I play a lot of video games, natch, and since not all games (or gamers) are created equally I usually find it necessary to use various websites designed to give me a hand. I found a pretty good one the other day, it’s comprehensive and from what I’ve been able to discern, skips the bullcrap. I am personally tired of having to search through loads of text to find what I’m looking for. Like just the other day I was looking for GTA 4 Cheats and came across the site. I was immediately impressed with the layout of the site, it’s fun and chock full of good info you need to know.

I found myself looking around the site and digging the content for so long I almost forgot I was looking for GTA IV CHEATS. Cheat Planet is the cheat/FAQ resource section of a larger site called GamesRadar dedicated to all things gaming from news and reviews to cool polls, lists and random funny junk. The Cheat Planet side is mostly user contributed and is well organized and easy to navigate, a must for short attention span folks like me. There’s also a file download area where you can get sweet old school titles for free and even get some current-gen gamesave info for you achievement/trophy whores out there.

For those out there with a need to make your voice heard to the rest of the gaming universe there’s also a forum where you can”discuss the latest in gaming, news, YouTube videos, breakfast meats, and everything in between.” awesome. Best part? It’s free baby! Yep most jerk sites demand a signup fee or even a monthly membership to access all the really juicy bits but not Cheat Planet, all you have to do is register and you’re good to go.

I gotta say I was blown away by how good this site is. I’m usually pretty hard to impress when it comes to these things and this on really lives up to it’s potential. So if you’re like me and are looking for GRAND THEFT AUTO 4 CHEATS, or just a daily dose of all things gaming, give cheat Planet and GamesRadar a shot. GH recommended!

Keep on pwnin!

The Gamer Hero

So this is it folks, this is the last installment of Gamer Hero’s list of must-have games on the last generation of gaming consoles. For those of you not paying attention, I’ve already covered the system-exclusive titles for each machine and the multi platform release list is almost complete. Today I’m going to list Sports, Racing and Role Playing games that you simply MUST play. So let’s do this huh? Right. Remember the games on this list are in no particular order and not every title is available on every system (sorry ‘Cube owners).

-Sports-

Madden - I’m not a huge pro football fan but I do recognize a good game when I see it. The Madden football franchise from EA is hands-down the best in it’s genre, every gamer that loves the gridiron loves this game. With new installments in the series annually, this is one you can get on board with at any time. Newer versions now support online play and who wouldn’t like to kick their friend’s ass at football without leaving your couch? Sweet. Xbox/Ps2/GCN

NCAA - This one’s a bit more my flavor as I AM a huge college football fan (go Bucks!). The only complaint I have about this one is that since the players are all students, EA can’t put their names on the jerseys without mucking up the real player’s eligibility to play. But the graphics and sound are gonna be proportional to the year on the box of the game you buy. The controls are another matter. Once you learn how to control this game you’ll pretty much have a fair grip on the rest of the games in the series (and Madden for that mater), so going from year to year isn’t a jarring experience. Learn on an old version, then step up to the current ones and see what I mean. Xbox/PS2/GCN.

-Racing-

Need For Speed Underground 1 & 2 - Super fast driving combined with sweet graphics and sound drew me to this game and the crazy addictive gameplay and nearly infinite car customization choices kept the disc in my machine for weeks. Pick from dozens of cars ranging from Import tuners to all American muscle, customize the engine, body, and paint job and go tear it up! I loved both of these games for all of those reasons but the real reason to play these two gems is the sheer sense of speed the designers were able to convey. You start with a pretty typical beater but before long you’ll be haulin’ ass through dense city traffic at a breakneck pace. You’ll wreck a lot and it will take some getting used to but you’ll be hooked after your first hour just you wait and see. Dig it. Xbox/PS2/GCN

Burnout 1-3 and Revenge - Criterion Games wanted to create a fun arcade style racer with a great sense of speed and tight controls. They succeeded in that endeavor but they also included a crash mode with the game that rewarded players for aggressive and destructive driving. It may seem like a gimmick but take it from me, after playing Burnout you’ll wish every driving game had a crash mode. This mode was expanded and improved as the sequels rolled out and the quality of each game went up and up. The latest release was Burnout: Revenge and let me tell you, it rocks really effing hard; just don’t start with that one or the rest won’t be as good. Xbox/PS2/GCN

-Role Playing (RPG)-

X-Men Legends & X-Men Legends II: Rise Of The Apocalypse - A role playing game featuring all your favorite characters from the comics in an exciting all new tale that takes you around the globe battling iconic bad guys? It sounded too good to be true to me too but this pair of games really delivered. The controls, visuals and gameplay were all solid and the sweet roster of playable characters (which got much larger in the sequel) only served to make a great game better. The only downside to these games is the lack of online multiplayer, but the offline multi mode for up to four players more than make up for it’s absence. So grab a friend (or three if you have XML2) and start kicking some Evil Mutant ass! Xbox/PS2/GCN

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - The same guys who made the awesome X-Men legends games got together again to create another hit. This time however the game wasn’t limited to the X-Men but included the entire Marvel Comics universe and most of the characters that inhabit it. With a whopping 23 playable heroes to pick from and an epic story that will have you battling everywhere from the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier to the Halls of Asgard and even the Skrull homeworld, you’ll be thrilled and amazed to see how much Marvel goodness they crammed into this game. The tight controls and pick-up-and-go gameplay will be instantly familiar to veterans of the XML games and the voice acting is top quality. A serious must have for both RPG and Comic book fans alike. Xbox/PS2

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 1 & 2 - Cut from the same cloth as the two previous entries the big difference here is that instead of four superheroes at your fingertips you control a Dungeons & Dragons based adventurer. Both of these games offer solid graphics and sound as well as tight controls and gameplay you’ll dig if you liked XML or MUA. The selling price for both games is around 15 bucks for BOTH games so you really can’t go wrong if you’re in the mood for a good RPG but don’t feel like being a superhero. Xbox/PS2/GCN

Gladius - This one is a bit of a departure from the typical RPG. It has all the leveling and story aspects you’d expect from the genre but the gameplay mechanics are more akin to the grid-based strategy RPG’s from the last generation of consoles (Final Fantasy Tactics anyone?). The battles are large arena-style affairs that require a good bit of strategy and good reflexes since each attack has a corresponding timed button sequence to match in order to determine damage dealt to the bad guys. It sounds weird but it’s actually a lot of fun. So if you are looking for a gladiatorial combat RPG, buy this game. I loved it. You will too. Xbox/PS2/GCN

So that’s it, the list is done. Those are my picks for the previous console generation and if you follow my recommendations you will be in store for many many hours of gaming goodness. So what are you waiting for? Stop reading this and get gaming!

The Gamer Hero

Last time out we covered the First Person Shooter genre and half of the Action/Adventure games on the list. Today we’re going to finish the Action games and Fighting games. Remember, these are in no particular order and not every game is available on every system. Ok enough talk, on with the list!

-Action/Adventure (cont’d)-

Lego Star Wars & Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - This might seem like a kids game (and it is ok for kids) but trust me, the rest of you won’t be let down here either. There are two games, the first game covers the prequel flicks (Episodes I-III) and the sequel hits the Original Trilogy (Episodes IV-VI). The controls are outstanding and the sound is pure Star Wars, but the graphics are what make these games what they are, just picture all your favorite scenes from the movies acted out in pantomime by little Lego versions of everyone from Chewie to Vader. Awesome. Co-op play with a friend makes for hours of fun with even the noobiest of your non-gamer friends (you do have those right?), hell it’s so damn cute, your girlfriend might actually play this one with you. Xbox/PS2/GCN

James Bond 007: From Russia With Love - EA did a respectable job translating arguably the best film in the Bond franchise into a video game. You play as James Bond: Agent 007 out to save the world from SPECTRE (well, OCTOPUS in this case as some licensing issues complicated matters) and it’s evil leader Blofeld. The controls are pretty simple, the only real gripe I had with the game was the controls being a bit TOO simple, and the presentation is top-notch. The best part though is that unlike every other Bond game in history, you actually get to play as Sean Connery! Yep they even got him to do the voice-over work too. It makes for a unique and exciting Bond experience. If you love Bond, buy this game. Xbox/PS2/GCN

The Punisher - I’m not going to sit here and try to explain who the Punisher is. He’s a comic book character and if you don’t know him, play this game and you will. This third-person shooter takes many of the conventional gameplay elements you see in games if it’s type and cranks up the violence and gore to Punisher-esque levels. You can use enemies as human shields and even interrogate them using different things found in the environment. I loved every blood-soaked minute of this game and if you are a fan of the Punisher character you will too, but even if you don’t know Frank Castle, you’ll dig this. Xbox/PS2

The Godfather - EA makes you an offer you can’t refuse in this adaptation of Coppola’s classic film about the Corleone mob family. Instead of playing any of the characters from the movie you actually create your own character and (through some pretty clever writing on EA’s part) make the journey through the film’s story from a different perspective. A perspective just off camera as though you were there for all the important bits, just not in the main action. Remember when Michael get the gun from the bathroom and comes back out and kills those two guys? Well how do you think the gun got there? Or sneaking into the movie producer’s house to put the horse’s head in his bed. That’s the kind of cool stuff you get into. Cool use of an awesome license, good control and a large city to explore made this one of my favorites on the last gen systems. Xbox/PS2

The Warriors - Ok, I’ll admit that I hadn’t seen the movie this game was based on before putting it in the machine. That didn’t make it a bad game, not by a long shot and frankly it made me go out and buy the movie the next day. Granted it’s a bit of a throwback to beat-em-up games of generations past but it’s so good at what it does that you forgive it it’s few flaws almost immediately. My only real gripe here is that the graphics were a bit blocky compared to other games on the shelves at the time. But let me tell you, the fighting in this game is off the hook. I loved every ass-kickin, store-looting, car-stereo-stealing minute of it. Don’t miss this one people. Or should I say: can you dig it? Xbox/PS2

Destroy All Humans 1 & 2 - Oh man this one was fun. You actually get to be the evil little green men from space coming to destroy the world with your flying saucers and death rays. The controls and graphics are on par with the other games on this list, but what truly sets this game apart from the rest is the humor with which this dark tale of invasion is delivered. You can even shoot the filthy humans with an “anal probe” ray the make their brains burst from their heads. Nice. The sequel was pretty much more of the same but since the original was so good, who can complain? Good, clean, evil fun. Xbox/PS2

Gun - Not many western themed games were released on the last generation of systems and even fewer were any good, but this one almost makes up for the the crappy games that came before it. Almost. That’s not to say this isn’t a great game because it is. The graphics and voice acting were truly top of the line. The controls were a bit wonky on the ‘Cube but the PS2 and Xbox versions were tight and responsive, but the best part in my opinion was the wide-open world you got to explore on horseback. If you are a fan of westerns this is the game for you. Xbox/PS2/GCN

-Fighting-

First let me say that the number or fighting games released on multiple platforms was very small.

Soul Caliber II - I’m not a big fighting game fan myself but I know that many of you out there are so I’ll include the one title in this genre that I really enjoyed. Soul Calibur 2 is pretty much a graphically updated port of a 1999 Dreamcast game. It did sport some new features and the depth of combat and super tight controls were all great things. My personal favorite part of the game was the console-specific characters you could play as. If you play it on a PS2 you can be Heihachi from the Tekken series. On the Xbox it was Todd McFarlane’s comic anti-hero Spawn. The best one however was the Gamecube version which offered The Legend of Zelda’s hero Link as a playable character. Genius. Xbox/PS2/GCN

That’s it for today folks. Part deux is in the books. Tomorrow I’ll finish up the list with games in the Sports, Racing and Role Playing genres. Until then. Excelsior!

The Gamer Hero

So I know the next generation of console gaming is fully upon us but there are many of us who can’t afford the upgrade just yet so for those of us still on the last-gen wagon here are my picks for the big 3 systems.

Today I’ll be covering the Nintendo GameCube, currently the most affordable (it’s only $49.99 at Amazon, even brand spanking new) and a great option if you can’t afford/can’t find a Wii.

The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess and The Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker -The Zelda series pretty much speaks for itself in terms of quality and production values so the choice to be made here depends on your personal style preference. Wind Waker has a cell-shaded cartoony look that left many fans scratching their heads in confusion, but the gameplay is pure Zelda goodness. Twilight Princess offers a more realistic, dark moody feel and the ability to shapeshift into a wolf to add a new gameplay element. Both are awesome in their own right and definitely worth your money and time.

Mario Party 4-7 - The Mario Party series is a nearly perfect mutiplayer game. Up to four players compete in minigames and board-game style play for hours and hours of multiplayer goodness! Play as Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and many others as you button-mash your way to super-stardom.

Metroid Prime & Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - The Metroid series makes the leap into 3-D in this intense First-Person-Adventure update of a classic. I say FPA and not FPS in this case as you spend nearly as much time exploring and solving puzzles as you do in combat. Classic Metroid enemies and music combine with tight controls and great visuals to make some of the best fun to be had on the Cube.

Resident Evil 0-4 - Five great games. Two original Cube titles and three remakes of PS1 classics done very well. RE 1, 2 and 3 were smash hits on the PS1 and updated with better graphics, sound and controls are definitely scary and worth your money. Zero was the first new RE on the cube and was a fun solid game, nothing to gripe about. Then you have the masterpiece that is RE4, and I think we all know just how great Leon’s adventure in Europe was incredible. These games are best played in order starting with Zero but can be taken individually if you like. Just play them all. Even if you already played them on the PS1, just do it. they Rock.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes - Another PS1 remake done exceptionally well. The next-gen controls from MGS2 on the PS2 were utilized here on the GCN to update the original MGS and bring it to a new audience. The graphics are top-notch for the system and the re-done cutscenes are pure joy to watch. Basically they kept everything about the game that was good and added the muscle of next-gen hardware to create a fitting addition to a spectacular series.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Platforming hero Mario ventures into the realm of classic RPG in this oddly charming and exquisitely playable title. To understand this one you have to think characters from the Mario universe take away about half the normal amount of platforming action and replace it with turn-by-turn RPG style action a la Final Fantasy and you get the idea. Lots of fun for the RPG fan, a little off-putting for the fan of classic Mario gameplay. I say try it, you’ll like it. Trust me.

Tales Of Symphonia - A somewhat by-the-numbers RPG, but a welcome one considering the Cube’s oddly lacking number of games in this department. Very Japanese in it’s visual style and story this one manages to suck you in early and doesn’t let up ’till the end. The gameplay is good-old RPG until you get to the combat, there’s where this one truly shines, instead of picking a command from a menu and watching an animation on screen you can be in complete control of your characters at all times using different button combinations to pull off battle techniques. This one came and went without much press, but it’s worth checking out if you like RPG’s. [Zee’s note: I am completely obsessed with this game, so this is a good pick if you’re introducing a girlfriend or female friend to RPG’s… it’s fun and not too cutesy and has a lot of great puzzles and fighting to keep you busy]

That’s just a small taste of the gaming goodness to be had on Nintendo’s “Purple Lunch Box”, but all that I have room for (both here and mentally) so for now that’s it.

Next up I’ll give you my list of XBOX games you simply MUST have.

Adios!

The Gamer Hero