Review by: Shawn Quigley

Real Estate has an effect on our everyday lives. Every building and every house is managed in some sort of capacity in our society every day. With the release of Constructor, Acclaim Entertainment hopes to give gamers the opportunity to manage and create that real estate environment. In Constructor, you take on the role of a real estate developer with your primary goal being to effectively manage not only your resources, but the people that are going to use those resources. Constructor will most likely be compared to the different Sim City-type games on the market because it has a similar concept, but that would be an unfair comparison. Constructor carves its own place in the sim world by combining strong gameplay elements with a rich universe. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley

“What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive… ” –Arnold Palmer

It was 39 years ago that Arnold Palmer played his first PGA championship, won his first Masters, and became the leading money winner on the tour for that year. Thirty-nine years later, Arnold Palmer is Access Software’s first “Legend in Sports,” their latest installment to the Links series. Continuing their line of the dominating golf series, “Links,” Access software has upped the ante one more time. Links LS comes after a long wait by loyal links fans. The game boasts a new interface, an updated terrain-rendering engine, a new ball flight model, and many other features sorely missed in previous versions. The game ships with three new courses, Latrobe C. C. (Arnold’s home course), Kapalua Plantation, and Kapalua Village (both of which are in Hawaii). Also included in the game is Arnold Palmer, the first of the new LS Tour Player Series.

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Review by: Shawn Quigley

“Get in the Game”

NHL 97 continues a line of hockey games that just keeps getting better. Featuring real-time rendered polygon players based on motion captured NHL players; and eight different camera angles to let you pick the best seat in the house. One of the most intuitive replay interfaces of any game out there. The game comes with over 650 NHL players, including national teams from the USA, Canada, Russia, Scandinavia, and Europe. Also for the first time in the series, they have introduced “The Year of the Mask.” Not only is there an online tour of all the painted masked used by NHL goalies, but they actually wear them during game play. And yes you can see the detail!

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Review by: Shawn Quigley

The story begins on one dark and stormy night. A ship by the name ‘Tortius’ belonging to the ‘Romans’ was traveling through the “Sea of Storms,” a treacherous area of the Latonian seas. After having battled the storm, the Tortius finally gave in and ended up wrecking on an unknown island. It is here that your journey begins and where you must settle the land. Settlers II Gold Edition combines both the original version of Settlers II (the sequel to The Settlers) and The Settlers II Mission CD. This combination gives strategy fans a unique combination of an already successful series.

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Review by: Shawn Quigley

There are 4 seconds left on the clock:

Mark Price dribbles the ball past half court….

Price head fakes the first defender off….

Takes two dribbles to the three point line and shoots….

As the buzzer sounds you can hear the roar of the crowd as the ball swishes through the net….

NBA Live is EA Sports’ next installment in its NBA series of professional basketball simulations. This version has received some major enhancements since its last incarnation. EA has added full motion capture technology combined with texture-mapped polygon players to add more realism to the game. It is hard to look back at any EA Sports release that did not graphically blow away its predecessor. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: June 17, 1998

If you like hacking off people’s arms, watching blood fly everywhere, taking a bat and beating someone to death, or the sounds of the undead sucking the blood from living beings, then SegaSoft’s new release is a game for you. Although the title sounds a little strange, Flesh Feast is just what the title says, a game all about a group of evil beings eating everything living in sight. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: June 16, 1998

When this whole 3D action stuff began to explode when Doom hit the market, even though it was not the first title to boast these types of graphics, there was not much else to look at. Then came Descent, a title which no one could forget playing for the first time. It was something completely different and offered a new spin on playing 3D action games. Since the first release of Descent there has been a sequel, and another in the works, and some other titles that have tried to pick up on the success of the first. Another title recently released is attempting the same thing, but this time around it includes half-naked women and a flashy 3D graphics engine to help it achieve the same success. The question is…will it? ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: June 8, 1998

Over the years, we have been flooded with different racing titles, many concentrating on four-wheeled vehicles. It wasn’t until Electronic Arts released Moto Racer last year that we had an up-to-date and fun motorcycle racing title to play. But Moto Racer catered to those looking to hop on a motorcycle and play without all the little details that go into serious racing simulations, like the NASCAR games from Sierra Sports. That catering has come to an end with the release of Castrol Honda Superbike World Champions. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: June 2, 1998

So you like driving big trucks? If so, Microsoft has released the sequel to their Monster Truck series, Monster Truck Madness 2. Instead of taking a simple step forward over the last release, Microsoft was actually able to take a leap forward with this sequel! ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: May 26, 1998

To a golfer there is nothing quite like getting up in the morning for that early tee time. The sun is peaking out on the horizon; dew covers the green landscape as you stand on the first tee preparing yourself for an 18-hole adventure. Microsoft is attempting to start a new direction for computer golfers by releasing their new golf simulation, Microsoft Golf: 1998 Edition. This is a very important release for Microsoft because it marks their venture into the golfing world without the crutch of the Links golf games. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: May 19, 1998

Almost a year after its first major showing, Microsoft Baseball 3D has finally gone gold. The time has come to bring all the speculation and inquiries to the table. With the help of 3D acceleration Microsoft promises the best looking baseball title this year, and is trying to dethrone some of the all-time arcade baseball greats. The question is, did they succeed? ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: April 30, 1998

It is hard to believe how many baseball titles have been released so far this year, with none of them really capturing the gameplay that makes baseball so exciting. Triple Play has its graphics, Hardball 6 has its options, but neither one of them really shines when it comes to gameplay. 3DO has tried to fill this void by releasing High Heat Baseball 1999. This title takes the approach that everything is secondary to gameplay, including graphics and features. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: April 26, 1998

When you first load HardBall 6, you are you given some basic options to play baseball. You have the choice to play an exhibition game, which uses the default rosters; go into league play; train your players; play an All-Time baseball game; or enter into a home run derby. The quickest way to get on the field is by playing an exhibition game, but league play is where you end up having the most control over a certain team. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: April 15, 1998

So, you want to take the afternoon off and play a round of golf. Well, unfortunately for you it’s raining. What do you do now? Well, you could go down to the store and pick up The Golf Pro from Empire Interactive. The Golf Pro is a new golfing simulation that features Gary Player as the man behind the game. Not only does The Golf Pro use Gary’s name, but it also offers interactive instruction with Gary as your teacher. Along with this endorsement come some new features and an entirely different twist on how to swing your golf club. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: March 31, 1998

When it comes to creating the most authentic simulations on the market, Jane’s is hands down the first name that comes to mind. Their last title, Longbow 2, won numerous awards for its authenticity, along with its stellar graphics and gameplay. This time around, Andy Hollis and friends have put the finishing touches on their next release, F-15. Last year when they were showing the initial flight model of the game, it was hard to believe they would spend about another year bringing it to perfection. That first showing was incredible, and a year of waiting and wondering how the final version would play has finally come to end. Jane’s F-15 has hit the store shelves, and promises to bring flight simulation fans to a whole new world. ( read more… )