Treasure Planet
December 31, 2002
Treasure Planet is Disney’s second animated film this year, and is quite more ambitious than the summer’s Lilo and Stitch. As Disney presses forward, using computers with traditional animation in Treasure Planet, it is beyond me why a game based on the movie was developed for PS-X. This generic platform attempts to throw in shooting and racing sequences, but totally comes off as a waste of time. Read on to find out why this boat should’ve stayed in port. Read more
Die Hard Vendetta
December 30, 2002
I may not be the biggest fan of the First Person Shooter genre. However, I can appreciate a good game when I see it–no matter what genre of gaming it is in. So when I saw that Sierra, the studio that put Valve in charge of the incredible Half-Life series was getting a new First Person Shooter together based in a post Die Hard 3 world, I was excited. But instead of screaming “Yippie-kai-yayâ€? while playing through Die Hard Vendetta, I threw my controller down in disgust. Read more
Dr. Muto
December 29, 2002
Dr. Muto is Midway’s latest attempt to create a new franchise that can further establish the company as a high quality third party publisher that can make good non-sports titles. While the title has several problems, most notably, those found in other 3D platformers, Dr. Muto is an above average title but falls short of being a triple A title. Read more
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
December 29, 2002
I have played my fair share of Role Playing Games. To me, this is the greatest genre of gaming. In the past, I have experienced countless battles, saved a multitude of worlds, and watched incredible story lines unfold before my eyes. Since an RPG is a type of game that has deep storylines and character development, it would seem to be a logical fit for Black Label Games to deliver their Game Boy Advance version of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Based on the classic novels, unlike the EA versions–which are based on the movies, what at first appeared to have much promise quickly turned into a mediocre title. The sad part is that this is a much better game than the Xbox/PS2/GCN versions… Read more
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
December 28, 2002
Let me first say that there is never a dull moment in this game. From the very start you are tossed into heavy battle, with terribly deformed orcs slashing at you with duel axes and archers sniping at you in the hills. But you soon find that you are a force to be reckoned with as well. You can deliver a nasty heavy blow to take out large enemies and keep them back with quick jabs. For fun you can even kick them into the lava pools and watch them burn. From this description, you see why I like this game so much: it’s a perfect frustration releaser. Unlike stiff, almost robotic movements as seen in the Resident Evil series, this game will allow you to powerfully charge and knock your enemies down, delivering a optional death blow. If you think that’s good, just wait. Read more
Iron Storm
December 19, 2002
Iron Storm begins with an opening monologue by the game’s main character describing how World War I has continued for 50 years and how he desires to bring the struggle to an end. If you did the math, that would place the game in the mid-60s. All of this is continuing war is thanks to (try saying this name 10 times fast) Baron Nikolai Alekasandrovitch Ugenberg, and members of the western world that are profiting by the monetary prospects that the fighting creates. Instead of dwelling on which of the two opposing sides are really the bad guys here, I find myself thinking, “For the life of me, Second Lt. James Anderson sounds a lot like Charles Bronson which is fitting for a one-man army.” Read more
Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf
December 17, 2002
Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf is an expansion campaign for the original Battle Realms real-time strategy game. Winter of the Wolf also offers a few new units and minor tweaks to the original’s skirmish mode. Is the new campaign and a couple extra units reason enough to revisit this Japanese themed game? Read more
Arx Fatalis
December 17, 2002
Arx Fatalis puts a different spin on the two very popular genres, Role Playing and First Person Games. I think pictures will say it best, the game takes you through a Dungeon and Dragon type world through the eyes of the adventurer. You wake up with no sense of who you are and are propelled into events that take you against the Cult of Akbaa. You must prevent Akbaa’s return to the physical world. You will quickly find there is much more to the story than that though. Read more
Unreal Championship
December 15, 2002
The online first person shooting arena is perhaps one of the most profitable areas in gaming today. Come on, who doesn’t like kicking some poor sap’s tail in a quick fragfest every now and again? The fact of the matter is there’s nothing quite like the visceral thrill of going head to head against real, live, intelligent opponents from all over the world while you’re sitting in a beanbag chair on your living room floor… and kicking butt. Over the years, there have been many FPS games available for online play on the PC and one of the most popular of those is the Unreal Tournament series. While the Dreamcast got things started on the console side of things, shooting enthusiasts can finally get down to business with the advent of Xbox Live and the latest title from Epic Games: Unreal Championship. Read more
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
December 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