Category Archives: Reviews

Play Ball!

During the time this review is being written, I am listening to a radio broadcast of today’s game between the Pirates and the Red Sox. It may only be the preseason until Monday, but I am already looking forward for this season to start. Despite only winning 72 games last year, I feel that it was still a successful campaign from the previous year’s 100-loss disaster. What I have seen last year was a significant improvement on pitching (thank Kip Wells and Josh Fogg for that, not to mention a save record season for closer Mike Williams) and defense (who … Continue reading Play Ball!

The Mighty Qin

Prince of Qin is a bit like the ancient Chinese culture the game revolves around. It’s interesting, mysterious and a bit confusing at times. Played in a top-down Diablo-like interface, the game follows an interesting Chinese story and adds a "what-if" factor. The story goes that in ancient China there was a great warrior who was the son of the emperor. His name was Fu Su and he was the Prince of Qin. Charged with defending the northern boundaries, he was far away from the throne when his father died. Plotters who did not want him to take the throne … Continue reading The Mighty Qin

Flawed Beauty

When I first started playing Arx Fatalis, I was hoping for an RPG along the lines of Morrowind. I was looking for a huge non-linear campaign world that would keep me entertained for weeks at a time, maybe months. I also wanted sheer beauty, incredible sound and an engaging plot. I guess my sights were set a bit too high. Arx Fatalis is a good game, but it is very short-lived and the many flaws with both the game interface and the mission outlines were constantly competing with my ability to enjoy the game. I ended up playing the game … Continue reading Flawed Beauty

Sammy's Mixed Bag

  Sammy's most recent releases for the PlayStation 2 are sequels to two titles that I will admit I never played. However, in the end I am proud to say that I didn't play one of the predecessors while I wish I did play the other one. The following co-reviews will explain my decision even further:   GALERIANS: ASH   Galerians: Ash follows up on the PS1 title literally. Six years have passed since the mother computer, known as Dorothy, was destroyed by the lead character Rion's psychic powers. Now her followers, named Galerians, are attempting to revive Dorothy. It … Continue reading Sammy's Mixed Bag

Panzer Reborn!

When Panzer Dragoon was released during the Saturn’s early launch, many people missed out on a very unique title. While everyone was playing the other launch titles (Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter), the unorthodox Panzer was the true showcase of the system, an impressive 3D Rail Shooter that truly brought out the power of the Saturn, and eventually became a cult favorite. An even more impressive sequel was released a year later which improved on the original in every conceivable way, followed by an RPG released late in the Saturn’s life cycle (so late in fact that I was unable … Continue reading Panzer Reborn!

It’s a Kind of Magic

I’ll make this clear up front: I’m not a great advocate of ‘collectible card games.’ I’ve played Magic: The Gathering and some of the other ones. But the sheer volume of knowledge required to even handle the basics seemed like too much squeezing for the juice. All the accounting required to keep everything straight killed the fun of it for me, and there would always be questions that arose during play, such as cards with seemingly opposable powers and situations that arose that required the intervention of a referee to determine what the correct course of action was. But now … Continue reading It’s a Kind of Magic

Follow the Call

All I can say is – WOW! If all of the next generation of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, popularly called MMORPGs, are as good as this then we are indeed in for a real treat. Asheron’s Call 2: Fallen Kings (herein after called AC2) takes place in a land called Dereth which is comprised of three Islands. Osteth is ancestral home of the Humans. Omishan is the ancestral home of the magic using Tumeroks. Linvak Massif is the ancestral home of the lumbering Lugians. You start your life, after choosing race, sex and how your character will look; … Continue reading Follow the Call

Chemicus: Above the Learning Curve

It’s no big secret that I like puzzle games. I love to spend my computer game time solving riddles, fixing machinery, and finding solutions. And if I can learn a thing or two while I’m at it, so much the better. Chemicus was right up my alley. Chemicus is a puzzle game, but you get to (some would probably say "have to") learn so much about chemistry and related fields that I was seriously tempted to declare this a cleverly disguised educational game instead of a puzzle game. The introductory movie and background in the manual are certainly melodramatic enough. … Continue reading Chemicus: Above the Learning Curve

Get Shaken and Stirred with Nightfire

Whether attending an elite cocktail party for a billionaire madman or storming the beaches of his private fortified island, today’s elite superspy needs to be deadly and well-dressed. 007 Nightfire does an excellent job of capturing the flavor of the James Bond world, and providing a lot of action to boot. Basically, the game is a shooter, with some extra elements added in to give the game a bit of flavor. Each mission has certain Bond-like things you can do that will give you extra points and trigger the way-cool theme song. You don’t have to perform the Bond-moves to … Continue reading Get Shaken and Stirred with Nightfire

Volleyball Vacation

Very little of Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball’s gameplay has been shown. Mostly the footage we have seen involves the graphic and sexual appeal of the game’s female cast. However, it does come as a surprise that DOAX does have surprisingly good gameplay (if a little on the shallow side) but also works well as, of all things, a life simulator! Those used to the DOA series will be taken for a ride. DOA veteran Zack (voiced by Dennis Rodman with a strange accent) announces that he will be hosting the fourth tournament on his own private island. Using … Continue reading Volleyball Vacation