Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: January 3, 2001

During the latter half of the 1990s, we witnessed several revolutions in electronic entertainment. Hardware capabilities evolved exponentially and new genres were born every few months. One of the most intriguing and enjoyable genres to emerge during this time was survival horror. This style normally involves monsters breaking through walls and windows at inopportune moments, creating a heightened sense of drama and fear. Many gamers were introduced to survival horror through Capcom’s popular Resident Evil series for the original PlayStation, though purists might argue that distinction belongs to Alone in the Dark. Since the release of Resident Evil, the genre has continued to mature with offerings such as Silent Hill.

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Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: December 29, 2000

Lately we’ve been hearing about nothing but Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament modified titles, including several “Star Trek” incarnations and an inventive version of Lewis Carroll’s classic fairy tale called American McGee’s Alice. One 3D gaming platform that hasn’t received much attention recently is the aging Half-Life engine, which has always been exceptional at rendering alien-looking environments while making virtually everything collapsible. In conjunction with Sierra, Rewolf Software has designed a Texas Ranger-inspired shoot-’em-up that takes place in the depths of space and uses Gordon Freeman’s favorite technology. Gunman Chronicles attempts to follow Half-Life‘s sense of drama and adventure while integrating several innovative new ideas. ( read more… )

Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: December 26, 2000

Each genre of electronic entertainment has a long running series that most players recognize as being the best in that category. First-person shooter fans have the ever-popular Quake franchise while adventure aficionados have the Monkey Island series. For turn-based strategy games on the PC, Blue Byte Software has been gracing players with updated tactical entertainment for nearly a decade. The Battle Isle series, beginning with the original back in 1991, started what would become a highly regarded group of games known for innovation and bridging genre boundaries. Incubation, released in 1997, was one of the few titles to garner the prestigious Reviewer’s Choice award here at the Adrenaline Vault. Making a courageous attempt to recapture the sense of groundbreaking work achieved with earlier titles and hoping to continue a tradition of success, Blue Byte has finished work on the newest incarnation of their long-running epic series–Battle Isle: The Andosia War. ( read more… )

Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: December 22, 2000

When the minds behind the FPS revolution, that occurred with Doom and Quake, were busy thinking through specifics of gameplay, it is doubtful that they ever could have imagined anything quite like Hitman: Codename 47. The genre that gives Hitman its definition actually has very little in common with the gung-ho action sequences of relentless killing found in earlier entries. Though stories of assassination and silent murder are quite common in the electronic entertainment industry, few companies have ever opted to make a game based solely on making Mafia style hits for profit. In releasing Hitman, Eidos Interactive has taken a bold step towards the redefinition of action titles with the amount of thought that is needed in actually making a kill. Whereas most action offerings encourage you to jump out in the middle of a corridor and unleash a barrage of rockets or plasma-energy, Hitman requires you to carefully plan out your strategy before sneaking around that corner. ( read more… )

Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: December 20, 2000

Forms of entertainment reach out far beyond our own small world of video gaming. Before Nintendo or Atari ever graced the electronics industry and the monster conglomerate of television networks began airing their sitcoms, one of the favorite pastimes shared by people worldwide was reading. Be it fiction, historical, science fiction or fantasy, people have been enamored with the written word since the days when basic education became available to the masses. Words in the hands of a great author can manipulate the reader’s emotions around in many different directions, taking them from the heights of ecstasy to the pits of despair. Some of the best and most original ideas in our society sprang to life from words written by literary geniuses like Jules Verne and H.G. Welles. Our industry of video gaming has made many varying attempts to adapt famous stories for the optical and magnetic mediums of interactive entertainment. To call the results, ‘mixed,’ would be gracious.

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Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: December 15, 2000

The Jetfighter series is one of the longest running in all of video game history. The original was released at the end of the 1980′s, when VGA graphics were just beginning to appear in titles like Epic’s Jill of the Jungle. Since then Jetfighter has been given three incarnations. I was first introduced to the series with Jetfighter 2, a product that was remarkably easy to play even without the help of a joystick. Since the second version, the Jetfighter series has evolved along a very separate path from many combat sims. Military simulators often keep staunch realism at the forefront of the gameplay, introducing real combat data from companies like Jane’s, who have access to many technical details of world aircraft. Microsoft’s Combat Flight Sim 2 is one such game, highly dedicated to providing players with a realistic experience. Such devotion oft times comes with a high price; and the cost of heavy realism in flight simulators can be measured by how difficult the offering is for novices to pick up and play. The Jetfighter line has never been focused on unerring detail and realism, instead choosing to center around the endorphin spiking action inherent to Top-Gun style dogfighting. Jetfighter IV: Fortress America continues the tradition, providing players with an experience heavy on action while still including a flight model that is sufficiently difficult to keep prospective pilots on their toes. ( read more… )

Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: December 13, 2000

The design team at Microprose faced quite a vexing dilemma when work began on the sequel to Civilization 2. Many people felt that the quality of turn-based strategy had waxed beyond its utmost limitations. How could it be possible to create a successor to the legendary Civilization design without the brilliance of Sid Meier to guide its development? When Sid left to form Firaxis, he left the rights to the Civilization series with the publisher, Microprose. With an understandable desire to continue the great success enjoyed by Civilization 2, work was begun by Activision (after some legal wrangling) on a game entitled Civilization: Call to Power; something which took the franchise’s heart and tried to add some interesting elements. Though it was met with mixed feelings from the community, Call to Power was nevertheless a solid strategy title. Activision, still in possession of the rights for the Call to Power, has listened to player complaints stemming from the first release and developed Call to Power II, taking the empire based strategy formula to a new level. ( read more… )

Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: December 8, 2000

I have a confession to make. Since the days of the original Starcraft, my interest in the real time strategy genre has waned to near nonexistence. Almost every title released in this genre follows the same basic mould in that you gather resources, build units, and then lead your army forth to war — using tactics that will hopefully wipe out the opposition. Very few real-time strategy titles have deviated from this basic formula with any success. There are, from time to time, mild innovations like Dungeon Keeper 2 that provide normal strategic entertainment from altered vantage points, but few games in this vein could be touted as anything close to groundbreaking — until now. Shiny Entertainment was blessed with a vision of something that — if successful — would forever alter the standard by which real-time strategy offerings are made. Sacrifice is the culmination of this dream, throwing unique gameplay and unrivaled visuals together for a mixture previously unrealized in the electronic entertainment industry. ( read more… )

Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: December 1, 2000

Back in 1993, the PC entertainment industry was just beginning to grow in popularity. With the introduction of a new media-delivery system in the form of CD-ROMs, developers found that much larger titles could be produced at an equal cost to the older floppy diskettes. Since they had the capacity of holding literally 450 times the amount of information, developers used the programming tools they had to create vast game worlds. Many of them, however, turned their eyes to the fledgling art of FMV technology, creating many memorable titles like 7th Guest and Return to Zork. The original MYST is almost in a category of its own among its contemporaries, with unusually long gameplay and a unique storyline. It was the brainchild of two brothers: Rand and Robyn Miller who had a collective dream about magic books, betrayal, greed and a hauntingly beautiful island which was a gateway between worlds; a place that would become well-known to gamers across the world as MYST.

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Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: November 29, 2000

Among the many role-playing titles created for our amusement, an overwhelming majority rely on the minds and hyperactive imaginations of talented writers to project us into fantastic worlds of fantasy and intrigue. Many of these worlds are somewhat pre-created for us in the form of stories like the Forgotten Realms saga, or the Might and Magic universe of Enroth. Tolkien’s works and ideals are now a permanent part of our subconscious, and every time we see an elf or halfling, we owe the credit to his genius and the innovation of others in the fantasy field. Long before Lovecraft sat down to spin the doomsday tales of Cthulu, or Terry Pratchett graced our desks with the humorous repartee of Rincewind, we had Arthur and the Grail romances. Rare are the occasions when modern companies bother to exploit some of the most valuable fictional material for the benefit of the average player. Earth’s history and epics are hardly remembered these days, with sagas like Gilgamesh and Beowulf replaced by DragonLance and the Wheel of Time. NetAmin Communication has released their attempt to break this mold of purely fictional fantasy by releasing Last Kingdom, a massively multiplayer online role playing game with a tablespoon of history and a dash of creative licensing.

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Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: November 24, 2000

New World Computing is one of the many game manufacturers that has been around since the first days that PCs were used for mass-marketed entertainment. Few people now remember their anime-style offerings like Knights of Xentar. This firm has left an enduing legacy with us; one that continues to this day in the Might and Magic series of medieval fantasy titles ranging from hardcore RPGs to first-person action fests. Among the most popular of this series are the Heroes of Might and Magic set of games — turn-based strategy where you pit armies of monsters led by legendary warriors one against the other, fighting for resources and ultimately survival. One area that the Heroes series always seemed weaker in was the storylines — until now. New World Computing has released their latest update to this classic cycle, the Heroes Chronicles tales. ( read more… )

Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: November 23, 2000

The racing genre we know today has undergone a dramatic shift from its humble arcade roots. In the current atmosphere of the gaming community, realistic physics and graphics have usurped the spotlight from the fast-paced arcade action of bygone days — powerslides and frequent spinouts replacing the physically impossible on-a-dime hairpin turns. Many of us in the interactive entertainment industry have applauded this paradigm shift in driving sims. Some, however, may be wondering where all of the arcade-style titles have gone. Outmaneuvering your opponent on the last curve to pull ahead on the checkered flag may be satisfying, but as much if not more so is the thrill of shattering their car with a homing missile before he crosses the finish line; or jumping across a large ravine in hopes of gaining victory by means of a shortcut. In the spirit of rekindling the flame of action amongst the racing community, Psygnosis has released Death Track Racing — a sequel to last years well-received Rollcage.

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Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: November 16, 2000

The world of motorcycle racing is a fast paced life, fraught with danger yet rich with chances for glory. Though it doesn’t have the fame or widespread recognition that automotive racing groups like NASCAR possess throughout the world, the SBK Superbike Championship is a series of races designed to test the mettle of even the most hardened drivers — taking place on a wide variety of international tracks. Continuing its tradition from last year, EA Sports has delivered unto PC’s everywhere the next title in its line of motorcycle racing simulations: Superbike 2001.

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Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: November 10, 2000

One of the lessons learned by the electronic entertainment industry over the past five years is that the inclusion of full motion video used as actual gameplay is something that lowers the level of enjoyment. Some games have successfully integrated FMV — such as the latter titles in the Wing Commander series — using solid and addicting gameplay to back up their ‘interactive-movie’ feel. Others like the abominable, A Fork in the Tale, were utterly ruined by their use of low-quality movie scenes. For years the game industry has seeming moved away from this trend, instead creating beautiful cutscenes with in-game engines or pre-rendered files. Once again there is an attempt to combine standard gameplay with the art of full motion video with the newest hunting title by Activision’s Elsinore Multimedia team: Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 4. ( read more… )

Review by: Jonathan Houghton
Published: November 8, 2000

Many American gamers have no doubt seen some of the commercials on television proclaiming sport utility vehicles as the kings of multi-purpose automotive design. The majority of these advertisements show brave housewives and middle-class businessmen eking their revenge against the corporate mainstay as they careen over great chasms and scale mountains in their precious SUV’s. Some of the more culturally savvy might also recall the spoof done on such vehicles in The Simpsons animated series with the Canyonero, watching Homer and family drive over planters and dividers in their unstoppable behemoth of a car. The levels of abuse placed on these vehicles in the commercials are far beyond the reach of what the average consumer would be likely to do, though,many people have no doubt fantasized about plowing through mud fields and desert terrain with ease. Terminal Reality gives gamers a chance to take the average trucks and SUVs found in today’s showrooms and modify them to your hearts content for pulse-pounding off-road racing action in 4×4 Evolution.

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