Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: June 19, 1998

Release a game, and then release an add-on pack. It’s one of those inevitabilities of the gaming industry, something as expected as the announcement of a new 3D shooter, or a company putting out a patch for a game three days after it hits the shelves. In these days of rushed releases, shoddy beta testing, and multi-million dollar deals, expansion packs are viewed with growing cynicism by those who claim publishers have gotten all too greedy, and are simply trying to make a quick buck. At times, this rationale is certainly valid; God knows I’ve played quite a few boneheaded add-on packs in my day. Yet I’m hesitant to apply this reasoning to most flight sim expansion pack, for one very specific (if not a bit sentimental) reason: Ever since there have been military flight sims, there have been add-on campaigns. More than just a marketing scheme, it is a tradition, born of the desire to take the battle even deeper into enemy lines, to visit new and exciting places and turn them into smoldering ruins. Hey, it may not be pretty, but that’s war.

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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: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: June 16, 1998

Your local software store is a battlefield. Swirling smoke blinds your eyes, as you grope uncertainly for the new release shelf. “Get down!” a store clerk yells, milliseconds before a mortar shell turns the main counter into a mess of wood and plastic, raining demo disks and change from the now shattered cash register throughout the room. Still, you carry on. Your retrieval mission must succeed. Interactive Magic’s iPanzer ’44 will be yours! Now on hands and knees, you crawl through the aisles, ignoring the pain of glass in your palms and the deafening roar of artillery. Legs. A flash of color from a coat. You see another consumer, pinned beneath an overturned shelf, a copy of Unreal still clutched in one bloody hand. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: June 16, 1998

Trust no one…boy, you got that right. After playing Fox Interactive’s The X-Files, I find myself on the fringes of paranoia, checking my cat for alien tentacles and questioning my wife — if that’s who she really is — about events from our past. So far, I think I’m safe. Both doors are locked and bolted, I destroyed the potted plant (I know the hidden microphone was in there somewhere), and I’ve got a big steak knife sitting on top of my monitor, just in case…. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: June 15, 1998

Soldiers at War (SAW) from Random Games and SSI offers gamers the opportunity to lead a squad of soldiers in missions behind enemy lines. The campaign is a series of linked scenarios, each an important mission crucial to the course of WWII. The game offers a campaign of 15 scenarios as well as the ability to play single missions, custom missions, and multiplayer. ( read more… )

Review by: David Laprad
Published: June 14, 1998

I have always believed a mission pack for a 3D game is a breeze to create. The development tools have been created, the design precedent has been set, and all that is left is to produce a solid set of levels, creatures, weapons, and items. Choose the right design team, give the graphics a unique visual flair, then pound it out, wrap it up, and ship it off. I have been wrong. Although development teams at Ritual Entertainment and Rogue Entertainment gave the first game in this series fresh life with their add-ons, the first mission pack for the sequel is a disappointment, and fails to attain the grandeur of the id Software masterpiece.

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Review by: David Laprad
Published: June 12, 1998

Although keeping pace with the ever-pressing advance of hardware is a constant source of frustration for insolvent game players, game developers must be pleased with increased horsepower. It enables them to mold and shape unprecedented visual splendor, but just as important, faster CPUs and more RAM gives them power to inject hard-core science into their code. No genre has gone untouched, including the humble pinball simulation. Case in point, Microprose’s latest release, which simulates the physics of real-world pinball with painstaking perfection. In fact, the only things missing are the smoke-filled air and hazy lights.

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Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: June 11, 1998

When your world is a darkened womb of blood, sweat, and steel, the best you can do is put faith in God, the skill of your crewmates, and the strength of your main gun. In Interactive Magic’s iPanzer ’44, you are a tank commander during the latter days of World War II, fighting for crew and country and your own expendable life. Not since the simulation/strategy hybrid Across the Rhine was released several years ago have gamers been given the opportunity to control the armored beasts of the “Last Great War,” relying on speed, tenacity, and pure dumb luck over advanced computer technology and up-to-the-minute intelligence. One thing’s for sure: World War II enthusiasts have been waiting for this game for a long, long time. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: June 9, 1998

The cavalcade of strategy game expansions continues its march towards summer with Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency (TA:CC). What’s it offer? In a word, more; more units, more maps, more missions, more everything. In addition to the 20 units that Cavedog made available on their site after the release of TA, TA:CC offers 75 additional new units. For those who enjoyed TA, and there aren’t many that didn’t, TA:CC should provide ample opportunity to enjoy the game in a new venue with new, destructive toys to play with. ( 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: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: June 7, 1998

It was inevitable, really. Now that the immediate pain of the United States’ failure in Vietnam has subsided, and the taboo surrounding the war has largely been lifted, it was just a matter of time before a computer game company attempted to cash in on the conflict by reducing it to a 3D shooter. GT Interactive’s Nam does just that, by thrusting the player into the bloodied combat boots of Sergeant Alan “the Bear” Westmoreland, a Captain America-like super soldier who, thanks to an experimental serum, has been granted enhanced combat abilities. It’s a good thing, too, because you’ll be dropped right in the middle of Vietnam, circa 1966, and charged with single-handedly taking on the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong armies. Call me crazy, but I think at that point I’d tell the boys in research to screw their serum and start working on a BattleMech. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: June 7, 1998

I am completely convinced that no matter how many strategy games are released between now and the day I die, no matter how exciting or technologically advanced, none will ever have the impact on me that the original X-COM did. Not terribly impressed by the demo, it wasn’t until I read scores of reviews, lauding the game’s originality and limitless depth, that I finally “broke down” and bought a copy. From that moment on, it was true love. I played through the whole thing twice; refused to wuss out and reload a saved game when my squad got completely wiped out; and pretty much bought a Playstation just so I could play X-COM with better graphics, on the larger screen. From that first great entry into the series my love only grew, encompassing Terror From the Deep and even Apocalypse. Ahhh…those were the days. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: June 4, 1998

And so it continues…. Walmart clerks have barely begun restocking the shelves with copies of Deer Hunter and its add-on, Extended Season, after the recent PC hunting frenzy cleaned out bargain bins and discount shelves around the nation. Now, the team of Wizardworks (GT Interactive Value Division) and Sunstorm Entertainment is back with yet another title, one the builds upon the successful Deer Hunter formula by providing even more hi-res hunting action. Rocky Mountain Trophy Hunter takes the budget line in a new direction by offering players the opportunity to hunt not one but four different types of animals in a variety of new locations. ( 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… )