Ambition is something that is, sadly, lacking in much of the video game world. Although there are a lot of excellent titles, many of these are sequels and installments, featuring only marginal improvements upon their predecessors, and it’s rare when someone tries something really new. Well, if anything, the award for a great idea ought to belong solely to Traveller’s Tales, who envisioned a truly epic tale that would merge many styles of gameplay in order to create one of the most innovative gaming experiences perhaps since the beginning of video games. And while the result is not quite as polished, quite as genre-bending as it ought to be, Haven: Call of the King has quite a bit going for it that makes it a fine addition to any platforming fan’s library.

While Konami is the clear leader in the music/rhythm game industry, Namco has recently struck gold with its Taiko drum series. While the GameCube isn’t getting that particular drum game, Namco did develop an entirely new one for Nintendo. Based on the Taiko games, and featuring a Donkey Kong-styled barrel conga, Donkey Konga follows the same basic formula of the genre: icons appear on screen indicating where to step or what to hit in time with the music. Throw in some four player support and very poorly animated Donkey Kong characters and, well, that’s Donkey Konga.

Fanboys, gamers, and Nintendo Stockholders alike were excited when a Donkey Kong title was announced for GameCube earlier in the year. Visions of Donkey Kong Country making the next-gen leap brought smiles to everybody’s faces. However, nothing is that easy when it comes to Nintendo. Even though Rare gave them the long Kiss goodnight last year to work on such high-profile Xbox games as “To Be Announced”, Nintendo retained the rights to the Donkey Kong franchise. Not wasting a moment, Namco was brought in as the developer and work was begun on Donkey Kong

Bizarre Creations released Metropolis Street Racer (Dreamcast) and Project Gotham Racing (XBOX) in 2001, two games based on a unique racing system: Kudos, where points were given for racing style instead of just speed. PGR was XBOX’s response to PlayStation 2’s Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec. Project Gotham Racing 2 is XBOX’s response to all racing videogames ever made. With more then 100 tracks spread over 10 cities, access to more then 100 cars in 14 different classes, and online racing via XBOX Live, you will soon learn what PGR2 is all about; it is not how fast you drive but how you drive fast. drag racer online v4

The first person shooter has been a genre that, since the monumental release of Half-Life on the PC, has been struggling to evolve. Fans realized that it wasn’t just enough for an FPS to have 20+ weapons and bigger monsters – they needed to tell a compelling story, innovate on the gameplay traditions that Wolfenstein established so many years ago, and, hell, maybe even be fun. Since then, some games have been wildly successful in that attempt; games like Deus Ex pushed the bar in interactivity while Red Faction brought vehicles that didn’t seem like an afterthought to the genre. But for every memorable FPS, there are at least 10 that, while not fully horrible, are forgettable just because they feel simply like clones of other games and bring little to the genre themselves.

Between the bankruptcy of Extreme Championship Wrestling and the minimal success of many of America’s indy wrestling federations, the way has been cleared for the monopolization of the wrestling market by World Wrestling Entertainment - and that includes their games which see minimal improvements year by year. That’s why it’s always nice to see a game like Def Jam Vendetta come in out of left field to challenge the WWE’s stranglehold on the market, and it’s especially nice because the game is developed by Aki, probably the most talented team developing wrestling games for home consoles right now. But the very idea of a game infusing wrestling and hip-hop is what sets Def Jam Vendetta apart from the rest of the currently available, and is what makes the game more endearing and entertaining then your average wrestling game. But to do this, a few sacrifices are made that hurt the game noticeably.

Gamers have seen it all, haven’t they? A speedy, blue hedgehog, a box smashing bandicoot, a vacuum wielding cat, I could go on. More to the point is the main character seen in this fire-breathing episode on PS2, Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly – a purple dragon you say? Yes Spyro, a purple, wing-flapping, ace swimmer, fire breathing, dragon saving dragon is the centre of attention in his fourth outing for Playstation. Spyro is all grown up now and has been taken to the next level in gaming entertainment, but still remains to live up to his PSone antics that, sadly, didn’t go that extra mile to please gamers and fans alike of the series.

Last year, Sega’s NFL2K3 was outright crushed sales wise by EA Sports’ Madden NFL 2003. Everyone admits it, even Sega. Down, but not out, Sega Sports and Visual Concepts are teaming up with the full ESPN license this year in hopes of finally staking a large claim in the football videogame market currently dominated by Madden. For starters, they’ve ditched the “NFL2K” name in favor of something much more recognizable to almost any person, sports fan or not. ESPN NFL Football has more new features than just a simple name change, however. Building off of last year’s finely tuned engine, Visual Concepts is adding online play and some features you won’t see in any other football game this season. cedar board sales

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Although it’s been just over a half-decade since Rainbow Six was released, the five years since that game was released have brought new life to the often-stagnant action genre. The tactical, close-to-life team based approach of that game was one that would be sampled in numerous forms by an even greater amount of titles since then – variations were based on the level of realism, the number of members in a squad, and other things. The SWAT series, an offshoot of the excellent Police Quest adventure games on PC, has tried a number of different approaches in its various incarnations (point and click adventure, real-time strategy) before settling on the tactical shooter with the third game in the series – the very approach that Global Strike Team, the SWAT series’ first entry into the console gaming world, tries. Utilizing a more streamlined arcade style, and taking the traditional urban conflicts of the series into even more varied territory, SWAT: Global Strike Team is a mostly-hit affair that isn’t afraid to try new things – a choice that helps to make it at least somewhat distinctive from the myriad other titles of this style.