Category Archives: Reviews

Deus Ex: GOTY Edition Improves Perfection

Those of you who read our original review of Deus Ex know that the term is part of a Latin phrase used to describe a person or thing that appears out of nowhere and unexpectedly resolves a great conflict. Ironically, this Game of the Year Edition is the Deus Ex for this fine title. The main difference between the standard version of the game and this one is that you can now play multiplayer, which is a must these days for any shooter. While the original Deus Ex was a fine single-player experience, nothing beats matching wits against an actual … Continue reading Deus Ex: GOTY Edition Improves Perfection

Red Faction is a Shot Above

I have a great affection towards the guys at Volition for their amazing Freespace series on the PC. It was this series that continued the space combat action that I grew up with in Wing Commander, and lasted for two great games. But recently they decided to direct their efforts to the first person shooter genre with Red Faction, a game which has been receiving a lot of hype. Fortunately the hype is definitely worth it, as Red Faction is definitely the best single player FPS the PlayStation2 has in its library. I was easily attracted to the main storyline, … Continue reading Red Faction is a Shot Above

WWII Normandy Puts VALUE in ValuSoft

There is a logic out there that says that value software (games priced around $20) have to be bad titles. Many of us have seen this first hand and have purchased low-priced games only to be completely disappointed. That is why WWII Normandy came as such a surprise. When it arrived at the GiN testing labs I, as the resident WWII buff, immediately claimed it as mine to review. However in the back of my mind I was thinking it would be something like WWII GI, which was a dismal piece of value software for the PC. WWII GI had … Continue reading WWII Normandy Puts VALUE in ValuSoft

Starship Troopers is Jackbooted Fun

Light-years from Earth, an enemy force is preparing to remove the human race from existence. They are amassing their troops and preparing for full-scale war. At the same time you and your platoon are joining thousands of other platoons onboard tremendous battleships, speeding towards the enemy’s home planet. Your weapons are state of the art. Your training has made you strong. Your numbers are overwhelming. But will you really be ready when your dropships touch down on the planet’s surface? Will you be ready to face the greatest enemy mankind has ever known? The bugs. Starship Troopers is a great … Continue reading Starship Troopers is Jackbooted Fun

Oni is Only Average

For a game that was originally planned two years ago, Bungie’s Oni was praised as the most anticipated game at trade show after show. That praise has continued through 2000 (including a feature at E3), and was also planned to be a launch title for the PlayStation 2. However, that never happened. In fact, it was not released until February 2001, and after playing it on my PlayStation2, I wonder why it got so much praise. To me, it’s just average. I know a lot of anime buffs will easily get hooked into Oni because the game begins with an … Continue reading Oni is Only Average

Swimmer’s Ear Puts Rune in Ruins

Make sure to have plenty of beverages and snacks high in sugar and caffeine if you’re planning on playing Rune–after the first battle in the initial ten minutes of the game, it gets a little boring for a while. Early on the game turns from a unique third person sword game to the 21st century version of pitfall for the Atari 2600. Our hero begins the main part of the game by being brought back to life by Odin, one of the good Viking Gods from about the same time period as Atari, to battle and defeat the evil Viking … Continue reading Swimmer’s Ear Puts Rune in Ruins

Dreamcast Q3A-Fragging Heaven for High Ping Victim

As a veteran of Quake 3 Arena on the PC, the term "Low Ping Bastard" comes greatly into play. LPBs, as they are commonly known, have the luxury of playing games such as Quake 3 behind the safety of a T1 line, meaning that they can easily pick off sorry 56K modem users without any trouble whatsoever. LPBs claim that it’s their skills that win, and not their connection. That is obviously not the case. Take a look at all the killboards on any server. No matter whether the server is based in Washington, DC, or in San Francisco, CA, … Continue reading Dreamcast Q3A-Fragging Heaven for High Ping Victim

Roberts Finds Redemption with Starlancer

When I heard that Chris Roberts would be leaving Origin to found his own company, Digital Anvil, I had a lot of skepticism about how his Wing Commander series would turn out. As it turns out, it did have its highs and lows. On the high side, Origin released a worthy successor title back in 1997 called Wing Commander: Prophecy which did a good job carrying on the WC tradition even after the Kilrathi’s extermination and Roberts’ departure. Contrasting to the darker side of Digital Anvil, we were exposed, or in my case, tortured to that abomination Wing Commander theatrical … Continue reading Roberts Finds Redemption with Starlancer

Opposing Force is a pleasant addition to a rocking game

Opposing Force is an expansion pack for the best game of 1998, Sierra’s Half-Life. This time you are Corporal Adrian Shephard, a member of an elite force sent into the Black Mesa Complex to kill Gordon Freeman, the star of Half-Life. In the fashion of all black ops, you don’t actually find all of this out right away. It’s interesting to note that there are at least 10 solid add-ons that you can get for free for use with your Half-Life game, including user-created scenarios, Team Fortress, the counterstrike module and a few others. Plus there must be 1,000 user-created … Continue reading Opposing Force is a pleasant addition to a rocking game

The Wheel of Time brings Jordan books to PCs

I don’t consider myself a purist, but I have some issues with Wheel of Time the game as it fits in with the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. To give you a little bit of my background with the series, I have read all eight books at least twice and I already know that the ninth book in the series comes out in the Fall of 2000, and I will be there the day it comes out to purchase a copy. Several other members of the GiN staff are also fans of the book and have been battling … Continue reading The Wheel of Time brings Jordan books to PCs