I so wanted Final Fantasy VIII to be the be-all-end-all of gaming experiences. I so wanted to be able to say that this was the greastest game I’ve ever played. Unfortunately, after all the hype, all the hope, and almost 60 hours of playing and completing Square’s latest offering in the signature series of RPG’s, I’m almost heartbroken to say that the game doesn’t bring home the goods. To be fair, I, much like the rest of the gaming world, had enormous expectations. I half expected the characters in the game to jump out of my television and finish doing … Continue reading Final Fantasy VIII is good, but not great→
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→
When I reviewed MechCommander, the realtime strategy game, about a year ago I begged FASA and Microprose to make a sequel. When MechWarrior 3 came out however, I was a bit wary. I like shooters and I love real time strategy games, but I’ve never really been a fan of trying to control a giant robot from within the cockpit, as MechWarrior 3 challenges players to do. I normally feel too removed from the action, nudging my mech to do my bidding just does not seem as satisfying as picking up an MP40 and doing damage myself. But MechWarrior 3 … Continue reading MechWarrior 3 is a blast→
Ever want to rule the world? More specifically, ever want to rule a Renaissance-era Europe, and its accompanying New World colonies? Then Imperialism II is the game for you. You start off in charge of one of the reigning European powers in 1500, either in a map of Europe or a random one. You have a certain number of provinces, each which contains one principle city. While you start building up your resource network at home, you also must send out a ship or two in order to explore the vast oceans in search of the New World. While your … Continue reading Imperialism II is a strategy game Renaissance→
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→
Game Review- Mia's Reading Adventure: The Search for Grandma's Remedy
Canadian company Kutoka Interactive’s foray into the children’s computer entertainment and educational market is a good one. Mia: The Search for Grandma’s Remedy has all the elements that can capture a child’s attention: a lovable heroine, an interesting plot and lots of visual effects. Players take on the role of over-stuffed mouse Mia as she attempts to collect enough valuable "sparkles" to buy medicine for her ailing grandmother. Sparkles are apparently the currency of the land Mia lives in, which is a house that is large enough for a tiny mouse and all her friends to remain unnoticed from the … Continue reading Mia is a heroine kids can love→
Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This is your favorite sports announcer live from the GiN ballpark in Virginia, and man what a game that has been played here thus far today. It’s the final inning, two outs and no runners on. Konami desperately needs to get on base and bring some runners home if they’re gonna pull this one out. However, the Game Industry News team has played a tough nine innings and are determined to give the fans what they’ve been wanting all along. Nothing but the best baseball game this year. Let’s get back to the action as … Continue reading Bottom of the 9th ’99 is a swing and a miss→
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→
Gamers these days are getting pretty picky, but the Montego II Quadzilla has enough features, support and raw power to round out any high-end system. Opening the box, the first thing you will notice is that the card is in two pieces. The main part of the card that plugs into a standard PCI slot contains everything a gamer will need to get 3D sound with a two speaker setup. Now, this method is not truly 3D sound and is achieved by tricking the listener with various Doppler shifts and other audio clues that mimic a 3D environment, but unless … Continue reading Montego II Quadzilla will rock you→
Almost five years ago, Looking Glass Technologies took the idea of the typical first person shooter, and implemented it into a futuristic role-playing style environment. The role-playing theme worked successfully in their past games Ultima Underworld I and II. And their futuristic version, System Shock, was just as successful. In fact, System Shock has been rated by certain publications as one of the greatest games of all time. It was almost inevitable for a sequel to arrive, and now that sequel is here. And just like its predecessor, it is something to remember. Taking place 30 years after the first … Continue reading System Shock 2→
