Publisher: Interplay, www.interplay.com
Ages: ten and up
Parental Advisory: First person shooter
Violence
Rating: 
As shooters go, Interplay's Giants: Citizen Kabuto offers a new experience
that not only serves up the action, but amazingly, laughs, as well. Giants:
Citizen Kabuto was a great game on the PC when it released over a year ago,
and it's just as fun on the PlayStation 2.
On a planet far, far, away, you play as one of three species: the technologically powerful Meccs, the magical Sea Reapers, and the unstoppable behemoth known as Kabuto. You'll take each species through a series of challenging missions and learn and use the strengths of each.
Giants offers over 45 missions that take place on some 16 different islands. Along the way, you capture or recruit the island natives, known as "Smarties," who help you create structures, build weapons and vehicles, and create power-ups.
Character development is something that clearly separates Giants: Citizen Kabuto from other shooters. As you control each of the species, you eventually learn the little tricks of each that can help you succeed. For example, Meccs work together, fly with jetpacks, and camouflage themselves, and hate water. On the other hand, the Delphi thrive in water and can use magical powers. Eventually, you get to play Kabuto, a lug that relies on a simple belly flop and other clumsy moves to hurt his enemies.
While you may enjoy playing a certain species, you will that find all have their entertaining aspects. And having to play as different characters along the way keeps the game fresh and challenging.
The graphics are quite good-the tropical environments and the characters look great. In between the action, you can enjoy solid cut-scenes that carry the story along, and are downright funny. One drawback, the game lacks multi-player games, which is something that the earlier game offered on the PC.
As it was on the PC, Giants: Citizen Kabuto is an offbeat shooter that delivers an entertaining game experience. If you're into these kinds of games, this one is definitely worth checking out.
