Category Archives: Reviews

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

Unfaithful Klingon Academy makes you do all the work

It’s a problem I have had with Star Trek games for years. Now you would think someone would solve it by now. I was asked to take a look at Star Trek: Klingon Academy this week. This six-CD game takes Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and justly moves it to the Klingon Empire. Wait, did the Klingons have an academy? Hmm”I’ll let that question hang in the balance. For all of the advances the software and hardware, why can’t Star Trek games be more simple? Why does the player have to do all the work? I was supposedly the captain of … Continue reading Unfaithful Klingon Academy makes you do all the work

Warlords Battlecry is predictable mayhem

The Warlords name has always meant a solid turn-based strategy experience. So it was with some expectation that I delved into the world of Warlords Battlecry, which is the newest real-time addition to this wonderful series. The move from turn-based to real-time is a tricky one. Some game series do it well, while others end up mere shadows of their former greatness. Battlecry sort of comes up between the two extremes. The real-time game is slightly better than the average RTS, but it does not even approach the top of the genre heap, something the other Warlords games did for … Continue reading Warlords Battlecry is predictable mayhem

Start Up 2000 is tycoon training

I don’t often do reviews. John says it’s like pulling teeth to get me to give him copy. I tell him that running a small publishing house is more like pulling teeth and that he should try it sometime. He then tells me that if I think I’m so smart I should review this new game, ‘Start Up 2000.’ Exit John, looking pleased with himself. Start Up 2000 is a simulation of the business world and the insanity that surrounds the world of high tech start ups. From the demands that your investors can place upon you, to the marketing, … Continue reading Start Up 2000 is tycoon training

Stay Alone – Stay Alive with Martian Gothic: Unification

"Stay alone, stay alive." As a member of a rescue team to Mars, you have just crashed landed on the Red Planet and as you head for your assigned airlock, these last words from the previous mission ring in your head! TalonSoft’s recent release of Martian Gothic: Unification puts the gamer into a world full of horror and suspense. Set in the year 2019, you are one of three members of a team sent to Mars to find out the fate of the previous mission that had set up Vita Base to see if life really did exist on our … Continue reading Stay Alone – Stay Alive with Martian Gothic: Unification

Allegiance is super space combat

Been looking for something more challenging than Space Combat against a predictable artificial intelligence? Enjoy the thrill of mining for resources and then using those resources to fuel your war efforts? Like the thought of team play against up to six other teams at once? Then perhaps Microsoft’s new multiplayer online space extravaganza – Allegiance deserves a look! Microsoft’s new entry into the multiplayer Internet gaming community, Allegiance has elements of Starcraft and Civilization (the finding and mining of minerals and a technology tree for technology advancement), Tribes (with multiplayer only team situations) and any of a host of 3 … Continue reading Allegiance is super space combat

Capcom loads titles on Sega Dreamcast

Capcom has been on a roll lately. In the past several months alone, three titles have been released. First of all, we have the impressive anime mech-style Tech Romancer, the long awaited Street Fighter 3, and the much anticipated sequel to Marvel Vs. Capcom. I had a chance to try out all these titles, but for the time being I wanted to review SF3 and MVC2 because over the last few years, since the days of X-Men back in 1994, there has been a heated debate. On one side of the argument, you have the Street Fighter series that has … Continue reading Capcom loads titles on Sega Dreamcast

LegoLand Reality meets Lego Game

Ring…Ring…Hi! This is Jonathan Ablebody the LegoLand Duty Manager. Congratulations, you have just bean hired as the new LegoLand Trainee Park Manager. Lets meet the rest of your staff. There’s Professor Voltage the park scientist and inventor of new rides, JP the parks chief mechanic, Bob Longtree the parks chief landscaper, and who can forget Rosie Brickolini a cousin to Mama Brickolini from Lego Island and the master Chef of LegoLand. The objective of LegoLand is to build a working theme park using rides, attractions, restaurants and landscapes from four different themes including LegoLand, castle, wild west, and adventure themes. … Continue reading LegoLand Reality meets Lego Game

MidiLand S4 is symphony of sound

It was not hard to believe how clear the MidiLand S4 7100 multichannel computer speaker system sounds, or how loud it is, or even that it is far better than my high-end car or home stereo. What is interesting is that the speakers actually improved my game play both in terms of better scores and in my overall enjoyment. Forget the industry standard of four speakers because MidiLand throws another one into the mix. It makes my office seem as acoustically correct as a concert hall. An additional satellite speaker handles a specific range of the audio spectrum and also … Continue reading MidiLand S4 is symphony of sound

Traitors Gate is crown jewel of two companies

When Daydream (the makers of Safecracker, one of my all-time favorite puzzle games) and Dreamcatcher (the publishers of Cydonia, one of my all-time favorite puzzle games (notice the pattern?)) got together to bring us a new puzzle game, I thought I’d be in heaven. And mostly, I was. Traitors Gate is a totally brilliant game with beautiful art, a fabulous interface, engaging sound, and best of all – ingenious puzzles. It is marred only by some loading and startup problems that I will get into later. In the game, you are Raven, an agent with the CIA. The head of … Continue reading Traitors Gate is crown jewel of two companies