Review by: Chris Harding
Published: July 19, 1998

What would happen if you took all the good stuff from the Tomb Raider franchise, combined it with a successful story line such as Ian Livingstone’s Fighting Fantasy series, and then added a multiplayer feature? That is, in essence, the question that begs answering when playing Eidos’ latest foray into the action adventure world, Deathtrap Dungeon. A few years ago a small game developer called Core, a sexy and sophisticated game heroine named Lara, and one hell of an aggressive marketing plan put Eidos Interactive on the map. The game, as you all know, was Tomb Raider. Soon after the original Tomb Raider’s release, Eidos affiliate Asylum Studios began working on Deathtrap Dungeon, a Tomb Raider-like game set in the Fighting Fantasy world. Eidos appeared to have the dog by the tail; they could do no wrong. However, last year’s release of Tomb Raider 2, although wildly successful, was received by many as lacking the style and overall design that made the first so innovative and fun. When Eidos failed to show Deathtrap Dungeon at this year’s E3, I was afraid it was because the game wasn’t living up to expectations. A few weeks ago, with some reservation, I picked up my copy of the game. ( read more… )

Review by: Bob Mandel
Published: July 15, 1998

When a game company considers releasing an updated version of a classic arcade shooter from the 1980s, it faces two clear choices: either release it with the exact look-and-feel of the original game, as Microsoft did in its Arcade release a few years ago, or attempt to update the game with all of the latest bells and whistles, the way Activision is planning to do with its forthcoming release of Asteroids 3D. I will let you know right away that I vastly prefer the second approach, because I believe that the exciting arcade gameplay can be dramatically enhanced by the latest 3D-accelerated graphics and sound. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: July 14, 1998

Soccer. Football. Futbol. The beautiful game. No matter how you refer to it, soccer is the most popular sport in the world. Fox Sports takes a stab at bringing this sport to life in Fox Sports Soccer 99, a game based on the same engine used in Actua Soccer 2 not too long ago. I’ll not bore you with details about how to play soccer and such, but rather present the way the game is played in Fox Soccer. ( read more… )

Review by: Bob Mandel
Published: July 13, 1998

As most of you faithful readers know, recent trends in computer gaming have not reflected brilliant outbursts of creativity. While many technical advances have occurred, most releases simply embellish the basic structure of those that came before. One method of moving in an innovative direction when there are not many revolutionary new ideas floating around is to create a game which mixes the approaches of several different genres. While each part is not novel, the particular combination of play elements can make for a refreshing new experience.

( read more… )

Review by: Chris Harding
Published: July 12, 1998

Over the past five years FASA’s Battletech has waged war across the PC gaming desktop. The Battletech series of games got a huge kick start in 1995 when the long awaited Mechwarrior 2 hit shelves. The game, although much maligned for its lengthy development cycle, was, and is still revered as one of the best fantasy-action simulations ever. FASA, at that time, had licensed their Battletech universe to developer and publisher Activision. Following up their Mechwarrior 2 success, Activision used the license to ship two other titles, Ghost Bear’s Legacy and Mercenaries. After a falling out with Activision, due to the delays in Mechwarrior 2, FASA founded their own internal development team, FASA Interactive, and signed a publishing deal with Microprose. It was then announced in 1996 that FASA Interactive’s first game would be a real-time strategy adaptation of the Battletech universe, called Battletech Honorbound. I can remember fantasizing about the possibilities of a real-time Mechwarrior game. At the time I was deep into Command & Conquer, and the idea of replacing my Mammoth Tanks and Nod Buggies with Timber Wolves and Hellbringers made my mouth water. Two years and a name change later, FASA Interactive has delivered on their promise. ( read more… )

Review by: David Laprad
Published: July 9, 1998

I can uphold this burden no longer. I must confess to sitting here, blinking at the screen and fighting sleep after a marathon gaming session of epic proportions. It has been ages since a game has gripped me in this manner, and I have been reminded of the reasons for devoting so much of life to this splendid pastime. However, this game, which was brought to life on the PlayStation, has been fraught with difficulties, and although it is a true classic, there are a number of peculiar deficiencies. The combination of its brilliant, content-rich design and frustrating technical aberrations has made this a notable PC title, and the en vogue topic of discussion in gaming forums.

( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: July 5, 1998

Dominion: Storm Over Gift3 originally began as simply Dominion under 7th Level’s development studios. Then 7th Level got out of gaming and Ion Storm bought the rights to the game so they could finish and distribute it. According to the people I talked to, and based on versions of the game I got to play, the game was nearing completion last summer. I was curious to see what exactly Ion Storm had done with the title and how much different it would be. To be honest, it looked and played pretty much the same as far as I could tell. ( read more… )

Review by: Bob Mandel
Published: July 3, 1998

Computer game companies spring up in many ways. Lately, we have witnessed increased movement by traditional manufacturers of toys and hardcopy games into the potentially lucrative PC games market. Among the more noteworthy entrants are Playmates Toys (the parent company of Playmates Interactive), Tiger Toys (the maker of hand-held electronic games, who recently released Lights Out 3D for the PC), Lego (the Danish building-block company that recently released the successful Lego Island CD) and of course Hasbro (a company that has successfully transformed several Parker Brothers games for the computer). While the risk and marketing strategies are quite different, this transition seems to be quite a natural one. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: July 2, 1998

I am, as I sit here writing this review, fulfilling a dream. You see, long before I worked for the Adrenaline Vault, before I even owned a Pentium, I was a happy little gamer with a happy little 486. And although many games passed through the digital domain of my hard drive, there was one that had a permanent home there, a masterpiece I would return to over, and over, and over again — X-Wing. As a self-professed Star Wars geek, I tore into X-Wing like a man possessed, determined to bring the Emperor’s pathetic fleet to its knees. Actually, my goals were two-fold: to completely annihilate the evil Galactic Empire, and fill in my uniform with every patch, ribbon, and medal a Rebel pilot could earn. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: June 28, 1998

You are about to read of one of the most brief game descriptions I’ve ever had to write. Insurrection, an add-on for Starcraft created by Aztech, isn’t anything other than “more.” It’s simply more campaigns, more missions, and more multiplayer maps. You won’t find additional heroes, new units, or any else of the kind. Accordingly, the scope of the expansion is really left up to what the creators were able to do using the campaign editor and a little imagination. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: June 26, 1998

Industry Giant is essentially an english version of a game called Der Industriegigant that was released in the German market a while back by JoWood. Throughout a world map are a number of populations, ranging from small towns to giant metropolitan cities. In each of these towns, people are demanding certain products, including toys, sporting goods, jewelry, and furniture. Essentially, it’s your job to decide what products you want to produce, where you want your production facilities and retail outlets located, how much you want to charge, and other such decisions. You can try to get a foothold in on a budding town that has great growth potential, or go for the high demand in a metropolitan city. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: June 26, 1998

I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the way, military games became a lot less fun than they used to be. Nowhere is this more evident than in the closely scrutinized sub-genre of the helicopter simulation. That’s not to say that something like Jane’s Longbow 2 isn’t a great game, because it is. But with the release of each new helicopter sim comes a deluge of ranting newsgroup messages from gamers who suddenly consider themselves ex-Army Apache pilots. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: June 25, 1998

I was convinced I would hate this game.

Now that I’ve got your attention, please allow me to elaborate. You see, I’m one of these “hardcore” space sim junkies, the kind of guy who thinks the exploration of a distant star system is just as much fun as skewering enemy spacecraft with proton torpedoes and particle beams. I actually played the original Elite, and instantly fell in love with the whole space combat/exploration/trading genre, a relationship that only grew stronger with games like Echelon, Nomad, and Privateer. And although I became completely hooked on more action-oriented space sims like X-Wing and Wing Commander III, I have to admit that I never stopped yearning for those days of yore, when exploration and discovery took precedent over simple, fast-paced dogfights. When Descent: Freespace was first announced, when I saw those first glossy magazine ads and flashy 3Dfx screenshots, I committed the one cardinal sin of a computer game reviewer: I made a prejudgment. ( read more… )

Review by: Jordan Thomas
Published: June 23, 1998

Simplicity.

One word, one concept — often both the pride and the fall of a creative project. Dink Smallwood is a perfect example of the refined basics of classic RPG and adventure games. This is a fairly unique title, in purpose and in implementation. It achieves what it sets out to do: to entertain the fans with a return to the golden roots of the genre. And yet, I must make clear that this is indeed best viewed as a bare-bones RPG with an endearing sense of humor. If your gaming tastes these days can only be sated by the crime of industry technology, this might be under par. But if not, you’re in for a hell of a good time. ( read more… )

Review by: Bob Mandel
Published: June 21, 1998

Even though I have been somewhat inundated by racing games lately, I have most eagerly anticipated the release of Motorhead. Designed by the Swedish company Digital Illusions and marketed in Europe by Gremlin, it is still not officially out here in the United States. But thanks to Fox Interactive, the American distributor of the game, I managed after much pleading to get an advanced copy of the final version before its initial release, so that I could give all of you a special early look at what is to come in just a couple of months. ( read more… )