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→
Nothing can bring a family together like a board game. Especially the really well made ones like Yahtzee, Parchesi and checkers. But although the computer has a world of multimedia to tap into, games originally built for group fun never really successfully made the transition. The computer until very recently was a stationary object, and only so many people could crowd around the screen at a time. Plus, people who are fantastic board game players are not necessarily computer gamers. So they have been slow to catch on. On final reason for the lull in popularity could be much more … Continue reading Hoyle Board Games will leave users anything but bored→
Shadow Company: Left for Dead is a good attempt at marrying realtime strategy gaming with actual man to man combat. When I first got the Shadow Company box, I thought UBI was going to try to piggyback on the success of one of my favorite turn-based strategy games, Jagged Alliance 2 by Sir-Tech. The plot was similar enough, with the player being in charge of a band of mercenaries going out on a series of difficult missions in return for large paychecks. But whereas Jagged Alliance is turn-based, Shadow Company is a realtime game. My interest rising, I loaded the … Continue reading Shadow Company: Left for Dead is a stealthy hit→
So I wanted to play Darkstone again to reacquaint myself with the game after all the time I’ve spent on Ever Quest lately. Sure, spend maybe an hour or two romping through the dungeons, busting a few monster heads and generally remembering all the ins and outs. Problem: those couple of hours turned into a couple of days and I thought to myself, "Hey…didn’t I have a review to write?" Aw, nuts… I remember back when I first started playing Darkstone that I was slightly disappointed. "Great," I thought, "a Diablo clone." Sure, Darkstone plays a helluva lot like Diablo, … Continue reading Darkstone is Diablo’s Happier Twin→
The army has just finished the first production version of their latest mobile destruction center (better known as a main battle tank), the M12 Hammer, and they have put YOU in the commanders seat! Where you go from here is completely up to you! The setting is the desert of the Middle East and "It is up to you to finally eliminate the desert dictator and his terrorist army, now known as the Federation of Militant Equal Nationalists (FMEN). Good luck." With these words Gulf War, the latest tank simulation from 3DO and Military Channel, send you off into the … Continue reading Button up for action with Gulf War: Operation Desert Hammer→
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→
The worst mistake a gamer could make is to dismiss this game as just for kids and take a pass on it. While the game holds all the standard fare for a racing game, the nostaglia involved in playing, not to mention the pure fun you have makes this offering from Stormfront Studios (published by EA) one of the best games in the racing genre. Let’s face facts — we all played with Hot Wheels cars growing up. We had the funny cars, the buggys, and of course the Scooby Doo lookin’ Mystery Machine van. One of the best parts … Continue reading Hot Wheels Turbo Racing zooms to your heart→
Jigsaw puzzles never had an equivalent on the PC until Pandora’s Box. With an understated environment and compelling puzzles, Pandora’s Box might be nirvana for those with obsessions for visual brainteasers. In Pandora’s Box, seven mythical tricksters have escaped to wreck havoc on the world. The player must capture the seven one at a time by solving many of the 350-plus puzzles. Puzzles fall into ten different types, each somehow shuffling or screwing up photos, paintings, sculptures or other miscellaneous art. Ultimately, your job is to put the art right. It occurred to me that this may just be another … Continue reading Pandora’s addictive box is worth opening→
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