PS2

What kind of strange hold does Star Wars and LucasArts have over this industry? With every Star Wars game release, the video game industry salivates. It doesn't even matter that we get stinkers like Shadows Of The Empire, Jedi Power Battles and many of the other forgettable releases, the next announcement always brings more cheers from the press as if it were the first. It's no more evident than with Star Wars: Starfighter.

While Starfighter succeeds in delivering accessible gameplay and superb technical elements, it ultimately lacks personality.

I definitely think Chi nailed it when he said that Twisted Metal: Blacks strengths lie in its refinement, rather than in anything innovative.

Game Description: This vehicular combat game brings the original developers of the popular Twisted Metal series back for a dark, eerie installment for the PS2. This version will have new weapons, veteran and rookie drivers, weather effects, and night driving.

The Twisted Metal videogame franchise has seen its highs and lows. After five attempts in six years, file the series' latest entry, Twisted Metal: Black, under the 'semi-got-it-right' category. This is a distinction normally reserved for the annual updates of EA Sports titles, but it's also applicable here because the most enduring characteristic of Twisted Metal: Black isn't its innovation, but its refinement.

Gran Turismo 3: A-spec (GT3) is arguably the epitome of racing simulators. In it, vehicles can be customized and upgraded; cars mimic the physics of their real-life counterparts (if the term physics is too abstract, perhaps a more suitable term would be feel); and graphics and sound are as lifelike as current technology will allow. Why, you can even take your car for a wash and an oil change!

It wasnt until after playing Gran Turismo 3 (GT3) for several more weeks did I finally "get it." I finally figured out that whether or not one will enjoy GT3 boils down to essentially one thing: the "feel" of the driving physics. You either accept it or reject it. You either love it or you hate it.

Game Description: Get ready for the drive of your life in Gran Turismo 3 A-spec, the most impressive racing game around! Race against your friends in two-player mode Shadows and lighting are so realistic they'll amaze you, and the control is absolutely exquisite Viciously fast and exciting racing action awaits you, in Gran Turismo 3!

Game Description: Crazy Taxi 2 is set in the most taxi-crazed city of them all: New York. Leaving the California sun behind, this sequel has a grittier, more urban aesthetic—and an attitude to match. Though the object of the game is still to pick up and shuttle fares across the city, Crazy Taxi 2 sports better graphics, new and returning drivers, more missions, and a wild new jump feature that lets you clear cars and intersections at the touch of a button. Adding to the game's challenge are cab-sharing groups of people who aren't always going to the same place.