Category Archives: Reviews

Superman is fun to play, but lacks needed details

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Superman! Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a steaming locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. I used to love hearing that saying when I was a kid. Superman was my hero. So it’s no doubt I was anxious to try my hand at Titus’s new Superman for the N64. But was Superman 64 all I hoped it would be? Well, the best I can say is that it’s ok. The storyline basically goes like this: Superman’s arch nemesis, Lex Luther along with the help of Brainiac, … Continue reading Superman is fun to play, but lacks needed details

Driver brakes just short of a classic game

While Driver has a top notch concept, good gameplay/replay value and other intangibles going for it, its utter failure to deliver on several other fronts leads to only a moderately successful game. In the game your name is Tanner…you carry a badge. That is you do until the fuzz decides they could use your former race car driving skills (yeah, I know lots of former race car drivers that became cops) to infiltrate the feared Castaldi crime family as a driver. Any game where you’re an undercover cop posing as a mobster starts off with a few extra points in … Continue reading Driver brakes just short of a classic game

Army Men II brings nostalgia, strategy to backyard.

I can’t really recall my childhood really well, but I do remember playing with those little plastic soldiers. Now, while my method of play was pretty clean, some of my friends added a little bit of sadism to their soldiers: tying M-80s on their backs, frying them with a magnifying glass, you name it. Last year 3DO released a realtime strategy game called Army Men which incorporated these toy soldiers we all grew up with. While I never had the chance to play the original, I did get a chance to test out the sequel, Army Men II, which although … Continue reading Army Men II brings nostalgia, strategy to backyard.

Tonka Raceway takes the checkered flag

Hasbro Interactive has driven car racing games to a new level of fun and complexity for the younger crowd. And this game offers a variety of options entertaining enough to keep the attention of youngsters’ speeding minds. Not only does the player get to race, he or she gets to modify vehicles, change the race tracks included in the game, and even design their own race tracks. This game offers the player three different racing scenarios: racing alone in Time Trial, 2-Player Racing against a friend, and the opportunity to race against the game’s own personal racers. The player is … Continue reading Tonka Raceway takes the checkered flag

Deer Avenger pokes fun at hunting sims and the industry

Cendant Software and Simon and Schuster Interactive presents Deer Avenger, a hilarious new twist in a popular hunting game series where the hunter becomes the hunted. We are a little behind the curve in reviewing this one, but who knew this twist on hunting simulations would become so popular? According to Simon & Schuster Interactive, Deer Hunter 2 is in the works. Bambo the deer has had enough of being harassed by his oppressors and decides to take matters into his own hands. Armed with an M-16 rifle, bazooka, and a nifty slingshot, Bambo sets out on his vengeful hunting … Continue reading Deer Avenger pokes fun at hunting sims and the industry

Episode One Racer is a Force to be reckoned with

Speed. Competition. Thrills. A Jedi craves not these things. However, you might be of a different mind. For all of us Lucas Lunatics out there who just haven’t gotten our fill of The Phantom Menace, you can breath a little easier. LucasArts has your fix in the form of a very un-Jedi-like game called Star Wars Episode 1 Racer. If you haven’t seen the Phantom Menace yet, then turn off your computer and go buy yourself a movie ticket. Okay, now that they have left, it is only us true believers here. While I will leave a review of the … Continue reading Episode One Racer is a Force to be reckoned with

Baldur’s Gate

It has been a long time since I’ve journeyed to the Sword Coast via the magic of a Dungeons and Dragons game. Computer RPGs have never really been able to capture the flavor of a pen-and-paper role-playing, with several friends sitting around a table drinking sodas, eating chips, solving problems and slaying dragons. (well, only occasionally slaying a dragon) But that all changed with the release of Baldur’s Gate. Black Isle studios, a development arm of Interplay, has a great deal of experience with computer RPGs, and for the first time, someone has gotten it right. Most computer RPGs, especially … Continue reading Baldur’s Gate

Backyard Soccer scores with young gamers

Humongous Entertainment has developed a game that will surely give young soccer enthusiasts a kick. Backyard Soccer takes players into realistic neighborhood soccer competitions with a variety of great features that any sports fanatic (young or old) will enjoy. This game is marketed for kids from ages five to ten years old. This game has a number of clever player-controlled, customized features. The game allows players to choose from a group of thirty neighborhood children to build their teams. The designers of this game made sure to give the neighborhood children a touch of realism by making the children each … Continue reading Backyard Soccer scores with young gamers

Don’t Fear the Reaper

Lucas Arts’ Grim Fandango already earned some lauds from other gaming publications and I hate to be the one to tarnish what may become another Myst. Grim Fandango does contain a captivating atmosphere with a certain film noir meets Antonio Banderas quality. My primary complaint stems not from the remarkable interface or the ambiance or even the general plot. Believe me, the music, a jazz soundtrack, is nearly enough to warrant buying this title. It’s just that someone forgot the basics of an adventure game. You may consider me a purist, but adventure and strategy games contain a kind of … Continue reading Don’t Fear the Reaper

Rogue Squadron will woo Star Wars fans

A few years ago LucasArts released Shadows of the Empire as one of the flagship Nintendo 64 titles. It was a mixed bag, consisting mostly of mundane corridor shooters. However, there was one stage which stood out among the rest: the snowspeeder battle at Hoth. Critics such as myself wished that Shadows could have been more like the first stage, nothing but exciting ground-level flight sequences. LucasArts took our ideas to heart, and incorporated German based developers Factor 5 (known primarily for the Turrican series on the 16-bit systems) to create Rogue Squadron. Rogue Squadron takes place right after the … Continue reading Rogue Squadron will woo Star Wars fans