Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball

"Total Domination"

Graphics: 7
Sound: 8
Game play: 9
Controls: 9
Storyline: 5
Avg. Rating: 7.6/10

Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball is a game for anyone who is into paintball whether its the hard core professional player or the occasional player who might not even have a marker (paintball gun). The game play takes a little time to get use to but by the time you get through the tutorial and the first few tournaments you'll be playing like the pros. Probably the best part of the game is the ability to buy licensed guns. This gives you the realism of the game. The guns are not too far from the real thing either, I own a Tippmann A-5 and I used the A-5 through out most of the game and it felt like the real thing. The thing that surprised me was the Cheat Meter. Yes, this game allows you to cheat! Now that's realistic. In the Cheat Meter five things could happen: bounce (the ball didn't break), wipe (you wiped the paint off of you), out (the ref called you out), 1 for 1 (the ref caught you “playing on” and takes you and a teammates out), 3 for 1 ( the ref caught you wiping and takes you and three teammates out). The Cheat Meter only works if one ball hits you, if more then one ball hits you or if you get hit in the face, you are called out with no chance of cheating. The controls are well done with the ability to snap (lean from out of a bunker), dive to the ground or to even lift your gun to get a further range of shot all makes the game fast and realistic. (And it should be because you can't have speed ball without the speed).

Xbox Live might be the best part of the game. I personally don't have Xbox Live but I can tell that playing this game would be more fun and intense then playing against the AI. However system link is weak for two reasons. One of which is because you can't split screen which means a seven man tournament requires 14 TVs, 14 Xboxes, and 14 copies of this game, along with many LAN cords and a 14 port hub which would cost a lot. The second thing wrong with system link is that there is no bots. Which brings us back to the 13 other friends thing I was talking about not to long ago.

So basically if you have Xbox Live then you can have some fun with multiplayer and if you don't make sure you have friends that can play. And if your like me (poor and friendless) plan to spend many hours playing the weak story line.

Yes, that's right, I said weak story line and heres why. First your team starts off as rookies, three tournaments later you're a novice team. A few more tournaments later you're an amateur team. And finally after a knuckle breaking, cuss swearing, controller through the window, experience you're a professional. Then things get strangely easier. Why you go from amateur to pro makes no sense since there is a semi pro division in real paintball. And that's it see no story just rookie to pro.

The story line is short as well, only 19 tournaments then its over, no second season, no... Anything. I'll give you a hint play on hard and get first place in every tournament, this way you will feel like you accomplished something and you will feel better about the story line (it will take you longer to beat it, thus, a longer story line). Through out the game you can buy new markers, barrels, hoppers, and other paintball gear. You also unlock new teammates like Team Dynasty's Oliver Lang or the lovely Lisa Harvey from the Femme Fatales to Greg Hastings himself. You can also feel honored to get your butt kicked by team like Avalanche, Dynasty, or XSV.

The sound in the game is so real that when the pall flies by my characters head I duck. Play paintball or watch it on TV then play this game and you know what I'm talking about. As for the music they went in the right direction for a paintball game. They added a custom soundtrack to the game so you can listen to your own music or listen to the songs that they added to the game. The V.O.'s are the worst sounds in the game. There are too few, repetitive, and annoying sounds in the game that I could do without them. However, they are handy to know when a teammate is out or when they eliminate an opponent.

The graphics are exactly what I expected for a game like this: good, not great, good. I guess I could say that they are in between blocky graphics and sharp, crisp, graphics. The guns and gear look great. The character design is well done and the fields are nice to look at. The character animation is repetitive, to see the characters do the same thing every time they get out gets old. The paintball splats look good when you get shot in the face, but they seem to not even touch you when you get hit in the body. Well like I said the graphics are good not great but they could have been much worse.

This game was worth every penny. Whether you buy or rent (or both) you will be satisfied and if you don't even like paintball then why did you even bother reading through this review. This game will make even the pros hair stand on their neck. I loved playing it and I will play it until there is a second Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball then I will buy that game. But until then I give Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball 8 eliminations out of 10.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/19/05