Kills the Pain, Fast!
Painkiller is such a well-made shooter that even our anti-shooter puzzle gamer converted after playing.
Greg Crowe, Features Editor
Recent Posts
Do You Uru?
Uru: Ages Beyond Myst is quite simply one of the best puzzle games ever created. You don’t just play Uru, you experience it.
The Gate is Open Again
Traitors Gate 2 is almost two games in one. Let me explain. The premise of the game is essentially that terrorists from Unnamed Middle-Eastern Country (TM) have developed a computer virus that could knock out every computer system in the world, or some such nonsense. As Agent Raven (remember him from the prequel?), you must infiltrate their installation, copy the virus, and destroy the research. Since a direct assault is out of the question, you must go through an ancient Babylonian temple which happens to have a back entrance into the facility. So, in essence, you play one type of … Continue reading The Gate is Open Again
Toontown – the place where a Toon can be a Toon.
The fantasy MMORPG market has had a glut of titles practically since its exception. The only way to make a name for yourself nowadays is to find some sort of niche genre and become the best in it (or hope no one else comes along and does it better). So these last few years and the next few we are seeing the next influx of online games, each nestled within their own little sub-genre. One such game is Disney’s Toontown. Seeing the need for an online game that children and their parents can play, they created a world filled with … Continue reading Toontown – the place where a Toon can be a Toon.
Curse of Atlantis is quite to my Viking
Since the Adventure Company has spawned off of its parent Dreamcatcher, it has retained the ability to keep pumping out a good supply of adventure/puzzle games. I couldn’t be more pleased with this development, especially when the offerings are of a caliber as Curse of Atlantis: Thorgal’s Quest. The adventure starts with Thorgal, a young Viking, stuck in a seaside village because a storm is keeping him from taking his boat to the island he calls home. He swears an oath to his wife and two children that he will be home soon. The village is nearly empty, but you … Continue reading Curse of Atlantis is quite to my Viking
Dark Fall Doesn’t Fail
Dark Fall takes you to a sleepy little west-England town, where the train hasn’t gone for over fifty years. It was at that time that the staff and all of the guests of the station hotel vanished mysteriously. No bodies were ever found, and since then, from time to time, various ghost sightings have been reported, and others have turned up missing. Please make yourself"comfortable. You came here because of your brother’s answering machine message, in which he said he needed your help. He is an architect in charge of the renovation of the hotel and station, and his message … Continue reading Dark Fall Doesn’t Fail
Middle Earth Music
Very few modern things have captured our collective imaginations as J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic trilogy "The Lord of the Rings". The world of Middle Earth is so cram-packed with depth and atmosphere that The Professor himself generated background information, whole languages, and geo-political history that filled about twenty times as many pages as the three books themselves. Scattered throughout the books are references to poetry and song that help our imagination do its job. So it is only fitting that a series of computer games based on Tolkien’s books have music that is directly drawn from this treasure trove. That is … Continue reading Middle Earth Music
1893: More Than Fair
Let me take you back to the golden days, back to a time when life was simpler. When it didn’t matter so much how much money you were making; as long as your work was a job well done, you know you would get by. A time when things were (at least in my opinion) better. What? Back to the Victorian era of 1893, you say? God, no! Cholera, polio, and who knows what else was trying to kill you, labor conditions were atrocious – I bet if it weren’t for things like the World’s Fairs, everyone would have done … Continue reading 1893: More Than Fair
Chemicus: Above the Learning Curve
It’s no big secret that I like puzzle games. I love to spend my computer game time solving riddles, fixing machinery, and finding solutions. And if I can learn a thing or two while I’m at it, so much the better. Chemicus was right up my alley. Chemicus is a puzzle game, but you get to (some would probably say "have to") learn so much about chemistry and related fields that I was seriously tempted to declare this a cleverly disguised educational game instead of a puzzle game. The introductory movie and background in the manual are certainly melodramatic enough. … Continue reading Chemicus: Above the Learning Curve
A Decent Quest
It takes some guts to put out a puzzle game in a declining market that is rife with them. But it really takes guts to put one out that is based on a movie that was put out almost twenty years ago…and your name isn’t Lucas, that is. Auryn Quest is just that, and it is in many ways not what I expected. Based on The Neverending Story (it’s even hailed as Part I), this game takes you to various places in Fantasia to retrieve the Auryn and help the child-like Empress fight back the nothing…again. Must be like a … Continue reading A Decent Quest