Jet Set Radio HD
When JSR first hit Dreamcasts back in my yoof, I was overjoyed. A little street terrorist myself at the time, it was refreshing to play a graffiti game and the quirky Japanese influence accompanied by cell-shaded graphics was something pretty new to me. The sequel, Jet Set Radio Future, spent a long time in the drive of my clunky old Xbox too. However, its hit-button-to-paint system never really compared to the original's skillful thumbstick wiggle, so it's a relief to see JSR return to the latter's more challenging approach here.
For those unaware, the idea is to skate through the the various city levels, tagging over rival crew's signatures and draping walls with spray paint, while bouncing in rhythm to the game's madcap, but truly excellent, soundtrack. Jet Set Radio is more visually stunning than ever now that it's in HD and is as good a game today as it was 12 years ago. If you've never played it, you're in for a treat.
Need for Speed Most Wanted
With Forza shifting its gears into the open world racer market, NFS had even more reason to ramp up the nitro and with Criterion – developer of 2010's Hot Pursuit – behind the steering wheel, it does a pretty good job of doing so.
As with Criterion's previous outing, Most Wanted feels like a mixup of NFS and Burnout, with emphasis on drifts and takedowns and rewards for driving like a lunatic. Before long, you'll have the feds on your tail in true Wanted fashion, throwing increasingly more at you the hotter your notoriety becomes.
While the cars aren't quite as impressive and feel more arcade-like than Microsoft's detailed replicas festured in Forza, each NFSMW game offers plenty of entertainment and you undoubtedly get plenty of bang for the buck. The soundtrack is thumping too, just what you want in a racing game.
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COMMENTS
Re: Pathetic
Ok, it's true that most of you will probably have not "missed" Hitman, with the overkill of advertisements recently. But it is still one of the better games out there released in the last few months.
Don't be too misled by our headline, these roundups are meant to wrap up any (good) games that we haven't managed in full multi-page reviews. There's loads of average junk around and we've missed out plenty of titles.
If we only covered small indie titles and completely unheard of console games from the last 2/3 months, I doubt we'd even have 10 (let alone 20 here) that are all rated 70% or more.
Just for the record, the new Hitman rocks! It has drained at least £30 worth of electric at home in the last week, I swear.
Pathetic
Expect far better from The Reg than a bunch of affiliate links to massive brand games that no one's likely to have missed. Seriously, I'm trying to avoid Hitman, which has only been out a week or so and is still doing TV ads.
Very poor show.
Popular games you will have seen and may buy through Amazon
to earn us some affiliate money on our tag rhtopten-20, in time for xmas.
Repeat, Repeat
Virtually all of these are sequels, what about some review of original games or do those not exist anymore ?
Our last "games you may have missed" piece back in August included Journey. Great game and it still gets played often in my household!!
