To even try to describe the premise of The Cartel is a mission unto itself. The game allows you to choose from three different characters from different agencies. Despite the choice, you’ll be thrown into the streets and heights of Los Angeles in an attempt to bust an underground drug and sex-trafficking ring, while also looking for the suspect to a bombing. All the inter-agency fighting and clichéd gang references do get a little overwhelming, and the over-the-top dialogue doesn’t help the story’s cause.

The shooting in the game is not that bad, as it really does feel satisfying letting off rounds of the many different weapons. The impact and attention of the guns is really good, the only problem is that the game doesn’t provide you with interesting ways to use them. You’ll always find yourself playing it the same way – running like a child on a sugar-rush squeezing the trigger until no enemy is left moving. That said, it is really fun, and a ‘concentration meter’ also allows a brief time of slow-mo to kick in, which just never seems to get old.

The developers also attempt to mix up the action with some action-packed driving sequences. They are pretty intense when you’re hanging out of the window and blowing up cars with a shotgun on the busy LA highways, but the segments where you actually drive are painfully slow. The cars just seem to move at a turtle’s pace and the steering is a nightmare.

Graphically, The Cartel is all over the place. Some levels and environments look really good with wide open spaces and decent lighting, while NPC’s seem to move really smoothly; but the focal blur and field of vision just never seems to be on-the-money during gun fights. The effect is understandable, its implementation is just not that great.

Mutiplayer does attempt to offer a few twist-ups on the traditional modes we’ve become accustomed too, although nothing stands out amongst the hordes of online shooters out there. The only thing that’ll keep you coming back is the gangster attitude and attatchement to some of the weapons.

There are a few negative things to say about The Cartel, but in all honesty, I had a great time playing it. To look at it critically, it’s a bare-boned shooter that ticks all the boxes it needs to, while leaving off all the stuff that makes games stand out. So while it may not live up to its predecessors, it does manage to fulfill that balls-to-the-wall fun factor that many games these days miss out on.

Pros

• Gritty feel
• Shooting is fun

Cons

• Driving feels painfully slow
• Unnecesarily crude dialogue
• Story is as convoluted as a chinese puzzle

The gameplay is actually pretty fluid in Street Cricket Champions as both bowling and batting are handled rather well, despite being very simplistic. Batting allows players to execute lofted, ground or defensive shots while timing the strikes accordingly. On the other hand, bowling is all about placement as players can use a variety of different spin and pace techniques in order to try position their deliveries to beat the batsmen. And then there’s fielding, which requires players to time button commands in order to make catches, and react quickly by returning the ball to the keeper or bowler before the batsman completes a run. The gameplay is pretty derivative, but gamers and non-gamers will appreciate the easy-to-use controls and responsiveness.

Adding a bit of a twist to the street-like nature of the game, players can also perform trick-shots such as directing shots over the keepers head and hitting specific objects in the environment for point bonuses. But just like garden cricket in our younger days, you’ll find objects such as windows and cars that will cause you to go out if you hit them. These elements in the game do add a welcomed ‘grassroots’ feel to the game which does make it unique in certain departments.

The problem with Street Cricket Champions is in its presentation. Although it’s a PS2 game, the graphics are unpolished, losing some clarity in the models and environments. There are also some awkward animations, such as fielders getting momentarily stuck on the wickets and objects in the levels. To commend it on what it does right, the locations in the game are varied and interesting; even Cape Town’s harbour is there, with a blurred but visible backdrop of Table Mountain.

Street Cricket Champions is an interesting take on the popular sport and the ideas available more than warrant such a concept. There are just a fair amount of flaws and shortcomings which keep the game from achieving evident potential. If you’re a huge fan and can’t resist, check it out, but don’t expect the world.

For years, the Madden series has always been the king of the American football genre with little opposition. This year, Madden 10 is setting out to retain its title with a wealth of new features and gameplay tweaks to please veteran and new fans of the series.

For those who found themselves evading the sport altogether, Madden follows the same setup whereby players control quarter-backs, runners and defensive lines. A large amount of tactics and strategies are available for selection after play, although to add to the mix are new gameplay features, such as improved animation technologies that allow up to nine players to be involved in tackles, fumble sections where players must fight for the loose ball, as well as more streamlined and realistic player momentum and interactions.

Game modes, such as the franchise mode has also been enhanced, whereby those budding managerial enthusiasts can have their go at the football world, or players can take on Superstar Mode (Madden’s equivalent to FIFA’s Be a Pro Mode) where players can create their star athlete from scratch or take control of existing stars, and try take them through the ranks to hopeful MVP and Super Bowl glory.

Madden has always been one for great presentation and this year it’s no different. The already impressive graphics and animations from yesteryears are amped up with heightened detail and smoother movements and motions. Players act uniquely and differently to tackles, cut scenes show unparalleled realism and even halftime and post game shows are incorporated with official commentary and game summaries which all contribute to the atmosphere.

All in all, Madden 10 is essentially the same Madden fans have grown to love, packaged in a new wrapping with some new features and gameplay elements, which veteran players may only notice. But to everyone else, it’s a fantastic entry medium into the sport and really shines when playing alongside or against a friend. If Madden has always been your thing, give it a shot. If not, maybe try before you buy.

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The game follows previous Guitar Hero gameplay elements as players must hit the right colour-coordinated notes and strum as they appear descending towards the player on a moving fret-board. You’ll play through 8 levels (made up of 8 venues) comprising of 42 songs, which range from the calm rock opera’s of the Rolling Stones to the harder intuitive riffs and styles of Disturbed, along with everything in between.

It’s slick and responsive allowing for large sets of notes and combos to be created. A multiplier score will drastically increase your overall points if enough notes are hit in succession. ‘Starpower’ is also gained when specific notes are all hit, allowing the player to tilt the guitar up, unleashing a flurry of electricity on the screen and grabbing some serious points along the way.

More intricate guitar techniques have also been included, such as being able to hammer-on and pull-off certain notes, as well as use the whammy-bar on the guitar controller to warp the sounds of sustained notes. All of these elements add a sense of authenticity to the whole experience, even though it is a video game, you do get a bit of variation in the way you want the song to sound.

Difficulty levels vary tremendously in Guitar Hero 3. While Easy only incorporates the first three notes on the guitar controller, medium to hard throws in some more complex chords, notes and speeds it up, and to top it off expert practically applies the actual songs chord progression to the guitar. Obviously not as dynamic as the real thing, but just as complex. The Easy difficulty will set you off in the right direction with Guitar Hero, but even with Hard and Experts ridiculous gradient, you’ll never find a moment of frustration as determination and pure fun will propel you to complete any song.

Multiplayer modes are also available in the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii versions, such as battle or face-off challenges, where you and a buddy can work in co-op to complete songs, or battle against one another, using power-ups such as breaking your opponent’s string for a few seconds, in order to see who the real rock king is. The battles add some great competitive action to Guitar Hero and the Co-op multiplayer is absolutely awesome with a friend.

Unlockables such as different guitars, characters and even bonus songs, such as Killswitch Engage’s My Curse can be bought using cash earned from Career mode. This adds a significant amount of longevity to the game as there is a whole wealth of songs to attempt and master besides the main Career tracks, not to mention the ever growing library of songs available for download from Xbox Live or the PSN store.

For a game that primarily focuses on music, the presentation and graphics are absolutely fantastic. The style and layout is colourful and vivid, while the band characters are modeled beautifully. While they are interesting, awesomely animated and funny caricatures of real life rockstars, their singing, guitar playing and drumming is all in-sync with the music showing GH3 has some high production values alongside the great gameplay and music.

Ok, so the actual game is rad, let’s talk about the guitar controller. Modeled and endorsed by Gibson, the controller is a replica of a Les Paul, containing 5 colour coded ‘note’ buttons, a strumming paddle and a whammy-bar. It’s excellently made and isn’t one of those flimsy peripherals, this is the real balls-to-the-wall guitar experience you’ve been dying for.

Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock once again pushes the benchmark for innovative and exciting music related gameplay which is stepping closer and closer to the real thing. It’s awesome to see Activision and Neversoft didn’t half-ass GH3 to be just another episode in the Guitar Hero series. It stands proudly on its own and incorporates new gameplay elements and techniques which music veterans or simple rock lover can’t help but to appreciate.

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