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.
Now that the Winter Olympic games in Nagano, Japan are finally over, the NHL can resume again. That means that we will be hearing more and more about how great Dominic Hasek is, just because he led his Czech Republic team to Olympic gold. So far this season, we have seen the king of hockey simulators, EA Sports’ NHL 98, shine on the PC and on the PlayStation. Up until now, the Nintendo 64 had to make due with the sub-par Gretzky trilogy (Gretzky 3D, Gretzky 3D ’98, and Nagano Hockey 98), which basically is just the same game in … Continue reading NHL Breakaway ’98 scores for Nintendo 64 gamers→
I would like to know just what is wrong with Konami these days. I remember how it used to be about ten years ago, when their name was synonymous with quality. After all, who can forget their innovative NES series such as Contra, Castlevania, and Gradius. This tradition of greatness went on during the era of SNES and Genesis, with 16-bit releases of their classic series. That, like many other legacies, are destined to change. When Konami started creating games for the PlayStation, they suddenly obtained this new desire to make nothing but sports games. Sure there were some good … Continue reading Konami’s NBA In The Zone ’98 fouls out→
While the Nintendo 64 might be a good system for racing games and remakes of classic NES and Super NES games, fighting games seem to have been left behind. Those that are made, however, went from relatively average to just plain awful. While the Saturn had quality fighters like Virtua Fighter 2 and Dead or Alive, and the PlayStation had is superior Tekken lineup, the Nintendo 64 was left with worthless junk such as Mortal Kombat Trilogy and War Gods. It’s been a year and a half since the N64 was released, and there hasn’t been one great fighting game … Continue reading Fighters Destiny helps catch up N64 as a fight game platform→
EA Sports’ FIFA International Soccer (http://www.ea.com) series has had its share of ups and downs. Starting off as a fairly decent Genesis cart in 1993, the series reached its peak when it was released on the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. It was this game, in fact, that was responsible for the 3DO receiving a following as a mildly successful gaming system. The next year’s version for the Sega Saturn and the Sony PlayStation also faired very well. But then came the ’97 lineup. It was this version that made gamers wonder what went wrong. The gameplay was very sloppy, and the … Continue reading FIFA 98: It’s a kick to play, but no goal scorer→
Hybrid games usually don’t work. A game company comes up with an idea in which two different genres are combined into one game. It might be an ambitious concept, but the execution almost always falls short. Cyclone Studios decided to take a shot at this trend. They thought "What if we took the first person action of Quake 2 and combined it with the strategic elements of Red Alert?" and came up with their latest release, Uprising. In turn, not only is it an innovative idea, but it’s also a pretty enjoyable combat simulator. Rather than showing the action in … Continue reading Cyclone Studios blows standard hybrid-game idea away→
Ever wonder what it’s like to be one single cannon fodder-like unit in a game of Command and Conquer? Now you can find out. Westwood Studio’s Sole Survivor is the latest release to the Command and Conquer lineup. However, if you are expecting the usual "process ore, build base, build units, destroy the enemy" foray, you’re only have part of the equation right. The only thing listed above that would describe Sole Survivor is "destroy the enemy." Sole Survivor is an online-only game where you control ONE UNIT and attempt to destroy all those around you. Units range from foot … Continue reading Solo action puts new twist on Command and Conquer→
It’s hard to believe that seven years have passed since Chris Roberts released his groundbreaking Wing Commander series. I still remember the first time I played this game, booting up my old 386 PC and staying up late just wanting to complete "just one more mission." It definitely was a turning point for PC gaming, and started the process for future Wing Commander games to improve on PC Technology. Its sequel, Wing Commander 2: Vengeance of the Kilrahi involved communication speech and was responble for the Sound Blaster card being the standard for computer sound. Wing Commander 3 incorporated SVGA … Continue reading Wing Commander Prophecy: space combat gets back to its roots→
Several months after the somewhat disappointing Mario Kart 64 was released, Rareware learns from Miyamoto’s mistakes and comes out with a Mario-esque racer that goes above and beyond any racer released on the Nintendo 64. Diddy Kong Racing, to the casual gamer, might look identical to Mario Kart 64, but in essence, it’s a whole new game. Sure, there is your typical racing, but it doesn’t end there. The game is one all-out adventure. The basic setting for the course is reminiscent of Mario 64, as vehicles travel over one main island which connects to several different sections, or "lobbies." … Continue reading Diddy Kong Racing Make Up for Mario Kart’s Shortcomings→
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