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

Getting Some Sim Lovin’

In the not too distant past, I was absolutely addicted to The Sims. In the past year, though, my desire for the game has waned as I have exhausted every conceivable option and action in the game. Then I received the Hot Date expansion pack, and once again I am hooked. This expansion pack is fantastic. There you are. That’s my review, no need to read any further. I am going to write this review assuming everyone reading this has either played or at least seen The Sims. You must live in a cave, if you haven’t done one of … Continue reading Getting Some Sim Lovin’

Final Fantasy X Gets It Together

I HATE FINAL FANTASY! I HATE FINAL FANTASY! I (expletive deleted) HATE FINAL FANTASY!!!!!!!! Ever since dealing with Sephiroth and his repeated 10-minute long Super Nova attacks, I swore off anything related to the Final Fantasy series. As if seeing commercial spots showing poorly animated FMV wasn’t enough, the crappy characters used in following episodes made me sick to my stomach. Do we really need another Leonardo Di-Crap-rio imposer, or another big headed freak that doesn’t do anything but point? Don’t even get me started on that Orko lookalike. I don’t care if his name is Vivi or whatever, to … Continue reading Final Fantasy X Gets It Together

NHL 2002 Gets its AI Back

This review comes on the night after the first Washington Capitals game which I attended. Granted this stupid town is obsessed with Michael Jordan and basketball at the moment. Hey idiots, bear in mind that one player will not help the stinking Wizards. Can you say Deion Sanders? There is no denying that Jagrmania is rich at the MCI Center, as his addition to an already strong defense and killer goaltender might be DC’s underrated saving grace. And if tonight’s 6-1 victory over the defending Eastern Conference champ New Jersey Devils is an indication, I suggest everyone quit looking at … Continue reading NHL 2002 Gets its AI Back

Does EA Sports Care About AI Anymore?

Ever since EA Sports, as well as Electronic Arts, turned their back on Sega and dedicated all their services to the PlayStation2, it occurred to me that they were only concerned about a game’s visual presentation, no matter how poor the actual gameplay turns out to be. I found this out when I tried to play NHL 2000 last year, and was infuriated with the game’s poor goaltender AI and unrealistic collision physics. As a result, I ended up playing Sega Sports’ NHL 2K, a game which I really enjoyed because it had some of the best goaltender AI I’ve … Continue reading Does EA Sports Care About AI Anymore?

Street Sk8er 2 styles on PlayStation

The skateboarding game is a genre that has taken off in the past year, most notably with the release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. And while Street Sk8er 2 doesn’t quite live up to the heights of that game, it does leave you with a frantic, fun experience. Picking from a select group of skaters, you grind through the amazingly detailed and long courses of Washington DC, Moscow, London, Miami, and San Francisco. Five courses may not seem like a lot, but as your skater racks up extra skill points by winning competitions, they can access previously out of reach … Continue reading Street Sk8er 2 styles on PlayStation

Nox Rocks!

I might be wrong, but I think I’m the only one on the entire GiN staff who doesn’t role-play at all. Aside from some console-based RPG experiences such as Lunar or the overrated Final Fantasy series (let the hate mail begin again!), I just never really got into it at all. A couple years ago, however, a nice little product from Blizzard, entitled Diablo, was released to the gaming public. Combining basic role-play elements with the action of a real-time strategy game, I was instantly hooked with its unique style of gameplay, and am waiting impatiently for Blizzard to release … Continue reading Nox Rocks!

The Sims is Sim-ply amazing

The Sims is a game for anyone who thinks that real life is boring. And that must be a pretty good number because The Sims is the best seller in the nation this week. Created by the same folks who made the popular SimCity series, The Sims drills down to the neighborhood level of a city and in fact puts players in charge of a single household. The first part of the fun in the game comes when you create your family. Will you make a slobbery bachelor, a fresh-out-of-school party girl, a full family complete with kids or a … Continue reading The Sims is Sim-ply amazing

Medal of Honor is the Saving Private Ryan” of PlayStation”

War, uhh, good God y’all. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Say it again. Well, I can’t say it again because without war, I would not have had the privilege of playing Medal of Honor (MOH), which by the way is about as close as I ever want to get to real warfare. MOH is DreamWorks’ (you know the guys who brought us Saving Private Ryan) first foray into the world of gaming. The same level of realism they brought to that movie is clearly evident throughout MOH. While, not a straight shoot-em-all-up ammo-fest and not a stealth dominated … Continue reading Medal of Honor is the Saving Private Ryan” of PlayStation”

Quake 3: Arena is multiplayer mayhem

Let me start this review of Quake 3: Arena by saying that comparing this game with Unreal Tournament is inevitable. They are both superior in their own ways. Both involve hard-core deathmatches set on a grand scale, but where UT specializes in both single play and multiplay with all new tweaks, Quake 3: Arena (Q3A) sticks with the classic deathmatch engine, and in essence, this is not a bad idea. Now we know that the Quake series has never been well known for plot, and Q3A is no exception. The manual does explain about an alien race called the Vadrigar … Continue reading Quake 3: Arena is multiplayer mayhem