Homeworld: Cataclysm is a Stunning Sequel

As a brief disclaimer, I do not play all that many RTS games (the exceptions being the ubiquitous Age of Kings/Conquerors and Starcraft) favoring instead more traditional strategy games. Consequently, I did not play the original Homeworld entry, and will focus solely on the second installment. Homeworld: Cataclysm (hereafter, H:C) has a rich storyline, well set out by the extensive manual. The focus of the game is the single player campaign, of which there is unfortunately only one. As a relatively minor member of a race attempting to rebuild their homeworld (the arrival at said homeworld being the basis for … Continue reading Homeworld: Cataclysm is a Stunning Sequel

Swimmer’s Ear Puts Rune in Ruins

Make sure to have plenty of beverages and snacks high in sugar and caffeine if you’re planning on playing Rune–after the first battle in the initial ten minutes of the game, it gets a little boring for a while. Early on the game turns from a unique third person sword game to the 21st century version of pitfall for the Atari 2600. Our hero begins the main part of the game by being brought back to life by Odin, one of the good Viking Gods from about the same time period as Atari, to battle and defeat the evil Viking … Continue reading Swimmer’s Ear Puts Rune in Ruins

4×4 Evolution is Evolved Muddin’!

Recently my fellow GIN-mates asked me, "Hey Jevon man, so what do you want for Christmas this year?"Â To which I humbly responded, "My friends, my friends, take heed to this wise parable. These kind of answers take time and careful thought. I mean you just can’t go blurting random Christmas wish lists right off the top of your jabroni with hardly any serious thought at all. I mean think about it. This great holiday only falls on us every 365 days. Therefore in order to achieve the true inner peace and happiness of receiving gifts during this special time … Continue reading 4×4 Evolution is Evolved Muddin’!

Mia 2 Makes Science Cool

The long quest to find a children’s title that actually makes science fun has ended. There are a myriad of programs out there that teach reading and other more basic subjects, and even more that are little more than entertainment wrapped in the cloak of educational software. But a program that could teach children the subject of science, and be fun at the same time, would be a gem; it would be worth five GiN Gems to be exact. Mia 2: Romaine’s New Hat is such a program. Right from the start I was enthralled by the exquisite graphics, the … Continue reading Mia 2 Makes Science Cool

Max and the Pirates Makes Reading Fun

Max and the Pirates is the latest game in the Max series, where the lovable little bear goes on adventures around their world. This time around Max and his famous inventor Uncle Pong find themselves on vacation along the Jivery Coast. The game starts out with Pong and Max relaxing on the beach. You can click around the screen to trigger different events, and to see some of the interesting things that Pong has invented. Just on a personal note, the foot irrigator seems downright heavenly. Anyway, eventually when you click on a pirate ship off in the distance a … Continue reading Max and the Pirates Makes Reading Fun

Sudden Strike Blitzkriegs RTS Market

It takes a lot of guts for a German company to come out with a World War II game. In that country, its often taboo to even talk about the war, much less create a game to glorify it. I can just hear the German peaceniks falling out of their chairs as a generation of young people leads the Third Reich to battle on their computers. In truth, companies like SSI have been making WWII games for years, and letting players take command of either the Axis or the Allies. But this is the first time a German company has … Continue reading Sudden Strike Blitzkriegs RTS Market

Does EA Sports Care About AI Anymore?

Ever since EA Sports, as well as Electronic Arts, turned their back on Sega and dedicated all their services to the PlayStation2, it occurred to me that they were only concerned about a game’s visual presentation, no matter how poor the actual gameplay turns out to be. I found this out when I tried to play NHL 2000 last year, and was infuriated with the game’s poor goaltender AI and unrealistic collision physics. As a result, I ended up playing Sega Sports’ NHL 2K, a game which I really enjoyed because it had some of the best goaltender AI I’ve … Continue reading Does EA Sports Care About AI Anymore?

It’s More Than AOK!

As the reviewer for Age of Empires II: Age of Kings, I was interested to see what improvements were made with the Conquerors Expansion pack and whether they were worth the cost. I will save you the trouble of reading any further. Once you install the expansion pack, the upgrades will be so seamless – and so helpful – that after 20 minutes you wont remember any of the improvements unless you go back and play the original. At that point you will miss them, and get very frustrated. So if your still playing AOE2 or even if you have … Continue reading It’s More Than AOK!

StarPeace is Multiplayer Mayhem

What would you do with a hundred million dollars? Hmmm, let’s see. First things first: one might tell your power-hungry boss to take this job, turn it side ways and stick it straight"well, you get the idea! Then one might proceed to the car dealership and trade in their chitty-chitty-bang-bang for a brand new ride to match their newfound riches. Then one might decide to never set foot in or ever ride by their former "rent-a-home," but instead drive straight over to the neighborhood of the "rich and famous" and set themselves up in the most luxurious of bachelor/bachelorett pads. … Continue reading StarPeace is Multiplayer Mayhem

DESIGN and BUILD Your Very Own Mechs!

Yes you heard it right! Not only fight with these bad boys, but now you can design and build your own Mechs to play with. Plus, the ability to steal technology from your opponents and apply to your Mechs makes Metal Fatigue a winner. These are just a few of the things that make Metal Fatigue stand out from the vast armada of "Real time strategy" games to flood the market in the past months. The premise of this latest release from TalonSoft is the conquest of the latest ‘new’ planet to be discovered with vast quantities of resources that … Continue reading DESIGN and BUILD Your Very Own Mechs!