The puzzle genre is to video games what the horror genre is to books; both are fading fast. Like horror in literature, at one time puzzle games were big business. Games like Tetris were popular with gamers because of their addictive nature, and how new and innovative those games were at the time. As time went on though, a lack of innovation in newer puzzle titles led many gamers to get bored with puzzle games. Gradually, the puzzle genre lost so many fans that it went from being a huge genre to what it is now, a niche genre. While … Continue reading Bubbles Everywhere!→
Yep, that is the first thought when you look at the box containing DarkPlanet : Battle for Natrolis. Standard theme – almost. Humans find a planet. Humans want to take over the planet. Locals take objection to the humans kicking them off their world. Now here is where the first twist is introduced by Edgies, the battling of the Humans and the locals wake up a long dormant third party that takes exception to both other races and decides it would be a good idea to exterminate them so they can get back to sleep! That’s it, plain simple and … Continue reading Saving Planet X, Again→
Monster Truck events are very enjoyable. There’s just something entertaining about watching a vehicle the size of a house run over a tiny Volkswagen. As the sport has grown in popularity, gathering a devoted cult audience, the demand for a good Monster Truck video game has increased. Hoping to appease this audience, developer Inland productions, along with publisher Ubi Soft, have released Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction. Unfortunately, the game’s many problems prevent it from being anything above mediocre. Monster Jam’s main mode is Season Mode. Inside Season Mode, you’ll have to pick one of three game modes (Death Match, Cash … Continue reading Gentlemen, Stop Your Engines→
Mike Tyson’s career may be on the fritz after getting the old KO a few weeks back, but that does not mean that we are not still seeing a lot of games with his name on them. Don’t get me started on Mike Tyson. I mean the fact that he’s been convicted of rape and various acts of violence is disturbing enough. Then there’s the small matter of him being allowed entry into countries around the world, representing the USA, all because he’s a human goldmine. Now Tyson has the gall to sully the world of video games with another … Continue reading Mike Tyson Boxing→
Ryudo is a sword for hire who takes a job protecting Elena, a young priestess on her way to a very important ceremony to seal the remains of the evil god, Valmar. Before they know what has happened, they are caught up in a battle of good versus evil and the world hangs in the balance. This is Grandia II from Ubi Soft and Game Arts. Grandia II is a RPG for the computer that looks and plays more like a console based RPG. When I say "console-based RPG," I mean Grandia II is reminiscent of games like Final Fantasy … Continue reading Grandia II marries PC and console RPGs→
I can here it now "Ah, jeesh, yet another Starcraft clone." Wrong! Conquest: Frontier Wars by Fever Pitch Studios is not another planet based real time strategy game. It does involve starting with a single ship and managing the collection of resources and completion of structures that will allow you to build huge fleets to battle the baddies (in this case the bug type Mantis or the energy based Celareons), but any similarity to Starcraft ends there. In Conquest you are dealing with planetary systems of one or more planets and wormholes to get from one to the other. The … Continue reading Conquest is Fun in the Suns→
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→
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→
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→
Back in 1993, a game was released on the Sega CD system that was the rage of all RPGers everywhere. It was hailed for its characters, story and gameplay. Unfortunately for myself, Nintendo had successfully indoctrinated me to despise all things Sega and I never got to play the game known as Lunar: The Silver Star. Now, thanks to the wonder that is PlayStation, I can see what was behind the hype oh so many years ago. The first thing you’ll notice about the game is obvious when you buy it. The packaging is the biggest I’ve ever seen. Four … Continue reading Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete is a reality panic button→
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