Total Annihilation: Kingdoms takes the strategy game crown

I think we have finally found our first serious contestant for the GiN strategy game of the year award. Total Annihilation: Kingdoms raises the expectations bar for gamers by giving them an intelligent artificial intelligence coupled with graphics that are truly spellbinding. The first thing you will notice about Total Annihilation: Kingdoms is that the game is completely beautiful. I found myself being overrun by enemies several times when I was just starting out because I was too busy looking at the pretty scenery to concentrate on strategy. I won’t fault Cavedog for using the Total Annihilation name, after all … Continue reading Total Annihilation: Kingdoms takes the strategy game crown

Boss Rally should have never left the N64

I don’t understand why it seems that every N64 game is being translated over to the PC. While some I have seen some turn out to be pretty good [Turok 2 and Rogue Squadron] there are also those that turn out to be very bad. Two years ago, there was a little known racer for the Nintendo 64 called Top Gear Rally. Back then I considered it to be pretty average, and now in 1999, its PC sibling, now titled Boss Rally, is just as average. First of all, you will notice that the graphics are almost identical to that … Continue reading Boss Rally should have never left the N64

Reah gets lost in the translation

You wouldn’t understand it, it’s a Polish thing. What the folks at Project 2 Interactive are calling "Riven for everyone," the adventure/puzzle game Reah turns out to be less Myst inspiring and more difficult to understand, furthermore solve. You play an obnoxious journalist who somehow gets transported to a reality full of idiotic characters and puzzles that are either too simplistic or impossible to solve. Reah is another game of excellent environment, but piss-poor plotting. Moreover, since Reah comes from the Polish company L.K. Avalon, all of the actors are poorly Samari-movie-like dubbed by badly voiced Americans speaking childishly written … Continue reading Reah gets lost in the translation

Driver brakes just short of a classic game

While Driver has a top notch concept, good gameplay/replay value and other intangibles going for it, its utter failure to deliver on several other fronts leads to only a moderately successful game. In the game your name is Tanner…you carry a badge. That is you do until the fuzz decides they could use your former race car driving skills (yeah, I know lots of former race car drivers that became cops) to infiltrate the feared Castaldi crime family as a driver. Any game where you’re an undercover cop posing as a mobster starts off with a few extra points in … Continue reading Driver brakes just short of a classic game

X-Wing Alliance is light years ahead of previous combat sims

Unless you’ve been living on another planet, I’m sure you know that the new Star Wars movie is out. Contrary to what those so-called critics said about it (face it, with the exception of Leonard Maltin and Roger Ebert, critics hate science fiction), I found it to be a wonderful movie, and have already seen it multiple times. And while waiting for the new Star Wars Episode I games to be released, I spent most of my time working on the latest X-Wing game, X-Wing Alliance, and have been enjoying it for what it is. XWA takes place between The … Continue reading X-Wing Alliance is light years ahead of previous combat sims

Magic and Mayhem is spellbinding

Enter into a world of spells and enchantment, mystical arts, and vast races of forgotten creatures. A world enriched in beauty and yet full of danger and chaos on every corner. Gather your reagents and call upon the ancient manuscripts of magic for protection. Use words of power, or summon powerful allies at your side to aid you in completing your objectives. Combine all these elements together and you get "Magic and Mayhem," a wonderful combination of strategy and roleplaying. Whether you are a militant tactician or a seeker of new adventures, this game will satisfy any RPG fan’s tastebuds. … Continue reading Magic and Mayhem is spellbinding

WWII GI is no breakthrough

WWII GI is a game that I don’t believe ever achieved its full potential. As I played it I must say I enjoyed the experience, but several logic flaws, game errors and overall graphics that are abysmal at best left me with a sense of emptiness. It’s like when you wait for years to see a movie, only to find out that poor acting or bad special effects have ruined the experience. You can’t help but smile, but at the same time you really wish it could have been more. WWII GI attempts to recreate the experience of an actual … Continue reading WWII GI is no breakthrough

Army Men II brings nostalgia, strategy to backyard.

I can’t really recall my childhood really well, but I do remember playing with those little plastic soldiers. Now, while my method of play was pretty clean, some of my friends added a little bit of sadism to their soldiers: tying M-80s on their backs, frying them with a magnifying glass, you name it. Last year 3DO released a realtime strategy game called Army Men which incorporated these toy soldiers we all grew up with. While I never had the chance to play the original, I did get a chance to test out the sequel, Army Men II, which although … Continue reading Army Men II brings nostalgia, strategy to backyard.

Return to Krondor lives up to its reputation

Return to Krondor is the official sequel to Betrayal at Krondor, a really fun game that I enjoyed when it first came out, and then again a few months ago when I downloaded it for free from the Sierra web site. It is worth noting that there is also an interim game put out by Sierra called Betrayal in Antara. It is not part of the official Krondor series but it is a lot of fun. And if you enjoy either of the Krondor games, you will really like it. The story behind Return to Krondor was written by best … Continue reading Return to Krondor lives up to its reputation

Tonka Raceway takes the checkered flag

Hasbro Interactive has driven car racing games to a new level of fun and complexity for the younger crowd. And this game offers a variety of options entertaining enough to keep the attention of youngsters’ speeding minds. Not only does the player get to race, he or she gets to modify vehicles, change the race tracks included in the game, and even design their own race tracks. This game offers the player three different racing scenarios: racing alone in Time Trial, 2-Player Racing against a friend, and the opportunity to race against the game’s own personal racers. The player is … Continue reading Tonka Raceway takes the checkered flag