Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: December 8, 2004

“Well, let’s put it this way, I fought for the South.”
- Jesse, Near Dark

Amongst pen and paper role-playing fans, the only title as ubiquitous as the venerable Dungeons & Dragons is White Wolf’s Vampire: The Masquerade. The gritty alternate reality referred to as the World of Darkness is one of vampires, werewolves, ghosts, mages, and deep suburban sprawls. Glistening with the sheen of PVC, leather, studs, spikes, expensive suits, and fast cars, there is a gothic punk aesthetic to the World of Darkness that is undeniably cool. Development house Troika turned their attention to this setting after their acclaimed, Temple of Elemental Evil; the end result of their efforts being Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, a sprawling and dark tale that touches on the end of times for undead-kind. ( read more… )

Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: December 1, 2004

“Through man’s existence, from the start of time;
The fight for survival is our only crime.”
-Bolt Thrower, Eternal War

As epic as it is brutal, the flagship product of the UK’s Games Workshop has a global appeal that has drawn thousands upon thousands of hobbyists together over the years. For all fans of incredibly detailed, hand-painted figures and models, Warhammer 40,000 (and its nominally less popular little brother, Warhammer Fantasy) is the table-top strategy war game. Over the years, many attempts have been made to capture the exhilaration of the galaxy-spanning conflict of Warhammer 40K, rarely with any degree of success. The latest entry to the fray is Relic Entertainment’s Dawn of War, a fully 3D RTS that might finally be the one to get it right. ( read more… )

Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: November 23, 2004

I’ve been a long-time fan of science fiction literature, and one of my biggest weaknesses has always been alien worlds. Not just generic Saturn-clone “Alpha-Omega-Beta-XIII,” I’m talking about fully realized and fleshed out fictional planets: Larry Niven’s “Ringworld,” or Dan Simmon’s plethora of strange locales in his “Hyperion” series, for instance. If you were to wave a game in front of me that’s set on an entirely new alien environment and blends sci-fi with high-concept fantasy, I’m going to whimper a bit, and run towards it slightly out of breath, salivating somewhat more than is considered normal. That’s exactly what did happen when I first set eyes upon The Saga of Ryzom, a gleaming new massively-multiplayer RPG from the French development crew, Nevrax. Finally, a break from the pass’ swords & sorcery format currently en vogue. Ryzom trades Tolkien for Asimov, and the result is tantalizingly new and exciting.

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Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: November 11, 2004

Some of my earliest, and fondest, gaming memories are of side-scrolling coin-op arcade titles from the mid-1980s. Since I’ve gotten into the PC realm of digital escapism, the format of the platformer has fallen by the wayside somewhat, brushed aside and all but forgotten amongst the morass of RTS / RPG / 3D shooters. From time to time, small voices in the wilderness can still be heard however; tiny beacons of hope that the simpler joys of yesteryear might still be enjoyed by old-timers. Some of us are still looking to recapture those feelings of triumph when you could finally beat “that one level with the boss.” One such potential release with “old school” design is ChronicLogic’s woeful tale called Gish. These are the trials and tribulations that beset an intelligent globule of tar on a quest to save his beleaguered girlfriend. Yes, it’s as odd as it sounds.

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Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: October 26, 2004

There have been many different digital offerings that sold us on the premise of placing us right there, inside our beloved Star Wars universe. How successful these have been is a matter of debate; what is not arguable is how hungrily fans consume these, regardless of what they offer. All it takes is a LucasArts sticker and two words emblazoned on the box to sell big numbers. Generally speaking though, these have all placed you either as the central hero of another timeline within the existing mythos (Knights of the Old Republic), or as an everyday citizen with little to no bearing on the story-arc established by the movies, as in Star Wars Galaxies. Breaking this mold is the latest game to bear George Lucas’ personal seal of approval. By placing you right in the center of the greatest battles the galaxy has ever seen, Star Wars Battlefront is the adrenaline-injected answer to many a fan’s prayers. Ever stayed up late at night wondering what it must have been like to pilot an AT-AT? I have, and I would say it’s worth your time to keep reading. ( read more… )

Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: October 12, 2004

Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electric tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage payments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite and a wide range of fabrics. Choose D.I.Y. and wondering who you are on Sunday morning. Choose your future, choose your life. Choose The Sims 2, the latest entry to the best-selling EA Games franchise.

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Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: September 23, 2004

Sometimes it can seem like all anyone wants to play these days are ultra-serious, ultra-violent “mature” games. Whimsy has fallen prey to gore and guts, and a good lighthearted belly laugh is as rare as a buck-toothed rooster. Amidst all this digitally rendered, pixel-shaded carnage is there any hope of a break, perhaps a chuckle bred not of nervous paranoia but a genuinely silly joke? The answer is yes, in this case served up by CatDaddy Games with their comical fantasy romp, Medieval Conquest. Here is a title that trades blood for cheesy punchlines, brutality for gags. Looking for some chuckles peppered with swords and sorcery fantasy? Then read on, this might be of interest to you. ( read more… )

Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: August 23, 2004

Marines are not allowed to die without permission.
- Gunnery Sgt. Hartmann, Full Metal Jacket

From “tug of war” through to miniature strategic wargaming and paintball, when it comes to leisure activities boys always seem to gravitate towards make-believe killing. A long-standing staple of children’s toy boxes has been the venerable green plastic army trooper. We’ve all had them at one point or another, rifle barrels irreparably bent downwards and little bits of flash plastic sticking out from the mass-production molds. They’ve been the ideal cannon-fodder for countless playground wars. For some time 3DO has been producing the Army Men franchise of PC games – digital versions of our sandbox armadas. The latest iteration of this line is produced by Global Star Software and is called Army Men: Sarge’s War, a one-man-versus-countless-odds tale of retribution and revenge. Who will be the last injection-molded polypropylene soldier standing? ( read more… )

Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: July 22, 2004

You can go a long way with a smile. You can go a lot farther with a smile and a gun.
-Al Capone

The 1930s have been the subject of so much Hollywood re-interpretation that it seems as if the decade never truly existed, like the mob and Prohibition Era Chicago gangland wars were products of nothing more than a soundstage and a script writer’s overactive imagination. However, clichés becomes clichés for a reason: they work. Trench coats, fedoras and Tommy Guns are such a potent brew of macho “cool” that it was only a matter of time before the setting became fodder for PC gaming. The latest entry to this tiny segment of the market is Mob Enforcer, Touchdown Entertainment’s homage to lead-pipe cruelty. ( read more… )

Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: July 15, 2004

The tradition of spooky stories is as old as spoken language itself. From campfire ghost tales involving hook-handed sailors to cinematic blockbusters starring unnerving children who chat with the dead, there’s something about being petrified as entertainment that taps a primal nerve. Digital gaming has had its fair share of shiver-down-your-spine moments, too; legacy franchises like Alone in the Dark, Blood and Phantasmagoria, as well as more recent fright-fests such as the superb Undying or American McGee’s Alice. Capitalizing on the relatively sparse number of horror titles on the market today, Surreal Software (in conjunction with publishers Midway and Encore) have unleashed a blood-drenched monstrosity called The Suffering upon the PC gaming world. Don’t wear your Sunday best; we all know how hard blood stains are to remove. ( read more… )

Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: July 2, 2004

There’s an undeniable appeal to the idea of a persistent virtual world, a place to return to that’s outside the normal day-to-day grind. As the classic sitcom “Cheers” taught us, sometimes, you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came. As many thousands of paying subscribers to online games have demonstrated, it helps if that digital escape carries with it a flashy 3D interface, supernatural powers aplenty and some scantily clad elves. This tried-and-true formula is the basis of NCSoft’s latest massively multiplayer online role playing game, Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle. Time for another sword swinging, spell casting, dragon slaying romp with thousands of people you’ve never met!

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Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: June 16, 2004

It all started in June 1938 with issue one of Action Comics. The world was exposed for the first time to the Man of Steel, a brawny survivor from a planet called Krypton. Once the floodgates were opened, there was no stopping the torrent of super-powered beings who exemplified the best humanity had to offer. Good guys were right and just, bad guys were shady and nefarious, and at the end of the day, the ending was always happy. Since few aspects of mainstream popular culture are so deeply ingrained in the collective conscious as comic books, could there be a more fertile ground for a multiplayer game? Cryptic Studios have offered up a possible answer to that question with the online RPG, City of Heroes. If you’ve ever dreamed of fighting for truth, justice and the (insert nationality here) way, this title should be right up your alley. ( read more… )

Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: June 2, 2004

How much do we really know about Vikings? Monty Python taught us of their peculiar predilection for canned luncheon meat, but beyond that, we can’t call on too much other than a wide variety of Hollywood clichés to shape our view of these ancient northern warriors. Funatics Software, a German development team, decided it was high time someone took those truisms and added some fact to them while maintaining a strong sense of Nordic myth. The end result is the third title in the Cultures franchise, a strategy simulation called Northland. If ever you’ve felt the desire to experience what life might have been like in the frosty days of old, then read on; that’s exactly what this release is all about. ( read more… )

Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: May 1, 2004

In 1994, Team 17 released the very first Worms game, forever altering the face of turn-based war amongst bone-free nematoda. 1997 saw the release of the sequel, Worms 2. After that, a total of nine subsequent releases carried the franchise to the present day. It’s now 2004, and the 10th offering has been locked, loaded and fired upon us all. That ordnance is called Worms 3D, and battlefields might never be the same again. ( read more… )

Review by: Keith Durocher
Published: April 16, 2004

Swords. Magic. Elves. Dragons. What is it about these clichés that ignites such fires of passion in people across the world? We might never know, but then again, does it really matter? Is it a bad thing that we’re continually immersed in mythical pre-history? The German development crew known as Ascaron certainly doesn’t think so, nor do they feel it’s problematic in the least to embrace the best of the best as role-models. With this in mind, they’ve created Sacred, an old fashioned action-RPG chalk full of supernatural mysticism. If you’ve been searching for a new title to whisk you away to a medieval alternate reality, it could be just what the doctor ordered. ( read more… )