My opinions, as a not-very-experienced gamer. Your mileage may vary. GameSpot may not agree. What the hell do they know?
PaRappa the Rapper® 2
From the description:
The original rap star is back in the house! See if you have enough rhythm to keep the beat with everyone’s favorite rappin’ puppy. Join Parappa and a cast of new and familiar characters on a mission of the utmost importance: prevent the Evil Noodle Syndicate from turning everything into noodles. Check out the funky fresh tunes that are guaranteed to get your toes tappin’ and your head bobbin’.
I put in PaRappa the Rapper 2, and was immediately put off by the flat graphics and stupid storyline. But within five minutes I loved the storyline and pace, and felt kinda protective of the graphics — I can’t say that I like them, but I like the *idea* of them enough that I really *want* to like them.
As to the rest of the game, I think it’s fun, doable, nicely-paced, forgivingly taught, and the psychodelic trippiness, when you mess up and have to do the phrase over as it plays all warped — that makes me kinda sad I’m not into weed. I played to level 4 in the first sitting, which may not be very long, but it was long enough for me to *think* that I got a good feel for the game. Did I say that I loved the storyline? That’s an exaggeration. I love that it’s wacky; I love the goofiness of the rap lyrics, but the story is kind of dumb.
Frequency
From GameSpot:
Rhythm games have never really enjoyed the same level of popularity in the US as they have in Japan, where they are nothing less than a staple of gaming. In an effort to prove that Americans also know how to keep the beat, Sony has brought in American developer Harmonix to produce Frequency for the PlayStation 2. The end result is a simple but challenging rhythm game with unique gameplay and one of the best game soundtracks ever.
I remember Kurt demoing Frequency in class, and thinking to myself: “This almost looks as fun as Apple’s GarageBand!” But, after a few hours playing it, I take that back. It’s not nearly as fun (for me). The game itself was too difficult for me to enjoy. I got a lot of “barely passing” marks, for songs that didn’t really sound like they were anything (perhaps, had I been better, they would have). But it seemed like a lot of effort for a lot of frustration and only a tiny bit of payoff. If you love techno, maybe the “completed” song would be enough to inspire you — I don’t (except in certain, specific cases).
If you like techno, and like making remixes of techno, you might like the remix option. I didn’t. I found it too limited in options — it all sounded like techno.
