Greg Hastings’Tournament Paintball MAX’D – PS2 – Review

Recently, my
son has gotten HEAVILY involved in paintball with some of his buddies. All I
knew up front was that I was spending a ton of money for a gun, paintballs,
field passes, etc., and after a while I honestly did the whole “Dad” thing by
stating “I don’t understand what is so fun about this, and all I know is that
I’m shoveling out a bunch of money here.” Well, he offered for me to go out on
the field and try it out myself one day, and after a few rounds I have to say
that it was one of the coolest things that I have done. Yeah it hurts when you
get shot, but it’s balanced out by the satisfaction you get from popping someone
else with a paintball. Anyways, Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball Max’d (Oh yes
… that’s getting abbreviated) has come out on the PS2, and honestly I wasn’t
sure what to expect after being somewhat disappointed with the first one, but I
can say that I was somewhat pleasantly surprised here.

I think it’s
safe to start off this review by stating that first and foremost, if you haven’t
played paintball or don’t really see it as being really enjoyable then there’s
not a lot of reason to sit and get into this one since it probably seems like it
was made for those with A.D.D. since matches zip through relatively quickly. For
those of you who see it for what it is, the game actually does a really good job
of giving you what you need to play with AI, including being able to duck behind
bunkers, pop out of the side rather than running out from behind safety and
blowing your cover, and it even gives you the ability to play “field commander”
in a way by giving your teammates direction on where they need to go, where to
hide, etc. by planting “markers” with a button click and then letting them do
the rest. The game’s controls honestly are very simple to figure out, and the
game in real life is pretty fast paced and the PS2 version does a decent job of
bringing that to you via video game.

For anyone
who has watched or played paintball, they know that a lot of the bruises and
injuries don’t occur just because of getting shot, but also due to diving,
jumping into something, or running and gunning and not watching where you are
going, which happens in here too. There were many times where I was looking out
of one side or targeting an area for a teammate to cover when I looked up just
in time to see someone coming from around the other side, so I immediately began
“panic fire” and trying to crouch or dive down to avoid getting hit. Sometimes
it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but that is how it is in the world of paintball.

Another neat
feature that was added in is the ability to not only play online with up to 10
people, but to design your own paintball courses and play them online as well.
Now to be honest with you, there is really only so much you can do or try and
this loses it’s luster after a handful of them, but it is neat to mess with and
during the first few I would quickly run to the PS2 because I had an idea on one
that would be more challenging, or one that would be a little faster, etc., so
it is entertaining and for younger paintball players this can be a fun way for
them to try out their abilities as a course designer and share them with other
players.

For anyone
who enjoys paintball, GH Max’d is a fun title to get into for a while that
offers a relatively easy control scheme to learn while offering up all of the
fast-paced enjoyment of the real thing. There are also 29 tournaments worldwide
to compete in, points to earn to upgrade your skills or buy better things, and a
good online or offline title that will be a good time for anyone who enjoys
playing the game but is stuck on a rainy day or doesn’t have time to get out to
the course. For those of you interested in paintball, it’s a good way to try and
learn how it’s played, but I definitely recommend a rental on it since it may
seem a little too “short attention span” due to the high speed and fast matches.


Review Scoring Details for Greg Hastings’Tournament Paintball
MAX’D

Gameplay: 7.2
The game actually
does a decent job of bringing paintball to the PS2, and moves like ducking,
diving, jumping, and running are easily assigned to buttons. The field commander
stuff also actually worked out well with teammates doing what they were told,
and the matches are fast paced and true to real life.    
 


Graphics: 7.5 
The backgrounds
were done decently, outside of a washed out kind of look, and outside of the
fact that there’s not a whole lot that looks REALLY different from one course to
another (bunkers and a field), colors and such looked nice … but also looked a
tad outdated for the system too. There are also added things that were kind of
neat, like paint splats on the screen when you get shot in the face, etc.    


Sound: 7.1
The music tracks
were some heavier selections from bands like Static X (which I’m good with) so
it wasn’t too bad. The sounds of the paintball guns going off were decent, but a
lot of the hit sounds were kind of canned. Also, the announcer needs to lay off
the speed because his overly enthusiastic announcing was more annoying than
anything.      


Difficulty: Medium
The game controls
are easy to pick up and get into after a few rounds, and the fun of the game is
trying to plan the best strategy for not only you, but your team as well. This
can be difficult at times, but worth it when it works out. 

 


Concept: 7.2 
I have to say
that the first paintball game I played I wasn’t too happy with, but Max’d
actually didn’t do a bad job. The course editor and team commands were a nice
add on, and the game really does a pretty good job of capturing paintball.


Multiplayer: 7.6
You can not only
play with up to 10 people online, but you can also design courses and play them
online as well. The single player is fun, but multiplayer obviously makes it a
lot better and will increase the longevity of the game.

 


Overall: 7.2
Well, there’s not
a lot that I can say that I haven’t said before. GH Max’d does a good job of
bringing paintball home for you, but those who are not into the game or have
never played it may want to rent it and try it out before buying it to make sure
that it’s something they will enjoy. Those who like paintball should find it
amusing for a while, especially online.