Sierra finally adds a new dimension to real time strategy games…the third dimension. Their new release, Homeworld takes strategy from the flat battlefield and shoots it into the darkness of space. Forget about battles for the high ground, in space, you have to defend and attack in all directions at once. The plot of the game involves colonists from a barren wasteland planet called Kharak. The colonist have recently uncovered a mysterious guidestone mentioning their race, and a single word…Hiigara…home. It seems that their past has turned out to be a lie, they thought they were from their barren world, … Continue reading Homeworld will keep gamers’ fires burning→
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→
A standard refrain in any industry is that "everything old is new again." Old movies get remade, old songs get covered by new bands, and old cars always have a chance at a comeback. This year a classic was re-released. Still using the same familiar lines as the old model, the new version is peppier, cooler looking, has bright new colors, and lots of little extras. No, I’m not talking about the new Volkswagen Beetle, I’m talking about Populous: The Beginning. Oh, the hours I used to waste playing the original of this game! Back before StarCraft, Civilization, and Alpha-Centauri … Continue reading Populous: The Beginning is a devine rebirth→
Command and Conquer’s release back in 1995 was the start of a gaming empire the likes of which we have never seen. For a game that started as an upgrade to Westwood’s last strategy masterpiece, Dune 2, it inspired a whole new gaming genre that has seen numerous clones and spin-offs. And even C & C itself promoted its own sequel, called Tiberian Sun. Now we’ve been waiting for almost 4 years for this sequel, and aside from a pseudo-sequel, Red Alert, and a mulitplayer action title called Sole Survivor, Tiberian Sun still was on the top of every C … Continue reading Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun misses StarCraft’s mark→
I know we’ve all been through those games where a hero goes through a dungeon in search of treasure, only to have the most vile, insidious monsters lurking at every corner. But how many of us wanted to take on the other side? We all really wanted to be the most evil dungeon creator ever known, setting up the most hideous traps and recruiting the lowest of the low to patrol our dank, dark corridors. Bullfrog took this idea and ran with their original Dungeon Keeper, and now with the sequel, it looks like Bullfrog is still doing what it … Continue reading Dungeon Keeper 2 makes evil oh so good→
You have to love games with a big history. The history of the world spans over five ages. In the first age, the Golden Age, the ferocious overlord Cronos was leader of the immortal gods living on Mt. Olympus. He created the first mortals. But it was in the Silver Age that Zeus rose up among the gods, slaying Cronos, and becoming their leader. However Cronos’s mortals began quarreling among themselves and turned their backs on Olympus. In his anger, Zeus wiped them out leaving the earth empty and ending the Silver Age. The gods then made a new race … Continue reading Ancient Conquest combines historical gameplay and style→
I think we have finally found our first serious contestant for the GiN strategy game of the year award. Total Annihilation: Kingdoms raises the expectations bar for gamers by giving them an intelligent artificial intelligence coupled with graphics that are truly spellbinding. The first thing you will notice about Total Annihilation: Kingdoms is that the game is completely beautiful. I found myself being overrun by enemies several times when I was just starting out because I was too busy looking at the pretty scenery to concentrate on strategy. I won’t fault Cavedog for using the Total Annihilation name, after all … Continue reading Total Annihilation: Kingdoms takes the strategy game crown→
Listen up, this is the Mayor speaking! What you haven’t heard of me before? Why, I’ve been the mayor (read "dictator") of several successful towns, some with populations of almost two million people. My least whim can topple enterprises, my slightest fancy can cause a freeway to be built next to your house. This is the fantasy that Maxis has been offering control freaks like myself for years. You get put in as mayor of your own town. No election, no campaign, you merely appoint yourself for life. Of course, it does help that you are also the town founder. … Continue reading SimCity 3000 builds on a familiar favorite→
It is rare indeed to see the sequel to anything — movies, television shows or games — actually turn out better than the original. Sequels usually fall into either the category of either a hastily made game that relies too heavily on its predecessor for plot, or a simple add-on pack that is not really a new game at all. I was relieved and pleased to find that this was not the case with Myth II: Soulblighter. The folks at Bungie were smart enough to keep basically the same interface as the original Myth, and pack the game with enough … Continue reading Myth II: Soulblighter will conquer strategy gamers→
Settlers III is not a game that will leap out at players as the most fascinating thing they have ever played. In fact, looking at the online help book can be quite daunting. But once you start to understand how to build your settlements into thriving colonies, Settlers can become quite addictive. The premise in this latest installment of the Settlers series finds your tiny hamlet on a vast unexplored world. This is not unlike the hundreds of other resource gathering and conquest games out there, but the beauty of Settlers is in the details. Settlers III has the most … Continue reading Settlers III will grow on you.→
Your Free Daily News Source Of The Video Game Industry
