Review by: David Laprad
Published: November 9, 2000

Gamers in pursuit of low-down fun used to have a choice between good first-person shooters and bad first-person shooters. Times are changing, though, and the third-person viewpoint is now prospering along with stronger characters and intricate plot lines. Even so, the core mechanics of most games still entail using some sort of range weapon to shoot at a far-off opponent. This gets boring, and competing titles sometimes blend into a single, nebulous haze. Human Head contends that such an approach is for greenhorns; real warriors settle their differences in hand-to-hand battles to the death. To argue their case, the Madison, Wisc.-based design studio has brought high-octane melee combat to the table in the form of the third-person 3D action title, Rune. Instead of outfitting our hero with a shotgun and a case of shells, he is supplied with an armament of swords, hammers and axes, and is nudged into gore-drenched battles against a horde of nightmarish creatures. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.

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Review by: David Laprad
Published: September 27, 2000

There are two basic methods for scaring filmgoers. One is to throw things into the frame in such a manner as to send an audience member’s bone structure lurching out of his flesh: Homeless cats leaping out of nowhere. Harmless friends who amble into view and are announced with a sudden clash of music and a loud scream. ( read more… )

Review by: David Laprad
Published: September 16, 2000

I sometimes get e-mail from readers wondering which are the toughest games to write about–great ones or terrible ones. The answer is neither. The most difficult-to-review titles are those that impact me on an emotional level, much in the same manner that reading a good novel or seeing a great movie does. The new first-person shooter, Elite Force, falls into that category. I used overpowering weapons to annihilate aliens, stared slack-jawed at the screen in awe of its beautiful graphics, scribbled down 18 pages of notes, and now I am at a loss as to how to write the review. All the usual critical categories seem to collapse in the face of a game that stirs our feelings as much as it challenges our minds and stimulates our senses. Still, a reviewer must scrutinize the details, so I will steel myself, Vulcan-like, to the task at hand. ( read more… )

Review by: David Laprad
Published: July 3, 2000

Imagine being the hero of an action-shooter spectacle that cruises the time stream with pure abandon. One moment, the champion is in Japan circa 2455 A.D., whirling through the air while pumping slugs into robotic menaces, and the next he is slicing up giant spiders in ancient Greece with a magical sword. This is no illiterate time-tripping caper; the action is wrapped up in a plot that strings these spasmodic strands into a logical whole. Different from its one-note predecessors, there is something new to challenge and wow gamers on each map. The tired “lone hero against the forces of Hell” model is too small to embrace all this ambition, so a pair of computer-controlled companions is incorporated into the design; this deepens the plot and spices up the combat. The graphics are handsome, the gunslinging is frenetic, and the game is bigger and bolder than all those that came before it.

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Review by: David Laprad
Published: April 26, 2000

For as long as man has existed, he has been at war. The reasons for our eternal discord are many, though it can be said that most soldiers raise a weapon out of allegiance to their country or a belief in a religious or political ideal. Then there are those who fight not for country or convictions, but in pursuit of compensation. Called mercenaries, these soldiers of fortune enter battle with one eye in their gun scope and another on the final reward. The latest 3D shooter from the famed creators of Heretic and Hexen shoves a machine gun in our hands and enlists us as a member of these enigmatic corps. But Raven has seen altogether too many dull descendants of Doom. Instead of slabbing out a mindless romp, the design team distinguishes Soldier of Fortune with the buzz-saw intensity of authentic gunfights and a not-so-subtle graphic realism. There has been a palpable buzz in the air surrounding this title due to its torrents of blood. Or perhaps that was just the hiss of a bullet burning past our ears.

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Review by: David Laprad
Published: January 15, 2000

What a great trip Interstate 76 was. Based on a warped 1970s universe, the original was all about lead-filled car battles, fuel-injected graphics and hip vigilantes out for requital. From the atmospheric radio broadcast installation to the cop show atmosphere throughout the cutscenes, the game was a homage to pervasive theme. Its action and simulation elements grabbed each other better than rubber to the road, and the first class plot and strong characters were a tribute to the art form of interactive entertainment. It was a strong performer, and the smell of burning oil and scorched tires indicates the much-anticipated sequel has arrived. The questions facing this new showroom model are twofold: Can Activision continue to push the borders of car combat realism, and do it with the nostalgia and humor of the original? ( read more… )

Review by: David Laprad
Published: January 7, 2000

I can recall sitting in a theater, breathless as Indiana Jones searched an ancient temple for a golden idol. He proceeded with care, using intellect and reason to elude traps and acquire the long-forgotten treasure. Of course, all hell busted loose and his departure was a bit more hastened, but he escaped with the idol and our flushed imaginations in hand. In 1996, Core Design and Eidos Interactive released a game called Tomb Raider that was just as captivating. I spent countless hours guiding its heroine, Lara Croft, through vast 3D environments, grabbing treasure, leaping across ravines, and firing at the enemies that filled the smaller screen. Computers have become much more sophisticated since Lara’s first outing, but she and her world have remained much the same, and subsequent titles lost the original’s spirit of boundless wonder. Core’s self-imposed challenge for the fourth title in the series, Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, was to recapture that feeling, a goal as Herculean as George Lucas recreating the essence of the original “Star Wars.” ( read more… )

Review by: David Laprad
Published: December 31, 1999

A person can no longer avoid bumping into Gene Roddenberry’s enduring science fiction universe. What started out eons ago as an enterprising television show about a space ship and the bold mission of a handful of people to go where no man had gone before has grown in scope to encompass a macrocosm of characters and events. It has also become something of a commercial overachiever, with even gaming channels being overrun with offerings from several companies. Activision is one such publisher, having signed a long-term agreement with Paramount to bring titles to the interactive screen.

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Review by: David Laprad
Published: December 22, 1999

Id Software is one of the most successful and esteemed developers in interactive entertainment, but they also have a larger share of detractors than most. Their titles have sold in the millions but have also been denounced as simplistic and criticized for appealing to the lowest common denominators, namely glitzy visuals and mindless point-and-shoot mechanics. Their revenge has always been living well creating games in which people die spectacularly, something their latest gunslinging opus does better than any previous id title. With each generation of releases, the Titans of Texas have owned the 3D action genre with better graphics and gorier effects, but also with more attention on their preferred method of gameplay: Slaughter everything that moves.
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Review by: David Laprad
Published: December 18, 1999

While online gaming has grown at an exponential rate during the last couple years, there are still those who, for one reason or another, prefer the single-player experience. Perhaps the intimidation of competing against those whose abilities far exceed theirs has caused them to recoil to the safety of a more predictable world, or the frustration involved with competing over a sluggish Internet connection has proven too much to bear. Certainly, the calm assurance of a predetermined set of gameplay mechanics is more comforting than the unpredictability of battling human opponents, and despite the advances made in broadband technology, there are still heaping piles of users with vanilla connections measured in double digits. Yet what incredible experiences these brothers and sisters in gaming are missing! If only someone had the talent and initiative to simulate multiplayer on a single computer, they could experience the tightly wired thrill of deathmatch and cultivate an interest in new things. Their abilities would grow and our online numbers would eventually swell. Want and wish no more, because the creators of Unreal have unleashed such a creature, and believe me, things are going to be different from this point forward. ( read more… )

Review by: David Laprad
Published: December 10, 1999

There is a catchword in gaming that is used so often and in reference to every genre that its use has almost become trite and meaningless. The word is “innovation.” Each new title must contain never before seen features or blend genres in such a manner that it offers an unparalleled experience. Innovation can be a wonderful thing but it can also mire a title down in misguided design decisions. Quantic Dream no doubt understood this going into the third-person 3D adventure Omikron, but decided the gamble would be worth the outcome. Their success or failure is the question at the center of this game, which attempts to blend one-on-one beat ‘em up sequences with first-person shooting, traditional adventure elements and even some light role-playing. How’s that for a heaping pile of interactive goodness? ( read more… )

Review by: David Laprad
Published: December 2, 1999

I love a great opening. Eidos Interactive’s contribution to the action and RPG genre, Revenant, has a terrific one. In a heart-rending nod toward both epic heroism and terrible suffering, our hero-in-arms, an ancient warrior long ago damned to the fires of hell for sins untold, is summoned at the hand of a powerful warlord to rescue his daughter from a pernicious cult that has invaded their land. Remembering nothing from his life in another age, he sets out on his quest fettered by a powerful spell that binds him to the challenge. This extended sequence is told through a poignant rendered cinematic in which we see him suffering in the afterlife, then retrieved and pulled into the actual game through a dazzling demonstration of the special visual effects Cinematix’s artists have conjured for this title. Moments later, after a storied conversation with his rescuers, he is pummeling a monster, not with countless mouse taps but a series of arcade-oriented moves that enable him to punch, dodge, lash out with his feet and perform special moves. The first words to spill out from me at this point were, “This is an RPG?” Yes it is, came the answer even as the creature thumped to ground from a well-placed blow to the jawbone. ( read more… )

Review by: David Laprad
Published: November 25, 1999

A clever idea is half the battle in building something that can change the world. This even holds true in the virtual realm of interactive entertainment. How many times have we cried out for a new experience? Yet can we even count the number of times publishers responded with more of the same dressed up in better graphics and bigger guns? Legend Entertainment had the idea to change the world of 3D gaming using Robert Jordan’s marvel of creative fiction, the Wheel of Time series. Jordan’s epic fantasy saga spans eight novels and has earned him millions of fans worldwide. Using this well-developed universe and Epic Games’ celebrated Unreal engine, Legend dared to do something no other 3D action developer has: toss out the guns.

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Written by: David Laprad
Published: November 19, 1999

Agent 1: The world is a dark place.
Agent 2: Who will protect the world from darkness?
Agent 1: We will.

For the moment, horror is the niche du jour in movies, with such offerings as The Sixth Sense scaring up impressive box office revenues and spawning a sub-genre of would be spine tinglers such as Stigmata and Stir of Echoes. Yet none of those later films quite breached the core of what creates a compelling cinematic experience as well as last summer’s tale of a young boy who confesses to Bruce Willis that he sees dead people. Strangely, the only PC entertainment title to tap into this vein is Nocturne, a post-modern brew of pulp horror legends that pushes the boundaries of what computer games can do. Much as The Sixth Sense both launched a renaissance in movie horror and redefined its frontiers, Nocturne brings a gripping experience to the interactive screen. ( read more… )

Review by: David Laprad
Published: November 12, 1999

I was about eight missions into Driver when it hit me what this game is about. It is not just about the metal crunching damage model or ripping through miles and miles of traffic while avoiding the most confrontational and tenacious police force in gaming–though that is what it boils down to. It is about extremes. It is about a driving model so diamond-cut precise, it becomes the highest pleasure the game has to offer; on the other hand, it is also about an artificial intelligence so gas pedal delirious, the slightest infraction sends police screaming into offenders head-on at 80 mph and setting up road barriers to stop people with lead feet. Not that this is a serious problem; games can be about overstatement, and who among us can argue that the movie house car chases on which this title is based were grounded in absolute realism? ( read more… )