BlueSmoke - Guide : Holiday Buyers Guide 2001
BlueSmoke - Guide : Holiday Buyers Guide 2001
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Date | : Dec 19th, 2001 | ||
| Genre | : Various | |||
| Developer | : Various | |||
| Author | : Jin-Ning Tioh | |||
Scribbling down "new pants" or "new coat" for little Joe or Mary? Hoping they'll scream in delight seeing yet another sweater or coat, having received one for the past ten years in a row? An unlikely fantasy. So cross "new sweater" and "new pants" off that list for little Mary and Joe, grab your credit card off the till and head on down to your local retail store to grab the latest games on the market. And after that, delight in watching as cute little Joe and Mary begin fragging Nazi troopers, officers and the undead into little, bloody pixels on the floor, all while screaming ghoulishly in their little high-pitched voices - In the nicest possible way of course.
But first, which games are deserving of little Joe and Mary's attention? Historically the holiday season is the time of year in which gaming sales begin to boom, explaining why all the good games hit store shelves during late fall. This is the time of the year when the big guns come out blazing with all their latest titles, looking to grease the wheels of capitalism. Of course, you'll want to know which of those guns are shooting blanks before you slap a fat wad o' cash on the counter, which is exactly what we're here for.
Keep in mind however, that gamers are a selective bunch. Contrary to what one might believe, there is no "model" gamer. Most gamers are unique in their tastes, and might even screw up their noses in disgust if titles of the "wrong" genre are given out to them. Try feeling out the recipient, to see what they like. Or, simply stuff a fat wad of cash in their pockets and bring them on a shopping spree to your local retail outlet. Don't worry about a lack of games - Every gamer usually has five or six games they're drooling over. Find out which ones!
Within this feature, our readers will find suggestions for all the gamers in their life. Ranging from PC titles tailored to please brain-busting puzzle solvers, to fast-paced shooters for arcade fanatics, we'll even be looking back a little at some of the titles you might have missed from earlier in the year, from must-have expansion packs, some budget titles worth scooping up, to other gaming gift ideas. So saddle up and pay close attention, and you just might find the ideal gifts for your friends and loved ones.
For the most part, action games typically rely more on hand / eye coordination than on story and strategy. Forget about tweaking a character and fine-tuning his stats during a two month quest for the one ring or to kill Bhaal. Nope. Action games are hardwired for pure pulse thumping thrills. Yep. Just point, aim and shoot - Hence the reason these titles are the center for social criticism and political rhetoric. But there are other action games that are more complex, and contain the depth and intricate mechanics to appease both action buffs and sim lovers. From squad-based tactical action to simple shooters, the action genre represents a broad range of mental challenges and simple thrills. Here are some of PC gaming's most adrenaline pumping offerings.
Old skool gaming veterans and bright-eyed FPS newbies mix in the highly anticipated sequel to the game that started it all - Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Players once again return to save the known world as special agent B.J. Blazkowicz, a U.S. army ranger recruited into the Office of Secrets. Utilizing the Quake III engine, Return to Castle Wolfenstein (RTCW) was developed by Gray Matter under the watchful eyes of id Software. Sure enough, RTCW lives up to its lofty history, pleasing hard-core FPS fans and bringing the genre to the next level. The single-player campaign pits you again the Nazis and the undead of Hitler's mysterious Paranormal Division. Uncovering a ceremony to raise a once all-powerful Dark Knight, Blazkowicz must deal with Hitler's loyal officers and his armies of abominations. "Visit" dozens of realistic locations, including airbases, archeological dig sites and small peaceful towns. Driven by a tight storyline, the game also manages to throw extra challenges at you by creating secret areas and hidden treasure to be uncovered. More than the single-player campaign however, is the much praised multiplayer function. Developed by Nerve Software, the multiplayer function keeps things going long after the end of the single-player game. Multiplayer pits players in the classic battle between the Axis against the Allies, requiring them to choose between several different classes such as soldiers, lieutenants and engineers in order to complete each level's objectives. Each class has its own special function, and a balanced team is critical to success. For example, engineers carry limited weapons, but have explosive charges to blow through obstacles. Maps are equally interesting, with several objectives on each map. Some may require you to steal documents, some require the demolition of certain machines or obstacles, and some require the capture of certain command points on the map. It requires more teamwork and strategy than a lot of other FPS games, and just about anyone who has tried the popular multiplayer test version can attest to it's quality. A must-have on any action gamer's list this year. |
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A good, solid shooter, players assume the role of young, rebellious and idealistic Parker. Signing up for a tour of duty on the Red Planet's mining colonies, he was only trying to shake himself out and take back control of his life. Instead, he lost his freedom entirely and ended up little better than slave labor in Ultor Corporation's secret Mars labor camps. With guards posted everywhere and a plague ravaging the miners, only a mysterious figure known as EOS and the Red Faction speak out against the Ultor Corporation. One day however, a small rebellion begins in the mines, and Parker and his other miner buddies are forced into the fighting. As Parker, you must now uncover the reasons behind the plague and help free the miners. But hey, it's a revolution. Join now! Red Faction features the new and fancy "Geo Mod" technology. This feature allows you to use explosives, rocket launchers and other weapons to blast holes and tunnels through the walls, rock and almost just about anything else. Need to enter a room but don't have the key card? Blow a hole through the wall. Snipers in the towers causing you grief? Annihilate those support beams and watch that pesky guard fly out the tower, with the tower crumbling into rubble behind him. Geo Mod makes a game world even more believable than ever, and also proves to be great fun. More than that however, Geo Mod is a new introduction to the genre, making this title revolutionary in its own way. Also featured are some really entertaining and destructive vehicles like submarines, fliers, and tanks. When you get behind the wheel of one of these vehicles, you are quickly reminded of Volition's roots in the popular Descent series, allowing you to fly around in six degrees of freedom and do battle with other enemy vehicles in tight areas. The vehicles are really almost as entertaining as the rest of the game. While not quite as popular as Return To Castle Wolfenstein, Red Faction also features a multiplayer function, including the traditional deathmatch and capture the flag modes. Weapons like the Precision Rifle and the Rail Driver, which by the way, can shoot through walls and has a scope that lets you see hidden heat signatures, keep things frantic, making for a tense game of run n' gun. The game even comes with its level editor, which means that there's a horde of 3rd party maps to be downloaded and enjoyed. So sign up, and experience the revolution! |
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Surely anyone who has been an action gamer within the past year will have heard of the vastly popular and hyped-up Max Payne. An outstanding and vastly superior 3rd person shooter, Max Payne's "Bullet Time" helps ensures that this original action game ain't just different from just about any other shooter to date, but also in many other ways, way above the rest. And while the single-player campaign is comparatively short, the graphics showcased there are some of the best the gaming industry has ever been witness to. In this self-titled game, you are Max Payne, a cop who's deep undercover and framed for the murder of his own wife and kids. With the mob and the cops hot on your tail, and a furious blizzard burying New York faster than a gravedigger's shovel, the odds are longer than any sane man would take. Fortunately, you aren't the exact definition of a sane man right now. Max must wade his way through the dark plot and mow down thugs or corrupt officers in dark alleys or wealthy office buildings. Bullets will rip the environment to shreds. You must leap behind counters and roll into a room, guns blazing. Above all however, you must keep your wits about you and even escape fire-bombed labs and car packs filled with deadly assailants. Every minute of it keeps you on the edge of your seat. As mentioned earlier, the biggest hook that Max Payne has to offer is the much touted "Bullet Time". Through an intense focusing of will and concentration, Max is able to achieve a state where time slows down around him. Dodge bullets and watch the bullets fly in a wave of ripples around you during a raging fire fight in real-time, and carefully take aim and extract your sweet payback. It's like a scene right out of The Matrix! Nothing else in the gaming world so far really gives you quite the same rush. Without a doubt this is simply the most cinematic game of the year, blowing the competition away in a rain of bullet fire. |
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The much awaited sequel to the immensely popular first-person shooter Alien Vs. Predator, Aliens Vs. Predator 2 allows players to once again take on the role of either a human Colonial Marine, armed with the latest in technological kick-ass weaponry and heavy armor, a Predator, an amazing creature that can turn invisible and toss even Arnold across a jungle like a rag doll, or a wall-crawling, head-biting Alien. Aliens vs. Predator 2 is set on LV-1201, a harsh and desolate planet on the fringe of colonization. While the Aliens have lived on this planet for hundreds of years, Predators have also been coming to LV-1201 for the sport of hunting one of the most dangerous creatures in the universe. Humans are new to the scene, but they have landed quite a force to try colonize the planet. However, all three races are hostile towards each other, and on the same rock, well, you're bound to see quite a bit of action, with 21 single-player missions and dozens of multiplayer maps. The world of Aliens and Predators is brought to live with such vivid detail that not many games do quite as good a job at placing you inside a movie. From the level design and the lighting, to the music and sound effects, it's as surreal a world as you're ever likely to get. From crawling on the ceiling as an Alien, to hunting down Aliens as a Predator, or releasing charges of energy from the Colonial Marine's pulse rifle, few games have done as good a job at allowing you to chomp off some one's head or blast sticky, slimy aliens. With three very different sets of weapons and abilities, a veteran game developer at the handles, a powerful 3D engine and a rich planet to explore, Aliens Vs. Predator 2 will quench the desire of many shooter fans, and is a must-have on any action gamer's list this year. |
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The cold war was a tense time for both US and Soviet forces. Two superpowers, each with the power and the arsenal the likes of which was capable of destroying nations, yet unable to do so for fear of a cataclysmic war. But what if... What if there was a small isolated ground conflict between US and Soviet forces? What if... a group of soldiers suddenly find themselves in a regional conflict that may ignite the world? That's the flashpoint, and that's exactly where you'll find yourself if you pick up this tactical hit. Although out for several months, Operation Flashpoint might prove an ideal gift for friends and family who love tactic-intensive shooters. Featuring a realistic simulation of squad-based warfare on the front, a single bullet to the head can kill instantly. Real military equipment including jeeps, trucks, tanks and choppers are used. You'll drive refugees away from a besieged town in the back of a transport truck, scout out enemy territory in a jeep, and take to the skies to rain death from above. The game world is realistically rendered, with roads, hills, villages and forests populating the island. While details may appear to be blocky up close, players simply have to consider the sheer size of each map to appreciate it. An engaging single-player campaign is also featured, covering your rise from a simple grunt till you get your own command, ordering your squad mates to perform various objectives. A multiplayer function is also available, allowing you and your squad mates to sneak around abandoned farmhouses and commander vehicles. In conclusion, Operation Flashpoint isn't for every gamer, but tactical gamers who love complex gameplay coupled with a huge and truly memorable game world and who don't already have it would welcome it as a fantastic gift. |
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Six years ago, Red Storm released Rainbow Six, and practically invented the "tactical" shooter genre. Instead of the traditional run n' gun shooters being released at the time, Rainbow Six forced you to plan and think your way through a variety of counter-terrorist missions. Now, after years of refinement with Rogue Spear, Black Thorn and countless other mission packs, Red Storm has finally set their sights on a much larger arena - The world of open-field infantry combat. The year is 2008, and ultra-nationalists have seized power in the former Soviet Republic, bringing the world to the brink of war. You lead a squad of elite soldiers outfitted with the latest technology the Army has to offer and trained in the latest military techniques to handle any situation. You are the Ghosts, a squad now tasked with bringing the situation under control, through a series of 15 missions, across a variety of real-world Eastern European locations. Large, open stretches of space mark each mission. No longer are you confined to tight indoor spaces and strict rules of engagement - Instead, out in the field, you just simply need to get the job done. Recon the area beforehand, decide which members of your squad to send in, assigning waypoints, assume control of any soldier in the mission - It's all in your hands. To handle the huge maps on which missions take place, Ghost Recon also sports a brand-new graphics engine, capable of some impressive weather effects and pretty graphics. Also, a large number of player animations were motion-captured to add to the realism of both the soldiers and the enemy. Once you're done saving the world from the ravages of war, go online with up to 36 other players - As many as nine on four squads - And take part in the action with several multiplayer modes, including deathmatch, teamplay, a search-and-rescue mode and even a co-op mode to allow players to team up as a squad to sneak and gun their way through the game's campaign. With enough real-world weapons to arm a small army, from rifles and pistols to grenades and anti-tank rockets, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon probably comes closer than any PC simulation to capturing the true essence of 21st-century infantry warfare. Just about anyone looking for something new and exciting may just find what they're looking for here. Be sure to check it out. |
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Tired of all that tactical "plan and think your way through missions" bullcrap? Well, then this should be right up your alley. Introducing Serious Sam : The First Encounter, a shooter with non-stop action, violence, gibs and absolutely no attempt at remotely thinking opponents at all. Players take on the role of Sam "Serious" Stone, a special forces dude with an arsenal big enough to take over a few, small nations. Single-handedly. And when Earth is invaded by the alien hordes of the twisted Mental, it is up to Sam to go back into the distant past, destroy Mental, and save the world from future invasion. Yep, and naturally he has to do it all single-handedly. Alone. Unassisted. Well, except for NETRICSA (NEuroTRonically Implanted Combat Situation Analyzer), a small, often irritating computer with a SERIOUS attitude problem implanted inside Sam's skull. The computer has access to all Sam's audio-visual experiences and can provide him with often useful feedback on weapons, locations, enemies, as well as other tactical information. Serious Sam doesn't bother with smart, twisted adversaries. Instead, levels often see you having a good 'ol time fragging hundreds of enemies ranging from harpies to small poisonous toads. All rushing at you at once. Not to worry, from your grand selection of weapons, including shotguns, Tommy guns, lasers, cannons and rocket launchers, you shouldn't have a problem handling them all. Opponents don't make even the slightest effort to avoid gunshots, choosing to overwhelm you with their numbers instead. Too bad for them it had to be Sam they were charging at. All this take place in ancient Egypt, beautifully rendered with great rolling deserts and exquisitely detailed pyramids and structures. The excellent graphics engine help ensure that all this runs beautifully and smoothly on a moderately decked out system, even in the midst of hundreds of skeletons, mechs and other bad-ass monsters. It's an extremely fast-paced first-person shooter, featuring dozens of weapons and monsters. Then again, the game has a lot of other great qualities, such as its excellent multiplayer mode. Especially enjoyable is its co-op mode, allowing players to team up against the hordes of Mental. Greater still, all this comes with a extremely low price tag, making this the perfect gift for newly started FPS players and "seriously" hard-core FPS fans. A small holiday reminder though. Serious Sam : The First Encounter has already been released for quite a few months, so be sure to check if your future recipient already has this excellent title in his or her collection. Good fragging and happy holidays! |
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Involving player's in a journey of exploration and puzzle solving, adventure or puzzle games are created for those players who would rather challenge their mental prowess rather than test their coordination. Great classics include LucasArt's Grim Fandango and Monkey Island series, which has entertained thousands of players around the globe for years. Ignore those sourpusses who declare the genre is dead and cold - A brilliant adventure title can last for years. And with hundreds more new players warming up to the pleasures of puzzle solving, the genre is experiencing some of the most imaginative settings and whimsical plots ever conceived. Here are some of PC gaming's most brain-busting titles.
A few years ago, J.K. Rowling began a phenomenon with her first fantasy novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Now, the incredibly popular series has dominated not only the fantasy novel scene, but has also spread into Hollywood, with the first movie in the series being released to some of the highest sales ever recorded in history. Not only Hollywood has been affected. Now, the series has arrived to gaming audiences as a series of cross-platform action-adventure games published by Electronic Arts. As the orphaned young wizard Harry Potter, you will now be able to attend and experience his first year of studies at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Attend classes to learn the arcane arts, including Flipendo and even Wingardium Leviosa, the levitation spell. Collect as many of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans as possible, and trade them for collectable trading cards of various famous wizards throughout history. Play Quidditch, guide Harry in his role as a seeker and capture the Golden Snitch. More importantly however, foil the plot of your parents' killer, the evil Lord Voldemort. Explore the world of fantasy and magic in a beautifully detailed 3D game world. The developers have certainly tapped into the Unreal engine's vast potential to re-create J.K. Rowling's fantasy world. Wandering ghosts, animated suits of armor, and other students populate this fantasy world. Spells are cast with attractive particle effects, and the spookier portions of the game are successful in adding to the atmosphere, with light and shadows being effectively utilized. The atmosphere is also enriched by composer Jeremy Soule's work, his music adding depth and soul to the game. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone will make the ideal gifts for younger fans of J.K. Rowling's work. Already it has proven itself, with sales topping the charts, beating even the popular people sim "The Sims : Hot Date" down to second place. So be sure to check this title out, and add some magic to a young wizard's holiday season. |
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In 1993, compact discs were beginning to gain both widespread popularity and acceptance. Myst took advantage of the compact discs' huge storage capacity to create a gaming experience unlike any other at the time. It was refreshingly different from most titles being released, nearly all of which included combat in one form of other. Instead, through a nearly transparent point-and-click interface, players navigated past challenging puzzles in a surrealistic island of fantasy origins. It was like wandering into an enchanted art gallery, created from dozens of beautiful static scenes rendered at high resolutions. The concept was so immensely popular that both Myst and its sequel, Riven, have sold approximately 10 million copies worldwide to date. Now, with thousands of fans worldwide, the fantasy returns back to the gaming scene with Myst III : Exile, a game that builds on the legacy of the series to provoke an awe-inspiring sense of wonder. Central to the stories in Myst and Riven are the D'ni, a race with the ability to write magical books that create links to other worlds, described by them as "ages". In Myst, you learnt that Atrus, a part-D'ni scribe, imprisoned his malicious sons, Sirrus and Achenar, in other ages and then destroyed the books linking to them, leaving his sons trapped forever. Myst III : Exile builds up on this very mythology, focusing on these two twisted beings. One of the greatest appeals of the Myst series has always been its ability to immerse you in beautifully rendered fantasy worlds. The same is true here. Explore the island of J'Nanin, with its beautifully detailed buildings carved inside gracefully arching giant tusks; The age of Amateria, with its otherworldly amusement park look. Examine carefully rendered machinery, made of fine gears and elegantly carved spindles, or even gigantic flora, with a level of detail practically unseen in any other game. With superbly rendered animations constantly happening around you, and a impressionist, ambient score, the world of Myst seems to come to life, drawing you deeper and deeper into the game world, making sightseeing even more entertaining than ever. With multiple endings, enjoyable yet challenging puzzles, Myst III : Exile proves to be another excellent sequel. However, be forewarned that Myst isn't for everyone. As enjoyable as the puzzles can be, some players may be frustrated with the complexity and toughness of the puzzles. In the end, much of the appeal depends on how much one enjoys puzzle solving, since it is key to progression in the game. If your recipient enjoys intellectual challenges, solid storytelling, and stunning, beautifully rendered scenes, then Myst III will prove to be the perfect gift. But either way, games like Myst III are those games which help to sustain the adventure genre. It certainly is a pity that games like Myst III, or even Monkey Island 4 are becoming more and more of a rarity these days. |
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From the creators of Tomb Raider, comes the Sci-Fi themed action adventure game Project Eden. And while the guns and action prove to be below average, the innovative puzzles and challenging level design will certainly entertain. The setting is a bleak post-apocalyptic Earth a few centuries from now. Due to the huge global population growth over the last few years, the government has built towering skyscrapers, officers and apartments soaring towards the heavens. The rich live at the highest levels, breathing fresh air and enjoying a breath taking view of the sun and sky. The poor and destitute however, reside in dark, polluted slums, filled with dirty, near-unlivable smog, nearly-uninhabitable environments and rampant crime. When equipment begins malfunctioning at the Real Meat Factory, technicians are sent to investigate. However, the technicians fail to turn up soon after being sent down. Concerned, members of the Urban Protection Agency, an elite police force with the right to overcome threats while securing the safety of the citizenry, are sent to recover the missing engineers. Now, venturing into the depths, your team, consisting of four members, must comb through the repulsive and dilapidated surroundings to find the missing engineers. Carter is the acting team leader, information gathering specialist and operator of the remote robot Rover and the aerial camera Flycam. Andre is an engineer, specializing at repairing broken equipment. Minoko is a computer expert who can access download terminals and hack into even the most heavily protected systems. Amber is a mammoth robot, with great firepower and a protective suit design to give her immunity to several environmental hazards. Carter, Andre, Minoko and Amber will have to put their wits together in order to solve puzzles, overcome obstacles and defeat foes. With eleven huge levels filled to the brim with challenging puzzles requiring each and every member of the team to work together and use their respective specialties, players must quickly learn to utilize their team members well and explore the environment carefully to manipulate certain devices if they are to successfully descend further down to a lower section of the city in an elevator. Objectives can range from reuniting the team, fixing broken equipment, to hacking into computer terminals and fragging a bunch of low-ping bastards. This dismal future world is brought to live quite effectively. The huge environments are imaginatively designed and implemented, with outdoor scenes sporting vibrant, unusual futuristic architecture. Several great graphic effects help bring out this dismal world even further, include lighting and shadowing effects, bump mapping, particle effects, volumetric fog, trilinear filtering and even transform and lighting effects. On the whole, the graphics certainly succeeds at communicating the desired moods. While the combat sequences prove to be the weakest link with an unsatisfying gameplay experience, a substantial amount of creativity and ingenuity in the level design helps make Project Eden a worthy title to add to your collection. The puzzles are varied and on the whole very well designed, making this a perfect title for an adventure or puzzle lover. So get a copy and add this to a loved one's adventure collection today! |
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A hybrid of the action and adventure genre, role-playing games can often be found to rely heavily on character growth and development - Which usually involves player statistics, conversation and strategic combat rather than puzzle-solving. Huge, epic quests set in vast, fantasy worlds filled with hundreds of non-player characters and side quests usually sets this genre apart from the other more traditional genres. And if the cash registers are registering correctly, then it should be quite save to say that these titles in which we spend countless hours dragging characters through monster filled dungeons or exploring beautiful fantasy realms are quite popular. There's just something enticing about the way these titles whisk us from the drags of real life and immerse us in fantasy worlds of epic proportions. And recently, dozens of online RPGs have started growing more and more popular, including EverQuest, Asheron's Call and Dark Age of Camelot. Here are some of this year's best and most involving RPG titles.
From the creators of Fallout, comes an RPG filled with guns, explosives, swords and sorcery - Arcanum : Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. It is the 19th century, and the formerly undisputed arcane ways of magic have now come under fire by the new arts of technology. Suddenly, trains, electricity, and flintlock pistols have spread like wild fire around the land. One by one the weak have now grown strong, as using these tools of destruction require little skill. Without a doubt one of the best RPGs released this year, Arcanum features a massive and sprawling story and game world. And while the main quest is overwhelming in its own right, the game also offers thousands of side-quests. Some of these side quests include settling a dispute between two seers, freeing the spirit of an old woman, as well as collecting taxes for the king of Cumbria, to name a few. Side quests often force players to make a moral decision. This can help you earn a reputation in towns and cities, to either foster closer ties with its inhabitants, or earn a notorious reputation for yourself. Players retain the ability to customize characters more than ever possible before. Besides the eight usual fields - Willpower, perception, intelligence, charisma, strength, dexterity, constitution and beauty, players can now decide their character's alignment towards magic or technology. Characters must learn three categories : Skills, Spell Colleges and Technological Disciplines. Skills consists of social, combat, thieving and technological skills. Spells are divided into 16 Spell Colleges, with each college containing five different spells each. As for the new arts of technology, they are divided into eight Technological Disciplines. Your level of expertise in each field of technology decides what technological wonders you can create. This comes in the form of degrees, which can be purchased or negated. Higher level spells can be learnt if a person has a high willpower rating, while technology usually requires a higher intelligence rating. A realistic combat system also exists in this beautiful world. Enemies can inflict realistic injuries ranging from scars to limps. These can seriously affect your speed, or even your fighting abilities. Fighting styles are also affected heavily depending on a player's decision to lean more towards technology and magic. Several technological items like revolvers and healing salves can be created by combining several items, like combining filaments and lamps to create a electric light via electric or combining roots and leaves to create healing antidotes via herbology. Spells are the usual fanfare - Just learn em' and cast em'. In addition, a Non-Player Character's reaction towards you will be heavily affected. For example, if you play the technologist, folks dealing with magic will have a negative reaction towards you, as well as refusing to sell you any of their goods. The same applies to using magic too heavily. Some might even not join your cause! You can however, choose to walk the middle path by keeping a balance on your magical and technological skills. Hell, being male or female even affects the side quests you can take! For example, as a female, you get to 'service' customers for a brothel. You'll also be forced to take other measures to enter the Wellington Gentlemen's Club in Tarant by either killing Mr. Wellington and his bodyguard, or by 'servicing' him and then paying 200 gold pieces. The choice is pretty obvious. The level of interactivity within the game is amazing. Use dynamite to blow up those safes who just refuse to open. Take off your clothes to make someone beg you to have the decency to put them back on. Drink wine to temporarily raise your strength to insane heights! Combined with your considerable arsenal of skills and weapons, nothing can stand in your way! Okay, maybe a few technological horrors or well armed brigands here and there, but still... For those of you who enjoy adventuring and slashing through baddies with friends, Arcanum offers a multiplayer mode where you can play with or against friends. Though multiplayer is fun, it's ultimately a little disappointing. The multiplayer maps are much smaller than those in the single-player game, the game suffers from lag, and since you can't import your character from the single-player game you have to start off with a low-level character. All this takes place in an incredibly well-designed and vibrant world. Buildings and other stationary objects are well designed and highly detailed. The game's graphics are also very effective, with players being barely able to see a thing at night. And yes we tried the "turn up the brightness till your eyes crack" trick. This incredibly beautiful world is only enhanced by its sad and haunting music, matching the environment perfectly. Arcanum is a fantastic game that will keep even the dedicated hard-core RPG fan enthralled for hours and hours. The idea of bringing in guns and technology into the fantasy world of magicks and dragons is refreshingly original. The graphics are nice and make for a highly detailed and beautiful world to be engaged in. It is definitely a must have on any RPG fan's list. If you're serious about role-playing games, then Arcanum is well worth the investment of time, money, and effort.
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Japanese role-playing games have proven time and time again to be a staple of console gaming, containing some extremely popular role-playing games including the highly popular Final Fantasy series. But ever since the introduction of Square's Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII to the PC, this sub-genre of the RPG genre has been virtually nonexistent on the PC. Hearing the grieving cries of the gamers, developer Ion Storm is attempting to redress the situation with Anachronox, a Final Fantasy-inspired game designed specifically for the PC. And although some minor rough spots are dotted throughout the game, Anachronox is a solid addition to the genre, ranking high on the unfortunately short list of games that manages to actually maintain an actual sense of humor and personality such as Giants : Citizen Kabuto and Grim Fandango. You are Sylvester "Sly" Boots, a down-on-his-luck private detective living in a futuristic city built on a mysterious, giant alien artifact. And not unlike the lovable gumshoe detective Tex Murphy, Boots has managed to drag himself down into financial ruin, owing money to all the wrong hats around town. His attempts to get a case and pay off his debts eventually leads him off of Anachronox and finally on a quest to save the universe as we know it. Along the way, other characters will also sign-up in Boots' noble quest to save the cosmos. While the case sounds pretty familiar, there's a lot of cleverness in the dialogue and plot details, setting Anachronox apart from the pack. Combat occurs in real-time with each character requiring a varying recovery period between each combat action, kinda in the Final Fantasy style. To cross the field of battle, characters must move between set points on a grid overlaid across the battlefield. Players must learn to take advantage of this, as this combat system allows for a real difference between melee and ranged weaponry. Characters armed with long ranged weapons may safely open fire from a distance, while combatants armed with melee weapons must charge in a mad rush to reach and attack opponents. However, this carries the possibility of blocking the line of sight of characters farther away. While it's a simple enough feature, it effectively breaks the monotony of the "attack and heal" routine found in many other such RPG games. The combat system becomes increasingly complicated when the mysterious "mystech" is introduced. Mystechs are chunks of rock that are imbued with various powers such as the ability to shoot balls of fire and summon ice storms. Called the elementor system, it allows one to socket various colored bugs into your mystech and then level them up, creating a huge variety of different effects in the tradition of Final Fantasy VII's materia system. Each of the games's seven characters have a series of unique special attacks, which helps form Anachronox's "magic" system. This only adds another layer of depth to the combat system which should help satisfy many RPG fans. Although the world of Anachronox is brought to life on id Software's dated Quake II engine, the graphics still manage to rate as pretty damn beautiful. While environments and characters can prove to be somewhat blocky, the level design and character design more than compensate for the relative lack of polygons. The ability to render facial animations has also been implemented, permitting the characters to seem more life-like than ever. Most of the environments, especially the alien city of Anachronox itself, are filled with dozens of little details that help bring the city to life. Coupled with sound effects of high quality and competent voice acting, Sylvester and his crew are made all the more memorable. Anachronox manages to reward players with an interesting combat system, great dialogue, great voice acting, and a beautiful world to explore. While basically it's a by-the-book entry in an established genre, its genuinely funny sense of humor helps set it apart from the rest of the pack. A must-have on both an RPG or even action / adventure fan's list this year. |
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20 years ago, in a galaxy not so far away, Sir-Tech Canada created the first episode in the popular and venerable Wizardry series. Fondly known among grizzled veteran gamers as one of the "old school" games, Wizardry VIII now marks the end of the series. Not being one to allow the series to go out quietly however, Sir-Tech has managed created one of the deepest, most solid RPG experiences ever - A fitting end indeed for such a popular series. This role-playing experience took an incredible amount of time to develop, having being plagued by the lost of its regular US publisher and going through numerous development changes over the last four years, only being released by means of a direct distribution deal with retailer Electronics Boutique. Creating a game of Wizardry VIII's size, technical stability, and overall quality truly is a remarkable achievement, and players should appreciate all the difficulties that Sir-Tech has had bringing the game to market. The setting is a futuristic yet dark medieval time, with both spaceships, androids, swords and magic dominating the scene. Continuing the storyline of Wizardry VII : Crusaders of the Dark Savant, the Dark Savant has taken flight with a device called the Astral Dominae, an incredibly powerful artifact containing the secret of life itself. Now, scheming to reunite two powerful artifact to become the most powerful figure that history has ever known, the Dark Savant has traveled to the planet of Dominus, a world on the cusp of the Cosmic Circle, birthplace of the Astral Dominae and home of the Cosmic Lords. Hot in pursuit however, are the two powerful races, the T'Rang and the Umpani, as well as your own brave party of adventurers. With the T'Rang and the Umpani occupied, it is now up to your party to find that artifact first and secure the fate of the cosmos. Creating characters can prove to be interesting. The character creation system is not difficult to use, and it has a lot of options to choose from. Players can pick six from the excellent selection of pre-made characters, create their own characters from scratch or even import characters from Wizardry VII. After creating six members of the party from the fifteen different professions including the Gadgeteer and eleven races including the Lizardmen, players then distribute points to several attributes, spells are chosen for the magic users and skill points are assigned. Trying to decide what to improve of the over three dozen skills is difficult but probably the most fun part of character creation. When characters rise in level, they receive more points to assign to both their attributes, skills and spells. Characters can also improve their skills over time by using them. Combat comes in two different modes. Players can choose to play with phased or continuous combat. Continuous combat is effectively real-time, and phased combat allows players time to catch their breath and think. However, characters are intelligent and will automatically try to attack the enemy closest to them, though they won't use spells, and if you don't turn off the auto weapon switching option, they'll select their ranged and melee weapons without your interference. Enemy A.I. also proves to be an equally good boon to the game. Most games of this type simply have enemies engage until one side or the other is dead. Here however, enemies which are scared or blinded will often run far away. Losing most of their companions or taking severe damage can also cause them to flee. The one weak point is that they will still engage initially even if they are seriously outclassed. Well, is not as if they have choice, do they? Wizardry VIII is brought to life with well designed indoor and outdoor areas, each area possessing a distinct look to set it apart from the other equally creative scenes. Creatures also change "skins" when damaged, with wounds being readily apparent, giving players some idea of how close they are to death. As an added bonus, Wizardry VIII also features plenty of competent voice acting and wonderful sound effects to match. Characters shout out if they spot enemies, and even comment on an enemy's toughness. Characters also develop ties to each other, either expressing their regret or bidding a hearty "Good riddance" when a fellow member dies, depending on their relationship. This help your characters express their personalities, making them more memorable in a sense. Ambient sounds also abound on this world, and the music changes with the situation, especially if you are approaching danger. An outstanding example of addictive gameplay, good graphics and fantastic sounds plus voice acting, Wizardry VIII is a worthy finale to the Wizardry series, as well as an excellent RPG in its own right. It has everything you could possibly ask for in a role-playing game, and should find a place in many a RPG fan's collection this holiday season. |
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Gamers are a selective bunch. Such has been established long ago. And surprisingly, some gamers find no pleasure in the world of swords, magic and fantasy. Rather, they prefer the organic realism and logic of a simulation game. And although the genre can range from furiously fast-paced space combat simulators to entertaining people sims, most of these products have one thing in common - A strict adherence to at least some part of reality. Here are some of the year's best and most engaging sims.
Over the past few years or so, space sims have continued to decline significantly, with few good titles ever making it to store shelves. One such title is Particle Systems' latest release - Independence War 2 : The Edge of Chaos. Sequel to the first massively successful Independence War released in 1998, which was lauded for its original design and innovative gameplay, Particle Systems have managed to create yet another solid addition to the genre, standing high in the short list of "free-form" games with Elite, Privateer and Tachyon : The Fringe. Such games allow space sim fans to take on the roles of either a pirate or a privateer who can then freely roam through an expansive star system, looting merchants, taking on missions and destroying enemy factions, giving players a sense of true freedom to do whatever they pleased. The game is set far into the future, long after the war for independence that formed the basis for the plot of the original game. The once all-powerful central government has lost much of its influence after several large corporations began gaining power, utilizing their research and discovery of new technology to their benefit. Corporations have also began overrunning several independent settlements, effectively producing an unlimited source of slave labor. Simmering with revenge, your character is determined to extract his vengeance from the corporations for the brutal murder of his father. Gaining a reputation through pirating and aligning yourself with the various factions that will at times request your services, you and your motley crew must now brave the challenges ahead of them. To help advance the well-crafted and engaging plot, beautifully done cinematics have been created, including an introduction that rivals the original game's opening in both length and quality. Renowned for its realistic physics system, players are given the opportunity to take control of larger ships, including corvettes and many other sizeable ships. Initially however, players will be limited to steering less intimidating craft, such as fighters. Unlike in the original game, players now have a streamlined, more consistent interface which allows you access to the four sub-systems - Command, navigation, engineering and weapons, from a single perspective, instead of switching between the four different systems stations. This helps to make the systems easier to manage, which should prove to be a boon to at least some fans. Perhaps the only space sim that effectively conveys the immense distances involved in both intrastellar and interstellar travel, the only manageable way to travel sizeable distances between destinations is to engage your LDS (Linear-Displacement Drive System). Your LDS allows you to travel at incredible speeds, with your craft speeding past dozens beautifully rendered planets and suns. This allows battles to occur at tremendous speeds, with players being able to flee to a less vulnerable position in desperate situations. Beware however, as accelerating your velocity and exceeding the limits imposed by nearby stations invites additional grief from nearby patrols. Of course, you can always choose to travel to certain destinations using jump gates called Lagrange points, provided that your ship is equipped with a capsule engine drive. Your LDS is also capable of rapidly, completely repairing even hull damage. However, enemy crafts frequently use missiles that will prevent you from engaging your LDS drive, and all installations will also generate their own anti-LDS fields. Trading is a simple affair, allowing players to acquire a small fleet of wingmen. Still, it's rather addictive to raid passing transports for spare parts, allowing you to either trade them for more useful items, or to improve your small fleet of ships. There are dozens of different weapons, pieces of equipment and other cargo items that you can acquire or even manufacture in this sci-fi universe. Players might easily find themselves spending a significant amount of time acquiring better equipment, weapons and shields, as this can prove to be a very enjoyable hobby. Moreover, players will find it easier to complete more difficult missions with such advanced weaponry. The cosmos are rendered in crisp and colorful detail, bringing a sense of realism to players, something the French call "I don't know what". The graphics engine also allows for several different high resolutions, increasing the sharpness and beauty of the details. Unfortunately however, your ship's HUD is not capable of scaling, making it less readable at sharper or higher resolutions. Players receive ample opportunity to enjoy the beautiful graphics, traveling past several different interstellar phenomena scattered throughout the cosmos. A third-person perspective is also used during important events, such as docking at bases or interacting with any other objects. Ships, asteroids, explosions and other objects are rendered in incredible detail, with even stone chips splintering off asteroids when fired upon. Combined with a high-quality soundtrack which helps set the mood, being a pirate has never been this much beautiful or fun! All in all, Particle Systems has successfully created a solid game boasting almost everything that fans of the genre have been waiting faithfully for years to play. With a polished interface, an effective and unique control system, varied and interesting mission goals, a highly entertaining plot to unfold, and an elaborate, open-ended environment to explore, there are few other ways in which the game could have been improved further. You can easily spend days just exploring the different solar systems and stealing or manufacturing enhancements to your fleet of ships. A definite must have for fans of this long-starved genre this holiday season. |
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A few years ago, Maxis - A company made famous by its dozens of "sim" games, including the heralded Simcity, decided to put a new spin on our mundane everyday lives with their newest title then - The Sims. Controlling a household of miniature people, or sims, players would help conduct their virtual household's everyday duties, feeding them, bathing them, sending them to work, and having them meet and interact with other computer-controlled sims from the local neighborhood. Since then, The Sims have become a massive success the world over. Gamers huddled in little groups discussing their sims' jobs, furnishing, houses, relationships and lives. In fact, The Sims became so popular, that already two expansion packs have been released on to the market, Livin' Large and House Party, which features dozens of additional household items, new events and well... new sadistic ways to "murder" your sims. While all this helped keep the sims' domestic lives interesting, The Sims' appeal would wear out quickly if something new and radical did not make it onto the monitors of thousands of gaming fans. Introducing The Sims : Hot Date, the third expansion pack to be released for The Sims. Possibly the best expansion pack of them all yet, Hot Date doesn't only provide new household amenities, but also features several new add-ons, including the ability to present certain hand-made or bought items as gifts to other sims. The most exciting and interesting add-on however, is the entirely brand spanking new downtown area, allowing players to finally guide their sims out of the house and into the exciting and often turbulent world of dating. As before, sims communicate with each other in "simlish", an expressive but almost certainly unintelligible gibberish language. However, Hot Date features several new simlish phrases, new character voices and most importantly, an expanded set of social options. Wave instead of greeting new sims, or choose between a more "friendly" type of hug or a more "romantic" embrace. This particular option can prove to be especially important, as a wrong decision on a date could cause your sim's gate to get up and walk out on him / her. Another important feature is the equally new attribute for your sims - Interests. Topics ranging from money, the weather, technology to the '60s can prove crucial if you want to impress your date. If your sim gets along well enough with his / her date, the two can get married, and your sim's fiancé or fiancée will move into your house and become a regular sim under your control. However, getting far enough into a relationship to get married can prove difficult, and experienced The Sims players should be able to appreciate how difficult it is to juggle your career, daily habits and other needs without having to care about a budding relationship. Fortunately, Hot Date comes equipped with a number of new features to help out. Most noticeable is the new relationship meter to help indicate how well your courtship is coming along. It comprises of a current relationship meter and a long-term meter. Players must satisfy these two bars if the wedding bells are to ring. Hot Date's new downtown feature can help out in this respect. Hot Date's most significant addition is naturally the new downtown area. To head downtown, sims simply phone a cab to take them downtown for either a date, or even to enjoy the dozens of amenities available there. The several lots downtown consists of shopping centers, recreation areas, restaurants or even nightclubs. Downtown features lots of brand-new, downtown-only buildings and items, such as food vendors, clothing stores, picnic areas and duck ponds that your sims can visit to occupy themselves, and a few neat items, like the restaurant booth seat, which allows sims to sit down and get to know each other better. To help players balance their sims' careers and dating lives, all the time you spend downtown takes place independent of time at home. In other words, although your sims will still get hungry, tired or dirty as usual, the clock will actually reset to the time when they left when they go home. This feature is probably the only thing making having both a relationship and a job possible. To make things even more interesting, players can actually build their own custom lot in a reserved empty lot downtown, in exactly the same way you built and design your sim's house. However, Hot Date already comes with a mostly full downtown that's packed full of different places to bring your date. As in your local neighborhood, you can also bulldoze any existing lot and either start another new one from scratch or download a custom lot from the game's official Web site. Although the same old isometric 2D graphics and 3D models are used in Hot Date, a brand new track featuring an excellent jazzy musical score for the downtown area has been included in addition to the new simlish phrases. The new character voices are employed for the brand new cast of sims downtown, featuring cashiers, janitors and even ice cream store clerks. All the new voices have proven appropriate thus far, with some of them sounding genuinely funny. All in all, Maxis has does it again, making an already interesting and fun game well, even more fun to play! Like the previous two expansion packs, Hot Date adds a lot of new items and furnishings for your sims' houses and actually complements each of the two other expansions well, even though neither is required to play Hot Date. Also, its expanded social options and new downtown area should keep fans of the game well occupied this holiday season. Certainly a must have for any true fans of The Sims and its expansion packs. |
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Over the course of history, transportation has always been an important part of our daily lives. Early man traveled on foot, and perhaps in feet operated stone cars. Later, man learned to harnessed the power of animals and created carts and wagons. During the industrial revolution however, man leapt forward, developing cars and the iron horse - Trains. Winding through rugged mountains and misty valleys, railroads can often call to mind images of bygone eras - Steam locomotives rattling over wooden bridges in the Old West as they carried precious silver and gold from the mountains. Passenger trains chugging through tunnels and valleys on a journey to reunite families and long-lost sweethearts. Even today, the sheer size and power of these massive locomotives can evoke a sense of wondrous awe. Now, the same awe and power is captured on the monitors of thousands of gamers in Microsoft's Train Simulator. Train Simulator puts players at the controls of these massive brutes, allowing them to cover more than 600 miles with six different railway routes. Controlling the brakes, horns, whistles, bells, sanders, coal-shoveling rate and even the windshield wipers, players are free to explore and experience a great deal of diversity through the varied routes and engines at their disposal. If you'd like to keep things simple, there are driving aids, such as track monitors and a heads-up display, as well as realism options that can reduce controls to just a few keys for a stress-free ride. Ride along Amtrak's high-speed rail service in the Northeast Corridor and experience the bustling American commuter line. Explore the heart of urban Japan in the Odakyu Electric Railway. Dash across the English countryside in the famous Flying Scotsman. Even witness the glorious Alps in the Venice Simplon Orient Express, back in the 1920s. Editors afford players even more freedom, allowing them to alter routes or even to create their own. The scenery and trains are brought to life with pain-staking attention. With variable weather conditions and time settings, players can expect to see locomotives streak through a rainy night, or through the snow-filled Alps. In addition, each train is carefully modeled and detailed after their real-life counterparts as flawlessly as possible. The countryside and trackside buildings provide plenty of detailed, memorable scenes, from deer crossing the tracks to the tiny churches high up in the Alps. To fully appreciate the view, players can view the action from a number of external and internal views, including from within passenger cars. Add this to some exceptionally realistic sounds effects, such as the shrill whistles of the steam engines, the blaring horns and insistent bells of the diesels or electrics, and finally, subtle touches such as the sound of a piano in an elegant passenger car of the Orient Express, and you have an immersing and enjoyable experience. Anyone with even the remotest interest in trains will likely find themselves immersed in Train Simulator before long. The ability to engage in realistic railroad operations and create new routes should appeal to rail fans and model railroaders alike. Train Simulator is a beautiful and finely crafted joy ride - An ideal gift indeed this holiday season. Already it has proven itself, chugging its way to second place on the charts earlier this year. And with a regional add-on pack for USA and Canada which includes 20 brand new locomotives from Auran, rail fans will undoubtedly be ecstatic with pleasure. Be sure to check this joy ride out. |
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Emphasizing logical thinking and planning, strategy games not only challenge our minds, but also our coordination. They often stress resource and time management, which usually takes precedence over fast action and character involvement. Tactical organization and execution are crucial, and even a slight misstep can signify victory or defeat in tight situations. Strategy games can be divided into two major sub-genres - real-time strategy games and turn-based strategy. RTS games add an active element and often forces players to consider multiple events, all occurring at the same time. TBS games however, allow players to slowly consider passing events and make decisions more carefully. Recently however, RTS games have been proving more popular among players.
This list, more so than the others, was the toughest to build, because this year was filled with great offerings from dozens of talented design studios, including plenty of the big guns. This group of games embraces a broad range of possibilities; from real-time warfare to collectible card games, strategic titles are among the most popular titles in the gaming scene. Here are several titles we have selected as solid representatives of a prospering genre.
Collectible card games have proven to be an enjoyable hobby over the past few years or so. Popular card games such as Magic : The Gathering, and more recently, Pokemon and Harry Potter, are being played by thousands of people around the globe. However, while deck building can be an enjoyable hobby, it is also a costly one. This has been the main factor in preventing thousands more with an opportunity to enjoy the chance of mastering the subtle art of deck building and dueling against one another. Now, rejoice, as the solution to that problem has been released - Etherlords, Nival Interactive's newest 3D turn-based strategy title. The setting takes place in an ever changing universe filled with ether. The World of the Lords, in reality just another clout of ether, is now yet again experiencing the time of changes - A time when once towering mountains are reduced to simple meadows, and great, imposing fortresses reduced to mere mirages. Striving to control the greatest power in the universe, four races and their respective Lords now battle each other in a deadly game to reach the Temple of Time and defeat the White Lord. Will the sacred alliance of the wise Kinets and life-loving Vitals preserve the fragile balance? Or will the brutal Chaots and the mechanical Synthets succeed? You, must decide... Gameplay for Etherlords come in two different basic flavors - strategic and tactical. The strategic form unfolds on the adventure screen, whereas the tactical form goes on during battles in the combat screen. Both forms of the game moves on a step-by-step basis. After giving out the necessary orders to heroes or creatures under your command, you end your turn and move on to the next turn until you have either crushed your opponent or completed the mission. The strategic portion of the game is most similar to the Heroes of Might & Magic series. Players control heroes around maps to acquire resources, capture mines and other structures, and ultimately, destroy enemy castles. The tactical portion of the game is the star attraction of the game. Similarly to Magic : The Gathering, players familiar to collectible card games will quickly adjust to the idea of building up a deck of cards suited to a certain strategy and use it to duel against other opponents. You manipulate cards to build up a powerful force as well as to try overcoming what your opponent might do, drawing on familiar CCG concepts such as tapping, blocking, summoning sickness, walls, flying, trampling, first strike and regeneration. Etherlords features multiplayer support for its duel function, the shining star of the game. Duels take away all traces of the strategic portion of the game and instead focuses solely on the combat portion of the game. They're very flexible outside the strategy game, and you can practically spend hours engaging in dozens of five-minute instant skirmishes with randomly chosen heroes, decks and environments. This not only provides you with a great lunch-break game, but also presents an ideal way to learn the various cards. Here players are given the opportunity to configure their individual decks and heroes. This includes parameters such as resource level, race type, hero level, skills, spells, runes, artifacts, as well as your specialization. The resource level is the amount of resources you have at your disposal to configure your deck. Race types allow you to choose from either one of the four warring races. Your hero level decides the number of life points you possess. Spells are selected from the vast array of ready-made spells for each race. Runes decide the number of times you can cast a spell. Artifacts take no ether to cast in combat, and can perform a series of deadly attacks or curses on your adversary. However, they can only be casted after intervals of several turns. Specializations are unique skills that are available to your hero such as Smoke Resistance, Stones' Wrath, Burn Relief and so on. Only one specialization can be selected for each hero. And while the AI can at times make some interesting yet questionable decisions during combat, it genuinely knows how to use its cards to its advantage, and will probably provide even an experienced collectible card game players with a challenge. Even if it didn't, both Nival and Fishtank have recently commissioned a dedicated team to nurture the growing Etherlords community, with the first official Etherlords tournament taking place from the 19th of December, 2001 till the 21st of January, 2002. The World of Lords is brought to life with beautifully rendered scenes including lush woods, snow, plains, barren ground and even the "Ethereal Arena". Eye candy is plentiful here. On the snow terrain, for instance, snow gently drifts down from the sky, while an icy waterfall cascades down from the side of your screen. The woodlands feature a lush arena of green trees, and the desert has fine sand dunes and detailed columns of rock. To top it off, battles can be played from several key view points as well as by following an automatic camera. The automatic camera is a useful feature as it zooms up to key events happening in a battle, such as creature summonings, blessings, curses and creature fights. This, combined with the incredible amount of details found on characters and creatures, as well as a polygon count of over 50 000 polygons per frame, helps in making Etherlords even more immersive than ever. And coupled with realistic sounds and an above average musical score, Etherlords is a treat to play. Etherlords could hold what some gamers have been waiting for all this time - Great graphics to go with an equally great collectible card game. While several computer games based on collectible card games such as Magic : The Gathering simply featured little pictures of cards, Etherlords manages to bring the card game to a whole new level, with lively and fully 3D creatures and heroes battling in all their glory. A definite must have on any CCG lovers list.
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LucasArts used to be the epitome of a great gaming house. There was a time when every game it produced was a certified winner, especially games inside the Star Wars universe. However, that image has suffered greatly over the past few years, as it started to appear as if the company was milking the Star Wars name more than it was concerned about making top-notch games. This was especially true for LucasArts' first attempt at the RTS genre, Force Commander. Now, attempting to recapture some of the old magic, LucasArts recently released its latest real-time strategy game, Star Wars : Galactic Battlegrounds. Using Ensemble Studios' Genie engine as its backbone, which consequently powered Age of Empires II, LucasArts seeks to overcome its mistakes and finally deliver an RTS game which should please Star Wars fans and real-time strategy fans alike as well as live up to the promise of epic Star Wars battles with a powerful, customizable random-map generator as well as a promising campaign editor. All this takes place during different periods of the Galactic Civil War. Six civilizations wage the terrible battle - The noble Rebel Alliance, the evil Galactic Empire, the money-hungry Trade Federation, the peaceful Royal Naboo, the native Gungans, as well as the intimidating Wookiees. Leading the charge as the Dark Lord of The Sith, Darth Vader, OOM-9, a battle droid commander in the Trade Federation's armies, the fiery Princess Leia of the Rebel Alliance, Chewbacca of the Wookiees, and Boss Nass, leader of the Gungan Grand Army, players will finally be able to decide the final outcome of the Galactic Civil War in six different campaigns... Similarly to the popular Age of Empires II, many missions will also be available, such as treasure-hunt missions, monument-building missions, resource-collection missions and search-and-destroy missions. However, your goal will typically be to wipe the enemy forces off the map by building up your own forces, researching new technology, expanding your territory, and laying siege to the opposing bases. Advancing through the tech levels are also important to keeping your forces armed with the latest in technological weapons. For instance, deploying the Galactic Empire's devastating AT-AT walkers requires you to advance all the way up to tech level four. Thus, powerful units won't be available to generals until late into a match. New twists to the gameplay include power stations, animal nurseries, the Jedi and most importantly, air units. Power stations are required to power up various facilities in a large base. Upon constructing a station, a blue circle displays where your power is maximized. If you build a structure outside of your power base, it will operate at only 25 percent efficiency, causing your troops to be trained slower, starfighters and mechs to be constructed slower, and your research to proceed at only a quarter of its capabilities. Animal nurseries allow players to house up to ten creatures such as nerfs and banthas, which supplies your stockpiles with a steady amount of food. The more nerfs in a nursery, the faster your supply of food increases. Of course you can kill a nerf or bantha for a quick supply of food, but in the long run, housing them in nurseries proves to be more beneficial. The Jedi can be simply described as "super-priests". With powerful melee capabilities and the ability to turn enemy units, the Jedi make powerful allies. The introduction of air units changes the game dramatically, as it adds another dimension to think about when fielding armies. Walls can no longer be used to shut out invaders long enough to marshal your defenses. A general who builds up only his ground forces is courting defeat. Armies such as these only need encounter a squadron of TIE Bombers, Y-Wings, Z-95 Headhunters or TIE Defenders to be wiped off the map in a matter of minutes. However, all is not lost. To defend your armies against such aerial assaults, one must employ the services of anti-air troopers or anti-air mobiles. All it takes is a blast or two from these nasty troopers to reduce starfighters to shredded pieces of junk metal. Attacking a base defended by anti-air turrets with a squadron of fighter or bombers is just as good as suicide. Still, players will have to be mindful of an enemies' air capabilities. The sights that can be found in Battlegrounds are extremely detailed and smooth. The graphics look good, and you'll have no trouble discerning the many familiar units who populate the game worlds. From the smaller stormtroopers to the hulking AT-AT walkers, a full range of different-sized units are offered. The different terrain tile sets, representing the home worlds of the six civilizations as well as other neutral worlds, are also varied and unique in their own way. There are the spice mines of Kessel, the icy snow world of Hoth, the forests of the Wookie home world Kashyyk, the sands of Tattooine, the cloud city of Bespin, the Naboo capital of Theed, the forest moon of Endor and even an imperial held asteroid known as Hanoon. These worlds each have a unique look, emphasizing the diversity of the Star Wars universe. The Naboo tile set includes green fields and toppled statues on the ground, while the deserts of Tattooine feature, well, a whole lot of sand and rocks, punctuated by roaming herds of bantha. Bespin has a metallic and polished look to it, with great spires and floating metal platforms. In addition, these worlds are populated with indigenous creatures, such as rancors and bursas. The sounds are also presented very well, with a lot more speech in comparison with the Age of Empires series. Granted, you can tell that James Earl Jones wasn't used to record Vader's voice, but it sounds good enough. Just hearing Vader say, "All too easy" when ordered to attack a Rebel encampment is enough to bring a smile to your face. Also, the entire collection of music from the Star Wars saga is included and adds tremendously to the game's overall aesthetic value. LucasArts has managed to artfully blend two worlds, one of which is the tried-and-true engine and gameplay of Age of Empires II, as well as the storytelling, art, and design of the seasoned Star Wars designers. Fans of the Star Wars universe will probably jump up and down in excitement watching a legion of AT-AT walkers lumber through the snow with stormtroopers swarming around their feet in Battlegrounds, all while listening to the famous Imperial marching theme. A guaranteed must-get on a strategy gamer's list this year.
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Ever since the invention of the RTS genre, many other games of the same genre have followed, among them the Command and Conquer series, Starcraft, Warcraft and any number of others. Although the games | |||||||||||||||||
