Death Jr. receives mixed reviews in gaming mags

by James Ransom-Wiley { Aug 12th 2005 at 2:00PM }

The PSP has an admittedly slim catalogue of (PSP) games—hopefully this will change by year's end. Death Jr. doesn't appear to be the title that will get that ball rolling. True, Play Magazine thought it worthy of a 90 (out of 100), but from there it's been downhill as far as reviews go: PSM Magazine - 75; Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine - 50; EGM - 45. Ouch! We'll let you know once the online reviews are up. But we'd recommend avoiding a purchase next Tuesday, for now.

[via Metacritic]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

TxdoHawk @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I had low expectations for this one, admittedly. I know more than a few people enticed by the "gothy humor" of stuff like Death Jr., but the game didn't have the same pull to me, and once I heard of all the merchandising they planned, I figured this was going to be "brand first, gameplay second", and it looks like I was right.

I personally think Burnout Legends is what is going to really get the PSP release ball rolling.

Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Heh... Yeah, I was definitely not counting on some generic platformer to sell the PSP. Burnout will do wonders, since that game looks amazing. I honestly don't see a big boom for the PSP in sales until Final Fantasy Crisis Core. Once that hits I see sales spiking a bit.

Vagabond Artist @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

first coded arms, now this one...

that sucks.

I'm hoping for some quality original PSP titles soon... :(
Wipeout Pure, HotShots golf, Lumines... you are lonely at the top :(

zero101 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Grand Theft Auto is the title that will finally get the PSP off the ground.

Of course, by then the DS will have AAA titles in the double-digits. It is going to be a while before the PSP can catch up to that kind of sales and software lead.

Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

"by then the DS will have AAA titles in the double-digits"

What? PLEASE list your triple A titles that will be out by then. The only Triple A I know of are Animal Crossing, Mario Kart DS, and Metroid Prime Hunters. Only ONE of those will be out by the time GTA:LCS is released. I really hope you aren't confusing "first party" with "AAA". Wario Ware is DEFINITELY not AAA, nor is Mario64: DS or anything else I can think of, save for Kirby's Canvas Curse. Eitherway, I hardly consider GTA a system seller. I could be wrong though.

zero101 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Christopher7xii:

Games I consider AAA for the DS:

01 - Kirby
02 - Meteos
03 - Advance Wars
04 - Nintendogs
05 - Castlevania
06 - Mario Kart
07 - Animal Crossing
08 - Metroid Prime
09 - Tony Hawk
10 - Mario64 (considering this game has sold more than a million games world-wide, how is it *not* a AAA title?)

Happy now?

Justin @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Regardless of the AAA titles for DS, the PSP is totally languishing in the games department. There are NO games besides the launch titles (and I'm sorry, Smartbomb doesn't count, it's a damn cell phone game). The next real games (aside from card?! games) come out mid-September. And that's only if nothing gets pushed back.

I was so hyped for the PSP but there's still not a single game that would make me want to buy the system. It's a yawner unless you're totally into the launch titles, which were merely average.

Loki @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

10 - Mario64 (considering this game has sold more than a million games world-wide, how is it *not* a AAA title?)

Id hardly call a choppy 10 year old N64 conversion a AAA title.

Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

No, I'm not happy with this list...

01 - Kirby - Triple A
02 - Meteos - Not a triple A
03 - Advance Wars - Not a triple A
04 - Nintendogs... Triple A
05 - Castlevania... Not a triple A. There have been like 9 other versions of this. 3 of which were pretty much dead copies for GBA.
06 - Mario Kart... Triple A
07 - Animal Crossing... Triple A, won't be out before GTA:LCS
08 - Metroid Prime... I'll give you that one
09 - Tony Hawk... WEAK PORT
10 - Mario64 OLD game, triple A back when it first came out...

You're confusing "solid game" with triple A. Triple A are games like God of War, or Final Fantasy series (save for X2)... Half Life 2. Games that actually win awards in the AIAS, or atleast nominated.

Zero101 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

"You're confusing "solid game" with triple A. Triple A are games like God of War, or Final Fantasy series (save for X2)... Half Life 2. Games that actually win awards in the AIAS, or atleast nominated."

Really? I'm confusing them? I didn't realize there was a dictionary of videogame fanboy semantics out there. In the future I will try and get my definitions straight.

The point is... those are all titles that are highly anticipated or that have already proven themselves in the market.

The DS has them coming out by the handful already, and the PSP hasn't had anything worth mentioning since the launch, and the upcoming season doesn't look much better.

If you want to argue what is and isn't a "AAA game", go for it... but it doesn't change the fact that the PSP's library is extremely weak, any way you look at it.

Matthew @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I have to agree with Zero101. The DS hasn't even gone online yet. The fact that it's doing so well proves the enthusiasm behind it. I think once the online launches, the DS is going to fly. I have Kirby for the DS, and I can't begin to tell you how fun and fresh this game feels. In my opinion, the DS is the best portable machine to ever grace the handheld market. The revolution has already begun in Japan; I don't think it will be long before we notice it overseas.

funkonaut @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I agree that Meteos is a triple-A title. I've put so much time into it and I don't see me stopping anytime soon. Hella fun!

I'm pretty much playing my DS exclusively now. I haven't turned on my Cube, PS2, or GBASP in over a month.

Sean @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Too bad the DS Tony Hawk isn't even going to be a port... unlike the version on the PSP. Ports seem to be the exception rather than the rule on the DS aside from Mario 64 which is at least a port of a good game.

TJ @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I think the fact that Chris doesn't consider Advance Wars a Triple A game speaks volumes!

I'm with Zero101 on this obviously.

And yes, in time I'll get a PSP, but to be honest the games are weak and the release list is weak. It'll be a few years before I think there's enough gaming options to justify a purchase. And by then there'll be well into double figure Triple A games on the DS.

Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Advance Wars isn't that fun... It was a solid game for the GBA at a time where there wasn't much of it's genre(or games in general), but that's about all. AAA though? That term is used way too loosely here... and yes, AAA does have a set definition. If it didn't, people wouldn't use the phrase in the same context everywhere. So you can make your own definition if you really want, but realize that it already has a predefined meaning.

TJ @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I think me and 99% of the gaming community will just have to agree to disagree with you Chris, because Advance Wars is quite simply phenomenal and from the few reviews so far the DS version is the best yet. Just look at the Pro's and Con's.

http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=597080

Where some Triple A claims are open to debate (only Tony Hawk and M64, in my honest opinion), Advance Wars joins that highly impressive list above.

Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Dunno, guess it doesn't scream triple A to me the way Nintendogs, Prime, mario kart, or Animal Crossing do. Those are games that everyone that has a DS should be. Advance wars just seems like a good game. I'm not knocking it and saying its shit, I just think you're handing out AAA titles to anyone that shows a solid performance.

Also, I love you can speak for 99% of the gaming community, despite probably knowing .000001% of them. I guess it's easy to bullshit around when you have no clue what you're talking about. I can make up numbers too ya know. 97% of gamers think you're a douchebag. See, it's called "lying". You should probably stop it.

TJ @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Relax sunny, does everything have to be so serious?

You know not everything is so serious and unprovoked insults just make you look like a complete ass.

It just so happens that every single person I've spoken to / I know that's played Advance Wars thinks it's phenomenal, and like me play it to this day. You're the fist in years that I've "spoken" to that doesn't love the game, oh wait that must be an insult quick start the namecalling....

Smoochy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

This guy, wrote something up on it http://thetechnologist.blogspot.com/2005/08/why-psp-is-tanking.html
He has some good points, but I think he is wrong about now being the time to get rid of your psp. I am at least going to wait untill x-mas

Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Sorry, when you make assumptions to better your position, I get annoyed with you. 99% of the gaming community does not equal everyone that you know. That was my point, that and you made yourself look like an ass for speaking for every individual gamer. My roommate didn't care for it, my girlfriend didn't care about it, and my friend Tammy played it for 10 minutes, said it was cool and never touched it again. Amazing title? Not really. I understand from your impressions it's a good game, but saying it's AAA just because the people you've brought it up with have liked it, is bullshit. It's fine to say that YOU disagree, but to say everyone else disagrees with me is just ignorant. I mean, just looking at gamerankings, the site you linked, the original advance wars got a 73% from EGM. There's another person that doesn't think it's AAA.

TJ @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Again, does everything have to be so literal for god sake.

If every single person had to agree on a game being triple a (and excuse me being literal here) there wouldn't be any such games on the market.

I personally think Halo 2 is way over-rated, GTA:SA got the least playtime from me than any other GTA game, again I thought it was a little poor.

With that in consideration I can still accept they are triple A games. Ask the fans what their favourite games are and Halo 2 / GTA:SA are right in there.

Ask GBA gamers what their fav games are and Advance Wars is in nearly all cases one of (if not the) first games to be mentioned.

You can call me an ass for speaking for the fans, I tell you what; go to a GBA fan site, ask what their favourite games are, wait for the replys proving me correct and look in the mirror. That'll be an ass staring back at you.

Ask DS gamers what games their looking forward to and Advance Wars is again one of the (if not the) first to be mentioned.

If you want to bring up gamerankings the original gets 92%, I've seen so many incorrect review scores from EGM I ignore them now.

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/471043.asp?q=Advance%20Wars

You know what, you are wrong and it is a triple a game, that I'm certain of.

Schattenjager @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I agree that Advance Wars is a AAA title. I've recently started gaming on the GBA (late bloomer), and when I asked for opinions on what to buy, the first thing that comes out is that game. No kidding.

"Advance wars just seems like a good game." This was mentioned by Chris. The magic word is "seems." This implies that you have not played the game, so we can't really take your word for it. ;) I don't think there's anything wrong if you agree or disagree that it is a AAA game, but fellas, it's not worth flaming over.