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GMR January 2005 scores

Kumiko Nikaido

Vindication...sweet.
Edits:

1. Growlanser Generations review location fixed.
2. Coupons found in issue added.

Master Chief strikes a pose for Halo 2 on the cover of the January 2005 issue of GMR.

The scores:

Multiplatform

* Crash N' Burn = 5
* Fight Club = 4
* Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue = 6
* BloodRayne 2 = 4
* Prince of Persia: Warrior Within = 9
* The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age = 8
* Godzilla: Save the Earth = 7
* NCAA March Madness 2005 = 8
* ESPN College Hoops 2K5 = 7
* Viewtiful Joe 2 = 8
* The Urbz: Sims in the City = 7

PlayStation 2

* Growlanser: Generations = 8
* WWE Smackdown! Vs. Raw = 8
* Rumble Roses = 5
* Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War = 8
* ATV Offroad Fury 3 = 8
* Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater = 10
* Capcom Fighting Evolution = 3
* Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends = 6
* Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 = 7
* Killzone = 7
* EyeToy: Anti-Grav = 7
* Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas = 9

Xbox

* Halo 2 = 10
* Colin McRae Rally 2005 = 8

GameCube

* Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean = 6
* Metroid Prime 2: Echoes = 9
* Mario Power Tennis = 8

Game Boy Advance

* Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories = 7
* Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls = 9
* Donkey Kong Country 2 = 7

PC

* Tribes: Vengeance = 7
* Kohan II: Kings of War = 8
* Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault = 9
* Scrapland = 8
* Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia = 7
* Full Spectrum Warrior = 7

Coupons (Applies to EBGames stores)

* Buy a pre-played Xbox or PS2 and get 1 pre-played Xbox or PS2 game priced at $14.99 or less for free! (pg. 11)
* Trade in your working PSOne or PSX system and get an additional $5 dollars trade-in credit. (pg. 140)
* Trade in your working N64 system and get an additional $5 dollars trade-in credit. (pg. 140)
* Trade in your working GBA system and get an additional $10 dollars trade-in credit. (pg. 140)
* $3 dollars off any pre-played DVD movie priced at $9.99 or more. (pg. 140)
* Save $5 dollars instantly when you purchase Viewtiful Joe 2 for PS2 or GC. (pg. 140)
* Get a $10 dollar EBGames mail-in gift voucher when you purchase Tony Hawk's Underground 2 for Xbox, PS2, or GC. (pg. 140)
* Get Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 for PS2 or Xbox for only $9.99. (pg. 140)
* Save $5 dollars instantly when you purchase Fight Club for PS2 or Xbox. (pg. 140)
* Get a $15 dollar EBGames mail-in gift voucher when you purchase a MC Groovz Dance Craze Bundle and a Beat Pad for GC. (pg. 140)
* Get a $10 dollar EBGames mail-in gift voucher when you pre-purchase Resident Evil 4 for GC. (pg. 140)
* Get a $10 dollar EBGames mail-in gift voucher when you purchase Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile for PC. (pg. 140)
* Get a $10 dollar EBGames mail-in gift voucher when you purchase Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 for PC. (pg. 140)
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
* Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater = 10
* Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas = 9

I agree, MGS3 > ALL
 

bitwise

Banned
GameCube

* Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean = 6

:lol

I knew there was a reason I was waiting for a price drop on this game..
 

GaimeGuy

Volunteer Deputy Campaign Director, Obama for America '16
bitwise said:
GameCube

* Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean = 6

:lol

I knew there was a reason I was waiting for a price drop on this game..


I think the score is aboiut 3 or four points too low. :/
 

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
* Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater = 10
* Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas = 9
Thank heavens someone has the balls to recognize! GTA:SA is a great game, but it has nothing on pure awesomeness that is MGS3.
 

shpankey

not an idiot
these are some really good scores. i agree with almost all of them and they really nailed the big games. halo 2 and mgs3 are 10 games, nice scores all around.
 

Amir0x

Banned
Maybe they recognized finally that Baten Kaitos is just another vehicle for poorly written RPG storylines and they got tired of it.

I can only hope.
 

Miburou

Member
If someone who's not a Nintendo fan and didn't like Tales of Symphonia that much recommends me Baten Kaitos, I'll buy it as soon as I finish MGS3. If they liked Chrono Cross, then that's even better.
 

Dead

well not really...yet
Miburou said:
If someone who's not a Nintendo fan and didn't like Tales of Symphonia that much recommends me Baten Kaitos, I'll buy it as soon as I finish MGS3. If they liked Chrono Cross, than that's even better.
Chrono Cross is one of my favorite games, im not a nintendo fan, I like ToS but am not enamored with it, I really like Baten Kaitos as it has an awesome battle system and is drop dead gorgeous to look at.

Go buy it (after beating (goty)MGS3 of course)
 

pilonv1

Member
* NCAA March Madness 2005 = 8
* ESPN College Hoops 2K5 = 7

I don't usually participate in these threads, but there is no universe in the world where March Madness 2005 is better than College Hoops 2k5. It's not even close.
 

Culex

Banned
Amir0x said:
Maybe they recognized finally that Baten Kaitos is just another vehicle for poorly written RPG storylines and they got tired of it.

I can only hope.

I think I finally recognized how stupid you are .
:)
 

Miburou

Member
DeadStar said:
Chrono Cross is one of my favorite games, im not a nintendo fan, I like ToS but am not enamored with it, I really like Baten Kaitos as it has an awesome battle system and is drop dead gorgeous to look at.

Go buy it (after beating (goty)MGS3 of course)

Thanks. I think I'll get it soon, then.
 

Dead

well not really...yet
Amir0x said:
You don't want to get into a debate with me about the pathetic state of RPG stories.

I will fucking rape you there.
Who gives a shit considering how great the game plays and how beautiful it looks. Its an absolute joy to play. First time I could care less for a story in a long time.
 

Culex

Banned
Amir0x said:
You don't want to get into a debate with me about the pathetic state of RPG stories.

I will fucking rape you there.

While Baten Kaitos' story is nothing to write home about, it's not bad in any regard.

Oh by the way, I'm bending over now... ;)
 

Amir0x

Banned
DeadStar said:
Who gives a shit considering how great the game plays and how beautiful it looks. Its an absolute joy to play. First time I could care less for a story in a long time.

Well, hey, if that's the case... if there's an RPG out there that actually looks and plays well enough that it can actually negate the effects of a shitty storyline... then hey, maybe it's the exception. But I haven't encounted a single RPG where this has even come close to happening, so I doubt it starts with Baten Kaitos.

And for the record, I wasn't "dissing" Baten Kaitos, I was dissing Tales of Symphonia by implication. Saying maybe GMR got tired of RPG with shitty storylines and finally gave RPG storylines the clout they deserve. IF your RPG has a shitty storyline, it does not deserve a great score (imho).

This is the same argument someone else tried to hand to me (*cough*GG*cough*), that an RPG can be fun without a good storyline. If this is true for you, I commend you. But RPGs are about taking the role of a character. Approximately 75% (<<Fake Estimation Here) of non-combat time in RPGs are spent reading dialogue or watching cutscenes which provide exposition on the plot. If this aspect is a failure, a huge chunk of the game therefore becomes a failure because of this. For RPGs, character development is essential. Characters must be well written. They must have nuance and a personality that can't be torn out of the pages of Japan's house of anime cliches. But for 99.999999999999999% of RPGs, this simply isn't true. And then it's a case of forcing yourself to slog through this horribly written, cliche and contrived story, and then subsequently forcing yourself to slog through many tons of random battles [in some RPGs].

But, as I told that other person we discussed this with, if you can ignore a poorly written RPG story all I can do is commend you. I hold my RPGs to a higher standard, as I do my books, and as I do my movies. Videogames do not receive a break from me simply because so few developers have learned how to manipulate the medium to tell engrossing stories.
 

explodet

Member
I suppose you could use a $5 Amazon.ca coupon and get it there - otherwise I'm out of ideas. It's not a game that lends itself well to discounts like you usually see at Future Shop like MGS3 and first party Cube games.
 

skip

Member
I think it's awesome that in the issue where GTA gets a 9, the biggest controversy is the baten kaitos score.
 

Dead

well not really...yet
I think once you play Baten youll realise your motivation for moving on in the game isnt where the story is going but if the next area can top the visual magnificence of the last :lol But honestly although the story isnt anything revolutionary I dont see where the hate comes from, though ill wait til I get further in to make a final judgement on that.
 

fse

Member
I never liked MGS, but... it deserves the 10! lol...
I have the MGS 3 demo.. maybe i'll pop it in...
 

vireland

Member
PSOne

* Growlanser: Generations = 8

I thought Growlanser Generations was a ps2 game. was this a mistake by the magazine.

No mistake in the magazine it said PS2. I believe it was intended as snarcasm in the original post.
 

SantaC

Member
GaimeGuy said:
What kind of a moron gives Baten Kaitos a 6? :(

I agree. I am playing BK right now, and I am loving it. Gamespot gave it 8.5 anyway.

Game Boy Advance: Kingdom Hearts: CoM 7

what? I heard this game is awesome, and it got 36/40 by famitsu.
 

MakMan

Member
Kumiko Nikaido said:
Master Chief strikes a pose for Halo 2 on the cover of the January 2005 issue of GMR.

The scores:

Multiplatform

* The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age = 8 (No, the game sucks)

PlayStation 2

* Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas = 9 (No, this is the GOTY)

Xbox

* Halo 2 = 10 (No, overrated)

GameCube

* Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean = 6 (No, this game is excellent)

Conclusion: GMR is not reliable.
 

Gazunta

Member
Kumiko Nikaido said:
Multiplatform

* Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue = 6

(insert the usual question about the review here)

Oh and another thing...does "multiplatform" mean that 6/10 is for the GBA version as well? I just wanna know if I can add it to the pile of reviews labelled "we played the console version and, assuming the GBA game has the same features, wrote up a review of the GBA version and talked about the cart racing and submarines EVEN THOUGH THEY ARENT IN THE GBA GAME OOPS OH WELL WE'LL DRAG THE GBA GAMERANKINGS SCORE DOWN ANYWAY THANKS".

Christ, am I in a fowl mood this evening...
 

Jonnyram

Member
SantaCruZer said:
I agree. I am playing BK right now, and I am loving it. Gamespot gave it 8.5 anyway.
Agreed. Regardless of the story, the battles are highly addictive... but I even like the story :D

what? I heard this game is awesome, and it got 36/40 by famitsu.
KH:COM is great, until you get to the Winnie the Pooh stage :lol There's a lot more to the battle system than most people will get at first glance, though, so if their review doesn't mention any specifics about the battles, it might not be too trustworthy.
 

Sho Nuff

Banned
Jonnyram said:
KH:COM is great, until you get to the Winnie the Pooh stage :lol There's a lot more to the battle system than most people will get at first glance, though, so if their review doesn't mention any specifics about the battles, it might not be too trustworthy.

I am pretty sure reviewables weren't out by the time those guys went to print.
 

Culex

Banned
Amir0x said:
Well, hey, if that's the case... if there's an RPG out there that actually looks and plays well enough that it can actually negate the effects of a shitty storyline... then hey, maybe it's the exception. But I haven't encounted a single RPG where this has even come close to happening, so I doubt it starts with Baten Kaitos.

And for the record, I wasn't "dissing" Baten Kaitos, I was dissing Tales of Symphonia by implication. Saying maybe GMR got tired of RPG with shitty storylines and finally gave RPG storylines the clout they deserve. IF your RPG has a shitty storyline, it does not deserve a great score (imho).

This is the same argument someone else tried to hand to me (*cough*GG*cough*), that an RPG can be fun without a good storyline. If this is true for you, I commend you. But RPGs are about taking the role of a character. Approximately 75% (<<Fake Estimation Here) of non-combat time in RPGs are spent reading dialogue or watching cutscenes which provide exposition on the plot. If this aspect is a failure, a huge chunk of the game therefore becomes a failure because of this. For RPGs, character development is essential. Characters must be well written. They must have nuance and a personality that can't be torn out of the pages of Japan's house of anime cliches. But for 99.999999999999999% of RPGs, this simply isn't true. And then it's a case of forcing yourself to slog through this horribly written, cliche and contrived story, and then subsequently forcing yourself to slog through many tons of random battles [in some RPGs].

But, as I told that other person we discussed this with, if you can ignore a poorly written RPG story all I can do is commend you. I hold my RPGs to a higher standard, as I do my books, and as I do my movies. Videogames do not receive a break from me simply because so few developers have learned how to manipulate the medium to tell engrossing stories.

So you're basing this off a game which you haven't played yet, or will never play? Or am I wrong?

I went into Baten Kaitos with the preconcieved notion that it would be a terrible card game, ala Phantasy Star Online Ep. III. I'm glad I was wrong. The battle system may be represented in cards, but the shear amount of depth and playing around with it, is enough to make me want to play it more than most turn-based systems.

The game is beautiful, as is the music. It's skewed that way so much, that you don't even care for the story so much as wanting to see the next amazingly hand-drawn environment or hear more awesome classical renditions. Don't get me wrong, the story isn't bad either. It's a bit above average, but nothing terribly cliched like a bunch of other RPG's out there.

I truly think that people rated this game badly, because they went in wanting to hate it.
 

skip

Member
Sho Nuff said:
I am pretty sure reviewables weren't out by the time those guys went to print.

actually, they were.


gaz - that one doesn't include the gba ver. we didn't have room for it. :-/
 

Amir0x

Banned
Culex said:
So you're basing this off a game which you haven't played yet, or will never play? Or am I wrong?

No, you see, I was bashing Tales of Symphonia by implication, not Baten Kaitos. I have played and beat ToS, I have not played or beat Baten Kaitos. I was saying that maybe, after playing ToS, GMR finally got tired with not holding RPGs to a higher standard of storytelling and finally gave the standard console RPG the score they deserve. Whether or not Baten Kaitos actually has a shitty story... I don't know. I haven't played it. I'd be willing to be money that it does, but I will definitely play it at some point.

Culex said:
I went into Baten Kaitos with the preconcieved notion that it would be a terrible card game, ala Phantasy Star Online Ep. III. I'm glad I was wrong. The battle system may be represented in cards, but the shear amount of depth and playing around with it, is enough to make me want to play it more than most turn-based systems.

Unfortunately, RPG battle systems can't make up for a shitty storyline for me. For me, RPGs are primarily about characters and the stories they inhabit. If it's poorly written, no amount of "battle depth" will make me slog through it. But, as I said, I have not played Baten Kaitos so there's no doubt I will eventually give it a try.

Culex said:
The game is beautiful, as is the music. It's skewed that way so much, that you don't even care for the story so much as wanting to see the next amazingly hand-drawn environment or hear more awesome classical renditions. Don't get me wrong, the story isn't bad either. It's a bit above average, but nothing terribly cliched like a bunch of other RPG's out there.

I seen pics/movies and heard music for Baten Kaitos; on this much I agree. It is beautiful and it has a great soundtrack.

But, again, you don't even care about the story much in the face of the visuals/music. That's fine... for you.. For me, there is no possibility of that ever being a true in an RPG. For RPGs, the storyline is primary. If the story sucks shit, I don't care if God himself hewn the visuals upon the screen or if the very orchestra of the angels created the music, I won't enjoy it. Anyway, I don't think you realize at what standard I hold my videogame stories. If you think it's "a bit above average", there's an 85% chance that I'll think it's worth little more than a piss in a garbage can. But, hey, I hope I'm wrong. This way, when I buy Baten Kaitos for 20 bucks it won't be a waste.

Culex said:
I truly think that people rated this game badly, because they went in wanting to hate it.

No.
 
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