Review by: Mike Laidlaw
Published: August 7, 2001

Having spent several months in the employ of a video game merchant, I am all too familiar with the unique and desperate look parents acquire as soon as their children start talking to them about Pokémon. Countless times I would explain to a beleaguered father that, yes, pretty much everything with the word Pokémon on it was designed to work together, and that his kids were correct in that they really did need whichever cartridge they were waving about to properly enjoy the games. ( read more… )

Review by: Mike Laidlaw
Published: June 20, 2001

Try as you might, no one can ignore the devastating effect Tetris had upon the world’s office productivity. With hundreds of clones available, the Russian export has become as much a driving force in popularizing computer gaming as the ubiquitous Solitaire, Myst or even Deer Hunter. For all its charm, however, Tetris was a bit sterile and definitely catered to a mature audience, so the developers at Nintendo sat down to figure out how to make the game more appealing for the younger players who made up their target demographic. The decision to include Mario was a bit of a no-brainer; Nintendo knows that their charming plumber is the envy of every Bandicoot and Hedgehog on the planet. ( read more… )

Review by: Mike Laidlaw
Published: January 30, 2001

In 1998, the Japanese market saw the release of a winter sports title for the N64 known as Snow Speeder. Similar in premise to Nintendo’s 1080 Snowboarding, this new release also included skis and let players outfit their racers in whatever gear they preferred, a first in the genre. U.S. publishers, however, were generally non-receptive to the Imagineer-developed game, and with the chairlift of corporate approval out of commission, the product faced a long trudge uphill to our shores. Now, with the help of SouthPeak Interactive, the long-ignored cartridge has finally arrived for the winter sport starved N64, complete with its new title–Big Mountain 2000–and high hopes to put the powder back in the hands of the people. ( read more… )

Review by: Blake Nelson
Published: October 21, 2000

The Nintendo 64 has never been known for having an abundance of titles in any particular genre, but it has had some preeminent titles in several, including Mario 64, Goldeneye 007 and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Even in its declining years, the N64 has shown itself to be capable of offering new and satisfying gameplay experiences thanks to the efforts of Nintendo, Rare and a small group of dedicated developers. ( read more… )

Review by: Mike Laidlaw
Published: September 30, 2000

It has been a long time since the first Turok smashed onto the N64 with its hardcore first-person gameplay, impressive arsenal and engaging storyline. Since then some of the glamor has faded from the franchise: Turok 2: Seeds of Evil suffered from abnormally long gaps between save points and Turok: Rage Wars‘ bots provided a less than spectacular single player experience. For the final N64 installment of the venerable series, Acclaim chose to try and integrate the best elements of their previous titles into one cohesive opus. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: January 25, 2000

Midway has their business formula down pat when it comes to creating action-intensive arcade machines, then porting their quarter-munching creations to every platform imaginable. One of the areas in which they’ve been the most successful in this regard is sports-related titles, including the huge success of NFL Blitz. Now it looks as if Midway is ready to duke it out with NBA Jam, the king of arcade basketball sims, as it brings NBA Showtime: The NBA on NBC home for the Nintendo 64. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: January 22, 2000

Across the board, developers and publishers are eternally striving for a big hit, and once in a while, a few of these digital prospectors actually strike gold. Everyone assumes that things become rosy for the lucky parties in question, but bringing fame and fortune to a brand name isn’t as wonderful as some might believe. Consider that the rewards for success are fleeting, and that when the money runs out, it’s up to the people behind a big franchise to churn out sequels that live up to the lofty standards set by the original game. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: January 18, 2000

UbiSoft has come a long way over the years, rising from its humble beginnings in France to international stardom. Still, the publisher has failed to make a big splash in the American market. It’s not because of a lack of effort, though, as many of their original creations, most notably Rayman, enjoy great popularity overseas. While Monsieur R was making a stunning second appearance last year with the release of Rayman 2, UbiSoft was also hard at work on another project named Tonic Trouble, designed to follow the path charted by their favored son. Three years in the making, with an initial launch mere months ago, one is inevitably left to wonder: Is Tonic Trouble the heir to Rayman‘s throne, or just the wayward child? ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: January 8, 2000

Acclaim may have achieved tremendous success with their Turok line of first-person shooters amongst console audiences, but few would argue that these titles were not heavily influenced by PC gaming trends. After all, titles such as Duke Nukem 3D and Quake helped establish the formula of visceral action combined with reflex-intensive play that Turok was based upon. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: January 5, 2000

Originally coming from a PC gaming background, I wasn’t expecting much from 3DO’s BattleTanx: Global Assault. After all, the vehicle-based shooter wasn’t exactly a popular genre for computer-oriented publishers nor a profitable one as titles such as Grolier’s Tank Racer proved when it lived up to its namesake and tanked heavily when it came to sales. Nevertheless, I’d heard good things about 3DO’s prominent N64 series and did get a few laughs out of the commercial in which the Snuggle bear gets the stuffing blown out of it. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: December 29, 1999

A decade or so ago, when interactive entertainment was in its adolescence and games were still based on simple premises, Paperboy made its first appearance. One of the quirkiest titles at the time, it was your goal to deliver newspapers with precision aim to houses in a given amount of time while speeding around on a bicycle and avoiding various obstacles thrown your way. We may never know how, but the offering gained a cult following of sorts, prompting the release of several home versions of the coin-op favorite. Now that we’re ten years down the road and publishers have a penchant for retro gaming, Paperboy 64 has arrived for the Nintendo 64, and it’s time to regress into our youth once again. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: December 8, 1999

Jay-Z said it was a hard knock life, and his statement couldn’t ring with more truth in terms of console and computer boxing simulations. It’s a genre that’s had it ups and downs, but over the years garnered grudging respect thanks to phenomenal titles such as Microprose’s 4D Boxing, Nintendo’s Mike Tyson’s Punch Out and the newly released Ready 2 Rumble Boxing from Midway. Although these titles never failed to capture the imaginations of fans of the sport, it’s only in recent years that we’ve begun to see a resurgence in their appearance. As a given rule, you can always expect to find bad apples in every bunch though, as Sony’s Contender and Data Becker’s KO prove, so I tried not to get my hopes up when it came to Knockout Kings 2000, EA’s latest effort. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: November 22, 1999

I’m certain those amongst us who’d label themselves longtime gamers have had the pleasure of playing Gauntlet, one of the brightest gems in Midway’s classic portfolio. Prior to the release of this best-selling arcade machine in 1984, four-player simultaneous gaming had been limited to Atari’s Warlords, resulting in a resurgence of sleep deprivation worldwide almost overnight. As entertaining as the original title was, the only thing surprising about the release of Gauntlet Legends (the first full-blown sequel in almost a decade) was that it took so long to arrive. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: October 7, 1999

If you were to ask a fan of football video games to name the first word that comes to their head, when they don’t blurt out “beer,” they’re liable to say “Madden XX.” Feel free to substitute just about any year in the past decade for XX, because Electronic Arts’ series has been around almost that long, and as far as I can tell is still wearing the digital Super Bowl ring from its victory over the latest crop of football titles out there. That’s not to say the road to the trophy was without its share of hardships along the way, as Acclaim’s NFL Quarterback Club series and Midway’s NFL Blitz threatened to knock Madden 99 right out of the league, albeit to no avail. ( read more… )

Review by: Scott Steinberg
Published: October 2, 1999

It’s been a tough week. You’ve saved the planet from a marauding alien horde, rescued a bevy of luscious babes, fired off more catchy one-liners than you’d care to remember, and leveled half of downtown. What’s next on the list of “to-dos” for America’s most popular action hero? After you’ve arranged for a highly successful string of products for PC compatible machines and launched a few decent console debuts, the answer seems to be to do it all over again, as Duke Nukem returns to kick ass and take names in Zero Hour, his second adventure for the Nintendo 64. ( read more… )