Fallout Tactics is a Strategic Heavy-Hitter

Fallout Tactics – Brotherhood of Steel takes the very-cool post apocalyptic world of the Fallout role-playing universe and uses it as a setting for a tactical combat game. It has the same look and feel as the Fallout RPG, but without the detailed inter-party relationships and without the myriad of external side quests. I am a huge fan of the Fallout series. Perhaps it was one too many Mad Max movies growing up or one too many generic sci-fi movies set following a nuclear war, but this is a universe that I enjoy. It probably goes back to one of … Continue reading Fallout Tactics is a Strategic Heavy-Hitter

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

Ever Get Tired of Being the DM?

Then perhaps Interplay’s latest release, Icewind Dale, is what you and your Dungeons and Dragons group may be looking for. Icewind Dale is the latest in the series of TSR Advanced Dungeons and Dragons PC adaptations dealing with the Forgotten Realms setting. The look and feel of the game resembles that found in Baldur’s Gate or Baldur’s Gate II. The three quarters view and the activation of various members of the group (in the stand alone game) are identical. The pausing of combat to allow commands to be given to the various members of the group are also similar. All … Continue reading Ever Get Tired of Being the DM?

Unfaithful Klingon Academy makes you do all the work

It’s a problem I have had with Star Trek games for years. Now you would think someone would solve it by now. I was asked to take a look at Star Trek: Klingon Academy this week. This six-CD game takes Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and justly moves it to the Klingon Empire. Wait, did the Klingons have an academy? Hmm”I’ll let that question hang in the balance. For all of the advances the software and hardware, why can’t Star Trek games be more simple? Why does the player have to do all the work? I was supposedly the captain of … Continue reading Unfaithful Klingon Academy makes you do all the work

Start Up 2000 is tycoon training

I don’t often do reviews. John says it’s like pulling teeth to get me to give him copy. I tell him that running a small publishing house is more like pulling teeth and that he should try it sometime. He then tells me that if I think I’m so smart I should review this new game, ‘Start Up 2000.’ Exit John, looking pleased with himself. Start Up 2000 is a simulation of the business world and the insanity that surrounds the world of high tech start ups. From the demands that your investors can place upon you, to the marketing, … Continue reading Start Up 2000 is tycoon training

Messiah will become your religion

In this game you play Bob, a cherub thrown down from heaven by God. Yes that’s him, the little wimpy guy with the diaper on and a tiny pair of wings. And God says to Bob "…I brought you here, and it’s here you’ll stay until this hell is hell no more and then you can come home. But here you will be mortal, here you can die. And when an angel dies, he is forever lost to nothingness." Your only power is the ability to possess other people and animal’s souls and control their bodies. You start the game … Continue reading Messiah will become your religion

Mortyr 2093 – 1944 is no Wolfenstein

Back when I got my first modern PC, (my real first computer was a Trash 80) I noticed that installed on it was a simple game entitled Wolfenstein 3D. Created by a small company called id Software, it ended up taking a lot of my free time, as well as becoming one of the greatest games of all time. Maybe it was because it involved traversing through a vast labyrinth from a first person view, or maybe it was because I collect material involving World War II (as my DVD collection of Patton and Saving Private Ryan would prove). Whatever … Continue reading Mortyr 2093 – 1944 is no Wolfenstein

Hold a tiger by the tail in Descent 3

There are some games you play, and there are some games that play you. Descent 3, the latest in 360-degree gaming, is definitely the latter. The first caveat is that if you were made a little queasy by the first titles in this series, don’t even think about playing this one. The second caveat is that if you’ve got the stomach and computer that can handle Descent 3, this may very well be the ride of your life. The Descent universe is based on the conceit of a world of robot ships and the underground bases in which they move … Continue reading Hold a tiger by the tail in Descent 3

Kingpin is a bite out of crime

"You’re gonna die, mother f*****!" is probably the last thing you will hear in the grimy, crime filled world of Kingpin. (Note: we added the *’s, expect the full language in the game) Kingpin is a lot more than the average johnny-come-lately shooter. It sports amazing textures, a solid plot and some of the best sound support I’ve ever laid ears upon in a shooter. But of course all anyone is talking about is the violence, the blood and the liberal use of the "F word." So let me get that out of the way first. The first thing you … Continue reading Kingpin is a bite out of crime