Review by: Pete Hines
Published: October 22, 1998

When Age of Empires (AOE) burst upon the scene, I expected big things. While it was an enjoyable game in many respects, it had a few components that I thought needed some fixing or adjusting. Still, the game seemed to be popular and the following for AOE grew to sizable numbers. Rise of Rome is the expansion for AOE that adds more gameplay and some functionality to extend the life of AOE until AOE 2 is ready next year. I know that patches have been released for AOE that addressed some problems and added features (i.e., population limits). However, for the most part I’ll be referring to what’s new in Rise of Rome as it compares to the original AOE. Those of you who have the patches know what they fixed, and those who don’t, should get them. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: October 12, 1998

Kids. You know, you try to raise them right, educate them in the ways of being a ruler and so forth…be a good parent. What thanks do you get but a precocious brat who hangs out with knights from the wrong side of the table and turns against you. While it’s a nightmare for you as a king, it’s nice fodder for a computer game. In Knights and Merchants, you lead an effort on your king’s behalf to reclaim his lands and squelch the problems being caused by the king’s young son and his ‘ner-do-well friends. The campaign that lays before you is a series of 20 missions where you must rely on cunning strategy on the field of battle and the ability to efficiently run a village in support of your military efforts. Knights and Merchants looks to combine both types of strategy in an entertaining, if not familiar, fashion. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: October 9, 1998

KKnD 2: Krossfire takes place roughly 40 years after the last struggle for survival on this grim planet. The last struggle took place between the Evolved, who lived on the surface and survived despite the effects of the nuclear war that had taken place there, and the Survivors, who made their living underground. This battle, played out in KKnD, featured the “standard” units of the Survivors vs. the Evolved and their mutated units, including giant scorpions and elephants complete with weapons. Now things have gotten even more interesting. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: October 1, 1998

Looking to recapture the drama of the original movie, Dune, and the popularity of the last iteration of the game based on that movie, Dune 2, Westwood recently released Dune 2000. Rather than a completely new title, Westwood just wanted to give the game a bit of a facelift so that Dune fans could relive some of their earlier gaming exploits. If you’ve played any of the C&C games, then you’ll pretty much be familiar with most of the features in Dune 2000. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: September 16, 1998

I’ve noticed two things so far about this year’s NFL season: there’s a lot more to watch on Sunday afternoon then there has been recently; and NFL GameDay 99 commercials are everywhere. Usually they’re pushing the PSX version, but I always thought Sony’s ads for sports stuff were pretty good and so I actually kind of looked forward to getting my copy. Having played a lot of the preview and final versions of NCAA 99 and the preview version of Madden 99 (both from EA), I’m sort of in that football mode. It didn’t take me long to get into the game and get a feel for what the action was like. After I’d played the game enough it was clear to me where GameDay 99 falls in the current hierarchy of football games. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: September 8, 1998

Banking on a hope that fans of Total Annihilation (TA) are still thirsty for more of the same, Cavedog recently released an expansion with new maps, missions, and scenarios called TA: Battle Tactics (TABT). If you had to use one word to describe TABT, it would be “more.” If you had two more words, they might be “so what?” It’s a good question and one that we’ll look at further. Are all of the maps and missions worth your hard-earned money? Let’s first look at what you get. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: September 7, 1998

There’s a serious race going on out there. At the head of the pack is Links LS, with a number of other golf titles making strides to close the gap and perhaps knock off the king of the hill. To be perfectly candid, Golden Tee Golf (GTG) isn’t in that race. GTG is for people who want to take a break from these simulations and let go a bit. This PC version of the popular stand-up arcade game offers as its major features (in my words, not theirs): simplicity, arcade-style action, and some fun. So if you’re tired of triple-clicks and too much thinking in your golf game, maybe you ought to kick back with GTG and take it easy for a while. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: September 3, 1998

NCAA Football 99 continues one of the more popular football series around. A large part of the appeal is simply due to the fact that it does a good job of presenting the feeling and aura of college football, instead of the pro game that is available from a variety of places…depending on your tastes. Those of you who played NCAA 98 (see our review) will find that the game has undergone a few refinements, and several additions have enhanced gameplay. For those of you who haven’t delved into the college game, I’ll try to cover most of the bases for you. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: August 24, 1998

Sensible Soccer ’98 is the latest title from Sensible Software and approaches the game of soccer from a different angle than many soccer games on the market. Rather than the close-up, 3D graphics from any one of a number of views, Sensible Soccer 98 provides a much different perspective. You view the game as if you were in a blimp over the stadium, seeing most of the field and the players at once. In fact, much of the game is completely different from the style of play to the control over individual players. You will occasionally see a close-up shot of the field, like when a player is given a caution or you see a closer view of a good goal on replay. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: August 23, 1998

So you think you have what it takes to plan a city? How about running one in Ancient Rome? Caesar 3 continues the fine tradition of this popular strategy game by throwing you to the lions, so to speak, and testing your skills. If you’re not familiar with the Caesar series, you’re certainly aware of the premise behind the SimCity games, which is more or less the same in the basic areas. You decide where to place housing space, what types of industries to run, and how you want to balance trade. You’ve got to attract immigrants and keep them happy, employed, and safe. Sounds simple, eh? Yeah right. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: August 23, 1998

I feel like I’ve been playing Commandos forever. I played the demo, a six-mission beta, the non-US version (v1.0), and now the US version (v1.1). You know what? I’m not tired of playing it yet, and not because I haven’t finished the game…because I have. I’ve completed the campaign and played most of the missions more than once in both single and multiplayer mode. I like the game because it’s unique and creative. In Commandos you lead a band of six commandos through 20 missions in a campaign that spans many critical locations of WWII. Every mission features a different mix of these commandos, each of whom has different abilities and skills crucial to the completion of each mission. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: August 16, 1998

I’ve always been a big tennis fan. I’ve played since I was a kid and even helped teach when I was in college until tendinitis took the fun out of it. So I was eager to try out Blue Byte’s latest tennis game, Game, Net & Match, to see if I could capture the enjoyment I’ve missed for the last several years. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: August 13, 1998

M.A.X. 2 (Mechanized Assault & Exploration) is the sequel to a fairly good and popular turn-based game. It has nine different races that comprise the Concord, which is a sort of conglomeration of friendly alien races that are bonding individually with certain human clans. There’s also the Sheevat, a nasty race of aliens that has caused everyone else to join up against them because of the threat they pose. The first three campaigns tell the story of the initial contact and subsequent battles between the Concord, humans and the Sheevat. In the fourth and final campaign you play as the Sheevat against the amassed forces trying to destroy you. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: August 6, 1998

WarGames, the latest RTS game, comes from MGM Interactive and is based on the movie of the same title from several years ago. You can control either the human NORAD or the WOPR mech forces in a fight for global domination. Win and you’ll have saved the world. Lose and you’d better run, not walk, for the nearest bomb shelter and bring a lot of Spam with you, because you’ll be there for a while. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: July 30, 1998

The Bloodfox Clan is comprised of fierce warriors with a “kill or be killed” attitude and a hierarchy that is based on placing the toughest guy at the top of the food chain. The Hammerhawk Clan is a more cooperative and social one, where everyone is pretty much treated as an equal and all members work together for a common goal. Obviously these two polar opposites can’t peacefully coexist on the same planet and it’s up to you to lead one of them to victory. Extreme Tactics puts you in charge of gathering resources, designing and building weapons, and out-witting your opponent to claim ultimate victory. ( read more… )