Half-Life: Counter Strike
October 31, 2002
The sounds of Halloween night; the eerie bells, the whistling of the wind, the “Halloween” theme in the background and?Ķ.Eric Cartman? Well, if you played Swiss Cheese 2001 version, you know that that makes perfect sense and not just another cheep shot at a laugh. This small and ghoulishly delightful map was made by no other than creeptastic mod team Swiss_Cheese, once a yummy addition to your foot long hero, now the cause of hours of enjoyment. Read more
Contra Review: A Classic Returns
October 31, 2002
Resurrecting classic franchises seems to be one of the newest trends in gaming. Not one to be left out, Konami decided to release a new game in the popular Contra series. Anyone playing games during the NES era has no doubt at least heard of Contra. The original’s success demanded a sequel, and Super C did not disappoint. Later the series got a face lift on the SNES with Contra III: The Alien Wars. A few more games were released in the series in the years to come, but none of them lived up to what the originals had been. Now, after several years of retirement, the series is back… and in fine form. Read more
Swiss Cheese Halloween 2002
October 31, 2002
If you haven’t played Swiss Cheese Halloween #1, then don’t. You get to play it right here, minus the sporty red skateboard. You start out peering at poster of a girl in a bikini, and you are in the mist of Halloween. Everything seems to be going well, you see some VERY good models of scientists dressed up as Frankenstein and ghosts, and you can almost hear them breath a sigh of relieve that they escaped Black Mesa alive. So you trot over to your friend’s house and stock up on Halloween necessities, such as a shotgun, submachine gun, detpacks and grenades. No, your not going to my house and smashing my garden gnomes…you’re going to the hillbilly house down the street! Then, the old fun-loving Grim Reapers are back, and the scientists shutter and groan at the fact that once again, they are used for target practice. And so starts a surprisingly well-done and creepy mod named “Swiss Cheese Halloween 2002″. It’s a refreshing look at the theme-based mod with excellent models, well-meaning atmospheres and sounds that come only from the most gifted of audio mixers. Read more
Syberia
October 30, 2002
You are Kate Walker, a business Lawyer coming to the town of Voralberg to negotiate for the Universal Toy Company to take over Voralberg Manufacturing. Upon arriving at this small European town in the middle of nowhere, strange robotic creatures are leading the way to a funeral. Rain pours to the ground as you sit and wonder what is going on. Soon you discover that what at first seemed like a simple task, will lead you on a lengthy adventure. Welcome to the world of Syberia, the latest title under the new DreamCatcher banner, The Adventure Company. Developed by Microids, this is one adventure game that all fans of the genre will want to pick up. Read more
Sly Cooper
October 30, 2002
Most of the time, players control characters on the good side of the law. However, in Sony’s latest platform title, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, you control Sly who is on a quest to steal… er֠recover… his families book–the Thievius Raccoonus. However, following our 쳬yhief every step of the way is Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox. Sly definitely has a thing for Carmelita. If only they were on the same side of the law… Read more
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
October 21, 2002
Back in black and ball as a cue ball, the assassin so deadly and precise he is only known as Agent 47 has returned and has been given a greatly anticipated overhaul in Eidos’ latest, Hitman2: Silent Assassin. It’s 2-year-old, PC-only predecessor had some serious gameplay issues that overwhelmed its impressive technical elements and intriguing story. But rather than strangle itself with the rope of miserable failure, Eidos set out and successfully mastered the art of the assassination simulation game. Read more
Egg Mania: Eggstreme Madness
October 17, 2002
There aren’t a lot of puzzle games released on consoles these days. The majority of these titles appear on the Game Boy Advance. While Kemco’s latest title, Egg Mania: Eggstreme Madness, appears on the GBA, the larger screen, PS2 counterpart is a solid puzzle game that will provide some fun gaming time for yourself or with a friend. Read more
NBA ShootOut 2003
October 17, 2002
989 Sports has developed some pretty terrible games lately. However, after realizing this, they have sought to correct all of their mistakes and only produce AAA sports titles. This year they continue their campaign in releasing NBA ShootOut 2003. While it doesn’t completely fall flat on the ground, it fails to compete with NBA Live and NBA 2K. Read more
SOCOM: Navy SEALs
October 15, 2002
For several years now we have been hearing how online gaming will change the home console market forever. In 2000, it appeared that a foundation for online play had been built with the 56k modem play offered on the Sega Dreamcast. But despite some quality online titles, such as NFL 2K1 and Phantasy Star Online, the all but forgotten Dreamcast failed to appeal to the masses. Thankfully, two long years later, online gaming is getting a second chance. Waiting until they had successfully infiltrated millions of homes in the United States with PlayStation 2 consoles, Sony has now begun their attempt to put together a successful online gaming campaign. Their secret weapon, the amazingly fun stealth combat title, SOCOM: Navy SEALs. Read more
The Fellowship of the Ring
October 13, 2002
For years the universe created by J.R. Tolkien in his world renowned Lord of the Rings trilogy has existed solely on paper. Recently, thanks to Peter Jackson’s recent blockbuster film based on the first book in the trilogy, Tolkien’s majestic work is getting the mainstream attention it deserves. Both Electronic Arts and Black Label Games now seek to let gamers feel what it is like to be the characters on their adventure, but as EA took the cinematic license on which to base its game, Black Label Games decided to stay more true to the original text. The Lord of the Rings trilogy set the benchmark for all fantasy novels to come. The critically acclaimed movie brought that fantasy to life. But Black Label Games’ The Fellowship of the Ring struggles to hold even a flicker of the brilliant flame passed on by these great works. Read more