Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: August 12, 1997

The nuclear submarine — it is the deadliest weapons platform on, or under, the face of the Earth. No other vehicle or vessel can match its perfect balance of stealth and military might, and perhaps no other naval technology has evolved as quickly or as efficiently. Now, the United States Navy is upping the ante. The 688(I) is the next generation of nuclear-powered submarine — faster, quieter, and more deadly than any other boat in the water. ( read more… )

Review by: Brian Pipa
Published: August 11, 1997

What do you get when you combine twin suns, paratrooping hot dogs, and a pregnant wife? You get Twinsen’s Odyssey — the latest adventure from Activision and Adeline Software International — the same people that put together the ground-breaking Alone in the Dark series. Twinsen’s Odyssey is the follow-up to the underground hit Relentless: Twinsen’s Adventure (or Little Big Adventure to our foreign readers), and brings us the continuing tale of Twinsen and his quest to save his planet of Twinsun. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: August 8, 1997

In the past year we have seen some strong contenders for the greatest golfing simulation, with Links LS always being in the running. Access Software has taken another step forward with the update to their award winning series in the form of Links LS 1998 Edition. ( read more… )

Review by: Jim Brumbaugh
Published: August 7, 1997

Today, life is not so good. Not only are you one of the few humans on this planet, but now, you have been asked to enter a wretched place filled with scum and villainy. The Planet is called Armpit VI, and the place you have been ordered to is “The Thirsty Tentacle.” This seedy spaceport bar is where you must search for the criminal element in SegaSoft’s The Space Bar. ( read more… )

Review by: Jim Brumbaugh
Published: August 6, 1997

It’s a beautiful day; nary a cloud in the sky, the birds are chirping, and all is quiet. You study every angle and pitch of your adversary, as you try to beat that all-time course record of 66. Perhaps today is your day, as you play Greg Norman Ultimate Challenge Golf by SegaSoft and Grolier. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: August 5, 1997

When we last left our hero, he had just saved his beloved Ecstatica from the hands of evil. Now, upon returning home, he finds that all is not well in his castle. In Ecstatica 2, your task is to lead our hero through the horde of monsters who have taken over the castle and determine the cause of this disaster. As it turns out, a powerful archmage has seized control, and you must defeat his four servants (warlock, sorceress, wizard, and necromancer) before you can face him. In addition, a powerful artifact, the Eldersign, has been broken into seven pieces and scattered throughout the castle. You must find the pieces and reassemble them in order to defeat this most powerful adversary. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: August 4, 1997

Something sinister is afoot in the town of Galican. A foreboding darkness hangs over the town, and a viscous Shadow has been sighted in the sky, as if searching for something — or someone. Welcome to the Lord of the Ri . . . er . . . I mean, Nemesis: The Wizardry Adventure. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: August 4, 1997

In this age of Quake clones and Command & Conquer wannabes, it sometimes seems next to impossible to find an original idea in computer gaming. Strangely enough, Parroty Interactive has managed to produce games that are completely original simply by capitalizing on unoriginality. Beginning with Pyst, a takeoff on the enormously successful graphic adventure Myst, the company has begun creating parodies of popular computer games. Their latest release, Star Warped, pokes fun at just about every Star Wars game ever made, and the entire Star Wars universe in general. ( read more… )

Review by: Pete Hines
Published: August 1, 1997

Aren Cordelaine thought it was going to be another simple day fishing — little did he know how his life would change by the end of the day. After helping save William, a noble from the house of Escobar, from a hideous beast, Aren receives an invitation to accompany William to his home, where Aren can learn more about his apparent gift of magic. After a quick goodbye to his parents, Aren joins William on a lengthy adventure that covers the expansive realm of Antara. Let me be sure to mention that this is NOT a sequel to Betrayal at Krondor, but it does have some similarities and looks somewhat the same. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: July 31, 1997

As a computer game reviewer, there is one situation you pray to avoid, but eventually you must face the inevitable. Nothing is worse than writing a praising preview of a very promising game, only to find that the full version is a complete and utter disappointment. Unfortunately, such is the case with NovaLogic’s latest entry into the helicopter sim genre, Comanche 3. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: July 31, 1997

I have kind of an embarrassing computer game confession. To this day, I still remember the theme song from Ultima III, and even hum it occasionally. There’s a good reason, though. I can’t remember any other computer role-playing game that held my interest for so long, and kept me so thoroughly entertained, as that priceless gem. By today’s standards, the older Ultima games are almost laughable. They had very limited graphics, no digitized speech, and none of the visual flash or FMV that is so prominent in today’s market. What was it, then, that made these games so damned good? The answer is simple, and can be summed up in one word: playability. In the Ultima games, you could explore vast continents, solve challenging puzzles, battle fantastic monsters, and cast powerful magic spells. You never knew what was going to happen next, and that was the driving motivation to keep playing, even into the wee hours of the morning. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: July 31, 1997

Strangely enough, the opening movie of Imperium Galactica is perfectly analogous to the game itself; both are long, have stale voice acting and cheesy full-motion video sequences, but ultimately end up being engaging and fun to experience. In short, both are better than you’d expect. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: July 31, 1997

With all the fuss lately over the two big Build engine heavy hitters, Blood and Shadow Warrior, Redneck Rampage seemed to come out of nowhere. As one of the biggest and most successful publishers in the software industry, Interplay has given the world tons of great games, from the recently released Jetfighter III to the classic Star Trek: 25th Anniversary. And God knows their upcoming releases, like Fallout and Starfleet Academy, have kept gamers waiting in anticipation for months. So it seems kind of strange that Redneck Rampage, the company’s first entry into the 3D game genre, should appear on the scene without all the usual Interplay fanfare. What’s even more surprising is that under all the low-brow comedy and bathroom humor, there actually lies a solid action game. ( read more… )

Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: July 31, 1997

Every once in a while a game comes out of nowhere, rips its claws into you, and draws you into its depths so deeply that the hours slip by like minutes. This is precisely the experience I’ve had lately playing Shadows over Riva, Sirtech’s latest entry into the Realms of Arkania series of computer role-playing games. Shadows over Riva — based on Germany’s most popular role-playing game, Das Schwarze Auge (The Black Eye) — takes place after the events of 1994′s Star Trail. The magical Salamander Stone has been recovered, and peace has finally been secured between the Dwarves and the Elves, but the bloody war against the Orcs continues to rage on. ( read more… )

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: July 31, 1997

In the past decade there have been only a few tennis titles to hit the PC market. The only one worth remembering would have been Jimmy Connor’s Tennis, which came out a number of years back and would most likely be considered the only one worth playing. This year, out of nowhere, a company called GOTO has released a tennis game called Tennis Elbow. GOTO is a software company located in France and has released some other titles such as online backgammon. ( read more… )