Review by: Doug Trueman
Published: November 28, 1998

S.C.A.R.S. is a three-dimensional racing game made by the wizards at Ubi Soft. The story behind the game is yet another one of post-apocalyptic chaos. In the S.C.A.R.S. universe mankind has lost control of the earth and has been superseded by nine supercomputers. After developing all human emotions, the supercomputers became bored with their existence and decided to pass the time with “the most honorable of human customs”: racing (so much for space exploration). Turning to nature for inspiration, the computers based their new land vehicles on some of earth’s most fearsome creatures. They called their new racing league the Super Computer Animal Racing Simulation. ( read more… )

Review by: Bob Mandel
Published: November 27, 1998

Often competition among racing games is fiercer away from the courses among the companies that produce them than on the tracks among the vehicles themselves. Off-road racing is certainly no exception, and Accolade and Microsoft have been in an intense competition in the last couple of years to win this particular race. While earlier Accolade’s Test Drive: Off-Road competed against Microsoft’s Monster Truck Madness, this year when Microsoft released Monster Truck Madness 2 in the spring, Accolade could not help but respond with Test Drive: Off-Road 2 in the winter. Although the games are not exactly alike, with the Microsoft offering focusing just on souped-up monster trucks and the Accolade offering dealing with a wide range of licensed vehicles available commercially, they both target pretty much the same buying audience. As this review hopes to show, while neither product is a disaster one appears to be more than a car length ahead of the other. ( read more… )

Review by: Jason Purdy
Published: November 27, 1998

I know what you’re doing right now. You’re staring, mouth gaping open, eyes wide, at the Metal Gear Solid (MGS) logo that is up there where the Reviewer’s Choice Award is supposed to be. “Where is it!?” you ask, “This must be a mistake! How on Earth could the sequel to two of the coolest games ever to grace a Nintendo, be anything less than the most miraculous spectacle any reviewer could ever dream of?” I hate to burst your bubble, Gracie, but the award is missing for a reason, and I don’t mean that somebody stole it. Some background is in order, though, before I get into the meat of the game. ( read more… )

Review by: David Laprad
Published: November 26, 1998

What is a heretic?

A heretic is someone who dissents from an accepted belief or doctrine. Administer the term to Raven Software and their role in the first-person genre becomes clear. The accepted belief has been that 3D shooters should be science fiction-based blastfests with shotguns and aliens smart enough to build spaceships but too dumb to avoid gunfire. Since Heretic, Raven Software has scorned this derivative approach and struck a unique chord with its hot medieval-tinged action. The talented design group endured lean times for being true to the namesake of their seminal series — but thankfully remained undeterred. ( read more… )

Review by: Jason Purdy
Published: November 26, 1998

I don’t know when exactly it was that the sidescroller died. It had been ailing for quite some time when Tomb Raider was released, but I think that was probably the final nail in the two-dimensional coffin. Suddenly everyone from Mario to Crash Bandicoot was frolicking freely in 33% more dimensions than ever before. Since the dawn of what shall heretofore be referred to as the “3D sidescroller” a good many games have come out, and, sad to say, the majority of them have been cheap knock-offs of established hits such as Tomb Raider and Mario 64. I am very happy to report, however, that MediEvil is not among their numbers. ( read more… )

Review by: Jason Purdy
Published: November 25, 1998

The brains behind the Mechwarrior franchise officially did the “Giant Lumbering Robot” genre to death. The Heavy Gear people, not waiting for the corpse to cool, jumped onto the bandwagon with considerable alacrity, and in a flurry of mixed metaphors proceeded to pound the dead horse further into the ground than I had previously imagined possible. Thus you can imagine how I cringed when I saw that SquareSoft’s next title seemed to revolve around massive Voltron clones. Luckily, Xenogears is not one of those games. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: November 24, 1998

Axis & Allies is the computer version of a strategy board game. It features the five main powers involved in WWII, and allows you to play as any of the five against computer and/or human opponents. The game really strikes me as a blend of Risk and an old, but great, strategy game called Strategic Conquest. Unlike Risk, you have different types of units to use instead of the standard armies. Still, the basic concepts of gaining points to obtain troops based on the territories you own are the same as in Risk. It has some similarities to Strategic Conquest because it uses pretty much the same unit types and strengths and so common gameplay concepts. ( read more… )

Review by: Craig Miller
Published: November 23, 1998

Hey NBA! Where’s your game at? I’ll tell ya where… It’s in NBA Live 99 from EA Sports. I was reading the sports news the other day and I kept thinking to myself that something was missing. I couldn’t figure out what it might be until I saw the commercial with Spike Lee where he is at a Catholic School’s girls basketball game taunting a little girl named Regina Miller. After I stopped laughing, I realized what was missing — no NBA scores! The season has been on hold now for quite a while and it doesn’t look like the end is in sight. If you are a die hard basketball fan and own a computer, the closest you might get to NBA action is by playing NBA Live 99. ( read more… )

Review by: Chris Harding
Published: November 20, 1998

Are you enamored with the fantasy world in computer gaming? Do you fancy yourself a hero? Did you play so much Diablo that you wore a hole in your index finger, and had to wear an ace bandage for a week due to the lingering carpal tunnel syndrome? If you answered in the affirmative to any of those questions — pay attention! For the past few months Russian gamers have been enjoying a unique game they call Allods, created by Buka and Nival Entertainment. It combines two great computer game genres: real-time strategy and role-playing. Somewhere buried under the hype surrounding
Shogo and Blood 2, Monolith found the time and resources to bring this title to the English speaking world — and for the most part we’re glad they did. It’s been renamed Rage of Mages, and while the speech may have changed, the gameplay has not. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: November 19, 1998

“Welcome…to planet FMM UV-32!” Wait a minute…does something here seem vaguely familiar to you? A week ago DreamWorks’ Trespasser was the only dinosaur game in sight, and despite its mixed reception seemed destined to rule the jungle, and gamers’ Holiday wish lists, if for no other reason than the recognizability of the Jurassic Park name. But the computer game industry continues to surprise me, and Speilberg’s Site B could very well be forgotten when Santa and Chanukah Harry come calling next month. Carnivores, published by WizardWorks and developed by Action Forms Ltd., approaches the prehistoric age from a different angle: instead of focusing on exploration and puzzle solving, the game is a true hunting simulation, forcing the player to rely on stealth, aim, and quick reflexes. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever played before, and that really is the center of the game’s appeal. ( read more… )

Review by: Bob Mandel
Published: November 17, 1998

Long before his fame for creating the recent blockbuster movie Titanic, I was a fan of James Cameron for a film he had directed years earlier in 1989, The Abyss. This movie was a fantastic deep-sea tale of the crew of an oil rig attempting to rescue a sunken nuclear submarine. The underwater visuals and special effects were simply out of this world, and the musical score was absolutely enchanting. While it did not make a huge splash with the public, it showcased just as much of Cameron’s immense talent as his more celebrated film made almost a decade later. ( read more… )

Review by: Bob Mandel
Published: November 17, 1998

Have you ever played a computer game to learn about history? I certainly haven’t. Although there are plenty of multimedia reference disks that present the human story in a really fascinating way, I play games for fun, not to chronicle historical trends. When people do think about learning history from a computer game, they generally consider one like Microsoft’s Age of Empires, which takes place in very colorful historical periods. Many computer simulations today are so realistic, they can indeed teach us in a fresh and interactive way about how earlier generations coped with a wide range of problems similar to those we experience today. But the last type one would think of as a source to learn about our past is an arcade game, as these appeal to the mindless reflex-oriented action crowd (of which I am a part) who unquestionably do not turn to computer games as a way to study our past. ( read more… )

Review by: Craig Miller
Published: November 16, 1998

I can remember a time not that long ago when I was a little kid and my friends and I would play “soldier” all day long. We would run and hide behind trees and buildings and lay in a ditch in order to not be seen. Even though there were lots of arguments about who was “dead” and who was not, we played until we couldn’t run anymore. As we grew older, stupidly enough we even tried using BB guns in our games. Obviously, that was a mistake and we found out soon enough after being stung a few times. For years, I have been looking for a similar experience that could be recreated on a PC. Many deathmatch games have come along, such as Quake and Unreal, and they are fun, but they don’t provide that feeling of being outdoors and having hills and trees to hide behind, let alone being able to see objects that are on the horizon. When I first heard about Delta Force I was very excited and for the most part, Novalogic has produced something of what I was looking for, even though they didn’t get it perfect. ( read more… )

Review by: David Laprad
Published: November 15, 1998

As other companies built penthouses and promoted cutting-edge engines, Monolith labored on a pair of games. I prepared for these titles with great anticipation, soaking up the latest reports and reading about the design and programming efforts behind their creations. As other companies postponed their games, Monolith unleashed a pair of uppercuts that stunned the gaming commune. The merits of these games are the subject of intense debate, but there is one factor missing from the argument. Caleb is back and Duke is not. Is this a blessing or a curse? To be honest, it is a little of both.

( read more… )

Review by: Craig Miller
Published: November 13, 1998

Ask 9 out of 10 people what name comes to mind when they think about golf on the computer and they will answer, “Links, by Access.” In case you think I am just making that up, I can assure you it is scientifically true. I went to the local EB today and asked people as they walked into the store. The one person that didn’t answer by saying, “Links” said something like, “Get out of my face, loser!” or something of that nature. At any rate, golf is identified with Access Software much the same way that NHL hockey is identified with EA Sports. They didn’t just get this designation by accident, but rather by many years of producing consistent-quality golf games. This year is no different, and Access may have outdone themselves with their release of Links LS 99. ( read more… )