Todd's columns have appeared in many publications such as GamePro, Electronic Gaming Monthly, PC Gamer, and Electronic Games. Todd is a founding member of GiN and speaks from an "old school" gamer's perspective. Embracing the notions of all classic gaming, game soundtracks, and the original "hardcore style," he also shuns the trends he feels are ruining the game industry, such as the embracement of 3D, the over-saturation of MMOs, and misleading game advertising.
Acclaim has held the license for the World Wrestling Federation for over 10 years. However, most of the titles they came out with were forgettable. The NES ones were pretty much a joke, and the early releases for PlayStation and Saturn were arcade-based. Only the SNES, Genesis, and the PlayStation Warzone were worth bragging about. On the other end, THQ was having success with the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) lineup. Starting with WCW vs. the World for the PlayStation, and working their way up to the very impressive WCW/nWo Revenge on the Nintendo 64, there were many gold nuggets to … Continue reading WWF Smackdown! slams competition→
I might be wrong, but I think I’m the only one on the entire GiN staff who doesn’t role-play at all. Aside from some console-based RPG experiences such as Lunar or the overrated Final Fantasy series (let the hate mail begin again!), I just never really got into it at all. A couple years ago, however, a nice little product from Blizzard, entitled Diablo, was released to the gaming public. Combining basic role-play elements with the action of a real-time strategy game, I was instantly hooked with its unique style of gameplay, and am waiting impatiently for Blizzard to release … Continue reading Nox Rocks!→
Crazy Taxi’s release in arcades last fall came as a big surprise. After all, who would have thought that a game based on driving a taxi cab through a city that looks like a cross between San Francisco and Pittsburgh would provide so much playability, so much action and so much fun. To me, playing it is the greatest cure for road rage since Carmageddon on the PC. The best part of the arcade game is that is runs on Sega’s NAOMI board, which is basically a Dreamcast board with extra RAM and the game code embedded on the board’s … Continue reading Crazy Taxi is one wild ride→
Game Review- Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
The year 1999, and the start of 2000 for that matter, has been an interesting one for George Lucas. First of all, there was major criticism about his much-hyped Phantom Menace, especially in relation to the heavily-despised character Jar Jar Binks, and the ongoing controversy about no DVD release plans in the near future. The controversies continue to this day about who is going to play Anakin Skywalker in Episode II, with most of the rumors directed towards Leonardo DiCaprio (gag, barf, retch!), and there is also talk about a fourth Indiana Jones movie in the future. In the meantime … Continue reading Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine will compete w/Lara→
Now, before I write this review, I should mention that I am not the biggest fan of basketball. In fact it really ticks me off when there is a Washington Capitals game on and it gets pre-empted by the pathetic Washington Wizards. I do however play basketball on my computer, and for the last few years I have been hooked by the excellent NBA Live series on the PC. However, now that Sega Sports is back after their release of NFL 2K (the winner of GiN’s Sports Game of the Year), I decided to give their NBA 2K a chance. … Continue reading NBA 2K is a slam dunk success→
Gran Turismo’s release last year changed my opinion completely about racing games. What was once considered a genre of shallow, fast racers and slow, boring simulations suddenly experienced a racing title with depth, tons of cars and plenty of tracks to race them on. Talk has been brewing about the anticipated sequel, with its rumored 500+ cars, tons of additional tracks, and a brand new rally engine. These talks were also ruined by extensive delays. The worst delay came out when Gran Turismo 2 would not even make it to release before the Christmas holiday, as some retailers expressed a … Continue reading Gran Turismo 2 is revved up fun→
Let me start this review of Quake 3: Arena by saying that comparing this game with Unreal Tournament is inevitable. They are both superior in their own ways. Both involve hard-core deathmatches set on a grand scale, but where UT specializes in both single play and multiplay with all new tweaks, Quake 3: Arena (Q3A) sticks with the classic deathmatch engine, and in essence, this is not a bad idea. Now we know that the Quake series has never been well known for plot, and Q3A is no exception. The manual does explain about an alien race called the Vadrigar … Continue reading Quake 3: Arena is multiplayer mayhem→
I’ll admit to everyone right now, I wasn’t really a big fan of the original Unreal. Though I liked many of Epic Games’ previous shareware titles (Jazz Jackrabbit, One Must Fall 2097, and Zone 66 to name a few), the long awaited Unreal just didn’t cut it for me. It did feature a gorgeous 3-D engine, and some really impressive music, but I just couldn’t really get into the game mechanics. Even worse, the multiplayer over the Internet was unplayable. Patch after patch came out, but still there was no help, and the original claimed dust in my CD carrying … Continue reading Unreal Tournament blows away the competition→
Sierra finally adds a new dimension to real time strategy games…the third dimension. Their new release, Homeworld takes strategy from the flat battlefield and shoots it into the darkness of space. Forget about battles for the high ground, in space, you have to defend and attack in all directions at once. The plot of the game involves colonists from a barren wasteland planet called Kharak. The colonist have recently uncovered a mysterious guidestone mentioning their race, and a single word…Hiigara…home. It seems that their past has turned out to be a lie, they thought they were from their barren world, … Continue reading Homeworld will keep gamers’ fires burning→
Anyone who has ever driven on the Washington D.C. Beltway can sympathize with me when I say how bad it is. You’re driving the speed limit minding your own business when all of a sudden, some stupid speed freak comes up to you and either flashes his headlights forcing you to move faster or go to another lane, or he blazes by you, almost putting a dent in your brand new car. Sometimes said driver will even respond by giving you the Stone Cold Salute, and I think you know what that is. And what do the cops do? Nothing, … Continue reading Tokyo Xtreme Racer puts the race in road rage→
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