Grab your tackle box; launch the bass boat and Let's Go! RAPALA PRO FISHING sets the standard for all fishing games. Never before has a fishing game brought you all the: authentic Rapala fishing gear, guided fishing trips with Rapala's Pro Staff and a Boatload Of Action! Time to set the hook and land that Trophy of a lifetime.
Ubisoft returns to their new hit first person shooter series FAR CRY INSTINCTS with FAR CRY INSTINCTS EVOLUTION for the Xbox. Once again, ex-commando Jack Carver finds himself on a strange island full of danger, mystery, and suspense. The game contains the entire second campaign featured in the Xbox 360 game FAR CRY INSTINCTS PREDATOR. The campaign in FAR CRY INSTINCTS EVOLUTION picks up the storyline after FAR CRY INSTINCTS ends. The game starts with Jack meeting the beautiful Kade, an arms dealer who is looking for some strong, menacing types to help her with a gun running deal. Jack agrees, but the deal quickly turns sour and he finds himself lost deep in the jungle. Before long, Jack comes across some strange human-animal hybrids similar to those he fought on the island, and he finds himself fighting for his life. All of the original game’s multiplayer maps are included, plus there are new levels as well. FAR CRY INSTINCTS EVOLUTION includes deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, predator mode, and the new seek and destroy mode in which players try to destroy specific targets before other gamers. One of the new features is the map editor, which allows players to create their own levels. Gamers can then share their new maps with others via Xbox Live. Players who enjoyed the first adventure of Jack Carver will want to continue the action in FAR CRY INSTINCTS EVOLUTION. The great graphics and amazing gameplay combine to create an incredibly fun game.
By taking the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original, and adding startling new realism and responsiveness, HALF-LIFE 2 opens the door to a world where the player's presence affects everything around him, from the physical environment to the behaviors even the emotions of both friends and enemies. The player again picks up the crowbar of research scientist Gordon Freeman, who finds himself on an alien-infested Earth being picked to the bone, its resources depleted, its populace dwindling. Freeman is thrust into the unenviable role of rescuing the world from the wrong he unleashed back at Black Mesa. And a lot of people people he cares about are counting on him.
Io Interactive’s saga of Agent 47, the genetically engineered assassin who stars in the HITMAN series, continues with HITMAN: BLOOD MONEY for the Xbox. Armed with new attacks and modified weapons, Agent 47 is out for revenge. The game begins with players learning that a rival assassin agency is taking down members of Agent 47’s crew. Soon, he’s the last one left alive, so it falls to him to take out the members of this rival group, avenge his friends, and make a little extra cash along the way. Agent 47 has a number of new abilities this time around. He can head butt enemies, disarm them, and use them as human shields. Agent 47 can also make use of deception, concealing his weapon behind his back or rigging items like chandeliers to fall, making his targets’ deaths look like accidents. A range of different weapons are also available, all of which can be modified with scopes, silencers, and other items. Another interesting addition to Blood Money is the ability to decide how feared Agent 47 is. In between missions, players can read a dynamically-generated newspaper that will summarize the previous mission. If players practiced stealth, Agent 47 will be safe; however, if players were more open about their killings, people will recognize him as a threat right away. HITMAN: BLOOD MONEY promises more of the intense HITMAN action that players have come to love from the series, and the new abilities and additions make the game that much better.
The classic cartoon cat-and-mouse pair returns to its glory days in this faithful reincarnation of the well-loved television series. Based on scenarios from the long-running animated show, TOM AND JERRY: War of the Whiskers features such familiar faces as Spike, Tyke, Nibbles, Duckling, and Butch, making for the largest group of the show’s characters ever to appear together in a video game. Designed to mimic classic fighting games like STREET FIGHTER 2, the game is set up in a tournament-style fashion allowing players to select a character and try to best opponents in best-of-three battles. Each environment is graced with any number of well-placed props that can be used as weaponry (dustpans, hot irons, and the like). Taking standard hand-to-hand combat to the next level, the game lets you discover power-ups by shattering windows, destroying furniture, and knocking down walls. Enjoy four modes of play, including single-player, two-player, team, and tag team styles.
One of the more recent trends in the console market has been party games, titles like CRASH BASH and MARIO PARTY, which offer several different mini-games that are meant for multiple participants. Well, now the Xbox has its own party game in the form of FUZION FRENZY. While the graphics aren’t that mind-blowing spectacular, the gameplay certainly is, with more than 40 mini-games that range from the astonishingly simple to the difficultly challenging. Whether it’s fighting games, racing games, or a combination of both, chances are pretty good that you’ll find a four-player game that fits your needs with this title. So break out the party snacks, call three friends over, and get ready for some fun, intense, and challenging mini-game action with FUZION FRENZY.
URBAN CHAOS: RIOT RESPONSE is a modern tactical shooter by Eidos Interactive for the Xbox. Previously titled ROLL CALL, the game features amazing graphics, outstanding controls, and an AI that adjusts the game’s difficulty to the player’s ability. A huge crime wave is sweeping the city, and no one is safe. To combat this, the mayor has declared a state of emergency and created the Unit T-Zero detachment of the police department. Unit T-Zero is the most elite anti-crime squad ever formed, sporting the newest in high-tech weaponry and special dispensation that allows them to do just about anything in the name of justice. As Nick Mason, an ex-marine now assigned to T-Zero, players set out to take down the various criminal organizations that now plague the city. The first person shooter view the game uses means players will be right in the middle of the explosive action. Molotov cocktails and fireballs fly, gang members leap out of windows and other areas, and cars explode in sudden blasts. The Havok game engine renders all of it in stunning detail, and all of this will keep players on their toes as they explore the city. In addition to the single player missions, gamers will also be able to go online and join other players in cleaning up the streets. The exciting gameplay, cutting-edge graphics, and online play all combine to make URBAN CHAOS: RIOT RESPONSE a great FPS.
The all-new shotgun comes in handy when surrounded by an army of undead. Players must use it wisely to take out multiple enemies in a single blast as they plow their way through the most exhilarating nightmare yet.
Bungie Software’s HALO became a smash hit, and now the shooter series returns with HALO 2 for the Xbox. This first-person shooter is hailed as one of the best in the genre and features amazing gameplay, excellent graphics, and online capabilities. In the single-player campaign, players take on the role of HALO’s interesting hero known only as Master Chief. Part human, part robot, the Chief was the only one who could stop the Covenant in the original game. Now, he’s back, and this time he has to help defend earth itself as the Covenant launches an attack at humanity’s home world. Just like in the previous game, players will spend hours shooting and destroying enemies. The bad guys in HALO 2 are twice as big and twice as bad. The Chief will face everything from incredibly fast flying enemies to huge tanks. Players have a nice arsenal of weapons at their disposal and a number of vehicles, too. The Chief can even dual-wield some of the lighter weapons, giving him twice the firepower. One of the best aspects of HALO was its multiplayer ability, and HALO 2 brings all of that back. Up to 16 players can battle it out in the HALO arena or two players can join forces in cooperative mode. Gamers who loved the original HALO won’t want to miss HALO 2. The game’s great story, amazing gameplay, and addictiveness combine to make it one of the best shooters ever.
Players who finished DOOM 3 wanting more will be pleased to find Activision return to the battle between good and evil with DOOM 3: RESURRECTION OF EVIL for the Xbox. The expansion brings back all the intense action-adventure DOOM gamers love. The storyline picks up two years after the end of DOOM 3. The Union Aerospace Corporation has continued its study of the ancient Martian civilization. One unlucky marine accidentally stumbles upon an ancient artifact and activates it, unleashing the hellish forces of Dr. Betruger and his minions. With the station personnel dead, it’s up to this one lone soldier to defeat the forces of hell and close the portal. As an expansion pack, the game play is very similar to DOOM 3. Once again, players will have to rely on their trustworthy flashlight to look into dark corners while finding keycards and accomplishing other mission objectives. Dr. Elizabeth McNeil serves as the mission coordinator, giving players their objectives and other information. In addition to new items and weapons, players now have access to special abilities using the ancient artifact that opened the portal. As the game progresses, players will be able to slow down time, go berserk, and even becomes invincible for a limited time. These new powers will be needed against the new enemies, especially the new bosses. Players looking to continue the battle against the forces of evil will find the DOOM 3: RESURRECTION OF EVIL expansion pack full of the same DOOM fun as the original.
In the near future, the human race has branched out and established colonies on distant worlds. After several especially brutal attacks by an alien force known as The Covenant, the future of humanity is in grave danger. Desperate for survival, a group of soldiers flees the colonies and crash-lands on an enormous space station called HALO. While it looks and functions as a typical space station, at the core of Halo is a mystical and powerful force. As one of the surviving soldiers, you must lead your squad into war against The Covenant in order to unlock the secrets of Halo before the aliens are able to seize control and completely wipe out the human race. Whether it’s from the third-person perspective in a vehicle or from the first-person perspective on foot, you’ll engage in epic battles with the evil forces of The Covenant. Luckily, you’ll have a huge arsenal of technologically advanced weapons that will make your life easier. If you think you’re up to saving the human race, then get ready for the action and intensity of HALO.
From mob hits and bank heists to drive bys and extortion, step deep inside the world of THE GODFATHER where intimidation and negotiation are your tickets to the top. Players will use their powers of loyalty and fear to earn respect through interactions with characters in the world. Decisions made by the player in the game will have lasting consequences, just as it was in the mob underworld featured in THE GODFATHER fiction. THE GODFATHER film from Paramount Pictures featured some of Hollywood's finest actors, and several are contributing to the game's development. All character likenesses from the movie will be included, and lending their voices to add a dramatic and cinematic touch to the game are the late Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone, James Caan as Sonny Corleone and Robert Duvall as consigliere Tom Hagen. Source: Ea Games.
Hit the courts with 2K Sports’ NBA 2K6 for the Xbox. With new features like isomotion, amazing graphics, and very realistic physics and player movement, the 2006 addition to the series is one of the best. The changes to the isomotion system are the biggest gameplay tweak gamers will find in NBA 2K6. The turbo button no longer exists. Instead, gamers can use the right and left buttons to modify their players aggression, which can change how the player passes and shoots. These changes include how fast the player is moving, what kind of fakes he does, and how he passes. Jukes have also been tweaked a bit, making them easier to chain together and more life-like. All of these changes make the game much more realistic and allow players to move more like they do in real basketball games. The shoot stick feature, also, makes it easier to shoot and makes the game look more realistic. With just a flick of the control stick, gamers can unleash a quick jump shot, a dunk, or a fast layup. Plenty of players are available in NBA 2K6. Just about every NBA team is represented, as are hundreds of today’s hottest players like Shaq, Steve Nash, and Amare Stoudemire. The AI programming is amazing, making players really act like they do in real life rather than having all the players shoot, dribble, and guard alike. These realistic players, amazing graphics, and intuitive controls all make NBA 2K6 a sure slam dunk.
Everyone’s favorite relic hunter returns in Eidos Interactive’s LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: LEGEND for the Xbox. Nearly a decade after her debut, Lara is still going strong, and Legend proves itself as another exciting entry in the TOMB RAIDER series. The game is graphically amazing, full of action, and provides a look at the past of its heroine. While in previous games, Lara has been out to solve ancient riddles or reclaim lost artifacts, this time she’s after something more precious: information about her mother, who died several years prior to the timeline of the game. Mrs. Croft has never figured into the TOMB RAIDER story in the past, so players will learn about Lara’s mother while solving a number of mysteries that range from Croft family secrets to a magical sword once in the possession of King Arthur himself. Once again, Lara will be globe hopping to exotic and graphically incredible locations, including Peru, Tokyo, England, Ghana, and more. She will search through ruins, tombs, villages, a research facility, and even take on enemies on top of a huge skyscraper. All of her weapons are back, including her trusty dual pistols, and Lara has a few new movies to show off, as well. The game includes two driving levels and, like all TOMB RAIDER games, a ton of puzzles. LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: LEGEND has everything gamers love about a TOMB RAIDER game, and it promises yet another amazing adventure with Lara.
While some racing games weave a storyline in and around the action, some prefer to focus on the intense driving action, and that’s the route Atari’s DRIVER: PARALLEL LINES for the Xbox takes. While there is a story in the game, they way it is presented and written, it doesn’t get in the way of the driving or the action. DRIVER: PARALLEL LINES takes place in New York City in the late 70’s. As a member of a criminal cartel, players will take on a number of missions requiring them to drive through the city, take down opposing criminals, and more. The driving itself is the focus, creating a realistic driving experience while still keeping fun moves like power slides and other high-speed maneuvers. Players will have the option of doing missions at their own pace and in their own order, although some missions only become available when others are completed. These missions require players to steal cars, drive without getting injured, or, in an interesting twist, enter a race not to win but to make certain another car takes first place. In addition to the main missions, players will be able to participate in circuit races and many other mini-games to earn extra cash that can be used to customize cars. Players can also sell off any car they steal to the chop shop to gain more money to upgrade or repair their vehicles. DRIVER: PARALLEL LINES has all of the intense driving action players love.
Based upon the upcoming movie sequel, VU Game’s ICE AGE 2: THE MELTDOWN brings all the action and humor of the movie to the Xbox in this fun, entertaining platform game. Following the plot of the movie, players journey with Manny, Sid, Diego, and Scrat as they deal with the end of the ice age. Players take on the role of Scrat, the saber-toothed squirrel introduced in the first ICE AGE movie. Scrat has to lead his larger friends to safety as the melting glaciers threaten to flood their valley. Along the way, Manny realizes he may be the last mammoth around, until he meets a cute girl mammoth and falls in love. Scrat has several unique abilities to help him get through the many different levels. He can dig, swim, spin, and roll through levels while collecting acorns, dodging traps, leaping tar pits, and using geysers to reach other locations. The levels and objectives are based on scenes from the movie, allowing players to interact with all of the characters from the film. Players who love humorous games and enjoyed the ICE AGE movies will find ICE AGE 2: THE MELTDOWN a lot of fun. While the game is primarily aimed at a younger audience, the humor and action will appeal to gamers of all ages.
Groove Games and Direct Assault send players back to World War II with their historical first person shooter game WORLD WAR II COMBAT: ROAD TO BERLIN for the Xbox. As a soldier during the war, gamers will battle Nazis, accomplish missions, and try to stay alive. There are ten different missions in the game, and each will have players attempting to accomplish a task while battling the best the German army has to offer. Each level gives players two different weapons: a shooting weapon such as a pistol, machine gun, or rifle, and an explosive weapon like grenades. While no other weapons are available for that level, players will find ammunition to pick up. The ten missions are spread throughout Germany and include many interesting locations, including an air base, bunkers, and a submarine bay. Each level features a number of checkpoints that save players’ progress and allows gamers to restart from that location if they die. These checkpoints are very helpful because, just like in real life, there are no health items that magically heal wounds. Instead, gamers have to dodge bullets and keep out of the fire in order to survive. Gamers who enjoy first person shooters, especially those set during World War II or other historical battles, will love WORLD WAR II COMBAT: ROAD TO BERLIN. The game’s challenging missions and fun gameplay make it one of the best shooter games to be found.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN is Activision’s third SPIDER-MAN game and the first to be based off the comics rather than the new movies. The Xbox game puts players in control of the web-slinging Spider-Man as he does battle with Venom and other enemies while getting help from some familiar superheroes. The story of Spider-Man begins when 15 year old Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider. He soon realizes he has the ability to climb walls and to sense things. Shortly after being bitten, Peter and friend Eddie Brock discover a mysterious black suit that their fathers created before their deaths. Eddie ends up putting on the suit, which turns him into the powerful villain known as Venom. Peter must battle his childhood friend and other villains like the Green Goblin, Carnage, and Electro to save the city. In story mode, players can walk around New York City as much as they wish as they accomplish side-missions or move the plot along. Instead of walking, though, Spider-Man can shoot webs onto tall buildings and swing his way around the city while capturing gang members and stopping crimes. He also must stop Venom’s plot and defeat the other villains. Players will also enjoy seeing Spider-Man joined by allies like Wolverine and the Human Torch for some scenes. Fans of the comics will enjoy how ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN draws on the comic style and storyline, while movie fans will like getting to see another chapter in the Spider-Man legacy.
Appaloosa Interactive’s JAWS UNLEASED for the Xbox gives players an inside look at one of the most memorable movie adversaries of all time. The shark is on a crusade to eliminate all humans from his waters and will stop at nothing short of that goal. The humans are also on a mission to destroy the terrorizing shark and send a skilled shark hunter out to accomplish this. Players will be armed with nothing more than the five thousand pounds of muscle and the numerous gleaming teeth that are ready to shred anything that stands in its way as they work their way through twenty different missions. To enhance the gaming experience, missions take place in stunning under water environments that are completely destructible as it allows them to obliterate everything that gets in their path. However, players not only have to watch out for the humans that wish to destroy the shark and return their sense of safety, they also have to watch out for other enemies and obstacles that would hinder their objective of human annihilation. Players are allowed a wide range of options when playing the game, as it doesn’t require them to continue through the battles in a linear progression. These free playing availabilities serve to make it a game that players can enjoy no matter what mood they’re in. These factors come together to ensure JAWS UNLEASHED is an action-filled adventure from beginning to end as it combines thrilling missions with combative and engaging elements.
2K Games takes the traditional motocross racing game and adds in a twist: bike-to-bike combat! In MOTOCROSS MANIA 3 for the Xbox, racers can actually attack their opponents with baseball bats, cattle prods, and other weapons. MOTOCROSS MANIA 3 has a variety of modes, including championship mode, time trial mode, two-player mode, and several mini-games. The main mode, championship mode, has three levels of difficulty, although the hardest can only be unlocked by winning the championship on normal. While racers try to amass the usual points by winning races, there’s a twist here, too: during the season, players can challenge other racers to a one-on-one challenge. Winning two out of three rounds of the challenge results in winning the opponent’s motorcycle. Players can switch bikes, upgrade weapons, and handle other tasks in the garage between races. Once a race starts, it’s more than just making it to the finish line. Each rider has a health bar that decreases when they are attacked. Once a rider’s points reach zero, they crash and end up out of the race. In addition to hitting opponents with weapons, racers can perform a number of special ground and air attacks that do more damage. Of course, other racers will fight back. Players who have mastered standard racing games and are looking for something new will enjoy the addition of attacking their opponents, while players who generally look past the racing genre may find MOTOCROSS MANIA 3 the unique, action-packed racing game they’ve been looking for.
Many other famous video game mascots have hit the race course, and now Sonic the hedgehog joins them in Sega’s SONIC RIDERS for the Xbox. Full of battle racing fun, SONIC RIDERS includes many of the classic Sonic characters gamers know and love. One of the most interesting aspects of SONIC RIDERS, however, is that it’s not all about racing cars; Sonic and his friends also snowboard and skateboard. SONIC RIDERS begins with Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails learning that a chaos emerald has been stolen by three thieves known as the Babylon Rogues. To get it back, they agree to challenge the thieves to the ExWorld Grand Prix, a racing series set up by Dr. Eggman. Each character is classified as either a speed, air, or power character, and each has its own special abilities. Speed characters can jump onto rails to gain bonus points, air characters can use special accelerators to shoot forward, and power characters can smash through some obstacles without slowing down. Players can also perform tricks in SONIC RIDERS, and performing tricks will add to their air tank. The air tank can give racers a boost of extra speed or can be used to attack other racers, but every time it’s used, its supply is depleted, so players will have to keep performing tricks to restore it. Sonic fans who like racing are sure to find the unique combination of karts, snowboards, and skateboards in SONIC RIDERS a fun, unique challenge for all ages.