High Heat Baseball 2003
February 27, 2002
I spent last summer trying to figure out how to get the computer to trade me Jason Giambi without my having to give up Arod and half my AAA prospects. I am, of course, referring to the PC version of High Heat 2002. That game was easily the finest baseball title I’ve ever played and worthy of all praise it received. This year I decided to give the PS2 version a chance to win my loyalty. Read more
Wizadry 8
February 25, 2002
I was on the fence about whether or not to tackle this game. Wizardry 8 is yet another PC sequel (would somebody like to do something original that doesn’t suck for the PC please) and yet another Role Playing Game. But I really like a good RPG and I remember playing one of the Wizardry games from the Dark Ages. You know, way back before the Internet taught us the joys of community gaming. So is this journey into the past something you should spend your hard-earned dollars on? Read more
Ultimate Ride
February 25, 2002
After the titanic success of Rollercoaster Tycoon and its expansion packs, any new game about coasters will of course draw comparisons like cow paddies draw flies. Where Tycoon puts you in charge of an entire park, the Ultimate Ride focuses on giving birth the scream machines that we all know and love. Instead of watching 2D repair people mow grass and sweep up barf from your bird’s eye view, you sweep around in a fully 3D-rendered environment adding loops, turns, and adjusting the banking of your creation. Read more
High Heat Baseball 2003
February 25, 2002
Ah yes, the Boys of Summer are back and that can mean only one thing! A NEW SEASON OF GREAT BASEBALL VIDEO GAMES IS HERE! And I believe I have a game that you will truly love. This game, entitled High Heat 2003 from 3DO really has a lot of new features that will surely make you long for the Opening Day! Read more
Fatal Frame
February 25, 2002
For me, it all started with 7th Guest for the PC, I was indescribably intrigued by this game at the time. The ability to journey through a beautifully rendered haunted mansion (albeit pre-rendered, hey it was 1993 what do you expect?) via a first person perspective was something that, at the time, was unprecedented. Bill Gates himself commented on the game saying something to the effect that “(The 7th Guest) is the future of multimedia.” After 7th Guest, it was Mansion of Hidden Souls for the Sega CD that really amazed me. It also featured an explorable mansion, and to my recollection, it too was haunted — with souls trapped in butterflies, whadda concept. When I heard that a sequel was in the works for the Sega Saturn I was giddy with glee, unfortunately the game never saw the light of day in America. Then came Trilobyte’s 11th Hour, the sequel to 7th Guest. While 11th Hour was technically superior to its predecessor in terms of a technological standpoint, it just did not hold the same sense of wonder and awe that the original game did. Enter Fatal Frame, the world’s most impressive 3D haunted-mansion explorer simulator known to man. What is it about exploring haunted mansions that is so fun? Tecmo is a company that can undoubtedly answer that question, they have taken all of my favorite aspects from the past super naturally charged Mansion haunts and combined them with technology that would put the 33mhz SX computer I originally played 7th Guest on to shame. Read more
GBA TV Converter
February 25, 2002
I love the Game Boy Advance. Sure, I have enjoyed the past versions of Nintendo’s popular handheld, but it wasn’t until the GBA that Nintendo gave developers the power of the SNES to build their games. The only drawback to this great system is the screen. Without a built in backlight, gamers are forced to buy inadequate external lighting devices like the worm light or pelican’s shield light (the shield light makes a great cover for your GBA screen to protect it). While these lights get the job done and help make the screen more viewable, they cost extra, use the battery power from your GBA, and leave a horrible glare on the screen. Read more
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
February 25, 2002
The GBA is a great system. Its graphics are crisp (despite the darkness problem), its sound is superb (despite the mono speaker), and (save a lot of third party titles) the game library is phenomenal. But perhaps the best thing that the Game Boy Advance has going for it is the wondrous ability to transport a gamer back to his early days, the glory days of the SNES, even while on a boring bus ride or – not that I condone this (innocent grin) – a crappy class. Read more
Fallout 2
February 22, 2002
Fallout 2: A Post-Apocalyptic Role-Playing Game retains the best elements of the original game and improves on the customization and overall entertainment value. Fans of the prequel will recognize the unique turn-based combat system and character generation method, and will appreciate expanded weaponry, greater benefits to leveling up, a much bigger game world, and a very witty, engaging storyline. Read more
Diablo II
February 22, 2002
Blizzard has been developing Diablo 2 for over three years. After waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, they have released it to an eager gaming public, ready and eager to enjoy the sequel to the immensely popular Diablo. Blizzard brought many things to the table when they released Diablo. They quickly became the frontrunner for free multiplayer gaming on the Internet using their Battle.net servers. This became a popular hang out for all gamers with a connection to the Internet. In addition, Diablo showcased the problems involving cheating in online games, with players exploiting bugs and creating “God-like” characters in order to ruin the game for others. The greatest achievement Blizzard accomplished with Diablo, however, was simply making an action/RPG a fun and enjoyable experience. Although the title has been imitated several times, no one has ever been able to capture that magic… until now. Read more
Diablo II
February 22, 2002
Well, needless to say, a lot of people have been waiting for this game for a long time. The original Diablo was a great game that was sadly destroyed by all the hackers and cheaters out there, but Blizzard promised that Diablo 2 would be different, so I kept my hopes high. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Diablo 2 is everything that I hoped it would be. Lots of character classes, a much longer story, new spells, as well as no cheating! (Well, so far.) Read more