TheXboxLife

There aren’t to many to be found, but here is a small list:

God Mode: At the start menu enter UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, Y, X.

Infinite City Health: At the start menu enter Y RIGHT, Y RIGHT, UP, LEFT, RIGHT, Y.

All Powerups: At the Fotress of Solitude enter LEFT, Y, RIGHT, X, DOWN, Y, UP, DOWN, X, Y, X.

All Unlockables: At the Fotress of Solitude enter LEFT, UP, RIGHT, DOWN, Y, X, Y, UP, RIGHT, X.

1991 brought not only the first of three championships for the Chicago Bulls, but was also accompanied by the Sega Genesis Console Gaming System. During a time when it was Nintendo vs Sega, 8-bit vs 16-bit, new school vs old school, the two systems, whichever was used, still amazed gamers and watchers until the late 90’s (Thanks PlayStation!). Thankfully, companies are still just as in love with their old games as we are. On that note, I’d like to welcome back Ecco the Dolphin. Yes, coming to an XBOX 360 near you, Ecco is now back and better then ever.

With improvements/smoothing to the audio and graphic scaling, this old school Sega Genesis game is making a comeback to the XBOX 360. A favorite of mine when I first had my 16-bit Sega, the game hasn’t changed a bit.



The game starts off exactly the same with no fancy intro or directions, just a Dolphin in the middle of the ocean waiting for you to lead her through the water. You will still have the same puzzles to solve, some being much easier then others, just like the old game. You will still need to match up the diamonds to pass through certain areas, and fighting the Octopi and Blowfish to get to your air bubbles/surface will still be just as difficult.







It will take some time to get used to jumping again. Sure, the smaller, less important jumps will be a piece of cake, but prepare to back up and have perfect timing for some of those longer, over the hill type jumps. Though remember, you are a Dolphin, and Dolphins have sonar! Use your Sonar to bring up the map, that way you can pick out the points where your air bubbles will be. Besides the map, the Sonar will also give out a call to other Dolphins and sea creatures. It will not just be Dolphins that respond to your distress.







Overall, you have to love the classics from the ‘good-ol-days!’. Not much has changed, and in fact, it’s much better because of the audio and graphic changes.


8/10

In 2001 the original XBOX was released along with it’s fan-favorite Halo game. For the time, the graphics of the original Halo went far beyond expectations, and gamers were left in awe with what the future held. With the new addition of the XBOX 360, graphics, textures and models have the ability to be taken to a level never seen before in the console gaming world.


Sadly, Superman Returns offers none of that. In fact, the best it matches up to is a decent looking XBOX game from 2003.





As you can see, for a game that involves the user flying around the city of Metropolis, the sky graphics is not as nice as it should be. The buildings, even up close, still look as if they were made out of cardboard. The same goes for the cars and other objects on the street. They just don’t jump out at you as well as they should.


The population of Metropolis is also very weak. The walking paths they take are very generic and always the same. Don’t think you will be flying around the city and actually see anything going on down below. Unlike the Comic or TV-Show, your excitement and action is limited to your mission objectives.





As for flying as Superman, it will take some getting used to at first. To lift off the ground push Y, and using your right and left analog controllers to steer your eyesight and flight direction.





Overall, the game isn’t that great and, if anything, is just worth renting. The game play isn’t horrible, but it’s just not worth purchasing because of the lack of graphics and actual gaming ‘fun’.


6/10