Category Archives: Game Review

Jurassic Park III is Fun Yet Frustrating

Hot on the trail of this summer’s blockbuster movie, Konami’s Jurassic Park III – The DNA Factor, comes rampaging onto the small screen. It’s back to the all too familiar Isla Sorna, as we join the action right as a plane crash lands there on a stormy night. Unfortunately the crash has scattered the cargo of dinosaur DNA capsules far and wide. Yes, you’ve guessed it, it’s your job to collect them all. Standing in the shoes of Mark Hanson (an Indiana Smith look-alike) or Lori Torres, your mission is to head into the jungles and abandoned enclosures of Isla … Continue reading Jurassic Park III is Fun Yet Frustrating

Arcanum is Bookish, Hardcore Fun

I want to say that Arcanum is the "thinking person’s role-playing game" but shouldn’t every RPG be for thinking people? I also want to rave about how much I enjoyed playing the game, but I think I better first explain that Arcanum won’t appeal to everyone. Arcanum is a role-playing game in the purest since. Never have I encountered a title that caused me to really think about gameplay so deeply. Even my ruling favorite RPG series, Baldur’s Gate, did not rise to this level of complexity. This can be a good or a bad thing, depending on your personal … Continue reading Arcanum is Bookish, Hardcore Fun

EA Footbal 2001 Report Card

This joint review is being written on the night following the first week of the NFL season: a week that has provided plenty of surprises (Minnesota losing to a Chris Weinke-led Carolina Panthers), and the obvious (the Redskins getting their Butt kicked by the Chargers of all teams!) There were also personal highlights, such as my Jags winning and Urben’s Jets losing big, and lowlights as Fox Sports centering their Ravens game solely on Rayenthal "I got away with aiding a murderer" Lewis. These surprises also seem to carry to the PS2 gridiron as well. Last year, when Madden 2001 … Continue reading EA Footbal 2001 Report Card

Finally, a Playable Space Combat Game

Do you have trouble, like I do, remembering that you have to hit the ‘up’ arrow to fly down and the ‘down’ arrow to fly up? Do enemy Frigates blast your Space Behemoth from the sky while you are trying to bring your massive weapons systems to bear on their puny hulls? Then perhaps you may find Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Dominion Wars (hereafter called Dominion Wars) to be an enjoyable game. The premise is simple – Deep Space Nine (the Federation’s multicultural space station) is sitting at the entrance to a stable ‘worm hole’ that leads to another … Continue reading Finally, a Playable Space Combat Game

Anarchy Online is Revolutionary

Anarchy Online sounds a bit like some shooter free-for-all, at least judging from the main title. But despite this, the game is actually an online massively multiplayer RPG that is second to none in terms of character development and detailed landscapes. The first thing however that sets Anarchy Online apart from most massively multiplayer RPGs is that the world of Anarchy Online takes place in a science fiction universe. Getting away from the normal medieval theme that seems to permeate every other online world is quite nice. With the futuristic setting comes a lot of interesting paths that a character … Continue reading Anarchy Online is Revolutionary

World Series 2K2 Cracks a Homer

Finally! Sega Sports has come back to World Series Baseball. And this year’s game is running the bases in a whole new way. Visual Concepts knows they dropped the ball with World Series 2K1 and so this time round they’ve gone with a completely new gameplay engine that has a bit of a learning curve, but with a little practice is sure to gratify most loyal fans of the WSB series. It just further goes to show that when gamers talk…Sega listens. It’s no secret that last year’s version of the game had many "issues" ranging from poor control or … Continue reading World Series 2K2 Cracks a Homer

GameDoctor Erases Scratches

We have all run into this problem at one time or another. We love a game, yet we don’t treat the CD very well. Perhaps we are in a hurry to switch to another game, or perhaps we are tired of digging into the jewel case to switch disks yet again. So we set the CD where it does not belong, like on our desk or on top of the PC or monitor. Hey, we will go back and get it later. But sometimes we don’t. And sometimes something falls on it, or it gets slid across the fake wood … Continue reading GameDoctor Erases Scratches

Millie Meter's Nutrition Adventure Falls Flat

I have never been so appalled at a piece of so-called educational software in my life. Millie Meter is so far from educational as to be down right offensive at times, though mostly it’s just an absurd piece of software. The game begins with the heroine, Millie Meter walking among boulders. One of them has a stomachache. He asks Millie to get in a helicopter (they call it something cute, but it’s a helicopter) that he just happens to keep nearby in case he wants anyone to travel through his digestive system. This beginning is the first problem. I don’t … Continue reading Millie Meter's Nutrition Adventure Falls Flat

Echelon Attacks Traditional Sims

Although my interest in PC gaming has slowed down to a crawl (most likely because of the lack of monetary surplus compared to the extensive cost of new hardware to meet demand), I still take the time and patience to try out new PC titles that can actually run on my system. Imagine my surprise when Emperor: Battle for Dune, not only ran on my old Athlon 700, but ran well. But still when I go back to PC games, I still think of the one title that got me started in PC titles more than anything else (except maybe … Continue reading Echelon Attacks Traditional Sims

Max Payne is Pure Pleasure

Max Payne had a lot of things going against it when I decided to give it the once-over for review. I, like all other professional writers, try to keep my bias out of reviews. But off the bat, things did not look good. I have seen so many variations on shooters this past year that I doubted I would find anything new with this title. Also, I am not a big fan of third-person shooters, mostly after having been poisoned to them by lackluster – and some very bad – titles like Eradicator (anyone remember this one?) and Soldier (based … Continue reading Max Payne is Pure Pleasure