Chris Richards, GiN Staff

Chris started playing video games back in the early 80's on an Atari 2600. His first PC was a Tandy 1000 (circa 1985) from Radio Shack and his first game was a little adventure game called Rogue. He is still addicted to it. And its all been down hill from there. He blew the dust off of his old 360K 5 1/4 floppies to provide you with a little bit of Game Industry History. Download a copy of Rogue compliments of the GiN staff.

Recent Posts

Roller Coaster Tycoon is an E-ticket

I was walking through Staples a few weeks ago and I saw a demo running of what looked like a really cool game, and I was thinking to myself that it looked like something I would like to try out. A couple days later the Corkscrew Follies expansion pack and the original Rollercoaster Tycoon were plopped onto my desk. This tells me never to go shopping for office supplies with my editor ever again. Since GiN never reviewed the original game, I thought I would try something a little bit different with this review. I am going to review the … Continue reading Roller Coaster Tycoon is an E-ticket

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a ruler

My first experience with Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings went like this. I left work and went home and installed the game then I went to Greg Crowe’s (GiN Features Editor) house warming party. I got home about 10 or so and sat down to play. There I was playing away and really having a great time, next thing I know my alarm is going off. I would have sworn it was at the latest 2 in the morning and it’s 7:30. I admit I did not stop playing at that point, I continued playing until about … Continue reading Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a ruler

Panther DX is one mean stick

With a street price of around 50 dollars, proprietary digital circuitry, solid construction, a hair-pin trigger and 17 programmable buttons, this baby is sweet. My first impression was that the Panther DX is a big stick. After I opened the box, I immediately wanted to take it out for a spin to see what this baby could do. From opening the box, it took only a couple minutes to get things moving. I quickly plugged it into my USB port [requires Windows 98 or NT 5] and installed the software. Then I installed Red Barron 3D, by Sierra, which comes … Continue reading Panther DX is one mean stick

Lands of Lore III is a worthy sequel

When I first picked up the box I was not sure how I was going to like Lands of Lore 3. The original Lands of Lore rates as one of my all time favorites, but LoL2, while not bad, did not measure up to the original. My first impression of LoL3 was good. The box was visually impressive and based on the pictures, the graphics looked awesome to say the least. A quick look at the box told me that there were the four standard guilds or classes to choose from, and something new — a guild familiar for each … Continue reading Lands of Lore III is a worthy sequel

Heroes of Might and Magic III is simply breathtaking

While I have played Heroes of Might and Magic I and II, I have really not played this series extensively since King’s Bounty. In the interim I had been enjoying a similar turn based game called Warlord’s II. As you may know Warlord’s III is out, and I do have a copy and it is a lot of fun, but I was — and still am — partial to the second game in that series. I used the past tense when talking about warlord’s II on purpose. I have not played the game since my editor plopped Heroes of Might … Continue reading Heroes of Might and Magic III is simply breathtaking

Return to Krondor lives up to its reputation

Return to Krondor is the official sequel to Betrayal at Krondor, a really fun game that I enjoyed when it first came out, and then again a few months ago when I downloaded it for free from the Sierra web site. It is worth noting that there is also an interim game put out by Sierra called Betrayal in Antara. It is not part of the official Krondor series but it is a lot of fun. And if you enjoy either of the Krondor games, you will really like it. The story behind Return to Krondor was written by best … Continue reading Return to Krondor lives up to its reputation

Quest for Glory V will have you burning the midnight oil

To start off, let me say that Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire is hot. Graphics, sound and story all combine to make this title one that you simply mush have in your collection. Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire is a side view and side-scrolling graphic adventure and role playing game, and interestingly enough, is completely different from the two other games that Sierra put out at about the same time. The other two games are Kings Quest: Mask of Eternity, and Return to Krondor. I know, I was fortunate enough to be given the task of reviewing all … Continue reading Quest for Glory V will have you burning the midnight oil

One Shot IS One Kill

It is so true; you never see the one that gets you. I died so many times playing this game, I know that by heart. There are two flavors to this game, single and multiplayer. In the single player game you go on missions by yourself or as part of a computer controlled team. In the multiplayer game, you and up to 32 other people get to find out just how lethal war really is, except that in this case you get to come back and get the guy that got you. That’s not to say that the single player … Continue reading One Shot IS One Kill

An insiders report from Norrath

I had the opportunity to be a beta tester in the final phase of beta testing for EverQuest, which was released by Sony last week. Being in on the ground floor of this one, I can say that I think it will challenge Origin System’s Ultima Online for the title of the most popular online role-playing game. The first time I logged on, I was thrilled to see all of the options for creating a character. Everything from the usual gender, and class to race and religion was included as a changeable option. As a long time Ultima Online player, … Continue reading An insiders report from Norrath

Roberta Williams does it again

As far as I am concerned, this is the best King’s Quest yet, as well as one of the best adventure games ever created. The puzzles in King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity are tough, yet solvable. The interface is easy to use, the plot is well thought-out and the graphics are very good. In fact, this game gets my highest rating yet. The part that I most enjoyed is that even though the gameplay takes place on different worlds, I never found it necessary to go back through and get something I missed on the first run. Given, I was … Continue reading Roberta Williams does it again