When I first heard that the classic Temple of Elemental Evil D&D module was being made into a computer game, I was enthralled. This was a module that took about an entire summer vacation to complete, back in school when a summer vacation meant an entire summer off, and not just a week or two. Starting at first level, our entire group was at least fifth by the time we were done. So of course I was ready to return to Greyhawk and find out if everything was as I remember it from those many years ago. The biggest change … Continue reading Evil is so Good→
I remember sitting back in my college dorm with about 10 people gathered around my 386 PC. We were all moving a man in a trench coat around the screen and trying to solve a mystery. The man was Tex Murphy, and I believe the Tex Murphy adventures inspired the developers of the world’s newest adventure game, Conspiracies. Conspiracies is set in the future, in a very dark future. You play a down on his luck private investigator named Nick Delios. I am not sure why all the detectives in these games are down-on-their-luck loser types, but Nick fits the … Continue reading Conspiracies Plots a Good Time→
A four year development time is usually a kiss of death for a heavily hyped title. (remember Daikatana? And where the heck is Duke Nukem Forever?) Fortunately when Max Payne came out in 2001, the wait was well worth it, as the game was well praised by the masses with its unique Bullet Time gameplay, immersive story, and non-stop action (except maybe for those stupid nightmare sequences). In fact, we gave it our award for Most Innovative title for 2001 for good reason. I wasn’t able to play the PC version until earlier this year, but I took pride in … Continue reading Return of the Payne→
The game industry has several defined buying seasons, the most powerful of which is obviously over the December holidays. But game companies are starting to branch out somewhat as well, giving holidays like Halloween their own genre-specific titles to help people get into the season. This is evident in humorous titles like Ghost Master, which GiN will have a review of in a few days. Nosferatu: Wrath of Malachi is more of a traditional Halloween game. It is very much like a haunted house in that things are always very dark, and monsters are jumping out and trying to scare … Continue reading Bloody Holiday Fun→
Beyblade: animal, mineral or vegetable? I’ll I can say is I’m lucky my five year old son wanted to see the new game I was about to try out. I started the game ready to kick some butt. Hey the package says Beyblade. This game is obviously about sword play. Much to my surprise I found myself playing against a spinning top. "WHERE THE HECK ARE THE SWORDS!" I screamed at the television. Then my five year old chimed in "They’re supposed to be tops Dad. Don’t you know anything?" Suddenly I felt the curse of old age creeping up … Continue reading Beyblade Charms the Kids→
Space Colony follows the adventures of a wacky group of socially challenged colonists as they attempt to survive the dangerous of hostile planets. Created by Firefly Studios, the developers of Stronghold and Stronghold Crusader, Space Colony follows the same basic simulation-type theme as their other titles. But, Space Colony is more about simulation than warfare, though there is quite a bit of combat in the game too most of the time. The game is extremely humorous. The colonist’s disparate personalities really play off of one another well, which may leave you tearing your hair out trying to get people to … Continue reading Laughs in Space→
When technology fights sorcery, which side will you choose? The plot of Purge, as written in the online manual is: "Science is in a golden age: decades passed since the first android and genetically modified humans were developed. These beings of scientific perfection are several magnitudes stronger and smarter than normal man. They are collectively known as the Order. Eventually, the Order creates a one world government, and world peace. This "worldwide order" comes at a high cost. A great social divide develops between the Order and ordinary humans. Rejected from the utopian society of the Order, some turn to … Continue reading Purge Aims High, Misses→
With the pending release of Star Wars Episode III, Star Wars fans the world over have been whipped into a veritable frenzy with the promise of further adventures and merchandise based on that famous Galaxy far, far away. With great anticipation, I like many other gamers awaited the release of the new game Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy from the creative minds at Raven Software and Lucasarts. The game is a 3D shooter that is set ten years after "Return of the Jedi" when the New Republic is being menaced by the evil remnant of the Empire that seeks to reclaim … Continue reading The Force Strikes Back→
Depending on your point of view, Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader is either a thinking-man’s Diablo, or an action gamer’s version of Baldur’s Gate. Lionheart is an RPG that places you in Europe in 1588. Historically speaking, many things look as they should in Barcelona, where you spend much of this single-player adventure. Even the Spanish Armada is getting ready to invade England out in the harbor. But the coolest aspect of this RPG is that it is an alternate history setting, so lots of things are different too. The main difference between the Lionheart world of 1588 and the … Continue reading Lionheart Has Lots of Heart→
Last years virtual NHL season saw a new champion emerge in the form of Sega Sports’ NHL 2K3, whose realistic gameplay and newly acquired ESPN presentation was able to overcome the shadow created by EA Sports. EA’s NHL 2003 fell below expectations with gameplay that felt way too arcade-like, and the addition of the "Gamebreaker" feature (used mainly in the NBA Street series) didn’t help much for NHL purists, which was sad considering how I considered the previous NHL 2002 to be a vast improvement on the series. What Madden used to suffer with an "odd year curse" seems to … Continue reading GiN 2004 Hockey Report→
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