PC & Mac Reviews

The original Deus Ex was released in 2000 and was later claimed as Game of the Year by many publications. What made it so great? It was choice. What I mean is that Deus Ex gave the player an unprecedented amount of choice with respect to how he or she wanted to proceed in the game. While some look at the game and think of it as a First Person Shooter, those that completed Deus Ex know that shooting is only one choice among many. Deus Ex wowed critics and gamers by offering level designs in which exuded real world believability and multiple ways to attain goals. Sure, the main character, JC Denton, had plenty of weapons available, but shooting guards wasn't the only way to get what you wanted. Having conversations to gain important information, bribing people, disabling security systems, searching for alternate ways to break into areas and sneak around, or back to option one, blowing stuff up, are all possible ways to complete an objective. Another cool thing was that you could not "fail" a mission. Unlike many FPS games, you could not fail your mission simply by blowing up the wrong computer or killing too many civilians. You don't start your mission over. Instead, there's always other ways to complete your mission, or you might just have to suffer the consequence of not doing the best job possible. The story moves on. That was another great element. Deus Ex took a grand, and somewhat clich?� theme of global conspiracies of power and completely believable and engrossing. In addition to various weapons, tools, and other items, JC Denton was an experimental type of government agent whose body has been modified by nanotechnology, or microscopic machines which gave him superhuman abilities. The cool thing was that, throughout the game, players could make choices about additions and upgrades to these modifications, or "biomods" as they're called. No, Deus Ex is not a First Person Shooter, it's a Role Playing Game.

Do you miss the days of setting up model railroads in the basement, garage or anywhere you got open space? Do you miss the days of just sitting around relaxing as the trains run their course at whatever pace you decide? Well, miss it no more; Railroad Tycoon 3 is here to solve that problem.

From the packaging, to the graphic novels, to the game environments, Max Payne 2 is an incredibly stylish game. Like the first Max Payne, this sequel offers up a gritty, violent, and dramatic story of a detective on his own, with nothing to lose. In the first game, Max Payne was wrongfully accused of murder, and it was up to him to get to the bottom of things. With his family gone, he felt like he had nothing to lose. Although that theme is terribly clich?©, developer Remedy presented the plot and the game in such a way as to make it really engrossing. To mimic the style of an old pulp detective novel, the game featured over-the-top dialogue that bordered on ridiculous. However, Remedy showed that they weren't taking themselves too seriously with a couple sequences of self-mockery. I thought the way the story was presented was quite enjoyable. There is even more humor in Max Payne 2. Don't worry; it doesn't make the game silly. It makes it more enjoyable, in fact, by breaking up the incredibly intense action and drama with bits of humor. It sets a better pace for the game.

When I was told my next review assignment was Space Colony, I have to admit, I was sort of excited. Firefly has also put out one of my favorite games of the year in Stronghold, and initial looks at this game sent little thoughts of the Sims, Startopia, and a Mr. Show sketch gone horribly awry dancing in my head. Not to mention that it's outer-space and robot content is through the roof.

BloodRayne is a 3rd Person Action game set in the late 30's-early 40's. You are an agent of The Brimstone Society. An organization tasked with the seizure, control, and, if necessary, elimination of supernatural artifacts and beings(Naturally a job this sensitive and discreet requires you to wear skintight pants and a bustiere made of red velvet and black leather.). Soon you're sent to find a relic the Nazis are looking for and all Hell breaks loose.

Ever wondered what it would be like to be a senator in Ancient Rome? Pax Romana attempts to put you in a toga smack dab in the middle of the height of Rome. It's a turn-based strategy game that is acted out more in real-time than by the turn. You'll have to be a master juggler to keep politics, warfare, and intrigue under control.

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is the second Jedi Knight game developed by Raven. Their first effort in the series, Jedi Outcast, was met with success, both with critics and gamers. However, Jedi Academy has some pretty significant differences from the previous game. Is it an improvement? Well, let's first take a quick look at the whole series to see what's going on. Newcomers will definitely want to pay attention as they will understand the story of Jedi Academy a little better if they've never played the past few games.

Everyone who has ever watched the History Channel or paid attention to 7th grade Social Studies has some opinion on how World War 2 could have been won. Be it the Axis or the Allies, such a grand conflict was just ripe with human and technological error of which everyone has an astute opinion. Strategic Command gives every armchair general out there the chance to fight the battles of Europe from the invasion of Poland in 1939 to defending Germany from the D-Day assault in 1944. It is a complex game, which is not difficult to learn and enjoy.

Dark Age of Camelot: Shrouded Isles is a must-buy for any hardcore fan of the game. Maybe that's a bit blunt, but there it is. It adds new content, new classes, and new races, but most of all it add an update to the graphics. While the graphics aren't as cutting edge as games that have been released in the last year and change, the difference between the look of the original game and the expansion shines like a beacon in the night. Flowing water looks especially realistic. I spent quite some time exploring the river that runs through Camelot Hills and Salisbury Plains, although I quickly learned that the Salisbury Giants weren't as captivated by the water's beauty as I was. With those long legs of theirs, they can quickly stomp a poor adventurer into a puddle of goo. Where this graphics boost really helps is with the "realm versus realm" battles; while there is still some lag occasional lag (as with all online games), it stays playable, unlike before.

While many may be confused by the title as having some relation to the movie or book, the game has nothing to do with the movie. Novalogic has created a game, which is centered on operations carried out by the 10th mountain division (light infantry) and members of Task Force Ranger (US Army Rangers and Delta Force). The peacekeeping mission was known as Operation Restore Hope. In the early 90's the horn of Africa was enraged by a bloody civil war and a famine, which had already killed 300,000 people. In response the United Nations sent peacekeepers to bring aid and stability to the country of Somalia. The United States had a separate mandate after peacekeeping, which was to capture a powerful warlord named Mohammed Farrah Aidid who used starvation to gain support among the Somali citizens. How does the game fair?