Category Archives: Reviews

Do Svidanya to Originality in Russian Combat Fligh

Oh, why do they insist on making the same mistakes time and again? Like Hollywood, the video game industry is often looking more at how to capitalize on past success, rather than trying the risky business of innovating. Echelon, a "futuristic" flight combat game is a good example of this mindset. Look at the years of success of titles such as LucasArts Secrets of the Luftwaffe (the best combat flight sim ever!) and Microsoft’s Flight Combat and it’s easy to see that there is demand out there for this genre. And hey, futuristic stuff is always good right? But we’ll … Continue reading Do Svidanya to Originality in Russian Combat Fligh

Lemmings Revolution is Puzzling Fun

If you are a fan of Lemmings games from the 1980’s and ’90’s, stop reading. Go buy Lemmings Revolution. Now! It’s more challenging, more visually appealing, and easier to operate than the earlier incarnations, and the Lemmings are still unbearably cute. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the history of the Lemmings games may have heard of real live lemmings, rodents that have been known to plunge off cliffs in communal suicide. The digital Lemmings aren’t any smarter, and it’s your job to guide them to the waiting hot air balloons that will carry them to safety without allowing … Continue reading Lemmings Revolution is Puzzling Fun

Dogs of War is No Litter Runt

I can’t decide if this game is outstanding or infuriating. Perhaps it is both. Dogs of War, published under the Talonsoft label but developed by Silicon Dreams, is a real-time strategy game in the mold of Microprose’s MechCommander. It features three different armies battling for control of Primus: The Mantai, an indigenous dinosaur-like race, the War Monkeys, a human mercenary group in the employ of the planetary government, and the Imperials, representing the military might of humanity as a whole. The game has a number of things going for it. The most apparent is the versatility of the camera, which … Continue reading Dogs of War is No Litter Runt

Fighter Destiny 2, Nothing New

Fighter Destiny 2 is the latest hand-to-hand combat game from SouthPeak for the N-64 platform. FD2 offers the player 5 choices for game play. VS COM allows the player to select one of 11 international characters as his own and then proceeds to fight his way through the same 11 characters. Then he meets Fabian, he final and fiercest fighter. VS BATTLE allows two players to go head-to-head against each other. RECORD ATTACK requires the player to beat records in three styles of fighting. Survival requires the player to defeat as many opponents as possible. FASTEST is a time trial … Continue reading Fighter Destiny 2, Nothing New

Aerowings 2’s Friendly Skies Get More Deadly

CRI’s Aerowings was one of the launch titles for the Sega Dreamcast. Featuring a very realistic flight model and graphics that could rival the high end PC flight sims, it was impressive. In fact, it could be considered the first true console flight sim. However, despite being a good title, the squad-based flying became more of a chore, and gamers were looking forward to a little combat. It is now a year since the monumental Dreamcast launch, and now we’re seeing sequels to these launch titles. Aerowings 2: Air Strike is one of those titles, and yes, it does provide … Continue reading Aerowings 2’s Friendly Skies Get More Deadly

Vampire gets in your blood

I thought perhaps I would have to take on the curse of unlife to wait for a quality RPG with a good storyline to come out for the PC in the United States. Thankfully, I have found one, and I didn’t even have to wait a thousand years, though it seemed like it at times. I must admit I was a bit wary of a game titled Vampire: The Masquerade Redemption. After all, I have never been into vampires. But the graphics on the box looked so appealing, I had to give it a try. If I was willing to … Continue reading Vampire gets in your blood

The Flintstones Bedrock Bowling bombs

"The Flintstones Bedrock Bowling" by Southpeak for PSX starts out nicely with an animated sequence. Fred, after a hard day at the quarry, is ready to meet Barney for some bowling practice to hone his skills for the big tournament. His boss, Mr. Slate tells Fred that he has to work overtime. Oh no! What to do?! What about the big tournament?! Darn that old Mr. Slate! Have no fear, Gazoo is here! You remember Gazoo, the little green alien with amazing powers? Gazoo, after hearing Fred’s plight, magically transforms the entire town of Bedrock into bowling lanes. Now Fred … Continue reading The Flintstones Bedrock Bowling bombs

Seaman: New Pet or Potty-mouthed Tamagotchi?

One thing you have to give Sega credit for: they seem to be the only game company to have grapefruits enough to come up with original stuff. Right out of E3 their impressive showing debuted several interesting titles. Space Channel 5, the dancing game, was released last June (when everyone else was playing the same old genres), and later this year Sega fans will be treated to even more original titles with the likes of Jet Grind Radio and Shenmue. In the meantime, another original title has been released. Seaman, which has been mentioned in many Sega publications, and showcased … Continue reading Seaman: New Pet or Potty-mouthed Tamagotchi?

Everybody needs a boomslang

When I arrived at E3 this year, I must admit I had never heard of a gaming mouse. Even if I had heard of one, my question would have been why would I need a gaming mouse? I already have a mouse. What’s the difference? I was walking along at the conference and this guy dragged me, willingly I admit, into his booth and asked me if I had ever tried the Razer. Well I had not, so he proceeded to set me up for a demo. Well, this baby rocks. I admit it takes a bit of getting used … Continue reading Everybody needs a boomslang

Ultimate Fighting Championship takes the belt

I know we’ve all gone through a large wave of wrestling-based titles lately. Don’t get me wrong, some of them have been very good (Wrestlemania 2000 and WWF Smackdown come to mind), but most of them are from mediocre to just plain awful. The same can be said for fighting games. Aside from Capcom’s fighters, most are not worth mentioning. But those that are worth mentioning these days are now following the same cookie-cutter format as the past ten or so years. Even the mighty Capcom is falling into the trend they originated. It is about time someone added a … Continue reading Ultimate Fighting Championship takes the belt