Tales of Symphonia (T) (4 stars)
Namco
GameCube
Just when it was finally starting to seem like RPG stood for Rarely Played on GameCube, Namco has come to the rescue.
With its distinctive look and unique combat system, Tales of Symphonia even may be a worthy Final Fantasy alternative. It boasts the best cel-shaded graphics since Zelda set to sea, and the enormous world is brought to life with vibrant colors and traditionally animated cut-scenes.
Rather than commanding all of your characters by turn, you're given full control with one while the rest fight according to instructions you give the A.I. At first, it feels like the game plays itself, but eventually the two-disc, 80-hour story line winds up being as rich as fantasy escapism gets.
Crimson Tears (T) (2.5 stars)
Capcom
PlayStation 2
The cel-shaded characters in this anime-flavored action title are absolutely beautiful. The developers know it too, which is why the camera insists on staying real close to these works of art. So close, in fact, that upon entering a room, you can't see the bad guys until they walk up and smack you. Then again, if the camera zoomed out, you might notice the dull and ugly environments, and that might lead you to notice how boring and repetitive the levels are.
Way of the Samurai 2 (M) (2 stars)
Capcom
PlayStation 2
Hard-core samurai fans undoubtedly will love this cliché-ridden story. You can choose to be a nice guy or a jerk while wandering into town, dealing with evil gangs, and befriending a young mute girl. But the slow pace will have many gamers wanting to commit hara-kiri, and the voice acting is so shockingly bad that even the whimpers of the mute girl sound ridiculous.
Malice (T) (2 stars)
Mud Duck
PlayStation 2; Xbox
How do you make a story about a formerly decapitated, sledgehammer-toting, teenage goddess and her struggle against the Dog God seem tiresomely unoriginal? Answer: Just make it into a generic, 3D platformer in which you hop around, collecting items, and effortlessly bonking enemies on the head. How do you make a game that lasts a mere four hours seem painfully long? Same answer.
Matthew Scott Hunter has been known to mumble, "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start" in his sleep. E-mail him at
[email protected].