Carlos Soto, GiN Staff

Recent Posts

Relive the Nakatomi Nightmare

Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza satisfies the big shooter fan in search of something new. The graphics are ok and the plot is palatable, especially if you’ve seen Die Hard the movie and liked the character of John McLean. I am a little unsure why Sierra decided to publish a game based on a 10-year old movie, but I guess the number of people who have watched the movie thousands of times is a pretty big audience. But regardless of whether you have seen the movie, which if you haven’t, you’ve been living in a bubble for the last 25 years, … Continue reading Relive the Nakatomi Nightmare

Top Gun Takes Off

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have Top Gun: Combat Zones. First and foremost, have no illusions, you are not Maverick and there is no Goose. The only commonality this game has with the hit 80’s movie depends upon whether you’ve seen the movie and played the game. Some people disliked that the plot of the game has no substance and hated that sterile feeling the narrator gives you before you embark on a mission. I like that aspect about the game. It made the missions more realistic to me and … Continue reading Top Gun Takes Off

Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a Long-Awaited Hit

It’s lucky for first-person shooter fans that some things never change. It’s precisely this principle that’s persuaded Activision to release a sequel to the legendary Wolfenstein 3D, the first-person action packed game that many argue put shooter games on the map. Nine years later, Return to Castle Wolfenstein (obviously in 3D) does it again only this time offering multiplayer capabilities of Axis versus Allies and greatly improving on the now feeble graphics of the original Wolfentstein, which at the time were nonetheless cutting edge. The Return’s graphics are like Activision’s other big first person shooter, Soldier of Fortune. RTCW is … Continue reading Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a Long-Awaited Hit

Blue Shift is half-baked Half-Life

It’s not a special edition or add-on: Blue Shift is the official sequel to Half-Life, the awesome first-person shooter series from Sierra. But is it as good as the original? Is it even worth buying for $50? I guess the answers depend on how much you enjoyed the first one. Although in this sequel players do not necessarily have to know about the original story, it helps. In Blue Shift, players you’re no longer a competent scientist who probably makes enough money to drive home in a luxury car, but rather security guard, Barney Calhoun. Barney is a rather incompetent … Continue reading Blue Shift is half-baked Half-Life

Blade of Darkness Cuts Deep

Once upon a time there was this game reviewer who played a first person sword game and was so disappointed in it that a massive, evil and powerful skepticism grew over his hopes of ever enjoying the genre. This dragon of negativity hung heavy over his heart, but there was always hope a champion would arrive one day to slay the foul beast. Not to bust on another game, but this event occurred a long time ago – in game industry terms anyway – when people still wrote with runes, if you get my drift. Anyway, back to the story. … Continue reading Blade of Darkness Cuts Deep

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

Diablo II is devilishly good!

Is it too early in my GiN career to give a game a perfect score? Yes, but I’ll do it anyway for Diablo II. Just be careful when you play this game, it has a powerful nicotine-like addiction. It’s the crack cocaine of computer games. You just can’t stop playing it. It’s easy to get into, but darn hard to walk away from. Case in point: a friend of mine played straight for about 20 hours. But it gets worse"at four in the morning during his binge, he returned from the bathroom and realized that he had locked himself out … Continue reading Diablo II is devilishly good!

Motocross Madness 2 is highflying fun

Warning!! This game has been known to inflate the ego in lab rats and sport video game junkies, causing them to talk shmack to all their friends that can’t perform as many cool stunts. I’ve been critically infected, and as such am forced to repeat my 9300-point single stunt record to several people including my mother, who still doesn’t understand what I’m talking about. Microsoft’s Motorcross Madness 2 delivers cool stunts and great graphics. It was easy to install and just as easy to figure out. You better have a good graphics card, but then again my PII 300 with … Continue reading Motocross Madness 2 is highflying fun