2004, What a year! Part 1

• January

Back to uni for my second out of 3 terms.

Xmas overflow - Viewtiful Joe (GCN):

A game that should be on everybodies list. A scrolling beat-em up with special effects and puzzles. It's highly addictive, but its difficulty can put you off. My advice, start on kids! Loved every minute of this title and cannot wait for it's sequel.

Purchase - Grand theft auto: Double pack (Xbox):

I wanted to see why everybody loves GTA. I can see why people do. It's very open and the world is huge with plenty to do. A little underwhelmed because although it's a great game it doesn't quite match the reputation it has. I think what puts it over the top is the content, using whores, organising shoot-outs, stealing vehicles, etc. This stuff has very little to do with making the game great.

Cheap Purchase - Futurama (Xbox):

Hardly groundbreaking but worth it for the content. I'm a huge Futurama fan and it does feel like you're playing an extended episode of the underrated brilliant show. Though it's one of those games where the gameplay is an afterthought it's still pretty good. I recommend a rent or two.

• February

Ah the month of my birth. 21st birthday as well so money would be rolling in. Two Sonic games, I must be in heaven!

Purchase - Sonic Heroes (GCN):

It was inevitable that I would get this. While I agree it's no where near as good as the classics it's still a good game. It doesn't deserve the slating it's getting, especially when you consider the good marks the rather disappointing Super Mario Sunshine gets. Disappointing but worth a play. Review

Purchase - Sonic Battle (GBA):

Despite its obvious flaws it's a very addictive title. Customising Emerl and the overal plot, while confusing timeline wise, were the game's highlights. I just feel that the GBA was the wrong format for this. Too many functions, not enough buttons. A tutorial mode would've been nice too. Review

Purchase - Jet Set Radio (GBA):

I don't like this. The Isometric view it tricky to get used to, as is the awful controls. Get the DC version instead and leave this to die.

• March

The month I bought my PS2. It filled quite a big void as I looked towards filling my collection with quality.

Budget Purchase - Beyond Good and Evil (Xbox):

A Quality Action RPG with good stealth elements. Unique and brilliant just a too short. You must own this considering it's cost.

Xmas overflow - XIII (Xbox):

A very good FPS with a nice plot. Just didn't grip me and ended up on the shelf to gather dust. I'll probably get back to it someday.

Preowned purchase - PS2 with two games, mem card and extra pad:

Old model = Disk Read Error with Blue disks. I have been surprised by the PS2, mainly because I've fallen in love with traditional style RPG's. The PS2 is full of these with a few other hidden gems. Also I don't see why you need a PSone memory card to save Psone games. Surely the PS2 card could hold the same data?

Game - Pro Evolution Soccer:

Everyone should own a Pro evo game. If this weren't a blue disk I'd probably have played it a lot more.

Game - Prince of Persia: Sands of time.

A Quality platformer that everyone should own. Cheap and brilliant, much like Beyond Good and Evil. Loved every minute of this game.

Retro Purchase - Final Fantasy VII (Psone)

With my new PS2 I decided to buy another well-known title that I had overlooked. Turned out to be one of those games that was brilliant just too short. 26 hour story? Most Trad RPG's I had played up to that point at least broke 35 hours. Perhaps that's due to the date though. Then again for £15 I can hardly complain.

Cheap Purchase - Ico (PS2)

Yet another, "I wanted to see what the fuss was about", game. I was slightly disappointed. Much like many games I played this year it was too short and gameplay wise felt dated, leaving much to be desired. Yet you'll only be disappointed if you expect the greatest game you've ever played. It's a brilliant game just not to the standard of its reputation (like GTA).

Purchase - Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GCN):

Everything sounds good on paper. Remake of classic game I got for PC, when it should be played on a console. Creators of Eternal Darkness working on it. What could go wrong? I dunno, I just felt it was too similar. Resident Evil, although a Remake didn't give me this problem. Though the fight with Mantis was brilliant, shame he tried to "Move" my wavebird (they do this via rumble, Wavebirds have no rumble).

Budget Purchase - Puyo Pop Fever (GCN):

Probably my weakest purchase this year. I hated how childish it is and really when you have Sonic Mega Collection, Mean Bean Machine is all you need. Played it for a while but I just couldn't stand it any longer. Says for collection purposes.

Budget Purchase - Resident Evil Code Veronica X (GCN):

Being a resi fan at this point I now had a version of every main resi evil. RE0 and RE1 for GCN, RE2 and RE3 for Dreamcast. I was missing one, Code Veronica. Sure I had played the DC version (Virus owns it) but it just felt right to own it myself. This game is a must own, no matter what format its on. It takes what was great about RE1 and expands it a lot. Shame it was only a port. This game unfortunately was the one I was playing when my Cube broke down. I got it fixed, it wasn't RECVX's fault.

Cheap Purchase - Virtua Fighter 4 evolution (PS2):

One of the first games I got for my PS2 besides the ones that came with the console. A top quality beat-em up that is only beaten by Soul Calibur 2 (for this style of beat-em up). For £15 it would be a crazy of me to not get this game.

Cheap Retro Purchase - Final Fantasy 8 (PSone)

Blockbuster had this at £5 (Without instructions). I'd say it was worth that price. The Junctioning system is unnecesarily complicated and it didn't grip me like FFX or FF7. Seriously don't expect a masterpiece with this one. Looks good though.