Colin McRae Rally 2 Takes the Win

Another average, boring day at work in leafy Middlesex and what lands on my desk? None other than Colin McRae Rally 2.0, from our pals at the GiN office over in the US. The prospect of a decent driving game did wonders for my productivity that day. I rushed home, fired up the old PlayStation and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed. Over in the States you may not be too familiar with rally driving, but when it comes to driving games, I’ll take mud and gravel over tarmac any day. That is how we do it in England. … Continue reading Colin McRae Rally 2 Takes the Win

Merchant Prince II is One for the Books

Merchant Prince II is a way to take the reigns behind one of the true powers in Renaissance Europe. No, not a King or Queen. Not even the Pope, but one of the rich merchant families of Venice. People tend to forget that while the Charlemagnes and Richards roamed around ruling the world, it was the Fuggers and Medicis who actually moved it. This is now your job. The basic premise of the game is simple enough to grasp – buy low, sell high. You look at what Venice has a lot of, buy some of those, and go off … Continue reading Merchant Prince II is One for the Books

Lego Stunt Rally Takes the Win

I don’t think there’s a kid in all America who didn’t grow up on Legos. And if there just so happens to be someone out there who never played with Legos when they were coming up, just what planet are you from anyway? I mean Lego’s were the only thing that could occupy my full ten-minute attention span when I was a kid. Heck, Lego’s taught me to be a more responsible kindergartner…well maybe, that’s pushing it. Though there was a master builder at E3 whose job was, get this, to build really cool robots from Legos, my expertise is … Continue reading Lego Stunt Rally Takes the Win

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

America is Cowboys and Indians for Adults

America is a real-time strategy game set in the American West during the expansion period of the 1800’s. Most of the games take place following the Civil War, so that is the technology level you can expect from the various opponents. The world is divided into four factions vying for control of the land, which is mostly high-plains desert, but is also punctuated by natural resources like trees, gold, horses and wild animals. Each faction is historically accurate in the damage it does and relative power against other units – except for one faction, which for the most part is … Continue reading America is Cowboys and Indians for Adults

The Ward is a Sci-Fi Puzzle Experience

The Ward is a puzzle/adventure game that takes you to the Moon, to Mars and beyond. It has a background story that is as old as the universe itself. However, I will try to be a bit briefer than that. This story actually starts in the far future, during the inevitable collapse of the universe. A highly advanced race called the Makers decide that the only way to escape their fate was to travel backwards through time billions of years, bringing their culture and technology with them. Unfortunately, due to the collapsing of Space, the time traveling did not go … Continue reading The Ward is a Sci-Fi Puzzle Experience

Rule the Known World with Europa Universalis

Everybody wants to rule the world. With Europa Universalis, you can do that. Starting as one of the major, or not so major powers, in the year 1492 (or other various starting points of the many scenarios that come with the game) you vie with either computer or live opponents (via the Internet options) all trying for the same thing – World Domination. Or at least you want to be the biggest and most successful country by the end of the game period (which is 1792 for the grand campaign and varies with the other scenarios). You can even choose … Continue reading Rule the Known World with Europa Universalis

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

Disciples II Takes Form

There were so many great new titles to see at E3, that it is hard to figure out where to begin. So what I wanted to do was take a look at an interesting game that was still pretty far out in terms of release date. Thankfully, we will see many great titles in just a few weeks. And since Ken and Hargosh wrote about console games endlessly at E3, I thought I would take a quick glance at a PC title. Disciples II: Dark Prophecy follows another game I reviewed called Disciples: Sacred Lands. Both titles stand out in … Continue reading Disciples II Takes Form

Magical Ballroom, More Mundane than Magical

Beauty and the Beast Magical Ballroom is part of the Disney Princesses series of games geared toward girls 5 and up. Disney is trying to fill the huge gap that exists in the games-for-girls market. The Magical Ballroom is a decent offering, but I doubt seriously that a girl over 9 will enjoy it. The game opens with a movie sequence telling of all the changes in the castle since the movie. The child signs in by typing her name on a scroll, which is saved for return visits. Then Belle greets the child and explains the four rooms for … Continue reading Magical Ballroom, More Mundane than Magical