Beautiful Barbie

If you haven’t been paying attention, the Barbie doll that you grew up with has been branching into new areas of late. This beautiful doll has now developed a personality of her own and has recently been found expressing herself in the form of classic fairy tales and Tchaikovsky ballets including Barbie as Rapunzel, Barbie in The Nutcracker and most recently Barbie of Swan Lake. All of these were released in a video format but, being a woman of the 21ST centaury, Barbie has also begun to make her mark on gaming industry with related CD-ROM releases. The Barbie of … Continue reading Beautiful Barbie

RHEM Will Puzzle Puzzlers

Those of you who have been waiting for the next great puzzle game to appear, wait no more. RHEM is without a doubt one of the most difficult and challenging games I have ever played. It is a world full of puzzles, and your intellectual noodle will be stretched extremely far while playing. The game is also inexpensive. You can get a copy of it for just about $30, which makes it an excellent deal considering I guarantee you will be working at the puzzles for many, many hours if you have any hope of solving RHEM. It also ships … Continue reading RHEM Will Puzzle Puzzlers

Jedi Outcast Makes the Grade

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is a cross between the original dark forces shooters and Obi-Wan (http://www.gameindustry.com/reviews/020422obiwan.asp). Once again you step into the shoes of Kyle Katarn a one time imperial, mercenary, Rebel Operative, and Jedi Knight. With the help of his friend and pilot Jan Ors they travel the galaxy working for the republic. At the start of the game, Kyle has renounced his Jedi title, turned his light saber over to Luke Skywalker, and let his ability to control of the force fade away. He did this for fear of turning to the dark side. The … Continue reading Jedi Outcast Makes the Grade

Chemicus: Above the Learning Curve

It’s no big secret that I like puzzle games. I love to spend my computer game time solving riddles, fixing machinery, and finding solutions. And if I can learn a thing or two while I’m at it, so much the better. Chemicus was right up my alley. Chemicus is a puzzle game, but you get to (some would probably say "have to") learn so much about chemistry and related fields that I was seriously tempted to declare this a cleverly disguised educational game instead of a puzzle game. The introductory movie and background in the manual are certainly melodramatic enough. … Continue reading Chemicus: Above the Learning Curve

And I Thought Nintendo’s Solstice Was Addictive

These two little gems, now finally available on one CD, have been around as Internet games at www.popcap.com. The Omni group has finally gone and catered to us (the uprising Mac-users) and polished them up a bit. Bejeweled & Alchemy provide all of the entertainment value you enjoyed back in the old days before the Internet. You know…Tetris…Dr. Mario…Bubble Bobble. Simple, yet exceedingly complicated as you go along, just like a good puzzle. If one of them isn’t your type, you’ll be sure to enjoy the other and all of its addictive qualities. "Bejeweled" features a series of multi-colored gems, … Continue reading And I Thought Nintendo’s Solstice Was Addictive

Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn

Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn (BGII) is as fine a sequel as any game company could ask for. This follow up to the award-winning Baldur’s Gate has the same great graphics, the same wonderful sound effects and the same great game system. That being said much has also been expanded on and improved. First of all BGII has been designed to run native on OSX for Mac, having originally been a PC title. This is terrific because OSX is the most stable GUI I’ve ever dealt with and you can push the game in both single and multi-player modes … Continue reading Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn

Warcraft III Reigns Supreme

How long has it been since Blizzard released a quality RTS game? About 4 years, if I remember correctly. I have always mentioned how Blizzard seems to take forever to get their titles out on the market. However, unlike other developers who take forever to make a title that ends up being bad (Battlecruiser 3000AD, anyone), whatever Blizzard releases ends up pure gold. Remember how long it took for Starcraft to come out? But also remember how the final product was so memorable, so engrossing, and just so deep that it is still enjoyed to this day (especially in Korea … Continue reading Warcraft III Reigns Supreme

Kabuto Could Have Been More

Giants: Citizen Kabuto is an impressive display of graphics and top-notch sound. The game is clearly taking advantage of what new high end computers can offer to the field. Unfortunately, if you don’t have one of these computers you’re going to miss the best of what this game has to offer, which is a shame because I like the idea of the game so much more than the execution of it. To begin with you have all the good elements: funny dialogue and very funny film clips, an opportunity to play any of three different species all warring against each … Continue reading Kabuto Could Have Been More

They Mostly Come at Night

Mostly. Sure PC gamers have been treated to this fun franchise since 1999, but that does not make it any less enjoyable now that Mac-based colonial marines are joining the fight. Aliens vs. Predator is actually three games; each with its own first person shooter protagonist. The first is the Alien, who is defending his temple against shadowy humans. The second is a Colonial Marine, trying to escape an outpost overrun by the omnipresent Aliens. The third is a Predator infiltrating a scientific facility where the humans may be conducting experiments on fellow Predators! The second adventure most follows the … Continue reading They Mostly Come at Night