Once You Pop, You Just Can’t Stop

It’s weird being the ‘puzzle guy’ around the office. Everyone automatically assumes that I’ll want to get the latest puzzle game to review, and – plop – there it is on my desk. But do they know me? Do they know my secret desires? No, let the ‘puzzle guy’ have his puzzles. Maybe I wanted a shooter or something instead, huh? There are two very good reasons why I don’t get the shooters. One, I suck at them, and two, I don’t enjoy them very much. So maybe they have me pegged, and ‘puzzle guy’ I remain. This is fortunate, … Continue reading Once You Pop, You Just Can’t Stop

They Mostly Come at Night

Mostly. Sure PC gamers have been treated to this fun franchise since 1999, but that does not make it any less enjoyable now that Mac-based colonial marines are joining the fight. Aliens vs. Predator is actually three games; each with its own first person shooter protagonist. The first is the Alien, who is defending his temple against shadowy humans. The second is a Colonial Marine, trying to escape an outpost overrun by the omnipresent Aliens. The third is a Predator infiltrating a scientific facility where the humans may be conducting experiments on fellow Predators! The second adventure most follows the … Continue reading They Mostly Come at Night

Conquest is Fun in the Suns

I can here it now "Ah, jeesh, yet another Starcraft clone." Wrong! Conquest: Frontier Wars by Fever Pitch Studios is not another planet based real time strategy game. It does involve starting with a single ship and managing the collection of resources and completion of structures that will allow you to build huge fleets to battle the baddies (in this case the bug type Mantis or the energy based Celareons), but any similarity to Starcraft ends there. In Conquest you are dealing with planetary systems of one or more planets and wormholes to get from one to the other. The … Continue reading Conquest is Fun in the Suns

Search and Rescue 3 is Decent Fun

You’ve seen them. The evening news broadcast reports on some disaster or accident and moments later, looming in the sky above, hovers a rescue copter with a highly skilled crew ready to render aid. Have you ever wondered what a career as one of these air rescue personal would be like? Well Search and Rescue 3 (SAR3) is the game for you. At the moment SAR3 is the only search and rescue helicopter simulation on the market that I know about. Being in a class of its own doesn’t mean this is a bad game. It’s quite decent. It has … Continue reading Search and Rescue 3 is Decent Fun

WarCraft III – Preview Overview

Hello from the battlefields! I was given the awesome task of playing the WarCraft III beta and telling all of you Game Industry fans the skinny low-down on game. I’ll try my best to cover as many aspects of the Beta as possible. Hopefully all of your questions will be answered. First, the beta disc didn’t include any single player content, map editing tools and cinematics. For all intents and purposes this is basically a beta test of WarCraft III under the Battle.net environment. Regardless of this, in short this game is eons ahead of its predecessors. In sheer volume … Continue reading WarCraft III – Preview Overview

Throne of Darkness Rules

I am an absolute nut when it comes to Diablo 2 and anything to do with samurai. So as you can imagine, the moment I found out about a Diablo-like game coming out based on a Japanese myth, I had to have it. And as with pretty much everything put out by Sierra, I was not disappointed. Throne of Darkness is not based on a real story, but follows a story line created by Click Entertainment. However it encompasses many of the details of larger then life hero’s as well as the danger and supernatural suspense that I have come … Continue reading Throne of Darkness Rules

Hoyle Kids Games Tops Family Fun

Hoyle Kid’s Games is a wonderful compilation of 15 of the most popular children’s games of all time. Included are Checkers, Go Fish, Tic Tac Toe, Snakes and Ladders, Hangman, Old Maid, War, and Chinese Checkers. There are also generic versions of Battleship, Tetris and Concentration. The contents screen has the appearance of a child’s room. Each game is represented by an appropriate symbol. War, for example, is represented by a toy tank on the bookshelf, and Bumper Cars is represented by a little car on the floor. Most of the games are beautifully rendered in full color graphics. Checkers, … Continue reading Hoyle Kids Games Tops Family Fun

Dark Age of Camelot Shines

Ever had the overwhelming desire to wield a sword or cast those magic spells that you have used in the pencil and paper Dungeons and Dragons games? Or just wanted to experience life in those mythical times? Then Mythic Entertainment’s Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC) may be the game for you. The latest entrant into the rapidly growing number of MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing games – impressive title huh?) lets you, and a couple of hundred of your closest friends experience life in Realms of legend. Combining Norse and Celtic Mythology with the legends of King Arthur and … Continue reading Dark Age of Camelot Shines

Winning the Medal of Honor

Sometimes reviews are just too easy. Such is the case with Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Basically I can sum up my feelings and advice in just three words. BUY THIS GAME. Well, perhaps being the resident World War II expert, I should go into a little bit more detail. This is by far the best World War II game and possibly the best shooter ever created. Coming off of a few weeks of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, I thought I had met the ultimate title in this genre. But believe me, Medal of Honor makes Wolfenstein look like Hoyle … Continue reading Winning the Medal of Honor

Frank Herbert’s Dune Misses Big Time

Every now and then I come across a game and wonder "what the hell were they thinking?" Frank Herbert’s Dune is one of those games. Every aspect of the game was either rushed or just not given the TLC it needed. Whatever the reasons, this is one of the most lackluster games I’ve ever played. Not since Take 2’s 1994 abysmal "Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller" and the 1996 bomb "Battlecruiser 3000AD" have I felt this strongly. The first obvious sign this product was rushed is the fact that the box, manual and Dreamcatcher’s website clearly state the game requirements must … Continue reading Frank Herbert’s Dune Misses Big Time