Any person who has played a lot of fantasy, role-playing games has heard plenty of tired game storylines similar to this one; "The evil Draak has acquired an incredible power and has transformed himself into a dragon and now has plans to destroy the world. You must journey across the lands to find seven ancient magic crystals which will help you defeat the villainous Draak." That is the opening sequence to Take 2 Interactive’s title Darkstone, an action/fantasy role-playing game for the Sony Playstation. Darkstone is part of Take 2’s $9.99 line up of games. Players in Darkstone choose from … Continue reading Darkstone Comes Up a Bit Short→
Four games and several years ago, the Baldur’s Gate saga was born in this fine nation. The original game caused a revolution in the way people, especially PC gamers, thought about role-playing games. It was probably the first RPG to sell over a million copies, and it did it in less than three months. The follow-on pack, Tales of the Sword Coast, was not met with the same critical acclaim, but none-the-less added something to genre, namely the now popular "super-huge-you-can-play-for-weeks-inside-dungeon." Then came the actual sequel, Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn. All these titles were fun to play and … Continue reading Baldur's Gate Series Ends Gloriously→
Disney makes movies children love, but unfortunately they don’t seem to spend the same kind of time and attention in their game division, which results in uneven game packages based on movies. Most children will want the games because of whatever movie characters are displayed on the box, but often the game is discarded shortly thereafter because it just isn’t good enough to hold their attention. The Emperor’s New Groove: Groove Center is just such a game. It has one good game, one really weak game, one mediocre game, and a ridiculous so-called creativity center. The game opens with Evil … Continue reading Emperor's New Groove is Not So Groovy→
Not too long ago, I was watching Game Seven of the Stanley Cup finals. However, when I watch my TV, I am unfortunately stuck with a small 13-inch screen. For a big event like Game 7, this would not suffice. I needed to have something bigger. I could have made a trip to Rent-a-Center and loaned out a big screen TV but, who can afford that? Thank God for Olympus when they sent me one of their Eye-Trek face mounted displays. Claiming to be able to simulate a 52" screen from 6 feet away, I decided to give it a … Continue reading Eye-Trek is a Visual Feast→
When I first played Myst so many years ago, I enjoyed myself so thoroughly I thought that one could not improve upon this greatness. When Riven came out years later, I was certain of it. Now, after much hype (which even included a film trailer at last year’s E3, no less), Myst III: Exile is here. Would this new chapter in the Myst saga be as great a puzzle experience is its initial predecessor, or would this be another cheap attempt to cash in on the Myst legacy? Only some serious playing time would reveal the truth. First off, I … Continue reading Myst III: Exile is Puzzle Vengeance→
Mission: Humanity is a misnomer for this dud; a more accurate name would be Mission: Inhumanity. It’s inhumane that this game would be foisted upon the game-consuming public as a completed product. M:H is a real-time strategy game in the mold of Starcraft, although that is as far as the comparison holds. Visually, the game is a good five years out of date, maybe more. Realistically, it is on par with the original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. The units are small and indistinct and the terrain is relatively featureless. Given their tiny size and lack of serious animation, it is … Continue reading Mission: Humanity is Inhumane→
A couple months ago the Sci-Fi Channel released a three-day miniseries based on Frank Herbert’s Dune. Needless to say, I was not impressed with it. Being a fan of the 1984 David Lynch movie, the new color schemes, the whiny version of Paul Atreides (where’s Kyle MacLachlan when you need him?), and the way too elaborate costumes were too much for me. Not to mention the fact the miniseries DVD lacked key features that were promised on the back of the case. If only the David Lynch movie would have a special edition DVD, as opposed to the barebones release … Continue reading Emperor's Spice Flows Strong→
First let me say that I am a huge World War II fan. I play tabletop games based on the war, have a subscription to World War II magazine and have a father who fought in the war. I also purchase about every realtime strategy game that comes out for that genre, in addition to the never-real-but-always-fun first person shooters. When I heard about WWII Online, with a persistent world, a constantly changing frontline and thousands of players fighting the war, I was in heaven. At E3 this year I made it a point to check out the game, and … Continue reading Johnny May Not Come Marching Home Again→
Since the dawn of the video game console age began, game makers have strived to create a decent pinball game for the television game console that looks and plays like the real thing. Take 2 Interactive now has given us Kiss Pinball, the latest foray into the pinball sim market for the Sony Playstation. Kiss Pinball, based on the rock band Kiss (obviously), is part of Take 2’s $9.99 Playstation line-up. Kiss Pinball features two different tables to play. "Last Stop: Oblivion" the first table, follows Kiss on tour around the world. Hitting specific targets and ramps highlights different cities … Continue reading KISS Pinball is Ready to Rock→
Once upon a time there was this game reviewer who played a first person sword game and was so disappointed in it that a massive, evil and powerful skepticism grew over his hopes of ever enjoying the genre. This dragon of negativity hung heavy over his heart, but there was always hope a champion would arrive one day to slay the foul beast. Not to bust on another game, but this event occurred a long time ago – in game industry terms anyway – when people still wrote with runes, if you get my drift. Anyway, back to the story. … Continue reading Blade of Darkness Cuts Deep→
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