Category Archives: Reviews

Brickster's Revenge is Wonderful Fun

Hey everyone, the pizza dude’s here! His name is Pepper and it’s his job to save Lego Island. Good old Lego has brought us the comic caper: Lego Island 2 The Brickster’s Revenge. Those of you who played the original Lego Island will be familiar with the criminal mastermind that is Brickster. This time he’s tricked Pepper and escaped from his prison. So he sets about causing chaos with his band of Brickster-bots. Pepper, the pizza delivery boy, has to hop on his skateboard and stop Brickster in his tracks. It won’t be easy. Lego Island2 is an adventure game … Continue reading Brickster's Revenge is Wonderful Fun

JA2:UB Zeroes In On a Kill

I have been waiting a long time to get back into the action of the Jagged Alliance world. I’ve been following this series since the beginning, having been attracted to the arsenal of real-world weapons and interesting character personalities. And some of these mercs have been on my team a long time, like when we liberated Metavira back in 1995. After solving the first Jagged Alliance, I was delighted to play the first sequel called Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games. This was basically a series of single player missions connected in only the loosest sense of the word. However, it added … Continue reading JA2:UB Zeroes In On a Kill

The Longest Journey is Paradise Found

The Longest Journey has been the top selling adventure game in Europe for sometime, but only recently has started to make inroads in the United States. I can tell you this right off the bat: you will not find a better looking game anywhere. Adventure games have gotten a bit of a bad rap lately, but not so much because people do not like them as much as folks have just sort of lost interest in them. Back about five or 10 years ago they were all the rage, but now seem encompassed by shooters and real-time strategy games. The … Continue reading The Longest Journey is Paradise Found

Escape from Monkey Island Has Appeal

Yes, friends, your old pal Guybrush Threepwood is back for his fourth appearance, but this time he’s in 3-D! Guybrush, now married to the beautiful but dangerous Governor Marley, returns to his old stomping grounds on Melee Island(TM) (all of the islands in the game series are trademarked for some reason) to find most of the pirates gone, and his wife declared dead. You must help save her mansion from being destroyed, and sail forth to try to find lawyers to help your plight. Of course, nothing is that easy, as you must figure out how to accomplish necessary tasks … Continue reading Escape from Monkey Island Has Appeal

Final Fantasy IX Keeps the Edge

The final, Final Fantasy on Playstation is a wonderful reminder of everything that Squareoholics hold dear about the seminal RPG series. Littered with references to previous installments, a gameplay system reminiscent of former FF games and an overall feeling of nostalgia, FF IX is a wonderful trip down memory lane in what will probably be a very different series from here on. While the game, certainly isn’t perfect, it is a tremendous addition to the FF ranks. Sporting some of the most likable and endearing characters the series has ever seen, this band of a charming thief (Zidane), a doubting … Continue reading Final Fantasy IX Keeps the Edge

Shenmue: Vast World, Vast Game

I want to make something perfectly clear right now…YU SUZUKI IS A GENIUS! Forget Miyamoto or that guy who designed Final Fantasy…Suzuki-san should be walking away with the AIAS Lifetime Achievement Award with all the stuff he has developed. His resume is filled with many exceptional titles: Hang-On, Space Harrier, Out Run, Virtua Racing, Daytona, Virtua Fighter, and Ferrari F355 Challenge to name a few. With so many great titles on his wing, I can only wonder why he has not received as much credit as he deserves. Now with his latest venture into gaming, Suzuki-san is diverting away from … Continue reading Shenmue: Vast World, Vast Game

Ferazel Needs a Better Wand

Ferazel’s Wand is the latest offering from Ambrosia Software, a rare gaming company that specializes in game software just for the Macintosh platform. Ambrosia markets its products as shareware, which is nice for the budget minded because you get to try before you buy. And even when you buy it’s not very much. Ferazel’s Wand, which is their most advanced game to date, is a mere $30. This is pleasant when the average consumer game is between $50 and $60. Another feature of Ferazel’s Wand is you don’t need a joystick to play it. It’s designed to be played on … Continue reading Ferazel Needs a Better Wand

Who’s Afraid of the Blair Witch?

When the Blair Witch movie went from a film student’s basement cutting room to Hollywood blockbuster, it was inevitable that many people would be looking to cash in on the project. A video game tie-in was inevitable. Now, as we approach Halloween this week, the lab dims the lights and sets out to review the first of three games based on the Blair Witch legend. The release of this game coincides not only with the spookiest holiday on the books, but also the release of the movie Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows. The three planned games are being released … Continue reading Who’s Afraid of the Blair Witch?

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

Vagrant Story is perfection in motion

Well, it finally happened. After over a year of reviewing games for GiN, I found a game worthy of a perfect score – 5 GiN Gems. Playing like a medieval Metal Gear Solid, Vagrant Story delivers a perfect combination of adventure, RPG gameplay and one hell of an awesome story (get it, story — oh, never mind). With graphics rivaling anything seen on a Playstation and a plot nearly equaling Xenogears, Vagrant Story sucks you in from moment numero uno and never lets go. Everything about this game is top-notch and Square couldn’t have picked a better leadoff hitter for … Continue reading Vagrant Story is perfection in motion