edge of a cliff, the car seems like a feather and takes ages to land. Well, not ages, but you know what i mean.
But the game is quite a good one, and has a few good things going for it, like the use of the real Teams and Drivers and the pre-race track/country description.
But Colin McRae Rally 3.0 is more than likely to surpass this game in quality, so best save your pennies for that.

GAME: Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3
RATING: 8
3 GOOD THINGS: Very well detailed environments, lots of places to grind/trick off, moving people/cars etc.
3 BAD THINGS: Not many bad things.
REVIEW: A few years ago i thought that every skateboarding game, including Tony Hawks Skateboarding, was an absolute load of crap and nothing, NOTHING, would ever convince me to play one. Then one day with an issue of the Official New Zealand Playstation Magazine came a playable demo of Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2. Seen as i always play every demo on a demo disk even if the game looks crap, i reluctantly pressed the x button and loaded up THPS2. From then on i was a real big fan of the Tony Hawk series. In the demo i tried to get the highest possible score i could get with the 2 minute time frame. The highest i got was about 550,000 which was a big achievement for me. So when the game finally came out i went and rented it out.
So when i heard THPS3 was in production and that it would have 3 massive citys and online play, i was sort of looking forward to it.
Sadly though, it did not make it's promise and instead of 3 big citys, there are about 10 different skate levels. But it is not a bad thing at all. TH3 is the best one yet and has very interactive levels and funny missions.
Such as; In the LA course you have to cause an earthquake, in Suburbia you have to help the old man find a key or crowbar or something so you can get into the haunted house, and in another level you have to unstick someone's tongue from a pole and stop a bully from throwing snowballs.
So THPS3 has lived up to its reputation, and given us another awesome game.

GAME: Twisted Metal Black
RATING: 7
3 GOOD THINGS: Huge levels, just about everything you see can be destroyed, awesome graphics.
3 BAD THINGS: Sometimes too hard, but that's just me not good enough.
REVIEW: This is the best Twisted Metal game i've played, and so it should be as it's made by the same people as TM1 & 2.
The environments are (some of them) nearly completely destructible. In one level, if you shoot the supports off of some big round storage tanky things, they will drop down and roll into a massive skyscraper, then demolish the whole building. Nice. In another level there is a massive outdoor movie screen and if you shoot it enough it will fall down.
The aim of the game is to........ well... i'm not sure there is an aim to the game. All you do is go into battle with about 8 other opponents and if you come out victorious (sp?) then you will unlock another level. It may sound boring, but it is actually quite fun. :)
If you are a fan of the Twisted Metal series then i reccommend you play this game as it is the best one yet. :)

GAME: Smugglers Run 2
RATING: 8
3 GOOD THINGS: Awesome landscape detail, no pop-up, lot's of moving things.
3 BAD THINGS: Landscapes are the same size as the ones in the original SR.
REVIEW: Smugglers Run 2 has improved on the original game. But only slightly.
The improvements include; Lots more detail in the "maps", the use of real actors for the cut-scenes in-between missions, more vehicles to choose from and a couple of other things.
Two player mode returns, and there are a variety of 2p games in there which you can play against a mate/brother/sister etc.
Joyride also makes it into the sequel and this is a good way to learn the maps, which you need to do if you want to pass the missions.
In this game the maps are located in Vietnam and Russia (before September 11, the Russian map was actually Afganistan), and the Vietnam map returns again later in the game but it is completely covered in snow. So you actually have 3 maps. Sort of.
Anywho if you did'nt really like Smugglers Run, then you may not like SR2, but if you did like the original, then you are bound to enjoy this.

GAME: Driving Emotion Type S
RATING: 2
3 GOOD THINGS: Has a Ferrari F50 (thats the only good thing)
3 BAD THINGS: Very dodgy handling, no anti-ailising, cheap Gran Turismo rip off
REVIEW: I did not get very far in this game, 3 races in fact, so i don't know if it gets any better. But as far as i'm concerned, it can't.
The steering is VERY slow and VERY unresponsive which means it is practicly impossible to keep the car going in a straight line. The tracks do not appear to have any anti-ailising at all, and sometimes it is just a jagged mess. Another noticeable bad thing is that the developers seem to have tried to do a game sort of like the Gran Turismo series with cars especially, and some of the tracks (that i saw) look similar to those in Gran Turismo games.
This is one game that i never want to play again, so i do NOT recommend this game.

GAME: Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec
RATING: 9
3 GOOD THINGS: Very realistic replays, Amazing car/track detail, lots of great cars to drive.
3 BAD THINGS: Longish loading times (much better than GT2 though), Occasional pop-up, useless AI cars (but much better than on GT2)
REVIEW: Well. I have owned the game for AGES and i have finally gotten around to writing a review for it.
Gran Turismo 3 is, by far, the best driving simulator EVER. A quadzillion times better than GT2, GT3 has tons of awesome improvements. First off, the leap in the graphics is amazing and even with all the other car games out there now, i have not seen one which is as polished and detailed as GT3.
The cars (all 180-something) have had tons of time spent on them and it shows. Lots of things on the car have gone 3D such as windsceen wipers, mirrors, air scoops, front grills, wheel rims and lots more. And all cars have their own unique sound and handling, and now when you upgrade the suspension or change the downforce you can really notice the difference.
Simulation mode has changed and the races have now split into 5 different parts; Beginners League, Amature's League, Professional League, Rally Races and Endurance races. Beginners is very easy, and professional is very hard, and sometimes seems like the AI are cheating.
On the main sim mode screen you can choose from Machine test (400m, 1000m, top speed), GT Auto (car wash, oil change, wheel shop), Licence Center (b, a, ib, ia, super and rally licences), Car dealer (Japan, USA, Germany, Australia, Belgium, Italy, UK), Go Race (explained above), home (garage, game status, free run, save game, trade, and some other ones) and exit (exits out of sim mode).
There are some bad/not-so-good things about Gran Turismo 3 and they include the following; Pop-up in some tracks (Special Stage Route 11 takes the prize for the most pop-up), Crap AI (although they do avoid hitting you sometimes, and also overtake you properly instead of compacting the rear of your car), Loading times (could be better), You STILL can't set lap records/track records during a race (bugger it all), Cheating AI (in Professional League the AI cars sometimes boast a massive horsepower increase even if you are in the same cars as them. VERY annoying) and there are a few other things too, but there is'nt enough bad things to spoil the game at all.
Overall GT3 has improved for the better, and the welcome additions like an odometer, tripmeter, return of qualifying, animated billboards, moving arials and windscreen wipers have made the game a definate must buy.
If you want to play the best driving game in the world, then you should'nt be sitting here reading this, you should be going to get that game!

GAME: Jak and Daxter
RATING: 9
3 GOOD THINGS: LOTS of animated things, NO loading times at all, VERY funny sometimes
3 BAD THINGS: You have to go back to places you have already been to collect all items
REVIEW: If you have'nt played Jak and Daxter yet, then you are missing out on a really great game. I thought that it looked really dumb from all the screenshots in magazines, and ad's on tv, but as soon as i hired it, i knew it was worth the money.
At the start it feels as though you are watching a cartoon because it can be funny in places. This was the first game i had played which has tons of moving things in it. The water moves, the trees move, lots of things on Jak and Daxter move, like their hair, clothes etc. and it is all in real-time. And i did'nt notice any pop-up anywhere in the game, so that is surely a good thing.
As for the storyline; at the start Daxter falls into a pool of Dark Eco and when he emerges from it, he has transformed into a rodent type creature. So then the game starts and the whole aim is to find the cure or something for him, which will return him to his normal human form. I did'nt finish the game (was very close though) so don't know if he returned to his original form or not.
But the best part of the whole game is that there is absolutely no loading times. So it gives you the impression that you are just playing one great big level.
So if you have a Ps2, you know which game to check out next. (well i hope you do anyway) :)

GAME: Red Faction
RATING: 8
3 GOOD THINGS: The ability to destroy walls, The multiplayer levels, The gun selection.
3 BAD THINGS: Nothing unlocked when you complete the game, A limit to how much wall blasting you ca do (eventually you just can't blow up walls, although, you can destroy a lot of rock before this limit applies) and the time limit in 2 player mode.
REVIEW: Red Faction is one of the best Playstation2 games i've played and greatly helped by the fact that you can blow holes through walls with a rocket launcher. In 2-player mode i had fun making really long tunnels with a rocket launcher. The game developers have called this wall destruction thingy, Geo-Mod Technology.
The game's storyline is that you are a miner on Mars and..........something happens, so you have to..................kill someone.......................................and...............get .....................stuff. As you can see, i was too busy destroying things to take notice of the storyline. Oh well. You just going round killing bad guys with rocket launchers, sniper rifles, assault rifles, taser gun, shotgun and more.
Before you say anything, it is nothing like Quake or Half-Life even though it is in 1st person view. If you like destroying things, then Red Faction is a game you should definately play and if you don't like destruction or shooting, you had better play this game or i'll come round to your house and destroy all the inside walls with a rocket launcher. I'm joking of course.....................[evil laugh]

GAME: Midnight Club: Street Racing
RATING: 6
3 good things: Lots of cool cars, Big city's, Can knock over power poles.
3 BAD THINGS: Dodgy handling, Not much detail in the city's, No car damage (i don't think)
REVIEW: Made by the same people who make Smugglers Run, Midnight Club has a few things the same as SR. Traffic lights and light posts can be knocked over in both games, and you can also race one of the cars from SR in MC if you have a Smugglers Run game save on your memory card. But the handling of the cars is way different and the cars seem to like driving sideways around the city streets.
The city's, London and New York or Tokyo, are quite big and seem bigger than Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto 3. But the city in GTA3 has a heck of a lot more detail than the MC city's. The aim of the game is to compete in illegal night-time street races, passing through checkpoints in the lead, to win the race and become the citys best racer, but to do this, you have to beat the best. Some of the races are hard and the sharp corners and traffic don't make it any easier on you. I'm not sure if i completed the game or not, but i think i was close to finishing. Sometimes when you win a race the opponent will give you his/her car, and that is how you unlock the new cars in this game.It's been ages since i've played the game so i can't remember too much else, so give this game a shot if you are bored with your current games, as it is not a bad game. :)

GAME: Shadow Of Memories
RATING: 7
3 GOOD THINGS: Awesome FMV's, Great storyline, Well designed gameplay.
3 BAD THINGS: Can get stuck without a clue what to do too often, can't think of much else.
REVIEW: This game is full of very awesome cinematics and it sometimes feels like you are watching a movie instead of playing a game. But to some people, like me, thats a good thing.
Now, how can i describe this?.....................basicly the game involves you going back in time to try to prevent things from destroying something or someone in the future (present time). For example when you go come across the pub, it is on fire, so you have to go back in the past, in this case a few hours earlier, and try to prevent the fire from happening. Another example would be that you come across a great big mansion in the normal time and if you go way back in time you can help the owner decide whether to turn the place into a museum or library. Then when you return to the present time, it is now a museum or library. But if that was'nt bad enough, you have another reason for going back in time, which is to stop yourself being killed by a guy in the present time. So when he kills you this little elfy thing brings you back to life and you have to do something different to try and stop the killer from getting you. The game is full of this sort of thing. It all merges together to make a great game. One of the bad things is that sometimes you can get completely stuck, without a single clue as to what you are suppost to do next. This ended up as the reason why i returned the game back to the Video shop and delete the game save off my memory card. For me, Shadow Of Memories is a hire only game, as it is just not worth me buying it. But i do recommend it, as you have to see the cool movies etc..

GAME: Smugglers Run
RATING: 8
3 GOOD THINGS: Massive maps, No popup of the scenery, Car damage.
3 BAD THINGS: Can't knock the train off the rails, Water too shallow, No weapons.
REVIEW: Even though the sequel is out and i have played it, i still prefer the original game. Probably because of all the roads and townships in it. In SR2 there seems to be less roads, which is a bit of a shame. (because i like roads, roads are good.) But i still like a few things in this game, especially Joyride mode, where you have no time limit or missions and are free to roam the massive levels for as long as you want. :) There is really only 2 levels, but the US/Canadian Border level returns fully covered in snow, thus making it a 3rd level. (don't ask me why i'm calling them levels, when they are actually maps!) So there is US/Canadian Border, Mexico, and Snowy US/Canadian Border. But both levels, MAPS, are very huge and can take up to 10 minutes to get from one side to the other!
There is a small selection of cars too, ranging from a Rally car to a Tundra, and even a 4X4 Jeepy thing. And all vehicles handle differently, which is good.
As for the missions, some of them are very VERY hard, but it is possible to pass them, as i have clocked the game already. The harder ones are usually the ones where you have to race to different points all over the lev................map.
As far as replay value goes, there is'nt much. When you clock the game you, unfortunately, don't unlock anything. At least not to my knowledge. But it does have other modes of gameplay too, which adds to the longetivity.
It is definately a game worth playing though, so if you ever get a chance, play it. :)

GAME: Grand Theft Auto 3
RATING: 9
3 GOOD THINGS: You can drive your car on top of the railways, awesome car damage, the game is just so much fun. :)
3 BAD THINGS: Can't take control of the train, Petrol pumps don't explode when you knock them over, truck cannot attach a trailer.
REVIEW: Well.....what can i say? It automaticly went to 2nd place in my top 5 list of my fave Ps2 games. (after GT3 of course). This is an amazingly fun game to play and if you get the chance, play it. The graphics are quite good and are much better than Midnight Club: Street Racing, and the explosions look really awesome. The water moves with the tide, trees move in the wind (this is the very first game i have played where the trees actually move) and other moving things are; litter flying around everywhere, traffic lights, shop signs, pedestrians (and you can run them over, much to my delight), traffic (every single car you can see, can be taken), trains, planes and lots more. :) The time of day moves quite quickly and it could take you a day to walk from one side of the city to the other. Not in realtime though. One thing that does disappoint me about the game, is that the city seems WAY smaller than the original Liberty City. Mind you it is split into 3 islands, and i'm only on the second island with a long way to go to unlock the rest of the city. Some of the missions are quite fun too, like one of them you have to race around the city, and win to complete the mission. There were 3 compeditors in very fast & flash sportscars and there i was in a slowish Taxi. Believe it or not, i won the race by miles, as you needed a car that handles good. Not a fast car.
To round off, GTA3 is a worthy investment, and will give you hours of fun. I hope theres a sequel. :)

Comments? Suggestions? Then drop me a line and i'll see what i can do.