Game Reviews

Handy key to ratings

• * One star
• ** Two stars
• *** Three stars
• **** A whopping four stars

I enjoyed this game quite a bit. The play mechanic is a bit unusual in that it focuses on stealth rather than shooting, and LG did a pretty effective job with it. There are a few rough edges, though. I feel the level designs could have used a bit of extra detailing; for instance you see the same furniture models hundreds of times throughout the game. And the load-times are absolutely horrendous. Still, a good game in my book.

These are considered classic humorous graphic adventures in some circles, and I don't disagree. The interface is straightforward, simple and responsive. Some of the jokes are pretty funny, in this nerd's opinion. The graphics are good for the era (early 90's), but Julie watched me playing and called it "Flemish" (Hee hee!).

My problem with games like these is that they take too long to play, but I employed a reasonable solution, which is to find the spoilers on the 'net, and use liberally.

I'm finally tackling this one. I'm up to about 45 stars. There's an incredible amount of gameplay packed into that little cartridge. I think the camera is the biggest problem with the game, although I'm getting used to it. That, and you can't turn off the music.

I'm not sure I'd call it the best video game of all time; I have a philosophical problem with applying that label to anything. But it's up there among the classics.

I bought this game partly to show off my fancy new computer (PII 300 w/ RIVA 3D accelerator), which it does very well. The first few levels are a little lackluster, IMO, but the level design as well as the game really pick up after that. The graphics are the best I've seen in a video game to date. There are a few small problems (gouraud lighting, various unsightly RIVA quirks), but overall the visuals and sounds are awesome.

The game is pretty engaging as well. There are plenty of cool weapons, puzzles and enemies, and it's set in the Star Wars universe -- what's not to like? Well, I'll tell you: it wasn't quite easy enough for my taste; I don't like to spend so much time on a game anymore. Also, the cut-scene writing, acting and production is a far cry from Star Wars et al, although it does the job.

This was the talk of rec.games.programmer for a while, for good reason. It's a cool little side-scrolling motorbike game, with unusual play mechanics, written by some guy somewhere in Eastern Europe. This kind of quality ought to be rewarded.

Just about right. The engine improvements are nice, although not overwhelming, the 3Dfx driver works nicely, and the gameplay is subtly improved.

Obligatory complaint: the sound latency is terrible. And it's still dark 'n twitchy. But everything out of id since Doom has been dark 'n twitchy, so that's nothing new.

Delivers on about 50% of my adolescent conception of paradise: every arcade game in existence (virtually), no quarters required. MAME is an emulator that runs the original ROMs from a staggering number of 80's arcade games. You can download it for free off the Internet, with a little digging to get the ROM images.

As a gamer, this is an absolute treasure trove. As a game developer, it's an incredible resource -- not only are the undisputed classics available (Space Invaders, Mr. Do, Galaxian, Pac Man, Asteroids, Donkey Kong etc etc), but you can also play some flawed near-classics (Bomb Jack, Time Pilot, Gorf, Burger Time, Omega Race, Discs Of Tron), as well as many out-and-out stinkers (Journey Escape, Space Zap, Satan's Hollow, etc). Playing these old games sheds new light on the adage, "There's a fine line between clever and stupid."

Nearly perfect. An uncanny recreation of that old familiar feeling of blasting through the Arizona desert at absurd speeds in a 70's muscle car, big hair feathering in the wind, hard funk pumping on the 8-track, 9mm machine-gun mounted on the roof.

The cut scenes are worth watching, the music fits the game and is actually listenable, the back story and gameplay elements are fully developed and integrated, and last but not least, the gameplay is solid. Kudos also for a feature that others may consider a bug: it's not too hard, and not too long. I actually appreciate a game I can finish in 10 or 15 hours; I've got other stuff going on in my life, sometimes.

Obligatory technical complaint: I can't figure out how to make it use my 3Dfx Voodoo card instead of the pathetic S3 Virge which is my primary adapter. Oh well, it's perfectly playable in 320x240.

And yet... I can't say I'm not a little disappointed. This game is a lot like Doom. The look, the environments, the mood, the gameplay are really just a refinement of Doom. I guess asking id to repeat that leap of innovation yet again is a tall order, but I was hoping for something a little different this time out; an outdoor scene, vehicles, more analytic challenges, more interaction with the environment... basically something other than running around a maze with a gun. The folks at id are obviously so creative and so talented that I wish they'd created something more interesting than what amounts to a souped up clone of their last game.

On the plus side, the perspective-correct textures seem to work fairly effectively in Flight Unlimited. Magic Carpet used linear textures. The textures in Nascar Racing mostly looked OK, although I saw some artifacts that may have been due to lame clipping code.

Let's hope the PCI-based 3D Blaster is more impressive.