Review by: Ryan McCaffrey
Published: August 29, 2002

Imitation is historically known as the highest form of flattery. If this is indeed the case, then the folks at Blizzard Entertainment must be thrilled to the point of embarrassment. After facing dozens of would-be suitors to their WarCraft, StarCraft and Diablo franchises, the world famous developer has continually proven that they are the only ones who can top themselves. Sooner or later, however, someone else is bound to get the formula right. Enter Object Software. The Chinese developer’s latest offering, the 2D isometric perspective action-RPG Prince of Qin, looks to combine the wealth of ancient Chinese history with the proven, addictive gameplay of Diablo. They are certainly not the first to attempt to usurp the mighty Diablo, but they are forging new ground by taking the action into ancient China, an era rich with history, culture and myth. Object also has not shied away from comparisons to Blizzard’s platinum-sellers, as the front cover of the Qin box features not one, but two Diablo references. Are the comparisons valid? Does the world finally have its first Diablo-killer? ( read more… )

Review by: Ryan McCaffrey
Published: August 2, 2002

A number of analogies come to mind when discussing Blizzard Entertainment: They have the Midas touch, whereby every product they lay their hands on turns to gold. They are the New York Yankees of PC gaming, winning every time they take to the proverbial field with a new title. In taking an average of three years to complete a product, they represent the tortoise against the hare, proving that slow and steady wins the race. Blizzard’s latest offering is the real-time strategy sequel WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos. With it, the California developer finally enters the era of 3D graphics and maintains all of the aforementioned comparisons – the company’s latest release took over 36 months to reach the finish line and has already sold over a million copies in less than one month on store shelves. As top-selling budgetware titles have proven, however, seven figure sales do not necessarily equal a five star game. Is WarCraft III good enough to keep Blizzard’s winning streak alive? ( read more… )

Review by: Ryan McCaffrey
Published: July 18, 2002

Certain pockets of society have targeted computer and video games for a few years, going back to 1997′s Carmageddon. In the aftermath of 9/11, however, the nation’s heightened awareness and search for answers only intensified the scrutiny. Recently, Raven Software unleashed Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix into the hands of an even more skeptical public, a sequel to a game that was among a crop of titles specifically criticized as being combat training exercises for children. Raven has stepped up the realism and gore this time around, the latter reaching unprecedented levels. A label warning of the product’s excessive violence again graces the front of the box, and once more a Raven first-person shooter is placed in the crosshairs of detractors. But what will its toughest critics — hardcore game players — think of Soldier of Fortune II? ( read more… )