| GameZone Reviewers Offer Some Software Ideas
for Christmas By Michael Lafferty ’Twas three weeks before Christmas
And all around the Net
People read software reviews
Searching for the best bet. Game players were hoping
Their fingers were crossed
That with all the titles out there
Santa wouldn’t get lost. It may seem incredible that the year has passed so quickly
and already we are facing the holidays, and the pre-eminent gift-giving
season of all. What better time to look back over the past year and discuss
some of the games that truly stood out. I got in contact with the other reviewers at
GameZone.com,
and compiled their list (and mine) of some of the games that game players
would enjoy seeing under the tree. And the categories are … Best adventure/RPG: Gil Shif casts his vote for Icewind
Dale. “Icewind Dale
is, in my opinion, the best-looking RPG this year. It’s far easier
to get into than Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of
Amn, and it promises to be
engrossing while only taking about half the time as BG II to complete.
Icewind Dale takes you closer to the action, so the characters and monsters
are bigger, the frozen setting is a nice change from the BG games, and
the variety of magic items and spells (not to mention better spell effects
than BG II) will truly leave players satisfied.” Other reviewers’ picks:
Suzi Sez states “It is a toss-up between Baldur’s Gate
II: Shadows of Amn and Age of Empires: The
Conquerors.”
Rita Courtney goes with Creatures
3.
Kemuel casts his pick for “The Longest
Journey.
Unless my significant other starts dreaming up strange fantasy worlds and
talking to someone who isn’t really in the room, she’s gonna have to make
way for April Ryan. Girlfriends beware.” I have to agree with Gil and pick Icewind Dale. Though
the controls and functions are very similar to Baldur’s Gate II: Shadow
of Amn, the graphics are far superior. Diablo II is another game that warrants
a citation for action-packed mayhem, and the online game is wonderful (especially
if using a Microsoft Sidewinder
GameVoice). For straight graphics, other
noteworthy titles include Vampire: The Masquerade (lush incredible graphical
elements), Rune (again great graphics with Viking mythology thrown into
the storyline that may be a little weak) and Escape From Monkey
Island.
The latter may not seem to fit the same genre as the others mentioned,
but it is an adventure RPG, though long on laughs, innuendo, solid 3D graphics
and all-around fun. It is not a slice-and-dice game. Best action: Gil picks a program that I mentioned in the adventure/RPG
category. “Depending on how you define the genre, I would say Diablo II,
Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force, and Deus
EX are this year’s best action
games. Diablo II brings fast-paced action and an unparalleled level of
character development to the table, STV: Elite Force is a wild FPS game
that gives you all the fun of Quake
III, Unreal
Tournament, and Soldier
of Fortune without all the blood and gore, and Deus EX won a British Academy
Award for its quality craftsmanship (it’s got great graphics, the best
story line of any game this year, and good amount of character development).” Other reviewers’ picks:
Rita goes with Ultra Pinball: Thrill
Ride.
Kemuel is quite definite when he selects “Deus Ex.
Was there really any doubt? If it gets better than this, they make it in
a lab and there are television ads with teenage superstars telling you
how you really don’t need it to have a good time.” I have to go with Deus Ex. Not only is the storyline full
of twists and turns, to the point where you don’t know who to trust, or
which side is right, but the graphics are stunning, especially when you
go into sniper mode. This is edge of the seat stuff. SWAT 3: Close Quarters
Battle was another engaging product that combined first-person shooter
action with command decisions. Much the same can be said of the Rainbow
Six Mission Pack Urban Operations – combat scenarios in all-too-familiar
settings, which combine reflexive ability with brainpower. Best driving sim: “I was a big fan of NASCAR Racing
3, by Papyrus Design
Group (published by Sierra),” stated Gil. “In this game, not only do the
actual racing and track variety offer incredible fun, but the level of
car tweaking and customizability is unprecedented. Another great racer
for the PC is Need for Speed: High
Stakes, which brings Gran Turismo-like
gameplay to the PC, allowing you to race for pink slips and upgrade your
cars.” Suzi picks NASCAR Heat.
Rita goes with Dirt Track Racing: Sprint
Cars. Two driving sims caught my attention and both came out
later in the year (funny how that works). Michelin Rally Masters: Race of
Champions provided some of the best racing sim graphics I have seen in
a long time. Crisp, and with a wide range of camera angles, this was a
program that got played a lot. 4×4 Evolution was a different kind of racing,
and while it didn’t have the graphical quality of Rally Masters, it did
provide its fair share of racing thrills. Best flight sim: Gil says that “Crimson Skies offers a unique approach
to flight simming. It’s got a great story line, customizable planes, fantastic
online play, and otherwise a good deal of depth for a flight sim. Kevin ‘BIFF’ Giacobbi picks “Allegiance, a space sim that
is really a combination of strategy and action. It is only played
online and teamwork is essential.”
Kemuel goes with two titles: “Crimson Skies/Enemy
Engaged: Comanche vs. Hokum. Yes, they’re on wildly different sides of
the spectrum, but that’s why it’s a tough choice. I personally prefer the
unbelievable stunts and plotline of Crimson Skies, but Enemy Engaged is
just such a fine piece of work it can’t be ignored.” My main problem with a lot of Earth-bound flight sims
has to do with the simple fact that jet fighting isn’t personal. You target
something miles away, release a missile and that’s basically it. I like
flight sims where the action is a little more in-your-face, and so I pick
Microsoft’s Combat Flight Simulator WWII Pacific Theater. Great old planes,
aerial dogfights and historic missions, coupled with graphics that seem
to capture the era. Homeworld Cataclysm was a terrific sequel to
Homeworld,
with the same incredible graphics. Bang! Gunship Elite had all the elements
of a top-notch space combat vehicle, great graphics, terrific action and
a solid storyline.
Best sports title: According to Gil, “Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001
is, by far, the best sports title available for the PC this year. Whereas
most of the other sports offerings offer more of what they offered the
year before, SSHHB2K1 makes significant improvements on what was already
the best sports game of 1999. No other sports title brings its respective
sport to your PC as realistically as this game. (Plus, it should be available
for a great price.) Rita harkens back to a racing program with Dirt Track
Racing: Leave em in the Dust. Sydney
Olympics 2000 features superb graphics and was one of my
favorite sports games. Throw in Jugular Street Luge Racing for variety,
solid graphics and breakneck thrills. Mark Twain once said that golf was
a good walk spoiled – well, in the Tiger Woods’ PGA
TOUR titles, with its
multiple course disks, you don’t have to walk, but can enjoy a sedate and
relaxing round of golf without worrying about losing and replacing golf
balls.
Best kids’ game (12 and under): Gil is quite definite here: “Whereas many other kids games
slack because, well, they’re designed for kids, Humongous Entertainment’s
Backyard Baseball 2001 has enough entertaining features to delight kids
and grown-ups alike. Humongous’ entire Backyard Sports Series offers
top-notch gameplay and represents the best in kids’ gaming. Suzi likes Hoyle Kids’
Games.
Rita likes Mickey Mouse PreSchool Humongous gets my vote, not only for Backyard Baseball
2001, but for Backyard Soccer MLS
Edition. While liberties are taken with
the rules in both, each provides solid gaming action and a lot of fun for
young and old. Digital Dance Station is a peripheral and software combination
that will have kids bopping and hopping and getting exercise to boot. Return
of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions, Hoyle’s set of family board and
card games (from Sierra) and DreamCatcher’s non-violent adventure games
(like Beyond Atlantis and
The New Adventures of the Time
Machine) will
appeal to the whole family.
Best productivity title (may include cooking, desktop publishing,
or the like): Gil says “I think Microsoft’s Encarta DVD-ROM Reference
Suite 2001 is the best all-in-one PC-reference product available. Depending
on their needs, home users might find Intuit’s Quicken 2001 Deluxe and
Macromedia’s Dreamweaver 4 useful for balancing their books and creating
their Web sites, respectively. According to Suzi, it’s “Another toss-up between
MasterCook
6.0 and Print Artist Grande
Suite.”
For Rita, it’s Hallmark Card Studio
Deluxe 2. I have to tag along with Suzi on this one. Print Artist
Grande Suite is the type of program that enables even the first-time would-be
desktop publisher the opportunity to create quality documents without having
to spend years learning the tricks of the trade. And The Best of MasterCook
features 10,000 recipes that will make a gourmet chef out of a Mac &
Cheese cook. For the musically inclined, there is MTV’s Music
Generator,
a delightful studio full of audio clips that will both allow creativity
to spread its wings while teaching a little bit about musical composition. Other Simulations: Gil breaks down the add-on category like this: Strategy
– Age of Empires II:
The Age of Kings, beautiful and addictive civilization
building; Life Sim – The Sims or
Rollercoaster Tycoon, both offer
never-before-seen gameplay and months upon months of fun; and War game
– Combat Mission: Beyond
Overlord, full-featured 3D war gaming at its
best. Kevin casts his vote in the Life Sim department for Rollercoaster
Tycoon. I would agree with The Sims and its add-on Livin’ Large
as incredible programs that feature ongoing, never-dull possibilities.
For strategy games, I enjoyed Shogun: Total War and the Age of Empires
II: The Age of Kings and its Conquerors expansion pack. For War games, I would
have to go with Close
Combat IV: Battle of the Bulge, followed by the Invasion
Normandy title in the same series. If you are looking for game show style games, for the
adults, You Don’t Know Jack 5th Dementia and
Backstage Pass: The Ultimate
Rock & Roll Trivia Game will help keep the head-scratching going strong
and the laughter flowing at any party or get-together. If picking up a game for someone this holiday season,
it is important to remember what particular genre, or style of game he
or she enjoys the most. There are a lot of solid titles out there, and
a lot of games that will delight almost everyone on your shopping list.
And don’t forget that you can find all the titles listed here on the GameZone.com
Web site, with links to where you can purchase the product online. Also, there are bound to be a number of releases within
the next few weeks, games that may supplant some of the titles on this
list. But it is fun to share with readers some of our favorite games from
the year 2000. Happy Holidays.
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