Review by: Pete Hines
Published: September 19, 1997

In the 21st century, things are pretty screwed up, especially our genes. People can’t survive on Earth without liquid evolution drugs, or L.E.D. In L.E.D. Wars, you attempt to help your corporation survive on the rather desolate planet that remains by producing L.E.D. pills and eliminating your enemy, and taking all his L.E.D. too. If you are familiar with any of the above-mentioned real-time strategy games, then you will have no trouble picking up on L.E.D. Wars. You progress through a series of 14 missions, each requiring the completion of several objectives, which always includes the elimination of any enemy forces. In some missions, you will begin with a small number of buildings or units, but in others you may have to start from scratch. Success depends on mining enough L.E.D. and oil to supplement production of any needed buildings and units. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: September 18, 1997

In Major League baseball, a grand slam is not an every game occurrence — neither is the release of a good baseball simulation. Virgin Interactive is trying to change that with Grand Slam baseball. Grand Slam baseball is one of the first sports games to hit the market that has built-in 3D acceleration. This is an ambitious title that is trying to hit its own “Grand Slam.” ( read more… )

Review by: Brian Pipa
Published: September 17, 1997

PainKeep is a partial conversion (PC) for Quake in the same vein as the Quake Mission Packs 1 and 2, except for one big difference (well, two — PainKeep is free) — PainKeep was specifically made for multiplayer. True, you can play it solo in Quake, but PainKeep really shines in multiplayer mayhem. Everything is optimized for Internet play. ( read more… )

Review by: Brian Pipa
Published: September 16, 1997

There are plenty of different stories of the civilization known as Atlantis. I had always heard that it was a great and mighty underwater civilization, similar to the Romans or Greeks in their hey-day. In Atlantis: The Lost Tales, the Atlantean civilization is very similar to the Greeks or Romans, but this civilization is on land, not underwater as I had always heard, and it is full of treachery, treason, and murder. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: September 15, 1997

As technologies continue to advance in the gaming world, we are beginning to see more and more console hits ported to the PC. This fall one of the Sony Playstation’s biggest hits, Resident Evil, will makes its debut on the PC platform. Resident Evil, along with some other titles, is paving the way for 3D accelerated-only games to hit the market, and Capcom Entertainment is bringing this award-winning Playstation title to the PC. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: September 14, 1997

Outpost 2: Divided Destiny is the latest real-time strategy game from Sierra and Dynamix. This title attempts to distance itself from its predecessor by addressing a lot of the problems in the original, while at the same time building on what Sierra believes was a fundamentally solid premise. Dynamix brought Patrick Cook to the project, who had worked for a number of years on sports titles, for a fresh perspective and to hopefully right the many wrongs that plagued the original game. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: September 12, 1997

Everyone’s favorite cadaverous cowboy is at it again, and this time, he’s not pulling any punches. That’s right, Caleb is back in Monolith’s Blood Plasma Pak, the official add-on for your existing copy of Blood. Just as the Plutonium Pak added a new episode and new features to 3D Realms’ Duke Nukem 3D, the Plasma Pak adds several enhancements to Blood, including an all new episode. ( read more… )

Review by: Jim Brumbaugh
Published: September 10, 1997

In the many years since the release of the hugely popular game Tetris, game companies have been trying to come up with the ultimate “puzzle” game that would capture the interest of players as much as the original Tetris did. Rather than attempting to produce some pale imitation, Microsoft’s The Puzzle Collection contains an assortment of ten games which come from the mastermind of the original Tetris, Alexey Pajitnov. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: September 9, 1997

There probably isn’t a person alive that cannot relate to the game of baseball in some way. During the past few years, there have been a number of baseball games released on various platforms, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. What most of these game lacked was a sheer sense of history, until the release of Aaron vs. Ruth came along. The sole purpose of this baseball title is to recreate the look and feel of the classic game that is much different today than it was years ago. Baseball has evolved into a big time, big league playfield for athletes who demand high salaries and too many luxuries. Back when baseball started to spread across the country it was becoming a national pastime, something the whole family could go and see on a Sunday afternoon. Mindscape has taken an ambitious stab at bringing this old-time baseball back to life. They did fall short on some more notable players of those times and, for some reason, certain players did not make it into the game. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: September 8, 1997

When the word “extreme” is mentioned, the first thing that usually pops into peoples’ minds does not have anything to do with computer games…but all that is about to change! Blue Byte Software has taken advantage of two of the most recent technology enhancements to be offered for computer games — Intel’s MMX extensions and 3D acceleration — and molded them into an extremely fast graphics engine. By combining both of these elements into a single title, Blue Byte has been able to achieve a game that moves extremely quickly without sacrificing visual quality. But are looks all that Extreme Assault has?

( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: September 8, 1997

It may have taken longer than expected, but the inevitable has finally occurred — the legendary Shadow Warrior has emerged from the darkness. Now, only one question remains: Is Lo Wang too late to save the Build engine from complete obsolescence? ( read more… )

Review by: Jim Brumbaugh
Published: September 5, 1997

It has always been my belief that serious wargame fanatics require two things above all else from any wargame product: detail and realism. Realism is necessary in order for the gamer to immerse himself in the historical experience of the war that is being simulated. Detail as it pertains to terrain and fighting units not only adds another element of realism, but also gives the player more options from which to choose when mounting an assault or defending his territory. As a reader, if you agree with my assessment of the ingredients necessary for a wargame to be considered a success, then Pacific General from Strategic Simulations (SSI) is definitely worth a long, hard look.

( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: September 3, 1997

By the end of World War II, an estimated 27,000 German submariners, mostly teenagers, had been lost to the icy North Atlantic. That’s a pretty frightening statistic, considering the total deployment of these U-Boat crewman was 39,000 throughout the war. It is because of the harrowing nature of this unique type of naval combat that the experience translates so well into the medium of computer games. Dynamix’s Aces of the Deep remains one of the best submarine simulations ever made, and perfectly captures the claustrophobic fear of being submerged 200 feet below the water’s surface, while destroyers dump hundreds of pounds of explosives all around you. Well, On-line Games has taken World War II naval warfare to a whole new level. Ironwolves is that company’s take on the Battle of the Atlantic, and adds a long-awaited, natural element to the mix — multiplayer gameplay. ( read more… )

Review by: Brian Pipa
Published: September 1, 1997

” A ball bounces. A pin drops. A man falls. Gravity is the glue which binds us to our planet. We are about to apply the solvent which will free our species forever.”

— Pierre Belmondo (Director of European AG Research) speaking at a demonstration of anti-gravity technology, Nevada, USA, April 2035

Wipeout XL (Wipeout 2097 to our foreign readers) just hints at a storyline but never develops it in either the manual or the game itself. Evidently, anti-gravity (AG) has been perfected and now four racing teams have been formed representing various sections of Earth — America, Japan, Europe, and Russia. Why they are racing (and shooting) is not made clear, but it really doesn’t matter. This is one game that doesn’t need a plot to hold your interest. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: August 31, 1997

Your car rounds the hairpin turn at the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit. Tires screeching, engine straining, the Formula 1 racer threatens to break apart under the pressure. But the machine manages to hold on, and you kick the accelerator to the floor to gain some valuable ground on the straightaway. Things start to look up — but wait! Who is that pulling up on the left? It’s Damon Hill! The closer he gets, the more you can feel victory slipping through your fingers. So, you do what any self-respecting driver would — you give him a friendly little sideswipe and send him careening into the barrier. Now it’s just you and an open track….

( read more… )