01/17/05 |
Xbox PC | Aaron Stanton
How important can great storytelling in a game be? Characters we care about? Plots we actually want to know the ending to? Sounds like a book or something. Take a moment to find out why Aaron connects Advent Rising with art in video games, free speech, and apparently an issue he has with remembering things.
There's nothing quite like the thrill of a good hand in a high-stakes game, or the feel of losing it all to some card-shark down the street. World Championship Poker gives you the chance to feel both while still on the go, letting players take on not only Poker games, but Blackjack, Slots, and more. If you're looking for a simple diversion that you can carry around with you, this might be the way to go.
Not every game has to offer hours of pre-scripted gameplay, beautiful graphics, and brilliant voice acting in order to be good. In fact, sometimes what we need is a game that can be picked up, played for fifteen minutes, and then set aside without having to worry about any of those other time-consuming elements. Pinball Hall of Fame takes us a few steps down memory lane with a game that offers fun, addictive play for those times when a long-haul gaming binge just isn't what you're looking for.
There's some great first person shooters coming into sight this year on the consoles that once hailed only on the PC. Doom III, Half-Life 2, Far Cry: Instincts. As soon to be first to market, Far Cry is more than just a port of its PC counterpart, but a game flushed out with new weapons, levels, and design criteria. Check out what's coming for the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube a little bit down the line. Finally console gamers get to have a go at one of the best games in the genre.
Call of Duty on the PC offered a crafted and immersive jaunt through the bowels of World War II. Does Finest Hour do the same? Take a look at Call of Duty on the console, and you'll find a run-and-gun shooter trailing a slightly different path than its PC brother. Read the review for details.
01/10/05 |
PC | George Holomshek
If you're looking for a great storyline, good gameplay, and the ability to suck hours of your time away, Enemy Technology's I of the Enemy might just be the ticket. While a bit weak in eye candy, this budget title offers the key elements of a good game at a reasonable price. Make sure you check out the review, then the game.
Take a look at Brothers in Arms, a tactical shooter aiming to offer one of the most realistic WWII experiences in gaming history. Taking place over terrain modeled on actual maps of real world battle locations, Brothers in Arms looks to offer an engaging and intense story with all the gameplay goodness of other Ubisoft titles like Rainbow Six 3. Check it out.
Baten Kaitos is a card-based RPG that features 1000+ cards, over 140 attack combos, and gorgeous graphics. Even with its fair share of problems, which are mostly due to the fact that card-based games aren't exactly "all that", it is still worth checking out for GameCube owners. Read all about it right here.
It's always good to see a game developed independent of the mainstream industry, as is the case of Alien Hominid, a side scrolling mountain of action that scores points with anyone that has a taste for old-school, Contra-style gameplay. Read why this stylistic GameCube and PS2 title is well worth your time.
12/31/04 |
Xbox | Chris Martin
Lots of people claim to have developer loyalty, but developers aren't the only ones that make the dream of a game come true. While their work might make a game good, it's publishers that get a game sold. If Ubisoft hadn't taken a chance on a few unique design concepts, games like Prince of Persia and the brilliant Beyond Good and Evil wouldn't have ever made it out of the developer's door. In the first of our Publisher Focus series, we're taking a look at what games Ubisoft has planned for us, starting with Tork: Prehistoric Punk. Make sure you read about this January release.
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