Byte First: Slayed by young Buffy . . .Byline: Barrie Mills MOST people wouldn't place the fate of mankind, or very much else, in the hands of a 17-year-old Californian schoolgirl. But that's the highly improbable premise for Buffy The Vampire Slayer, cult TV show and now videogame on the Xbox. It's a third-person perspective action adventure set in and around Sunnydale High Sunnydale High is a fictional high school in Joss Whedon's TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Located in Sunnydale, it competes with Fondren High ("Some Assembly Required"). It was headed by Principal Bob Flutie early in the first season. School. Supreme creatures of darkness Spike, Malik and the Master are hatching an evil vampire plot, and it's down to Buffy to spoil their plans. The game is structured around a series of mini-quests that nudge nudge 1 tr.v. nudged, nudg·ing, nudg·es 1. To push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal. 2. you on through its 13 levels, hunting for keys and searching out secret passageways. But Buffy's main job is to whack whack - According to arch-hacker James Gosling, to "...modify a program with no idea whatsoever how it works." (See whacker.) It is actually possible to do this in nontrivial circumstances if the change is small and well-defined and you are very good at glarking things from context. vampires, and she's got a myriad of martial arts moves and weapons at her disposal. Being undead un·dead adj. No longer living but supernaturally animated, as a zombie. , there are only a few ways to permanently kill a vampire, most of them involving wooden stakes. And if you can't find any purpose-built stakes, broom handles and pool cues usually suffice. The story unfolds over several locations from the TV show, including the school, the Bronze nightclub and a selection of cemeteries and mausoleums. All are steeped in atmosphere, and the Xbox's texture and lighting capabilities are put to good effect in Buffy's night-time world. Publisher EA has made good use of the Buffy licence, using voice talent from the show to bring the characters to life. Most importantly Adv. 1. most importantly - above and beyond all other consideration; "above all, you must be independent" above all, most especially , the game retains the show's wicked sense of humour Noun 1. sense of humour - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous; "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor" sense of humor, humor, humour . Even if you aren't a fan of the programme, Buffy the game stands up as a top-notch Xbox adventure. Rating: 8/10 - Buff Enough.THE original TimeSplitters was released alongside the PlayStation2, and for a long time was one of the best titles for the fledgling console. TimeSplitters 2, also on PS2, offers more of the same time-travelling action, with beefed-up graphics and a new set of missions to shoot your way through. The TimeSplitters in question are an evil alien race who have hidden vital crystals at various points in space and time. Over nine adventures you must travel from present-day Siberia to the Wild West and on to the Tokyo of the future. But there's no time for sightseeing as each area is crawling with bad guys. The action is similar in style to Goldeneye - you have an arsenal of weapons and gadgets to deal with the baddies, but there are also plenty of locked door puzzles to solve. Stealth plays an important part in some levels, too. Shooting out or deactivating video cameras stops the alarm being raised, which is always conducive to your health. As with its predecessor, TimeSplitters 2's single-player mode is outshone by its superb set of multi-player options. Up to four players can slug it out across all the game's maps, and if you get bored of those you can create your own using the built-in level designer. It's all very similar to the original, but when something is this good, you don't need to change it. Rating: 9/10 - Split Definitive |
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