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Full text of "Computer Gaming World Issue "
DW: Because they can't work out how to make them in 3D. JC: Build it and they will come, I say. JD: Thanks everybody. Are PC games as good as they've ever been? Have developers lost the plot? Were classic games that good to begin with? Write in and let us know. We will publish the best responses in our new Forum page to follow each Roundtable discussion. Send your articulation to: letters pcpowerplay. Looking at recent issues I found the Readers' CD ad. Are you still going ahead with that?
When will Warcraft III come out? For someone who is hoping to get into the games industry, what uni courses should I do? Chris Broderick 1. Stay tuned for more news next issue. Blizzard is officially saying the end of this year A general Computer Science or Mathematics degree is okay. There is also a growing number of more specialised courses focusing on games and games-related programming.
Becoming involved in mod-making is another route. It says that Age Of Kings was just a game about getting the economy going the fastest.
I agree with this, but how are they going to fix this in Age Of Mythology? Everyone's got that urge inside just to pump up their economy and then flood the enemy with longbow archers and champions, etc. I really don't see how they can prevent Age Of Mythology from becoming another game like this. Using the Fallout stats system, it would work! Jarrad Garrick Age of Mythology won't be out until next year, so before then we will definitely quiz Ensemble about your concerns.
I would just like to point out that Red Alert 2 has monkeys in it and they throw bananas that can kill you. Andrew Campbell It's official: Westwood were monkeys before Ensemble.
But we knew that already. Games companies claim that they are listening to gamers. But hands up all those who have had a games company approach them personally and ask, "What game do you want next? If you visit game forums like PCPP's you will see many gamers have ideas for better games. We are the gamers and we know what we want. ROM It's obviously impractical for developers to contact gamers direct. And what you suggest already happens on message boards and forums dedicated to many games.
Developers do listen, but sometimes imposed financial considerations take priority. Let's look at Quake3. It has a good engine, but was ruined by the lack of gameplay and options.
That's why we have mods, and believe me, plenty of people get Quake3 only for mods. You might think that you can edit any old game, but Quake3's simplicity of file formats and file trees just make it so easy to get into. Ever since the so-called disappointing release of Team Arena, suddenly everyone has something against id.
Id is a great development team and makes the most worthwhile games in the community. I reckon Doom 3 is gonna blow everyone away after seeing that movie on your coverdisc. I'm not poking fun at the game, but isn't this game supposed to be a wargame not a turn-table-scratching fun game?
Steven Chesney Arena was a disappointment. The new Doom tech looks promising, but let's wait until we see some gameplay The most obvious unjust that springs to mind is the way reviewers are always looking fora game that will change the gaming industry permanently. The problem is that there is nearly nothing game developers can do to improve the gaming industry. All that is improving is the visuals and the type of computer that the game requires to run smoothly.
It is my understanding that you have too high a standard. If you already own Dune , why buy Emperor when you can play Dune again - for free! It doesn't have to be a whole new game, just one with a few compelling, original aspects. Is this some kind of cruel joke? This is absolute crap. Ion Storm is going on about improving the graphics of the characters and game world; the graphics were nice enough as it was, although not stunning.
Now the PS2 is trying to top this with its higher processing power. Let's hope the project is canned sometime soon. From what we saw at E3, the necessarily streamlined interface of the PS2 version is something we'd like to see implemented for Deus Ex 2 on PC. The improved character animation was great, too. What games are they making? Please say graphic adventures.
Ceydn Boxall Tim wouldn't tell us what he was working on specifically, but did let slip that several former LucasArts colleagues had joined him at the Microsoft-owned Double Fine. Let's hope he's not only making an adventure game, but that it's coming to PC as well as Xbox. First Halo and now Deus Ex 2 and Thief 3.
This is indeed a terrible thing for the PC Games industry. It was PC gamers that made Thief the success that it was, it was PC gamers that made Deus Ex the success that it was, and now Microsoft - that bastion of quality software that we all know and love - is not just happy with its part of the pie, it wants the whole pie. I don't know aboutyou guys but it pisses me off. He reassured us that, while it's true Ion Storm is developing both games on a console, they're also in simultaneous development for PC.
The technology they're working with is stunning. Prepare to be seriously impressed when the games are publicly unveiled.
Seeing this comment suddenly struck an emotional chord when I remembered one of the first games I bought. Gametek released it in and I still regard it as one of the best games ever. Its name was Quarantine and it was about a taxi driver in the future in a city where a virus in the water system had turned everyone into zombies.
Blake Nield It also starred the lead singer from Ratcat. Will it be a crappy, arcade singleplayer game offline with the guts and fun of the game only online? I'm really looking forward to its release after the last effort, Porsche Challenge. I will be extremely disappointed to find I need a cable modem to play the bulk of the game. Do you know if singleplayer mode lets you play the whole game? Darren Bad news. Motor City will be online only, with a small portion of the game playable offline.
And unless EA launches local servers, then unfortunately you will need a cable modem. You have got to check out the Starwars Galaxies! It is simply the best thing I have ever seen in my entire life! Seriously, I can't believe that a group of the most talented designers could produce something so wonderful, so flashy, so Have you seen the screens? It's not just fancy rendered images it's actual gameplay! They're simply amazing. The technological advances in mankind have simply awaited this moment from the beginning of time Even Verant would admit there is no gameplay to Galaxies at this stage, just a wishlist design document.
The demo shown at E3 was merely a display of graphics technology, and only a moderately impressive one at that. Remember, it's not coming out until late next year at the very earliest, so it really is far too early to judge the game's quality.
I have spent years of my life playing the most violent games I could get my hands on, for the sheer thrill of the action. I've not yet gone and shot anyone, never even considered it as a real solution to any problems I may have with people. Games that focus on realism are good in a sense, as are non-realism games. Most realism games place the player in a situation that they are extremely unlikely to be in at any point.
They are in either the situation of a police officer, an army marine, or some such position. Both of the aforementioned occupations teach that going out and nailing someone in the gut or head, as with many recent FPSs with a handgun is not the best answer for every situation. The one thing which disgruntles me, and I'm sure hundreds of other CS players, is cheating. I have been an avid CS player since the beginning. I have seen the game develop from a small insignificant Half-Life mod, into the world's most popular online game.
However, over the past few months, I have noticed more and more people resorting to using things such as "aim-bot" and the dreaded "wall hack", whilst playing online, just five months ago, during the Christmas holidays, there wouldn't have been nearly half as many players resorting to these "aids" whilst playing in the Internet.
However I am beginning to find that these numbers are changing and there are more and more people showing traits of cheating emerging all the time. These people are lame, lazy losers who can only be called cheaters. What can be done about this problem?
You could use the voting system to vote the cheating player off. There are also thirdparty anti-cheat programs such as Punk-Buster which are required to play on some servers, and are becoming more common. But these programs are, I've heard, easily hacked and then you get cheating players, playing on an anti-cheat server!
So, to all you cheaters out there - and you know who you are - quit your disgusting habit, get a life and stop destroying the honest Counter-Strike community.
Promotional material for DNF talks about weapons, vehicles, strippers and cussing but what will make or break DNF is the promise of the most detailed environments yet in an FPS.
The heavily modified Unreal engine is capable of some enormous, highly detailed settings, such as the truly impressive real-world city of Las Vegas: Duke can fully interact with his environments, from smashing glass to drinking soft drinks to blowing aliens apart.
At the same time, Renegade will bring some strategy heritage to the shooting and give something back to the long-time fans. The forces of NOD, which the player battles as a powerful commando unit, are replicated in all their Westwood glory. Structures act in the same way as in the strategy title, but here you can enter each and see the inner workings. Want to get rid of base defences? Destroy the power generators.
Want to stop resource mining? Destroy a harvester or refinery. Which is why Red Faction is still a must-see, despite leading on PS2 earlier in the year. Its biggest claim to fame has always been Geometric Modification, or Geo-Mod, for short. This means that terrain like walls and ceilings can be completely deformed by high-powered weapons. Dig a hole under a wall, collapse a room in on an enemy, shoot someone through a wall with the help of infra- red sighting.
Geo-Mod should blow open a whole new dimension to brute force in tactics. Some truly massive outdoors levels in spectacular detail will also feature, ready to be destroyed. Return to Castle Wolfenstein will see B. Blazkowitz take on the might of the Nazi regime once more, complete with zombies, genetic mutants and brownshirts. RtCW uses the Quake3 engine, in a nice bit of symmetry. Gray Matter promises a great deal of interaction with the game environment, with HUD cues displayed when something can be destroyed, climbed or used.
No more running hither-and-yon mashing the spacebar! Enemy Al will respond to noise and alert companions when in a pickle. No details on the confirmed multiplayer but this should be a singleplayer event first - anything else second! This is just what has undertaken with Medal of Honor.
The top-secret event of E3 succeeded in blowing away all who were allowed into EA's back room. Partake in the Normandy landing and experience the terror evoked by the opening of Saving Private Ryan. Wonderful detail in the physical world is a feature, like shocking realistic explosions, soldiers seeking cover where available and the subtle effects like dust falling from the ceiling of underground bunkers during mortaring.
The storyline is central so expect some involved scripting to bring perspective to the events of WWII. Multiplayer squad-based shooter with more than 20 weapons in the arsenal, set in interior and exterior arenas of high-speed mayhem. The whole story is told when you realise that Termite Games formerly Insomnia Software has developed an entirely new engine for its debut: the DVA. This engine promises superfly detail in both indoor and outdoor areas, supports full per-pixel diffuse and specular shading as well as high- precision softshadows, skeletal animation, nice 3D-sound and boasts a good networking model.
New World Order is a sleeper for now but just wait for its release. And defining game moments? Look no further than Wolf 3D. Or Quake. Or Half-Life. The genre that unites us, the games everyone has played. This month looks at a genre that's been with us more-or- less in its original form for the past ten years: the firstperson action game.
While there are developers still producing games that offer both singleplayer and multiplayer games, it's becoming just as common for the two to be entirely separate entities: Alice and Quake III are the obvious examples.
A common goal to both is producing more realism, more detail, better facial animations, skeletal modelling, the list goes on. There isn't a title being produced today that doesn't expound "breakthrough visuals" or "remarkable life-like characters". Recent singleplayer titles have gone more fora subtle pollination of styles, the so-called "cross-genre" titles. Inventive game design innovation as well as graphical improvements have propelled the singleplayer game.
In contrast, many of the games featured here have gone "ol skool" trigger finger style: Duke Nukem, Red Faction, Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Offering technical advancements in a more pure shooter environment than recent classics Fighting urge to mention Warren Spectorgame Phew, my brain was starting to hurt. The dream of a game that can truly do it all is still the goal. As it stands the "innovators" with their sneaking and multitools present a nice compromise.
However the landscape is certainly widening to make room for what the singleplayer games were in the beginning. No light gems, no G. Chesterton quotes, just pure fragging mayhem. Is this a cultural response to the passing of that generation?
Perhaps the reason I'm a little hesitant to dive in RIP our digger elders, we gamers mean no disrespect. The firstperson shooter is one genre enjoying a healthy run, so doubtless there will be something here for your particular taste. The wait for these much-vaunted titles is definitely almost over.
With Force Commander still fresh in the mind, sceptics can be excused their dancing eyebrows but just this once at the mention of Galactic Battlegrounds, the new RTS title set in the Star Wars universe. But we at PowerPlay prefer the optimism of infinite possibility to humbug hindsight. So with a warm heart and our eyes wide open we look to the horizon and see a star, a bright star, that points to the Promised Land - a land where nasty cash-ins have died in the wilderness.
Since you can count just about everyone in the Western world as part of the Star Wars faithful, it's fair to say that any Star Wars game is going to do well regardless of what the media or hardcore gamers think.
What is encouraging for the passionate gamer rather than the dispassionate consumer is that LucasArts has acknowledged its past wrongs. At E3 this year, you could almost see the hat in one executive's hand as he admitted to the release schedule insanity that occurred when The Phantom Menace hit cinemas.
Flying units have been added while they were never a part of AoE. Submarine units will also be available, the obvious race to use them being theGungans.
The missions for each race take place during pivotal events of the saga and occur chronologically. Better yet, bonus missions at the end of campaigns will involve events that do not occur in the films.
The inclusion of big name Star Wars characters as avatars will no doubt thrill aficionados and while not all are featured in the singleplayer campaigns, others can be used in multiplay, including Yoda and Han Solo, to name just two. Strike me down The variety of battlefields will mirror the drastic scene changes of the Star Wars films, from Hoth's ice planes to Naboo's swamps, from Tatooine's deserts to the streets of the Imperial City.
There are fourteen different singleplayer campaigns will encompass material from all current Star Wars films: Episode 1 and the Classic Trilogy 34 PCPP environments in all, with some campaigns played exclusively in the air or underwater.
More so than in other RTS titles, environments are being designed to affect the performance of each different civilisation. A variety of strengths and weaknesses will emerge, meaning in all likelihood there won't be any outright wooden spoon races, just diverse forces. LucasArts has made an effort to make each civilisation visually different but not drastically so in basic structure.
Players should feel comfortable changing from one civilisation to another as there are standard buildings with common functions and the same footprint, for visual clarity across all civs.
Galactic Battlegrounds will feature over different units and structures, many of which can be upgraded in trad RTS style. And I shall become more powerful Star Wars mythos has been used to colour the technology tree and upgrading that is de rigeur for modern realtime strategy.
Wookiee ingenuity, advanced Gungan biotechnology and Jedi stamina are available on the tech trees of respective races. This offers the expansion of skills that usual RTS upgrades do, while producing that warm aura of Star Wars detail - a convincing combination.
Resource management involves four currencies: food from animals, plants and farms , metal from ore , carbon from trees, etc. Each will power different areas of need, ilum needed to power lightsabers, for example. Each civilisation requires different proportions of each resource, too. So the Wookiees will need more carbon, or trees, for their forest structures while the more technological Empire wants metal and ilum to power its war machine. Than you can possibly imagine In true Age of Empires style, the game promises as much multiplayer grunt as singleplayer thrills.
With up to eight players in a game at one time via LAN or Internet , Galactic Battlegrounds will aim to recreate this facet of Ensemble's masterpiece as closely as possible. And that's what it really boils down to: doing the two camps proud. A Star Wars game for the fans, a strong strategy game for the players. LucasArts still has some way to go in development with a Christmas release on the cards.
A strange new chapter is unfolding: a new LucasArts game and it's not 3D; LEC seeks outside help and offers fully featured single and multiplayer. The evil empire of Force Commander is in danger. Surely you can feel the disturbance in the Force The dynamic world of Star Wars is ripe for the tailoring of special units: the Jedi an obvious choice. All races will be able to use Jedi and rather than make them one-being- killing-machines, the Jedi rather fills the role of the specialty spy in RTS terms.
Wielding a lightsaber is mandatory, so melee combat won't be a problem but Jedi will also be able to convert the weak of mind their cause. Visually, erm The image is created by the sage words he has to speak, garnered from hard experience, about computerised RPGs and the hands-on knowledge of Morrowind he displays.
It is the third game in the Elder Scrolls series, following Arena and Daggerfall, and is the fifth game set in the world of Tamriel, the others being Redguard and Battlespire. It would seem that these games have laid a hard trail, combining high praise with bitter complaints. Once all of the patches came out, Daggerfall was a cult hit with almost limitless adventuring options, using randomly generated dungeons and towns, and hiding a main plot in there somewhere. On the flipside, Battlespire forced players into a more hack-and-slash mould and limited the location to a very set area and was widely seen as being as much fun as an Ore's laundry.
Morrowind seems to benefit from a distillation of the wisdom experienced from these highs and lows. It seems that roleplayers are looking for two main things: flexibility and detail. The quest for both of these often contradictory elements in great draughts seems to define Morrowind. A World of excitement The third Elder Scrolls game starts with players being dropped off on the island of Vvardenfell sporting the new occupation of slave.
Right from the start players have the option to do as they are told and try to earn their freedom or to nod solemnly at the slaver's words and then just leg it.
The island of Vvardenfell is a part of Morrowind, home of the Dark Elves, and is a location that has immediate repercussions for players. For one, the island is dominated by a huge volcano which spews choking ash into the sky every so often, slowing movement and blocking vision. The volcano also means that the island features a wide variety of landscapes from barren steppes to lush forests.
Being the ancestral home of the Dark Elves also means that it is not up there on the All-time Friendliest Holiday Destination list. Four games have given Bethesda a huge store of world lore and a good idea of what's popular with the gamers. Morrowind is a place in turmoil. The Empire invaded it years ago, meaning the purity of the Dark Elf homeland has been tainted. It also means the island is still caught up in the manoeuvring and political intrigue of various factions.
There are also wider problems like the blight slowly draining life from the land. Morrowind provides a backdrop of wild extremes, unusual locales as well as the Empire- established cities.
Variety is the key as Floward explains: "The scope of this game is huge, and thirty crafted cities are brought to life by some of the best 3D graphics ever to grace a roleplaying game 36 PCPP somewhat unlimited, but in a different way to the other two chapters which had a randomly created world meaning they quickly became monotonous. Players can thrust, slash or chop depending on which way they are pushing as they attack.
The longer you pull the weapon back the harder it will hit. Bethesda has worked hard to give each type of weapon its own feel in combat so that tactics that work with a rapier are going to be embarrassing with a battleaxe.
There will be auto parrying based on your fighting skill , missile weapons, hit locations, fatigue and over implements with which to do the hurting. For an adventure game, Redguard was considered to have large area to explore. Morrowind, considered Bethesda's flagship title, will cover about 50 times that real estate. It will feature just less than 30 crafted cities with six or seven distinct architectural styles highlighting the different flavours of the land and the races living there.
Beyond the bounds of the cities there will also be the dungeons and underground levels we all know and love, including several set in the island's dominating volcano. These locations are brought to life by some of the best 3D graphics ever to grace an RPG game.
Bethesda has made it clear they plan to set graphics standards with this one. All of this comes together to make one impressive world, full of potential, flexibility and detail. In fact, Howard states the detail of the world as being the most impressive aspect of the whole game and it makes you feel like you're really in a fantasy world.
It's Character Building In a world of this complexity an equally compelling character is called for. The system for generating characters is much the same as the one in Daggerfall, except things have been balanced a little better. In the previous game, mages and warriors strode tall while sneaks tended to get pulped because their skills lacked punch. This has been addressed by having 27 skills in the game, nine from each category of stealth, magic and fighting.
The team decided that each skill had to be strong enough to be a major skill in its own right, combining minor abilities until they balanced out. Each character gets ten skills, five major and five minor. Skills increase with use, or study, and when your major skills improve enough you go up a level and get attribute points to spend. To become a better thief you have to use your thieving skills.
Beyond this it's open slather. If you try to do something beyond your character's ability, you'll probably fail, or even hurt yourself. Spells in Morrowind are made up of effects. One effect, for example, is 'fire damage'.
In any given spell you decide how that damage is applied, at what rate, to what area, and to PCPP 37 PREVIEW People to See Once you have world, and someone to possess this firstperson perspective for you, all you need is the supporting cast of thousands to breath life into the world. In Morrowind there will be a staggering number of inhabitants, with estimates of approximately virtual souls.
Interacting with NPCs is wide open. Say you have a vase you can interact with, that's not too exciting. Say you have antique collectors in the game, then it opens up all sorts of choices for the player and roles for you are in an opposing or allied faction, your race and even what you are wearing.
Something as simple, and obvious, as changing out of prisoner robes can make all the difference when trying to get a good price on a hacksaw. The NPCs do not always work alone either. A lot of political unrest is rumbling just below the surface of Morrowind and many factions and guilds vie for power. Joining one of either of these should provide disposition is affected by what you have done, your manners, whether you are in an opposing or allied faction, your race what level.
Effects can also be combined. Howard uses the example of combining 'fire damage' with 'demoralise' so that a caster can create a protective three-metre circle of flame that causes enemies inside it to run away presumably through the flame. Spell- tacular! Learning choice spell effects will be a goal of wizards throughout the game.
I can see some nasty signature spells popping up. What the hell did I walk into? Ingredients can be bought or found in the wild, but they all will have good points and side effects. Two ingredients with the same property have to be mixed before you get an effect, but with the side effects of each element whatyou get is maybe more than you bargained for.
Once you have designed your character, assembled your skills and chosen his or her appearance you'll be able to see how you look in the world from the thirdperson point of view known to the development team as "vanity mode", although you'll quickly switch back to the firstperson view for the action. You can learn from them, barter with them to ride their boat to the next city, you can threaten, beat on them, be attacked by them, plot with or be plotted against and so much more.
How they treat you depends mainly on how they see you, or their disposition. So if a guy really likes you, you'll get more info from him, better prices, and he'll be less apt to attack you," explains Howard. Disposition is affected by whatyou have done to a character, your manners, whether support but also guarantees making new enemies. The guilds bring a character's chosen role to life as Bethesda has really tried to inject a lot more story into the guild quests so you can feel a real progression in the story and the world as you rise through the ranks.
Want to forget the main quest and become a social climber? Go for it, there's a game worth of play right there, especially if you do it right. This extends through all aspects of the game: from the ability to create your own spells based on the components you know to the ability to use any skill or wear any armour even if you are so bad at it you are a threat to no-one but yourself. You can even kill any NPC in the game, even the ones who drive the main quest.
After that point you can still complete the game but it does make it "really, really hard", as Howard puts it. The balance between telling an involving story and freedom is a tricky one. Most are just there for you to experience, but we also have a bunch that form the 'main quest'.
The main quest has an obvious story progression, but the other quests really let you know more about the world and are centred around specific towns and such. We know Bethesda can do big and open-ended from Daggerfall and we know that they can do bright and colourful from Redguard.
Can they do both, without bugs creeping into the holes left by thousands of options? We'll have to wait just a few months to see. It could be the most convenient world-building tool since Acme Instant City just add water. Without it, there is no way Bethesda could have modelled a world combining such high detail and large scope.
It allows the construction of buildings and towns in record time by having modular units that click together in a variety of ways, which have all the information that part of the building needs. Once you have placed them you can modify the piece, inside and out with minor changes and enhancements. The Construction Kit also allows editing of pretty much anything in the game. You can lovingly recreate your old Daggerfall character if you want.
You can create new lands, NPCs and adventures. You can even set NPCs to a schedule so that they will go about their business if unaccosted by the player. The development team call each of the changes made using the Construction Kit 'plug-ins'. These will be easy to swap between players, allowing all manner of user-made add-on adventures.
The game offers a safeguard by keeping track of the plug-ins and allowing them to be removed by erasing them, which causes the game to snap back to how it was.
It was the year of the Sydney Games and we assembled games that pushed faster, stronger and higher. Twelve months later we assemble the greatest games once again to compete in the most advanced sifting process modern science can provide. Out of the thousands of entrants some shined, others just missed the cut.
Slideshows, you are the weakest link. After that he made everyone so edgy a little war in Latveria was arranged as a handy distraction. Our remaining games have been assembled in one house to be played and studied continuously. With over 24 cameras, including free roaming, over the shoulder, firstperson, thirdperson and isometric, we will be with them every step, every whisper.
Will Lara come out on top or will her overuse of lip gloss and reluctance to show skin in the house be her undoing? Maybe the Nameless One's new blonde spiked hairdo will prove a hit. Stay tuned and see who stays and who goes. Artfully moved between tragedy, black comedy and slapstick when the limbs flew. Destruction derbies, articulated trucks, deceptively treacherous tracks and multiplayer make this a quick fix of Insane fun. Miniguns and mind control Winning combination of RPG and tactical space combat.
Kinda pompous but Civ-engrossing at heart. Sometimes frustrating but more often compelling, GK3 took history and warped it into a memorable tale of ancient orders and buried secrets. IGI used realistic one or two shot kills to devastating effect, especially when they kill you as effectively as the terrorists. On-the-fly objectives gave a more convincing mission structure than the competition. This is seen by many as the finest in the Ultima series, with a dizzying level of freedom.
Ml is everything a military sim should be: well researched, packing plenty of tactical options and having a very heavy armour division.
Tank sim par excellance. Classy hack'n'slash with a nicely crafted epic plot. N 00 Online fantasy roleplaying game marked by great freedom to develop your character using stats and skills, not classes. Various melee attack speeds and types plus custom-spells all make Dereth magic. It's got creep-factor, looks the part and features unique weapons- one-hand, spells-the-other monster-blasting action.
Features full 3D terrain, troops that act like people not mindless robots, huge maps, 45 scenarios as well as the required historical accuracy. Much, much, better than being there. The little squaddies seemed to come to life.
Run around beating people up, hop in a car and cruise, and deal with a nasty cult. Moody, free-wheeling action. Lara brought a freedom of movement and agility never fully realised before in a 3D game, creating a hypnotic tale of adventure. Mind-bogglingly huge stats database, with complex team morale and realistic results.
Its cute characters, humour and dark setting made this a fable with heart. LINKS Links teaches the uninitiated that golf could be fun, not just a course in anger management. The latest in the series comes with a course editor. Awesome physics makes this a hp beast. This is a beautiful freak that has magic; crossing genres as easily as you'd cross a street.
David Bowie also adds his talents. HoMMII was a phenomena amongst fans of turn-based strategy fantasy and this is bigger and better in every way while staying true to the winning formula.
Puts the race back into arms race. Fun for anyone and everyone. Very cool. High fantasy, a veritable magical arsenal and fastgameplay make this a crowd pleaser. It all comes together with a shamelessly good soundtrack. The swinging 20s atmosphere, combined with the 50s hotrod-mentality make this action special. Westwood decided to go full steam ahead and pile on the action, the pace, the over-the-top characters and not take itself too seriously.
Good choice. With the adventure genre at its lowest ebb LucasArts made you wish your last dance will be as beautiful, entertaining and soulful. Rogue Spear refined and improved. Brilliant tactical shooter that has rightly been the inspiration for many games.
Interesting characters, unique setting and enjoyable play all help. The air combat model is highly realistic but optional assists open this up to anyone with jet fighting aspirations. The remote controlled cars bounce around the courses you dreamed of constructed while Mum was picking up Grandma. Simple game; great multiplayer antics. The tracks and open, undulating stages are huge, varied, and afford plenty of wild air-time.
Most of all, this game is smooooth. The funny thing is while it's having fun so are you. It's a furious ride with some seriously clever and balanced design. Attention to detail. Not only was in 3D it was lovely. Large world, plenty of classes, hidden areas Whether a Colonial Marine, Predator or Alien each play style is unique and brilliantly cinematic. Lock and load. Wonderful and wry. Players set their plans and then can jump into any plane for some dogfighting.
Spitfires, Hurricanes, BFs, oh my! Tony Hawk is one of these games. The setting is street-hip, the moves are spectacular and skateboarding TH-style rocks. Try it. Either way it offers a challenge and a thrill that's accessible to everyone. The heli game that rises above the rest.
It's a labour of love. Strategic roleplaying with heaps of personality. Has the looks and polish to go with the tale. Manga action has never been so smooth. The story draws you into the space opera and the effects and feel make you want to stay. The balance here was tightrope-fine and the gameplay just as tight. The Al was clever and you had a plethora of tactics at your disposal.
Intelligent shooter. StarCraft's options, colour and diversity has marked wave after wave of following RTS games. Its dynamic campaign includes peripheral warring ground forces and it's so detail- packed the manual is a page tome. Without assists newbies won't complete a lap. There are 14 tracks from the season, the real riders and six bikes. The real deal. If you have, than you're likely to be a hopeless addict. Gets rid of all the frilly bits and straps you painfully into the driver's seat.
Intense physics and exacting car handling combine to make one lean rally experience. This is flight, but not as you know it. Recognisable, accessible and engaging. Unlike many games which just poke fun, this is actually fun to play with tight gameplay, delicate pacing and variety. Yeah, baby! Exemplary sci-fi game, allowing great tactical and design freedom, which offered a galaxy of depth. This is a game for the fearless, it will not be mastered easily and beginners will soar off the track like it's worth points.
Mig Alley is high-velocity, low-flying, action that puts all the airforces the Korean peninsular at your disposal. Highly challenging and rewarding. GC showed it could break a lot of conventions and for the better. Lots of action and pretty 3D. The turn-based strategic map used between battles is like Zen art in its simple elegance, and so many small touches make the Cherry Blossom atmosphere almost intoxicating.
Tournament was the follow-up with sights set firmly on multiplayer gaming. It brought maximum flash and dazzle to FPS with two fire modes per weapon, homing nukes, guns that let you teleport to your target, outrageous level design, huge multiplayer customisation and singing, dancing, play.
Scale has never been illustrated like this. Multiplayer is mindboggling. Imagine an angry skyscaper vs. The objectives are all well and good but the search for entertainment perfection will drag you back time and again as you try to blend theme, decoration, attractions, gimmicky stalls and interlocking rollercoasters into something that would make Disney blush.
Beware the inner child! The exhaust trails and weapon fire made this look less like a game and more like a vast and beautiful space opera with sweeping movements, moments of stillness and calm and then crescendos of sound and explosions.
Artfully constructed look into the future of sci-fi gaming. Half-Life 1 showed them. Valve raised the bar. Frenzied gaming pushing the pace of play to a new level. Easy online options made Q3 extremely accessible, while its speed, well-balanced no- nonsense weapons and uber- functional maps continued to appeal to old hands. Exquisitely distilled FPS play. Divine game which will amaze if you give it a chance.
Seamlessly blends resource management and unit design with firstperson combat befitting a dedicated sim game. Be impressed. Maybe it's the fact we understand all the problems and appreciate the rewards. Maybe it's because we're all frustrated interior designers. Whatever it, is it's delightful.
Varied objectives, the need for great stealth, precision and coordination all make this game mind- numbingly addictive, and touches like buying equipment from money earnt in-mission take this to another level.
The most played team FPS on the 'net for a reason. The freedom to tackle problems in the way that suits you best and the delicate blend of action, RPG and problem solving make this unnaturally good. ID The rich mood, the intricate missions and intrigue make you want to stand still, sweat beading, for minutes on end planning the perfect crime and waiting for the perfect moment. In an age of Serious Sam constant action, that this game actually induced this much patience points to masterful design and a richly rewarding gameplay dynamic.
The Dark Projects makes you become the master thief lead character in a way no prior game has managed. Tribes 2 is a visual feast, with maps that can take five minutes to walk across, six gameplay-adding vehicles three of them air to pilot or gun, every conceivable team game type and a command circuit which allows one player to see a top-down strategic overview and take control of a mission in realtime.
All the features, vast depth, built-in accessibility and an excellent communication model make this the most complete team FPS ever. It was a place where concepts walked and ideas could kill.
Torment brings this world to life with its tale of the Nameless One's search for definition and revelation of the mysterious relationships he's forged over countless forgotten lives. Replaying the game takes you different places as you remember different lives offering great depth and from top to toe the game is crafted with rare attention to detail.
Deep, fascinating and a perfect example as game design as an art form. Treat yourself. All of these design skills were pushed to their limit with AoK to produce a game that looked simple and inviting on the surface but with time got more intricate and complex the furtheryou dug. The different civilisations all offer very different strengths, the walls and buildings offer fortress-like protection or bottle up the unwary and the art direction, quality vocals, extended campaigns and neat extras all scream simple elegance.
Simply grand. You are occasionally dumbstruck by fancy graphics but dumb is soon followed by your usual smart and you wonder why the other ele- ments of the game aren't nearly as special.
You decide you want a game that is like being immersed in another world with the freedom and flexibility to let you do want you want, while still having a compelling story so you don't get bored and you don't want to get lost.
Well, Warren Spector's opus comes as close to this as any game. It takes the idea of presenting a problem and letting you solve it as you wish to a new level, with multiple entry points and situations which change depending on how you have got there. Combinations of skills and nano-augmentations have a huge effect on how you traverse the web upon web of conspiracies which lie at the heart of the game, and every action seems to have repercussions.
Deus Ex captures the feel of real cause and effect and wraps it in a neon wash future of Blade Runner-esque Hong Kong markets, and dystopic trips to Liberty Island. Atmosphere, story, and character development aside, the strongest feature of the game is that there isn't always a best way to go, no matter how specific your skills. That's a beautiful thing because it means every mission is a gamble and you have the feeling that you're trying something new and surprising every time you tackle an obstacle.
There is no, not-so-subtle railroading, with a sign saying combat machine left and security specialist right For this and so much more, Deus Ex you are still the greatest. And in one quick statistical measurement we put an end to the debate of whether games are as good as they used to be see Roundtable p Sure, the quality dipped slightly during , but only to a small degree. But the fact that is barely half over and has already managed two-thirds of 's representation is a clear indication of a trend toward increasingly good games.
Nevertheless it's pleasing to see an impressive five titles surviving the years since In terms of today's technology, these games are rubbish, but their great gameplay still manages shines through.
Yet it is somewhat disappointing to note that a major part of the reason why these games remain on our list is because no one has successfully updated that gameplay, at least not to the same level of quality. We'd love to see new versions of Underworld and Star Control 2 knock these pensionable veterans out of the chart next year.
Speaking of next year, we'd also like to see a better showing for non-American games. Unsurprisingly, North American developers and publishers domi- nate this year's Top The US is the largest market in the world, but it surely has more than its fair share here. Expect to see a stronger showing from Europe and "Others" next year, and particularly keep an eye on those Koreans.
In this fairy-tale world of ideas and concepts brought to life by lightning streams of Is and Os, fools' gold and the real thing can be separated by a decision. Just ask Looking Glass about this industry that seems to follow inexplicable trends and rules more akin to something out of Lewis Carroll's imagination than the 'real' world. If you always want to hit the real thing, and keep away from the iron sulphate, you need a game plan like spun gold: brilliant and bold but able to bend like a reed.
This is Auran's story. When Dark Reign was marched around the traps, with Activision the brightly coloured and loud flag bearer, people realised that there was gold there.
It was, in a word, auric. It not only contained gold, but imaginative features - like waypoints this was , troops who could disguise themselves as trees for stealth and assassination missions, the ability to steal plans and then manufacture enemy vehicles as well as solid gameplay and story - lead me to believe that it also was of gold. Where to look for such a company but the Gold Coast? Brisbane maybe. A company named Auran. A company that seemed to come out of nowhere or, more precisely, that came out of a New Year's resolution to "put your money where your mouth is" and actually make a better strategy game.
Greg Lane, Auran's CEO and the man with the mouth and the money to back it, says: "The timing was right, both in the games industry in general and in setting up a studio in Brisbane. He teamed up with another businessman, Graham Edelsten, and set about putting together a team. In they formed Auran. The prototype game was pitched as Corporations and was shown to a number of the real money people: the publishers. It was Activision who came to the table. They added their experience to the mix and alterations were made to the original plan.
Without fuss Corporations became Dark Reign. Flex like a reed. With the backing and loudspeaker effect of Activision, Dark Reign managed to be one of the most impressive games of the E3, went on to sell around , copies and was voted by many as the strategy game of the year. In fact, Dark Reign was so good that Activision bought the rights to the Tactics Engine it used and poached several people to work on the sequel at Pandemic.
Actually, if you look around the Australian games scene, particularly around Bris-Vegas, that most of the companies contain a little gold in the people department. Losing people and not being able to follow its debut hit with a sequel as Pandemic came into being to do it at Activision could have dropped Auran in the games wilderness, lost. But there was a plan in place.
Before Dark Reign had sold its first copy, Auran had secured the rights to N. Robin Crossby's world of Harn, a pen and paper RPG which had an impressive following and over 25 years worth of back story. Not bad going for a new developer with the first wrapper yet to be pulled off its first game. Lane makes out that this wasn't the feat it Company Motto: Don't predict it. Create it. Pie Graph: seems. That simple. An engine would probably a little trickier. A likely solution be to licence one, or to start immediately on the Harn game, out an engine at a pace to keep up game.
There was another option: buih engine as a product itself. Things were looking good. EA was onboard, the engine was coming along and Bloodline was scheduled for a release.
Behind the scenes, the plan was still ticking along. It could even be good for the industry. The end of came around, and while working at Australian PC Gamer - which during that very issue suffered what we'll call a fatal exception - 1 managed to get a screen of Bloodlines with a beautiful shot of open landscape and a character on a wall with a torch casting cool shadows. It was late but seemed to be coming along. FinDcimcnm was a rough year for PC games. Console games had sales that dwarfed those of PCs, and with the shadow of the PS2 the whole industry was hushed.
The S. Here's where Auran bent like the willow. Instead of forcing out a costly mistake, it went back to business ideas and started on a smaller niche project. We have found that catering to these largely ignored Aura, n, pi. Trainz was their first project to hit the streets from the renamed S. When we took a closer look at the model train and rail industry, we soon realised that it is massive and that there are literally millions of devotees all over the world.
Harn: Bloodline disappeared off the map as well, and to the world it appeared that Auran didn't have a major project. Rumours sprang up that they had to concentrate on the Jet engine to meet their grant requirements, and the games had to be shelved.
Outsiders didn't know another game was in the works. Harn has many loyal and purist disciples, that have been using the product for 20 years or more, so we have ruffled a few feathers by taking a fresh approach to material. Their engine wasn't ready and their big licence didn't quite have mass appeal nor the support of hardcore fans. Many developers would have been in trouble, but here's how Auran bent like the willow.
Instead of bringing out a major 3D game that could prove a costly mistake, they went for a much more low-key approach and offered themselves up as people there to help the existing Harn community by bringing it to the digital age.
We, like the rest of America, salute you and your awe-inspiring devotion to this most sacred duty. What If grass had nsrues and mouths to scream when you mowed It? I recommend you read through this quote three or four times to really absorb the subtleties of it. Here are some questions for you to think about that build on this thought. Who are you right now?
How do your colleagues see you? How would they describe you? How would your best friend describe you? Pick out 10 words or phrases that these people would use to describe you— choose five positives or strengths and five negatives or weaknesses.
Take a couple of minutes and do it, please. This describes who you are right now. Is this who you want to be? How much of your potential are you actually realizing?
There is who you are right now, and then there is who you could be right now. How would you like to be described as a leader or manager? How would you like to be described as a friend? A question to ask yourself daily is what actions can you take today, this week, and this month to move toward being the best you could be?
So few of us are really operating at the level we are capable of. After too many deep-fryer calamities than we can count or care to remember, we have— like the most foul, stagnant water imaginable— sunk to our appropriate level.
We offer your intelligent, thought-provoking rhetoric to our younger readers, at least a handful of which might not be beyond saving. Second to X-COM. My version the only version is DOS only. Do you know how I could load it or where I could get a Windows version? Back when we finally gave Crusader its due and put it in the Hall of Fame, we tried playing it in order to get new screenshots— and just to have an awesome good time. No dice.
Iva F. We have to agree with you. This is probably the coolest story of the year in gaming. More kinds who inflict generous amounts of frustration upon DVD cover mounts, please! Who needs that in their games? All other uad rights reserved. J VlMpWt'Sr-. At the risk of having to enter the witness protection program, change my name, and relocate to San Diego, I feel the need to point out that Mr.
Not all of us play games for a living. Some of us work full-time jobs as software engineers and spend weekends going door-to-door selling subscriptions to Jet magazine only to barely make ends meet. If you wish to mindlessly blast through 90 levels of Half-Life 2 on Easy and ruin the experience for yourself, then so be it. But does Mr.
Then what? I would find this, to say the least, a bit unfulfilling. I suggest that Mr. Now where did I leave that curling iron? Todd Wilkinson You make some good points, Todd.
Obviously, your insanely luxurious lifestyle means you have not only the time to play all games on the hardest setting, but you can do so on a solid-gold computer while wearing a spun-gold tuxedo surrounded by supermodels in platinum G-strings. Nice try. I discovered a moth flying around in my room. I was determined to destroy it, and destroy it I did. Using the Sync covering from the June issue, I was able to kill the moth without dam- aging the actual magazine cover!
I later used the cover to foil a bank robbery and save the president's life. Kudos to the geniuses behind that marketing ploy! It was totally hysterical. Maybe people get more stuff when they get older, but they can still get stressed out.
If you think having a boss is sometimes bad, try having a business partner. With a wife, kids, an ex, a staff, property, vehi- cles, a microwave, a vacuum cleaner, and a mood watch, something is always broken or someone is always out of shape.
Everybody's the same. We all need to get away from annoying people like Jeff and have a few laughs. All the more reason articles like Bruce and Tom's are so great. Good going, guys, and keep up the good work. While I'm on the topic of annoying people, Jeff, I miss you! You're no Mark Twain, but you can be funny once in a while. Why don't you write some more of your stuff? All the best, guys.
Thanks for keeping me and so many other people happy. Even if you're Canadian. The official CGIV score is 4. CGW regrets the error. Now you can construct the ultimate combination of trains, trucks, ships, aircraft and more. So people get around, goods get hauled, industries develop and cities sprout upallaround. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Actual case may capacity may vary depending on configurator cardsliardware, maximum achievable data Ira o a specific system or configuration.
Pricing: Prices, configurations, and availability may change without notice. Taxes and shipping charges not shown. For modems and network vary. Network and infrastructure required for high-speed transmission connection to Gigabit Ethernet server. Aream, and Bot are registered trademarks or trademarks o! Alienwa; Xeon.
Terms subject to change without notice. See Alienware credit card terms and conditions lor complete Information, Anr changes listed. Intel Inside, the Intel Inside logo. Intel Centrino, the Intel Centrino logo, Penbum. All other registered trademarks and trademarks are the property ot their respective owners. Notes: 11 ige Rale: Minimum finance charge: SI.
It was only a couple of years ago that everyone wanted a piece of the PC sports pie. Sierra, Microsoft, 3DO— you name it.
But EA was the only one strong enough to win the title. But enough jib- ber-jabber Loath to rest on its laurels, the playbook is changing, and is the Year of the Hit. The development team has been taking cues from current trends in the NFL, so the game's defense is getting a makeover. Assistant producer Damion Banks acknowledged as much at a recent press conference, saying, "A good defense is what wins championships. This feature is all about timing and momentum.
Screw-ups, however, will leave you with a couple of broken ankles while you retrieve your jock from the turf. Making better use of the analog stick in this year's PC version, the enhanced Playmaker feature will allow you to bet- ter call the shots on the fly.
Offense hasn't been left out, though. You'll be able to change formations without changing the play. Another big deal this year is the ability to instill some situational awareness into your players' brains.
Option plays will have the experienced A. As for going head-to-head online, Banks says EA doesn't need Punkbuster. With fair- play settings in place, Banks says there will be fair reporting of cheats and people who punk out of losing matches. Will you give a rat's ass about the create-a-fan topless, face-painted, beer- gut-ridden guy you can re-create in the game?
What you probably will care about is the career mode, which is dubbed Storyline Central. Using a PDA interface, you keep track of your team, its progress, and the 20, different real news stories that can impact your season— and for added fla- vor, there's a recorded radio show.
The Tony Bruno Show gets real coaches and players to come in and comment on how your team is progressing. You get to keep going until you run the team into the ground. Fail to meet owner expecta- tions and you're out of a job. NHL Time to hit the ice, Darren! Last year, the NHL franchise got a few teeth knocked out.
With all that focus on hitting and beating the snot out of Tie Domi, I forgot we were supposed to score points to win. In typical EA fashion, assistant producer Dan Sochan is promising to build on the flash factor with authentic coliseum lay- outs: six hundred top players remodeled from scratch and given personalities: and more subtle touches, such as seeing the glass shake or shatter.
With open-ice sup- port, you're not locked in to playing as the guy with the puck. So get your lazy ass into position and get yourself open for the pass. When you're on defense, you can even call out picks. All this, and with the refined skating engine, you'll have tighter control. More important, the A. A pro skater knows better than to go offsides over the blue line.
So should computer-controlled players. Now they do. Players side-skate by the blue line, and they behave more like their real-life counterparts. Among the single-player modes is a World Cup-type hockey tournament based on the new real-world event. The dynasty mode is even more of a sports RPG than it was last season. Each team has an owner with a unique personality and different goals for each season.
As with Madden, you've got to meet expecta- tions or get canned. COM 27 Q trading players. Another unusual addition is a consolelike free-for-all mode.
This over-the-top minigame is a half-ice grudge match for scoring and beating up 40 top players in the league. Sochan also let slip that con- sole-PC online multiplayer matches are on tap for And hey, if there's a lockout, hockey's digital version may be the only game in town. Tiger Woods PGR Tour Associate producer Rich Rogers teed up for some hushed silence on the green, talking about building the better Tiger traps into this year's golf game.
Continuing the tradition of building up attributes RPG-style, there is a lot to unlock in this game, with GameFace II and the ability to customize your swing. You'll be able to take on 15 real tour players on 14 different courses.
Ultimately, you want to assemble your "dream While FIFA Soccer scores points every year, soccer is probably the only category in which EA still has to stare down some tough competition. Most notable is Konami's Winning Eleven series, which has been winning the con- sole cup and is coming on strong for the PC crowds see this month's review of Winning Eleven for more on that. What could propel FIFA this season is a much-needed quality first-touch play style. While playing, increased sensitiv- ity and a fluid kinetic system are incor- porated so that real-world momentum comes into play.
You need to quickly change direction and kick. Your momentum carries you along better than humiliating and deking out your opponent. Plenty of added animations make it feel even more authentic, with plenty of differ- ent ball traps and passes. Ten bucks buys entrance Into a public league, while bones lets you be the commissioner of your own league, in which you call the rules and scoring systems for up to 32 team owners. Want to get started?
Go to www. Zoo Tycoon sells 2 million copies? Published by Vivendi Universal Games. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. And do you find that in order to join the fight, your computer needs to download a few files from the host? This is how it gets started. Valve's vaunted Steam service could have been compro- mised with the code theft. What then? Will hundreds of thousands of people be lining up to buy a Trojan horse that allows hackers to stroll onto their PCs?
While nobody's talking at Valve, Auriemma is. He says, "The HL2 code theft could be a problem only if programmers have badly programmed the game. Proprietary protocols, hidden func- tions, and encryption are the real risks for the users. But not every- one is as quick to react. One, there's the sad reality that "most games are supported only for a short time, so new bugs are never official- ly fixed," according to Auriemma.
Other companies are occasionally taken aback by outsiders uncovering code flaws. In one case, GameSpy accused Auriemma of being up to no good. While spokespeople were unavailable for comment, we did get to read the cease-and-desist letter, which claimed he had, among other things, demanded money for his findings which Auriemma says is totally untrue. Lane wanted to give his two cents and then some on the whole GameSpy matter: "Business software security researchers have been doing this for years.
Not many people think about that. But Luigi Auriemma does. Auriemma has been called a lot of things in the past year: a programmer, an independent security researcher— he was even falsely accused of being a hacker and extortionist. What this year-old from Milan, Italy, will be remembered for, though, is doing the one job that no one else will: looking for security holes in games and then reporting them to the proper authorities.
Uulnerable Most recently, he discovered the security hole inside Unreal's multiplayer code. By hammering a game server, hackers can easily implant programs for remote code execution to the host machine or spoof IP addresses to gain access to your PC. Even though this particular issue affects only the game servers using unpatched code, it doesn't mean you're totally safe. He says, "We've got much more power- ful PCs today that can juggle multiple tasks, and most games now preload lev- els into memory.
Lane stressed that any time you go online, you're exposing yourself to possible attacks. So get some firewall software, make sure the antivirus program is running, leave the lights on, deadbolt your door. Someone say RPG? Like the Kama Sutra. Now, a whole new generation is in your hands. Satisfy their primal urges, or pursue less sweaty life goals like Fortune, Knowledge, Family and Popularity.
The choice is up to you. Come to think of it, pretty much everything is. Take charge at eagames. Introduce her to your wife. AGE 17 Get to second base with Marla. Try your luck at stealing third. Stay alert. Keep the squad together and alive.
All this is taught to us by playing PC war games. Once upon a time, a customized Doom mod was made to help train the military. Now, games are being made from scratch, based on semirealistic scenarios that entertain and teach civil- ians military tactics used in real combat situations. Are these games propagan- da, conditioning us to hate and kill? Or are they Just good, clean fun? UJar on error For some.
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 is proof enough of U. This upcoming game sees Ghosts— U. A recent story in the U. This may be a game to them now, but Did North Korea just call us out over a game? Ghost Recon 2 game designer Christian Allen says that "games, especially those set in fictional conflicts, are simply enter- tainment.
The next dig battle While publishers must artfully dodge those fine lines of international relations, one game developer must be extrasensi- tive.
They can play only between p. Any time after that, there are fewer idiots in the chat rooms. Army's solution: create wartime scenarios in hotspots all over the globe. That, according to Chambers, is how the next U. Army game— titled Overmatch— will play when it comes out next spring. This single-player game will focus on smaller, better-trained, and better-equipped forces taking on a much larger foe think Black Hawk Down. Considering that the game will be free, it sure makes a good advertisement— or.
We're opening up a whole new way to communicate with younger people. It could be a simple matter to induct gamers from there, right? Same goes for 19 percent of parents with children aged 16 to This trails behind TV coverage of the war in Iraq and the war on terror as a source for positive press for the military. For starters, online performance is monitored on leader boards.
Then, tournaments are held at There are no unwanted spam e-mails or cold calls from recruiters. Heck, there's a semi called the Adventure Van that rolls across the country, letting people hop into the virtual cockpit of an Apache helicopter or Ml Abram tank to play "war.
Yes, there is a tiny hamster in the ball Use the mouse to tilt the playing field and roll the ball through coins and past obstacles to hit the goal and proceed to the next challenging level. Too bad the music sucks. For starters, according to game guru DW Bradley, they are the toughest games to make. As one of the men behind the Wizardry series. Bradley knows what works and what doesn't. RPGs have gone two ways: Point-and-click action a la Diablo and turn-based micro- management.
That, says Bradley, is what will happen this fall when Dungeon Lords hits store shelves. That is, your skill at using the keyboard to land blows and dodge fireballs is as impor- tant as the ability points you develop. There's a full 3D world that the play- er interacts with and a complex story line worthy of the games of yester- year, but the achievement is being able to successfully bring it all together and make it feel as real as possible to the player.
Every class has access to just about every skill; some are just harder to learn than others. Over the past decade, we've seen a number of great companies fold because they took chances on the wrong thing. Interplay CGW , page 29 is a great example of that. The development costs for games have skyrocketed, and as a result, they have gotten to the practical scales of making a movie. Obviously, he has a lot invested in his own project, but Bradley insists that Dungeon Lords "represents the kind of game that people have been craving.
Not every good game comes out on the PC. Sad, we know, but it's the truth. So, as a service to you, we pick out one game that stands above the rest. This sprawling fantasy action-adventure promises a huge world that evolves with you and a character who can be as good or as bad as you want him to be. Start as a child and grow into a man based on your actions. Rat bastards that do all the wrong things will wind up looking nasty and won't be too welcome by the locals.
This ambitious concept has been kicking around for years, but the often-delayed Fable should finally be on store shelves by the time you read this— we hope. COM activision. Which dots are gone? I hope for invincibility. Ghost dusting Pac Manhattan www. Instead of dots and tunnels, the game is remapped onto a block grid surrounding Washington Square Park.
After all, no place is more Pac-worthy than New York City. Part social experiment and part game, Pac Manhattan is real people playing by videogame rules. Well, except that in real life. Pac-Man can run across the street and not to his death when trapped between two ghosts. Players include four ghost runners and Pac-Man, all who relay their coordinates via cell phone to their controllers, who are networked with a common Shockwave map application.
Early Saturday morning. I am handed my Clyde poncho, along with Pinky, Inky, and Blinky. Press Start We are "released" from the ghost pen under the Washington Arch one by one, just like in the arcade game. Though at first we have a strategy of combing the west grid, our plan is thrown out the window in the excitement of the running and yelling. The game becomes a free-for-all. The game blocks are long, unbelievably long, so I walk. A curious couple sees me lurking near a fire hydrant and tangle of yel- low construction tape.
I look over and yell, "This is human Pac-Manl" They cheer back! People love Pac-Man, and we are recognized all over as videogame celebrities that day.
I lurk near the bonus fruit, a cup of real cherries. There he is! I spring across MacDougal but quickly lose the long- limbed yellow one. His legs are twice as long as mine!
As I make my way over to a cluster of uncleared dots, I hover near the last power pellet. When I see Pac-Man, I run after him. But he is also running after me. He tags me, and I am out! As a relatively low-tech student project, Pac Manhattan actually worked well. Pac-Man better watch herself, though.
And those that have been com- ing out have ranged from mediocre to lame. Kill a few minutes: www. F or pinball fans, October 5, , is a day that lives in infamy. Thankfully, some slaves to the silver ball have taken it upon themselves to save their heritage by creating plnball-emula- tion programs. Today, a huge online com- munity is growing. Timeless tables are being re-created while whole new ones are being built for a new generation of players.
In , Bill Budge, a game designer working for Electronic Arts, created the Pinball Construction Set, which allowed players to drag and drop pinball components on a virtual playfield. His mission: make it as simple as possible. Although the design is done in a strictly 2D environ- ment, the program renders tables in full 3D, allowing for realistic physics using ramps and multilevel playfields.
Visual Pinball made it relatively easy for people to re- create their favorite old pinball tables using photos and manufacturer's schematics. Enthusiasts the world over began re-cre- ating their favorite old pinball games, all the way from the early s through the 70s and '80s. But the introduction of ROM boards for pinball machines in made things a little more complicated for the likes of Visual Pinball.
These ROMs were used to digitally dictate scoring, control gameplay, and play event sounds like, for example, Raul Julia yelling out "The Mamushka! As time progressed and dot-matrix displays were imple- mented. Popular tables include Black Knight the first to have speech, multiball, and a multi- level playfield , The Twilight Zone, and Terminator 2-a nd all of the such as bowling and miniature golf sounds and effects you remember are still have been created in which the player there.
There is very little overlap between uses the plunger to knock down pins or the two groups since many Visual Pinball bank balls into holes, creators have no interest in playing ROM- So what does the future hold for the pin- based games and vice versa. Still, every- ball-emulation movement? Davis children is what keeps them going. That hasn't es The Jetsons is one notable exam- stopped table makers from creating pie or using an original idea.
These workarounds to add more realism to the designs run the gamut from old-fash- aging build. A recent addition lets them ioned dual-flipper and single-level map images onto the ball to mimic reflec- games to playfields that have multiple tions. The so that they and you can choose from designs are truly limited only by the hundreds of vintage machines-from the creator's imagination, and so far, there time before you were born to top-of-the- are approximately different origi- line tables of the s-and have it feel nal boards available for download.
Davis may be MIA, but There are even a few examples of "non- the scene that he helped create is alive pinball" Visual Pinball games. B Download font pack v3. B Download new tables into the Tables directory. B Double-click on the table you want to play! Try www. Need more detailed instructions? This redesign issue marked the debut of CGW s Inside Gaming series of genre columns, and Coffey had the temerity to suggest that Alpha Centauri might've been better if people had just understood it.
The only reason this Hall of Fame space sim got five stars was that our five-star rat- ing system prohibited us from giving it seven. A terrible, terrible time. What might throw you off are some of the offbeat collaborations The Blue Man Group? COM Originally slated as a summer movie, we were banking on seeing Jude Law dive- bomb into a stylish retro metropolis. The crispy, tasty snacky-ness that tainted our childhoods is what gets us through those long, painful deadline cycles.
Running a close second were sun-dried caterpillars they are for real— seriously! COM While everyone else was carry- ing on about how brilliant Saturday Night Live was back in the day, there was a whole other cult clas- sic that fell between the cracks. It may not be back on the air, but it is finally on DVD, with a bunch of extras, behind-the-scenes features, and, of course, a bunch of yucks.
Now it wants payback. The art and layout tells the story almost as much as the taut scripting. COM Joss Whedon has a lot of free time on his hands now. What with the cancel- lation of Angel, Buffy the Vampire Stayer, and Firefly, Ryan was all sorts of weepy around the office.
You gotta read on to find out. Original shipping charges and opened software are non-refundable. All returns have to be accdl j 'lsi p and must be in re-salable condition. This model number indicates relative software performance among AMD processors. Look, up in the sky! O The capes flow freely and realistically. C ity of Heroes has emerged as an enormous critical and commercial success. Not satisfied to lazily roil around in its newly acquired piles of money, developer Cryptic Studios plans to release significant content updates every few months.
Issue No. Though the first issue included an impressive amount of new content, Issue No. Shadow of the Past, refers to a foot-tall "interdimensional plunder- er" called Rularuu the Ravager, who men- aced Paragon City back in the roaring '60s.
Luckily, before his interdimensional plunder- ing could properly commence, Rularuu was defeated by a group of superheroes. Back in the present, experiments by the shady Portal Corporation have opened a rift into the Shadow Shard. The end result is a huge new area outside of Paragon City, explorable by players of level 40 and above.
This area is split into four dif- ferent zones, with a look somewhat reminis- cent of Xen from the end of Half-Life. Lots of oddly shaped floating islands abound, connected by jump pads that offer cool alternatives to the traditional travel powers.
Less information has been revealed about the second new area, the Hollows. Caped crusaders! Capes— which, according to NCsoft, are the single most popular player-requested feature— will finally be unveiled in Issue No. Available to all char- acters at level 20, capes feature interior and exterior colors, a choice of several clasps, and a variety of applicable decals.
Less of a cosmetic change is the new badge system. Badges are awarded for completing various tasks, such as visiting parts of the city, defeating a certain number of a particular enemy, or even earning spe- cial combinations of other badges. The mission system is also being enhanced. New goals, such as simultane- ous objectives and escort-style chal- lenges, are being implemented.
Still, with the entire original team working on updates, you may wonder who is left to work on City of Villains. Scrapland ain't it. The build we saw was apparently com- pleted before McGee became involved with the project, so it will be interesting to compare this version to the McGee- Ified final one, due to be released in November. In Scrapland, you play as D-Tritus "detritus," as in garbage , an intergalactic robot who arrives in the city of Chimera and is immediately assigned a job as a journalist.
Luckily, a big story is about to break: For some reason, the Great Database— a master archive that catalogs the robotic souls used to resuscitate their owners upon death— seems to be mal- functioning. The other play style is on-foot action. In this mode. D-Tritus has the ability to take over the souls of more than 15 different types of robots and all the unique powers that come with them. For example, the banker bot can steal cash from unsuspect- ing NPCs.
This mode also includes adven- ture-game aspects, such as having to speak to NPCs. Our favorite line of dialogue so far? The mayor robot's campaign slogan: "The other candidates are all bastards, whereas I am made out of robotic goodness.
Bp o So. One scratch and it's game over permanently. If you are the lone rider in a vehicle, you can switch smoothly from driver to gunner posts as the need arises. With so many military-themed FPS titles heading to shelves this year, the competi- tion will be fierce. Can an expansion pack stand up to the opposition? Whether United Offensive can fully duplicate or outdo the original experience can be determined only with the final product, but already it seems safe to say that the game will, at the very least, do no worse.
This is, like its predecessor, a game of moments. United we stand United Offensive includes 13 single-player missions spread across three different campaigns: The Battle of the Bulge, the Russian invasion of Kursk, and the inva- sion of Sicily by the British.
Speeding through the streets of Sicily, you man the guns of a motorcycle sidecar. A nearby explosion tosses you from the bike, ending the first rail-shooter segment. As you and the driver hobble away, dizzy and confused, the onslaught of enemy soldiers affords you no chance to catch your breath. Mortar strikes continue to rock the earth, shaking the cobble- stone streets that line your get- away.
The enemy can't kick the sucker back if it blows up in his face. And all of this is in just one stage. Ich bln eln multiplayer Several new modes should ignite more interest in multiplayer. For example, in domination mode, a number of points must be taken over in order to gain control of the map. Speaking of the map, strangely, an overhead view is not included.
Attention, soldier! Conflict: Uletnam H — ' " 1 ave you noticed the war-game bandwagon effect? Recently, the focus has shifted to the Vietnam era, spear- headed by titles like Battlefield Vietnam, Men of Valor, and Shellshock: Nam ' You can man the controls of several different Vroom vroom!
The third game in the franchise, Conflict: Vietnam puts players in control of four neo- phyte soldiers who are fighting for survival as they search for the rest of their squad. While Vietnam uses the same gameplay engine as the two previous Desert Storm games, the promised experience is much more story driven, with more cut-scenes and deeper character development.
Vietnam still promises plenty of hardcore action and intense situations. You can freely sensitive commands. These comrades can carry out a number of tasks, such as apply- ing first aid to the wounded, laying down cover fire, and disarming booby traps. Vietnam emphasizes choices: You are given the freedom to choose from several branching paths in the game's 14 levels. You earn points for racking up kills and meeting mission objectives: these points are spent The idea sounds good on paper, and Vietnam does sport some PC-specific graphical touches, including dynamic light- ing and realistic wind effects.
However, we can't help but remember the last two Conflict games Conflict: Vietnam can shrug off that lackluster pedigree and rise up as switch between any one of your four squad on improving squad members' various com- serious competition in this new era of members as you explore the harsh bat attributes, such as sniping and first aid, war games. Ryan Scott Vietnamese jungle: the active character allowing you to tailor your group into the directs the rest of the squad via context- ultimate fighting brigade.
Military Academy at West Point. Just look! There are a whole lot of military games competing for the same mindshare and space. Perhaps the most similar games in the same action-strategy genre would be Rainbow Six and Full Spectrum Warrior. It should prove to be a close fight.
JL First to Fight is being created with the participation and input of several real Marines, some currently serving on duty in Iraq. The original Close Combat strategy First to Fight is being created with the participation and input of real Marines.
TIE Fighter-style dogfights with the persistent world and economy of Galaxies. Fly the unfriendly skies in ships like the pictured YT aka "a" Millennium Falcon. Newly created pilot characters immedi- ately receive a shiny Z95 spacecraft; this squat baby X-wing is your first set of training wheels on the road to more than 15 dif- ferent Star Wars spaceships.
Every ship has an appropriate feel: TIE fighters can turn on a dime, while helming the YT feels like piloting a mas- sive or maybe just a space Winnebago.
Note: Z95 sounds like a radio station. Millions have experienced the legend, now it's time for you to join the quest. Choose your side, sharpen your weapons, practice your magic, and emhark on a journey filled with majestic landscapes, hustling cities, ancient dungeons and adventure beyond your dreams. Rock the Casbah! A stinging whip and occasional sandal to the ass helped, too. Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile plays to that format as the first-ever society sim-builder— which means you, as Pharaoh, get to command your eerily real digital minions.
Pyramid scheme Plucking elements from both The Sims and Sim City, Children of the Nile focuses not only on physically building up Egypt, but also the plight of its people. Happy people spell success! You can literally follow an Egyptian around through the first-person-perspec- tive option, watching his daily routine. Quick lesson on in-game social struc- tures: there are three social classes that allow for both lateral and vertical mobility.
At the bottom are lower-class peasants. Craftsmen, including merchants and brick- makers, comprise the middle level, and finally, the upper-class elite is made up of nobles who own private farms and priests who act as teachers and operate the temples.
Religion plays a fundamental role in the game, as citizens go to temple during crisis situations to alleviate their depres- sion. Temples also provide health care, mortuary services, and education. Yet ultimate success in the game comes from leaving a lasting legacy through obelisks, sphinxes, and grand pyramids. What Sphlnw? The graphics and level of detail, while decent, aren't quite at the level of other cur- rent simulation games, though hopefully, the detail within the gameplay will more than compensate.
During my hands-on time with a nearly complete Rome: Total War, I decided to destroy the evil- doing Carthaginian threat once and for all.
The elephants went nuts and stamped out their own men. A beautiful cheap victory! At that point, I ran out of money, so I decided to tax my own people to continue my invasions. Lend me your ears Activision and Creative Assembly visited the CGW office with a near-final version of the latest game in their award-winning strategy series Medieval , the second game in the series, is being inducted into our Hall of Fame— see page While there were still some bugs to be stamped out, as would be expected.
Rome: Total War feels rock solid and plays great. The controls are direct and easy to pick up, though there are still some user interface changes planned. Pushing through the fog of war. Rome is suddenly surrounded by vicious rottweilers! Who let the dogs of war out? These dog units are inexpensive to generate and effective demoralizers when they use enemy troops as chew toys. The next Total UJar Creative Assembly is already well under way with the next game in the series, thanks to an efficient simultaneous two- game development cycle.
Medieval was developed using the Shogun engine, while new technology was developed for Rome and its planned follow-up. Neither can most Americans. Armchair adventurers play as a champion trained since birth to protect the public from evil beasties. Sounds kinda beat: CD Projekt is known primarily for localizing existing titles for the Eastern European market, not original software design.
Furthermore, this'll represent the first time the business has put a worldwide push behind any product— even if it is a quality selection, the pro- gram will live or die based on worth-of-mouth support.
Strong buzz or no, the package could fly well under the radar. Just look at the ungodly fate that befell Divine Divinity. Add a dash of Diablo and float a little Matrix- style mysticism on top. Voila— you've got one of the most promising cyberpunk RPGs in years. As one of four characters pursuing a shared story line, participants battle for bionic implants and engage in co-op multiplayer antics.
The kicker: postapocalyptic showdowns are pow- ered by IRIS, an advanced isometric game engine primed for maximum visuals. German developer Master Creating has thus far cut its teeth solely on budget titles.
In addi- tion, similarly inclined products from the same terri- tory— Sacred, anyone? If the formula is right, we could be in for the finest futuristic RPG romp since Freelancer. Word on the street Say hello to our little friend, an intriguing new stealth-action game in which you play a DEA agent bent on bringing down a South American crime syndicate, the narkomafia.
Slick gadgets let you step cautiously past foes or slaughter surly civilians and psychopathic paramilitaries outright. Sounds kinda beat: Jungle love worked for Morris Day and the Time; whether Czech outfit Plastic Reality Technologies can score a hit exploiting the concept remains dubious.
France followed soon after, and World War II began. China, despite being at war with Japan for almost 14 years by , proved to be too big a challenge for the Japanese; combined with increasing Allied pressure throughout the Pacific, the Japanese soon followed the Germans into defeat in the summer of With you at the controls, leading the fates of nations and alliances, anything is possible in this new strategic offering from Matrix Games and 2 by 3 Games.
Lead your armies to victory by honing their abilities in research and development, creating a more powerful force than any other on the planet. Build with foresight, however; the bigger and more expensive units take longer to build and are invested in over time rather than being an instant purchase.
Players will then have to plan several game turns in advance, tailoring far-reaching strategies to lit the current strategic situation. But there was some cause for worry. We also wanted to push the technology and push the game- play. But we wanted to do more than that.
This game was going to be the most relentless, intense, authentic representation of Pacific theater WWII combat. The lead engineer of the project continued to pester Brady Bell with the mantra, "We can put flight Into the game. You have two days to show me what you can do. The danger with that is that games become very linear and scripted. The first time can be a really good time. An example of this is the Brecourt level in Call of Duty, in which you essentially run through a series of trenches killing any German soldier who gets in your way.
This is not the case in Pacific Assault. With that in mind, EA has gone to great lengths to ensure that the A. Bell explains that "A. Q Firefights in Pacific Assault will be pretty intense.
Be sure not to shoot the guys with stars above them. Explains Bell, "If there's an officer in the enemy squad, he'll rally his guys, and he may choose to have them banzai if they get down to only a couple of soldiers and all hope for them is lost. If I played timidly, the enemy A. Similarly, if I was overly aggressive, I often found myself effectively going it alone because my teammates lacked my aggressiveness. In another move to set Pacific Assault apart from other first-person shooters, the development team has decided not to litter the game with power-ups.
Here, you fall down and the world drains out, but you hear audio flashbacks from earlier experi- ences in the game. However, there will be times when your corpsman will be attempting to heal you and a Japanese soldier will pop him or sneak up and bayonet him. In Pacific Assault, it's all squad-based A. In Pacific Assault, we want you, the player, to be afraid to get shot.
The big story with Pacific Assaults multi- player is the new invader mode, which EA hopes will offer more robust gameplay and increase players' focus on the team. The developers received a lot of feedback regarding what gamers wanted out of mul- tiplayer.
This class-based mode will allow players to play as an infantry- man, a corpsman, an ammo technician, or a combat engineer. A game of invader entails an invading team and a defending team up to 32 players total competing against each other over huge maps. We played one level as Allies tasked with setting explosives on a series of targets while the defending Japanese fought to foil those attempts. Meaningful teamplay was central to success— only the combat engi- neer had explosives, so our team had to work together to ensure he stayed nice and safe.
Adding to the tension was the new reinforcement pool, which is depleted each time a player respawns. COM 63 O number of reinforcements is limited, players will want to avoid dying and respawning.
This new feature also discour- ages running and gunning, and favors teams that will work together and call for a corpsman to come heal wounds. Of course, Pacific Assault aims to be more with the pilots and learning how to fly. Of course, Bell is quick to point out that "this is not a flight sim, but rather a fun and rewarding experience of flying around in these environments in accurate planes.
When asked about why an infantryman would know how to fly a plane, EA let us in on the backstory that explains this apparent inconsistency. After securing Henderson air- field on Guadalcanal, the protagonist.
Beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor, a simple click on any of the images will give you information about the various battles, the equipment used during them, and the personalities involved. In addition, gamers can choose to play through the game itself with Pop-Up Facts enabled. This is designed for those countless times that the Pacific Assault team expects us to replay the game. A year later, Black Isle Studios almost did just that.
Imagine an interdimensional pit stop where you begin as a corpse on a slab. With amnesia. Think Memento with swords and sorcery. From there, you traverse the various parts of the afterlife on a quest to remember what hap- pened to you and what your real name is. All the while, you regain "memories" and gain skills as you outwit opponents and perform feats.
L Unreal Tournament When cruel A. Perhaps Unreal Tournament was part of the evil robots' master plan, setting the stage for a quick and easy takeover.
Just think: Addict the humans to richly varied arenas with smooth controls. Give them an armory of cleverly balanced dual-firing weapons, so they think they have some chance at resistance. Finally, get them accustomed to the viciously clever bots that will ultimately usurp them. Evil future robots that will put us in pink fleshy pods and mine us for robot juice— we salute you! Now 15 years old and with tens of millions of copies sold, Madden continues to set the bar for all other football games, and is the rare title that has managed to transcend gaming and become a bona fide lifestyle.
While players have favorite iterations of the game, the fact remains that Madden just continues to get better.
WWr Like the famous Bayeux Tapestry, Medieval: Total War is a deft portrayal of ambition and war, but also an illustri- ously woven empire-building and real-time-strategy game of epic scale. The tumultuous and violent Middle Ages serve as an extremely detailed historical backdrop— so much so, history teachers could use Medieval as a teaching aid.
With an arsenal of single-player campaigns, historical battles, deep yet accessible tech trees, and playable factions, Medieval offers the content of at least two games packed into just one. With its scope, depth, and tremendous replay value, Medieval: Total War may be the perfect historical strategy game. Though their careers are completely separate, there are interesting parallels between these two. Each started a humble, one-man operation making a rudimentary role-playing game, and each transformed that first title into a dynasty, selling millions of games and spawning hugely successful companies: Garriott's Origin Systems and Van Caneghem's New World Computing.
Garriott created his first game, Akalabeth, in while still a high-school senior. He made the entire product himself, stuck the games in ziplock bags, and sold them himself. A year later, he made Ultima I and forever altered the landscape of PC gaming. Van Caneghem's story is similar. He made Might and Magic in his apartment in , single-handedly creating a universe that would play out over a series of hugely popular RPGs.
These games begat the awesome Heroes of Might and Magic strategy series, still the benchmark by which all fantasy strategy games are judged. Now, ironically, with both their compa- nies dead and gone, Garriott and Van Caneghem find themselves at NCsoft— the red-hot publisher of City of Heroes.
Neither of these remarkable creators has anything to prove— but we sure are glad they're back in the game. Daw of War logo, GWI. All Rights Reseived. S It's no fun to play, but it's so fun to say!
Soldner, Soldner, yay!
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