Title	:	Britney's Dance Beat
Platforms	:	Sony PlayStation 2, Windows
Publisher	:	THQ
ESRB Rating	:	Everyone
Game Rating	:	7.3
Review by	:	Ken Gagne

She's young, she's beautiful, she's talented. It was only a matter of time before she became virtual, too. 

A cynical gamer may expect Britney's Dance Beat, a PlayStation 2 and PC game published by THQ, to be a lame video game with an expensive license - but it isn't. Unfortunately, it is also not a great boon to the video game library, and succeeds in providing only a short dose of fun, if shallow, gameplay. [PS2 version reviewed here] 

Dance Beat follows the tradition of other dancing games, such as Bust-a-Groove or Dance Dance Revolution. In this game, players assume the roles of dancers auditioning for Britney's dance troupe. Outperform other dancers to advance to more difficult songs and routines, and ultimately face off against Britney herself. 

Gameplay consists of watching a hand speed around a clock-like dial that's labeled with constantly-changing buttons, such as 'X' or 'Left'. When the hand crosses a label, the player must press the corresponding key on the controller. These sequences are often in rhythm with the music, rewarding familiarity with Britney's tunes. Performing ten successful button presses in a row will "attack" your opponent by changing or complicating the buttons on his dial. Each of the six dancers has unique attacks, but generally the same repertoire of dance moves and routines. 

From the above, you can gather there is little opportunity for player initiative. Whatever commands appear on the dial are what must be entered: there is no choice of dance moves to execute, nor opportunity to break out with custom routines or assaults. The gameplay becomes almost mindless (though not tedious) before too long. Given that the game's soundtrack is comprised of only five of Britney's songs, the experience becomes a short-lived one. After a few practice and two-player sessions, I could complete all eleven rounds of the one-player mode on my first attempt. Doing so took just over a half-hour. 

Yet, as with Britney herself, the game looks and sounds great. The motion capture used to animate the dancers has produced realistic movements that complement the music nicely. As with most dancing games, it's hard to notice these details while keeping an eye on the input requirements. The automated camera occasionally glimpses Britney's actual music videos in the background, though these sequences do not sync with the currently-playing audio, for which I find no excuse. 

Britney's songs, including "… Baby One More Time", "Oops!… I Did It Again", and "I'm A Slave 4 U" (but not "Crazy"), make great dancing music. Hearing them consecutively makes one realize how similar many of the tunes are, but doesn't diminish the music's ability to accompany the rhythmic gameplay. 

Extra features, such as behind-the-scenes with Britney and "immersive music videos" — live performances viewed with a manual, 3D camera — can be accessed after performing well in the one-player mode. Sufficient points to unlock all bonuses can be earned only by playing through the game with multiple dancers. 

Britney's Dance Beat rates lowly not because it's a bad game, or even because it's a Britney Spears video game, but because it lacks ambition. The dance/rhythm game genre has been growing and innovating since the release of Parappa the Rapper five years ago. Failure to understand what the genre is about caused the Spice Girls to mar not only all video games, but everything good and decent. Britney Spears, on the other hand, is a successful clone of other dancing games, but nothing more. Its limited repertoire for both music and gameplay hampers its replay value and prevents it from being a memorable addition to the musical family of games. Oops — this has been done before.

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This article is copyright (c) 2002, 2007 by Ken Gagne. All rights reserved. Not to be distributed without permission.

Original publication: Sentinel & Enterprise, 02-Jun-02

Title	:	Britney's Dance Beat
Platforms	:	Sony PlayStation 2, Windows
Publisher	:	THQ
ESRB Rating	:	Everyone
Game Rating	:	7.3
Review by	:	Ken Gagne

She's young, she's beautiful, she's talented. It was only a matter of time before she became virtual, too. 

A cynical gamer may expect Britney's Dance Beat, a PlayStation 2 and PC game published by THQ, to be a lame video game with an expensive license - but it isn't. Unfortunately, it is also not a great boon to the video game library, and succeeds in providing only a short dose of fun, if shallow, gameplay. [PS2 version reviewed here] 

Dance Beat follows the tradition of other dancing games, such as Bust-a-Groove or Dance Dance Revolution. In this game, players assume the roles of dancers auditioning for Britney's dance troupe. Outperform other dancers to advance to more difficult songs and routines, and ultimately face off against Britney herself. 

Gameplay consists of watching a hand speed around a clock-like dial that's labeled with constantly-changing buttons, such as 'X' or 'Left'. When the hand crosses a label, the player must press the corresponding key on the controller. These sequences are often in rhythm with the music, rewarding familiarity with Britney's tunes. Performing ten successful button presses in a row will "attack" your opponent by changing or complicating the buttons on his dial. Each of the six dancers has unique attacks, but generally the same repertoire of dance moves and routines. 

From the above, you can gather there is little opportunity for player initiative. Whatever commands appear on the dial are what must be entered: there is no choice of dance moves to execute, nor opportunity to break out with custom routines or assaults. The gameplay becomes almost mindless (though not tedious) before too long. Given that the game's soundtrack is comprised of only five of Britney's songs, the experience becomes a short-lived one. After a few practice and two-player sessions, I could complete all eleven rounds of the one-player mode on my first attempt. Doing so took just over a half-hour. 

Yet, as with Britney herself, the game looks and sounds great. The motion capture used to animate the dancers has produced realistic movements that complement the music nicely. As with most dancing games, it's hard to notice these details while keeping an eye on the input requirements. The automated camera occasionally glimpses Britney's actual music videos in the background, though these sequences do not sync with the currently-playing audio, for which I find no excuse. 

Britney's songs, including "… Baby One More Time", "Oops!… I Did It Again", and "I'm A Slave 4 U" (but not "Crazy"), make great dancing music. Hearing them consecutively makes one realize how similar many of the tunes are, but doesn't diminish the music's ability to accompany the rhythmic gameplay. 

Extra features, such as behind-the-scenes with Britney and "immersive music videos" — live performances viewed with a manual, 3D camera — can be accessed after performing well in the one-player mode. Sufficient points to unlock all bonuses can be earned only by playing through the game with multiple dancers. 

Britney's Dance Beat rates lowly not because it's a bad game, or even because it's a Britney Spears video game, but because it lacks ambition. The dance/rhythm game genre has been growing and innovating since the release of Parappa the Rapper five years ago. Failure to understand what the genre is about caused the Spice Girls to mar not only all video games, but everything good and decent. Britney Spears, on the other hand, is a successful clone of other dancing games, but nothing more. Its limited repertoire for both music and gameplay hampers its replay value and prevents it from being a memorable addition to the musical family of games. Oops — this has been done before.

---

This article is copyright (c) 2002, 2007 by Ken Gagne. All rights reserved. Not to be distributed without permission.

Original publication: Sentinel & Enterprise, 02-Jun-02

Title	:	Dark Summit
Platforms	:	Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube
Publisher	:	THQ
ESRB Rating	:	Teen
Game Rating	:	8.8
Review by	:	Ken Gagne

Snowboarding seems to be a disproportionately popular genre of video game, with titles like Cool Boarders and SSX earning sequel after best-selling sequel. 

Pardon me if I've been underwhelmed by the sport. 

Snowboarding is too plain a setting for straight-out racing, leaving it to instead focus too much on tricks, stunts, half pipes, and the like. It's a video game; just who exactly am I showing off for? 

Dark Summit, while featuring both racing and tricks, is about neither. THQ's snowboarding title is a goal-based adventure game for all new next-generation game consoles (GameCube version reviewed here). 

Mt. Garrick has been secured by the government for unexplained reasons. No self-righteous snowboarder will let a simple matter like national security keep him from carving the mountain, so strap on your boots and hit the slopes — you're going to uncover the conspiracy! 

Dark Summit sends players to accomplish various mission objectives as they make their way down the mountain. Challenges include performing sequences of specific tricks, knocking down snowmen, acquiring bombs, and evading the Ski Patrol. Each success earns Lift Points, which makes accessible new runs. 

The difficulty of these tasks varies wildly, in part due to the variety of skills they test. Completing one trial can make more available, requiring multiple runs to try them all. Mt. Garrick is huge, with a single run taking ten minutes at most. With so many branching paths, hidden areas, and changing missions, it's a pleasure to be sent back down the slopes again and again. It's strangely addictive; there's always another challenge to surmount, a few more points to earn, or a shortcut to explore that warrants "just one more run." 

If you're normally a trickophobe, like me, fear not: Summit's controls are extremely conducive to all manner of maneuvers, aerial and otherwise. Once airborne, it's as simple as pressing a key combination, such as A-B-A, with each combination executes a unique trick. Collecting trick icons scattered across the slopes will expand one's repertoire. Equipment Points earned from trick completion will allow outfits and boards to be upgraded. Summit is paced such that new snowboards are earned roughly when more difficult courses are unlocked. 

Other characters interact with players primarily through the game's excellent audio. The archetypal German villain announces over the loudspeakers that "Everything is normal! Rules are for your protection! Obey!", while skiers whine over the disturbance snowboarders cause. The music is completely instrumental, and not the stereotypical hard rock or grunge one might mistakenly expect from a snowboard title. 

Though the blue, green, and red snow is unexpected — as are the land mines and toxic waste pits — the graphics depict them finely anyway. There's a good sense of speed, and a floaty feeling when airborne. Some surprising details sneak in during gameplay. For example, don't think the wanton destruction of signs and snowmen is without consequences; the resulting debris will continue rolling down the slopes, smashing into other athletes and obstacles. 

If you're a skier who's ever invoked the patrol's wrath by going off the beaten path, you'll love this game. THQ has finally made snowboarding interesting by playing up the elements of subversion and subterfuge. Neither a racer nor a trick-based title, Dark Summit is a high point in gaming innovation.

---

This article is copyright (c) 2002, 2007 by Ken Gagne. All rights reserved. Not to be distributed without permission.

Original publication: Sentinel & Enterprise, 04-Mar-02

Title	:	Dark Summit
Platforms	:	Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube
Publisher	:	THQ
ESRB Rating	:	Teen
Game Rating	:	8.8
Review by	:	Ken Gagne

Snowboarding seems to be a disproportionately popular genre of video game, with titles like Cool Boarders and SSX earning sequel after best-selling sequel. 

Pardon me if I've been underwhelmed by the sport. 

Snowboarding is too plain a setting for straight-out racing, leaving it to instead focus too much on tricks, stunts, half pipes, and the like. It's a video game; just who exactly am I showing off for? 

Dark Summit, while featuring both racing and tricks, is about neither. THQ's snowboarding title is a goal-based adventure game for all new next-generation game consoles (GameCube version reviewed here). 

Mt. Garrick has been secured by the government for unexplained reasons. No self-righteous snowboarder will let a simple matter like national security keep him from carving the mountain, so strap on your boots and hit the slopes — you're going to uncover the conspiracy! 

Dark Summit sends players to accomplish various mission objectives as they make their way down the mountain. Challenges include performing sequences of specific tricks, knocking down snowmen, acquiring bombs, and evading the Ski Patrol. Each success earns Lift Points, which makes accessible new runs. 

The difficulty of these tasks varies wildly, in part due to the variety of skills they test. Completing one trial can make more available, requiring multiple runs to try them all. Mt. Garrick is huge, with a single run taking ten minutes at most. With so many branching paths, hidden areas, and changing missions, it's a pleasure to be sent back down the slopes again and again. It's strangely addictive; there's always another challenge to surmount, a few more points to earn, or a shortcut to explore that warrants "just one more run." 

If you're normally a trickophobe, like me, fear not: Summit's controls are extremely conducive to all manner of maneuvers, aerial and otherwise. Once airborne, it's as simple as pressing a key combination, such as A-B-A, with each combination executes a unique trick. Collecting trick icons scattered across the slopes will expand one's repertoire. Equipment Points earned from trick completion will allow outfits and boards to be upgraded. Summit is paced such that new snowboards are earned roughly when more difficult courses are unlocked. 

Other characters interact with players primarily through the game's excellent audio. The archetypal German villain announces over the loudspeakers that "Everything is normal! Rules are for your protection! Obey!", while skiers whine over the disturbance snowboarders cause. The music is completely instrumental, and not the stereotypical hard rock or grunge one might mistakenly expect from a snowboard title. 

Though the blue, green, and red snow is unexpected — as are the land mines and toxic waste pits — the graphics depict them finely anyway. There's a good sense of speed, and a floaty feeling when airborne. Some surprising details sneak in during gameplay. For example, don't think the wanton destruction of signs and snowmen is without consequences; the resulting debris will continue rolling down the slopes, smashing into other athletes and obstacles. 

If you're a skier who's ever invoked the patrol's wrath by going off the beaten path, you'll love this game. THQ has finally made snowboarding interesting by playing up the elements of subversion and subterfuge. Neither a racer nor a trick-based title, Dark Summit is a high point in gaming innovation.

---

This article is copyright (c) 2002, 2007 by Ken Gagne. All rights reserved. Not to be distributed without permission.

Original publication: Sentinel & Enterprise, 04-Mar-02

Title	:	Dark Summit
Platforms	:	Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube
Publisher	:	THQ
ESRB Rating	:	Teen
Game Rating	:	8.8
Review by	:	Ken Gagne

Snowboarding seems to be a disproportionately popular genre of video game, with titles like Cool Boarders and SSX earning sequel after best-selling sequel. 

Pardon me if I've been underwhelmed by the sport. 

Snowboarding is too plain a setting for straight-out racing, leaving it to instead focus too much on tricks, stunts, half pipes, and the like. It's a video game; just who exactly am I showing off for? 

Dark Summit, while featuring both racing and tricks, is about neither. THQ's snowboarding title is a goal-based adventure game for all new next-generation game consoles (GameCube version reviewed here). 

Mt. Garrick has been secured by the government for unexplained reasons. No self-righteous snowboarder will let a simple matter like national security keep him from carving the mountain, so strap on your boots and hit the slopes — you're going to uncover the conspiracy! 

Dark Summit sends players to accomplish various mission objectives as they make their way down the mountain. Challenges include performing sequences of specific tricks, knocking down snowmen, acquiring bombs, and evading the Ski Patrol. Each success earns Lift Points, which makes accessible new runs. 

The difficulty of these tasks varies wildly, in part due to the variety of skills they test. Completing one trial can make more available, requiring multiple runs to try them all. Mt. Garrick is huge, with a single run taking ten minutes at most. With so many branching paths, hidden areas, and changing missions, it's a pleasure to be sent back down the slopes again and again. It's strangely addictive; there's always another challenge to surmount, a few more points to earn, or a shortcut to explore that warrants "just one more run." 

If you're normally a trickophobe, like me, fear not: Summit's controls are extremely conducive to all manner of maneuvers, aerial and otherwise. Once airborne, it's as simple as pressing a key combination, such as A-B-A, with each combination executes a unique trick. Collecting trick icons scattered across the slopes will expand one's repertoire. Equipment Points earned from trick completion will allow outfits and boards to be upgraded. Summit is paced such that new snowboards are earned roughly when more difficult courses are unlocked. 

Other characters interact with players primarily through the game's excellent audio. The archetypal German villain announces over the loudspeakers that "Everything is normal! Rules are for your protection! Obey!", while skiers whine over the disturbance snowboarders cause. The music is completely instrumental, and not the stereotypical hard rock or grunge one might mistakenly expect from a snowboard title. 

Though the blue, green, and red snow is unexpected — as are the land mines and toxic waste pits — the graphics depict them finely anyway. There's a good sense of speed, and a floaty feeling when airborne. Some surprising details sneak in during gameplay. For example, don't think the wanton destruction of signs and snowmen is without consequences; the resulting debris will continue rolling down the slopes, smashing into other athletes and obstacles. 

If you're a skier who's ever invoked the patrol's wrath by going off the beaten path, you'll love this game. THQ has finally made snowboarding interesting by playing up the elements of subversion and subterfuge. Neither a racer nor a trick-based title, Dark Summit is a high point in gaming innovation.

---

This article is copyright (c) 2002, 2007 by Ken Gagne. All rights reserved. Not to be distributed without permission.

Original publication: Sentinel & Enterprise, 04-Mar-02

Title	:	Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage
Platforms	:	Nintendo 64
Publisher	:	THQ
ESRB Rating	:	Teen
Game Rating	:	5.7
Review by	:	Larry Tipton

Role-playing games, or RPGs, are hard to come by on the Nintendo 64; any RPG gamer knows this cold, hard fact. There have been a few releases, but most fell well short of the watermark set by RPGs on other platforms. The situation has perplexed the Nintendo faithful, since many quality RPG games appeared on the Super Nintendo, and it seemed to be a pretty safe bet there would be even better RPG games available for the Nintendo 64. Sadly, this did not come to be. Now comes Aidyn Chronicles, a game published by THQ and developed by H2O, the folks behind the very enjoyable Tetrisphere. Could this be the epic RPG that the Nintendo faithful have been waiting for? 

Early in the adventure, Aidyn is poisoned during a battle with goblins. He awakens to find himself in the presence of a mysterious woman. She is only able to partially heal him which results in Aidyn suffering from strange dream-like visions. Eventually, Aidyn makes his way back home. Upon hearing of his condition, the King tells Aidyn to assemble a band of adventures together and to go out and search for the antidote. But this is only the beginning of the story; the plot is full of dark and twisted turns that will sure to surprise and keep you challenged… if you can forgive the game's many weaknesses. 

Aidyn Chronicle is what I categorize as a classic-style RPG that is chock full of traditional RPG elements. It is a party-based adventure that requires a fair amount of exploration, conversation with computer-controlled characters, and the ultimate quest that must be completed by a primary hero, a young Alaron named Aidyn. Combat is turn-based, and you are required to gain experience points to defeat the more difficult enemies. However, H2O tried to create something different with its battle system, and in doing so, made the game more cumbersome and tedious. In battle mode, there is a ring around every character. Each character can move within its ring of maneuverability. When movement rings touch, battle moves can be performed. Ring size is dependent on character skill and experience. 

The presentation also varies from good to really bad. For graphics, the character models are composed of simple polygons that can look warped or deformed at times. The same can be said for the landscapes. The frame rate stutters along and a pretty lethargic pace, even though the game supports the N64 expansion pak. There is heavy use of fog and there is also quite a bit up graphical pop up throughout. The color palette is pretty plain and the overall graphical presentation is too dark at times. To make matters worse, it is easy to get lost while traveling the countryside as too many areas have a certain "sameness" to them. There is no way to adjust the camera angle, which is automated by the game engine. At times Aidyn and the character that he is speaking to are not visible on the screen due to the way the camera positions itself. In battle mode, the characters can be hard to track. 

There is music but you will find yourself with a lot of "quiet time" in the game, particularly when conversing with other characters. Some of the music sounds downright bad, at other times it is okay. There is no speech: all conversation is text based. Sound effects are sparse. 

Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage is for the truly dedicated RPG game player that must play every RPG game to its logical conclusion. The game's overall pace can be dreadfully slow. From all appearances, the Nintendo 64 hardware could not keep pace with the developer's vision. What we are left with is a game that is destined to become yet another forgetful RPG. Maybe this is why we have not seen many games of the type on the Nintendo 64! 

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This article is copyright (c) 2001, 2007 by Ken Gagne. All rights reserved. Not to be distributed without permission.

Original publication: Sentinel & Enterprise, 16-Apr-01