Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: October 23, 1999

When it first hit arcades, Mortal Kombat raised quite a stir in the gaming community, as it brought the issue of video game violence to the forefront of public consciousness due to its brutal depiction of one-on-one combat. An original take on the fighting game that for the first time ever boasted gruesome fatality moves which quite literally allowed players to tear their opponents to bits, Mortal Kombat gained immense popularity and went on to spawn a host of sequels and enhanced versions for both arcade and console platforms, just as its greatest competitor, the Street Fighter series has done. After plunking more than our fair share of quarters into MK1, MK2, MK3, and an endless stream of “Ultimate” and “v1.5″ editions, it was only natural that Midway introduced Mortal Kombat 4 to eager fans. Although this title was released for PSX and N64 platforms last year, it’s no surprise that Midway couldn’t resist the opportunity to cash in by porting it to the Dreamcast, and thus the idea behind Mortal Kombat Gold (essentially an enhanced/special edition of MK4) was born. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: October 20, 1999

You’ve got to hand it to Midway, they always make the best arcade games. Sure, that’s a matter of opinion, but it’s not hard to find the evidence to back it up, which includes famous titles such as Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, and San Francisco Rush. A creative lot they are indeed, so most gamers tend to expect the best from them, although their recent console efforts have met with mixed reviews. Bearing this in mind, while it was exciting to hear that they’d partnered up with the famous boxer Michael Buffer to make an arcade style boxing title for the Dreamcast, I still remained on guard, wary of the possibility it would be a stinker. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: October 16, 1999

Representing what is perhaps the most overused genre in the history of interactive entertainment, a horde of new racing titles seem to find their way onto store shelves every year. Most don’t offer anything new in the plotline or gameplay department, as they tend to serve instead as vehicles through which the latest and greatest technology out there can be put to the test in a trial by fire to see which gives out first, the game’s frame rate or the programmers working on it. We’ve seen racing products ranging from simulations to arcade style speedfests and everything in between, but the one thing we can always count on is that a racing game is always going to present in the initial lineup for any gaming system. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: October 13, 1999

A couple of years ago, UK-based developer/publisher Rage exposed one of the gaming industry’s most embarrassing truths, that graphics alone can sell a title to the masses, when they released Incoming worldwide. Truly an offering that gave new meaning to graphical splendor, Incoming was a bit short in the gameplay department, but after being bundled with just about every video card on the market, no one seemed to notice and it still went on to make untold millions for the people who conceived it. Quick to latch firmly onto the coattails of the title which brought them true international acclaim, Rage has developed Expendable, yet another game which features phenomenal visual effects, and predictably enough they’ve ported it to Dreamcast, albeit under the aegis of corporate giant Infogrames. Much as I’d prefer not to sound too cynical, as I cracked open the box on Rage’s latest creation, the question loomed heavy in my mind as to just how well it would play. ( read more… )

Review by: Jason Purdy
Published: October 4, 1999

Console developers are all but required these days to accompany the debut of their new hardware with at least one game that pushes that hardware to the limits. When the Super Nintendo came out, it had Super Mario Land to show the world exactly what they meant when they talked about “Mode 7 Graphics.” Likewise, Super Mario World on the N64 was packed with as much eye candy as the cartridge could hold and served as an excellent demonstration of what the N64 could do that the PSX couldn’t. It’s simply good business sense to make sure that your first titles do everything within their power to make your console look as exquisite as possible, and that is exactly what Namco has done for Sega with Soul Calibur. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: September 29, 1999

In recent years, Capcom hasn’t exactly been known for creating the most unique fighting games, as they’ve been content to milk their Street Fighter license for all it’s worth, issuing updated version after updated version of the title packed with slight differences. About the time the company started getting into their EX Plus Alpha 2 nonsense, I decided I’d wasted enough of my money on their products and boycotted their arcade machines until I heard their first truly original offering in years, PowerStone, was set to launch. ( read more… )