Free Online Games

GENRE : RHYTHM/KARAOKE
DEV : EA
PUB : EA

There’s a story mode for each of the five playable characters. Now, the story mode is a great idea for a music game, where you have to unlock new songs and outfit by earning the credits. A nice touch for the game is that you only really need the Wiimote to play. If you don’t plug in the microphone, the game detects it automatically and replaces all the karaoke chapters with alternate dancing ones instead.

Boogie isn’t a game for the self-conscious. You’re going to have to look silly to get some enjoyment out of the game. Doing the motions of dancing with the Wiimote on the coach works but it soon gets old. On the other hand, if you have some friends over, dancing around with the game in real life as you swing your arms around in tune to the game does have a certain charm to it.

The tutorial will teach you all the basics of the game but unless you’re totally new to the gaming scene, you’ll grasp the controls easily enough. After all, they mainly involve you moving the Wiimote around to get your character to dance. Fill up the Boost meter by dancing well and you can use the Boost ability to unleash special moves that net you more points. Not that deep at all and right at home on the Wii. Which also means it’s devoid of difficulty as well. Boogie is extremely easy from start to finish, and unless you have no coordination at all, you’ll beat it no problem.

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GENRE : SHOOTER
DEV : GAME ARTS
PUB : SQUARE ENIX

For starters, the plot is not exactly strong in ‘the force’, figuratively speaking of course, because it matter less in the face of all the latter-day crap that Lucas’ been churning from the Star Wars universe. But in perspective, Project Sylpheed presents a storyline that feels really generic in scope, with characters so wafer-thin in personality that you can’t help but feel apathetic to the conflict it presents. Playing the role of rookie pilot Katana, you’ll very quickly be propelled into a conflict between the sanctioned Earth defence corps that you represent and the rebellious rumblings of the ADAN coalition, who have rallied together to declare their independence from the Terran government. You’re thrown into action easily enough with a typical ambush scenario, and seeing as how you’re a pilot in training, this leaves plenty of meandering exposition by your mentor to run you through the controls early on.

Here’s where the major complaints start flooding in. While the basic controls on your craft via both thumbsticks is relatively manageable and smooth, combat is sadly, a sterile experience where lining up enemies on your HUD and then letting loose with homing rockets becomes the order of the day. Of course, if you’re so inclined, you can line them up in your crosshairs and blow them away with your pewpew lasers, or put an offensive shield and ram them to bits. But it’s hardly worth the effort, because the standard enemy fighters are so numerous and so placid in their flying skill, that you’ll very quickly lose all inspiration to move in for the close-up kill, while ramming proves pointless against capital class ships.

More often than not, you’re caught up with clean-up duty by shooing away enemy fighters in the vicinity before realising that the real threat was in the secondary frigates (or gargantuan missiles) that are being fired at your ward, which in turn forces you to replay the mission for lack of a clear directive. Expectedly, you can direct your wingmen to a certain extent, but there’s hardly a sense of urgency on their part, and they’re rather hopeless when it comes to beating enemies aside from the stock-standard fighter, which renders them pretty much useless. Soon enough, you’d come to realise that the mission designs are rather bland, by which time, you’ll be merely trudging through for the sake of seeing the next cutscene.

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GENRE : RPG
DEV : ATLUS
PUB : ATLUS

As per the Japanese RPG stereotype, you play the orphan with a special destiny who finds himself transferred to a new school. Things in this school are anything but normal however, as a “hidden time” known as the Dark Hour takes place between midnight and the new day.

During this Dark Hour, normal humans become encased in coffins and slumber away while demons roam the world. A few humans do not enter coffins, and these are prey for the demons, but a few far rarer individuals can summon demons of their own, called “Persona” manifestations of their exceptional psyche.

Of course, your character is one of them, and from there, with a group of other kids, dubbed “Special Extracurricular Execution Squad” you proceed to investigate the mystery of the Dark Hour, explore a large tower that appeals over your school grounds, combat demons by….shooting yourself in the head. Repeatedly.

Graphically, this game isn’t going to be turning any heads. There’s nothing actually bad about the graphics, with in-game characters that are compromise between “serious” anime and the cutesy, super-deformed style, but with giants such as Final Fantasy XII around, it’s painfully obvious that there are better looking games out there. Audio-wise, the game is a winner. The music is modern, catchy and upbeat, and the voice acting is solidly delivered.

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GENRE : DRIVING
PLATFORM : X360/PS2/PS3/PSP/DS/PC
RELEASE DATE : Q3 2007

Juiced 2 is affiliated with the Hot Import Nights touring auto show, and as such, this variation of street racing is not part of some illegal “underground” group, but on streets that have been cordoned off to traffic and are lined with spectators. Gameplay will purportedly be split 50/50 between races and drifting events, though after checking out some of the game’s extensive customization features, drifting will still be the main focus.

Customizing cars in racing games is nothing new, of course, and Forza Motorsport 2 has recently made the feature more popular than ever on the Xbox 360. In Juiced 2 : Hot Import Nights you’ll also get to create your own driver avatar and the system appears to be every bit as robust as that employed by EA Sports in its recent Tiger Woods offering. For example, there are several parameters available simply to determine the shape and size of your nose, and the finished game will feature licensed and downloadable clothing, although the outfits were pretty generic at this stage. You need a driver in Juiced 2 because before each race, you’ll have an opportunity to check out the profiles of the drivers that you’re up against and, if you wish, make bets with them.

You’ll have every bit as much freedom to get creative when customizing your cars as you will when determining the appearance of your driver, of course, and the paint/vinyl tools at your disposal appear to be very easy to work with. Your options are divided up into four distinct categories : visuals mods, performance mods, paint shop and decals. Visual mods include body kits, new hoods and trunks, spoilers, and the like; as in the previous game, there will be plenty of licensed parts for you to choose from. Licensed parts will also feature heavily in the performance mods section, where you’ll get a discount from manufacturers whose logos appear on your car as if they were sponsoring you. When adding new parts to your cars you’ll get to see a wireframe diagram of it that highlights the location of your new part-letting you know exactly what you’re doing and, unless you know a lot about car customization already, would probably increase your knowledge on the subject. Another really great touch is the ability to look at an “exploded” view of your car, which shows off all your parts individually and…well, it just looks really neat.

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GENRE : ACTION
PLATFORM : X360/PS3
RELEASE DATE : OCTOBER 2007

As we started in on the brief demo, the influence of Sony’s God of War games was nearly palpable, with a heavy focus on satisfyingly violent combat with multiple enemies, and a darkly medieval tone to the visuals. Our overarching objective over the course of the demo was to free several sailors imprisoned in small cages by enemy soldiers - roughly translating into lots of vicious sword-fighting, and the occasional lever pull. With regular and heavy attacks that could be strung together into lengthy, bloody combos, the action moved fast, though with enough nuance to keep us on our toes.

Conan had several fighting styles at his disposal, and the type of weapon he had at hand dictated them. Over the course of the demo, we fought enemies while armed with a single sword, two swords, or one gigantic blade, an the change of weaponry had an immediate effect on how the combat felt. There’s an experience system at play as well, and when enough points were accrued, new combos could be learned. Many of these combos were specific to the different weapon configurations, so it would seem that figuring out your favorite combat style and balancing how you spend those experience points will be important.

What the most striking about Conan was how unflinchingly violent the gameplay was. When armed with two swords, Conan could swing them down hard, taking both of an enemy’s arms with them, after which the now-armless enemy would thrash about until they were overcome by the loss of blood. Amongst the flurry of blades, enemies were also beheaded, sliced right down the middle, and generally dissected in the goriest way possible.

As derivative as it felt,  Conan demo gave a generally positive impression, due largely to the gleeful carnage inherent to the combat. There was certainly no shortage of blood, which is just how Conan would want it.