Games

PC Game Review: Risen

A recent trend in games has been altering the naming structure to try to either dissociate with older games or mask how many games have preceded the release. Recent examples include the indeterminate ‘Wolfenstein’, the third Red Faction game being called Guerrilla, and the removal of he ‘Call of Duty’ from much of the ‘Modern Warfare 2’ advertising. Now we have Risen. Risen is the fourth entry by developer Pyranha Bytes in the classic Gothic game franchise that … what? Huh? Really … are you sure? Hmmm … well apparently Risen is NOT part of the Gothic series. I just…

Reviews

The Netbook Gamer: Star Wars: Mysteries of the Sith (1998, FPS)

While in theory this could be game could have been called Star Wars Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith expansion, fortunately it was just called Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith and is easily abbreviated as MotS. It was released in early 1998, a mere four months after the release of a game still marked as one of the best first-person shooters of all time, and despite getting lower reviews than that game it remains a fan favorite and a standout release for an expansion pack. Yes, and since it was released more than ten…

Reviews

NFL Quarterback Challenge for iPhone OS Review

As a youngster I can remember watching various NFL quarterbacks compete in challenge events during the off season. Often times the events took place in Hawaii or some other tropical paradise and I had dreams of being my favorite signal caller competing in the various challenge events. The NFL and ProAppSports recently announced the immediate availability of NFL Quarterback Challenge game for the iPhone OS. The game allows you to test your QB skills and accuracy as you navigate the QB of your favorite NFL team through a series of challenges just like those old TV specials. NFL Quarterback Challenge…

Game Diary, Reviews

iFarm for iPhone/Touch App Review

Attention Farmville and FarmTown fans! Many of us spend way too much time on Facebook. If much of that time is spent on one of these farm simulation games, do I have an app for you! This summer I did fall into the Farm Town trap and spent (wasted) a lot of time harvesting and planting crops in hopes to buy more stuff and a larger piece of land. Yes, there is no point, but for some reason it is extremely addicting. So, how about taking this addicting waste of time mobile!?! iFarm will give you the chance!

Reviews

Divine Divinity (2002, RPG) Review

or … Five Years Loving a Game With a Stupid Name. One of the quirky ‘top whatever’ lists that appears every now and then is the list of worst names for video games. And somewhere on every one of those lists is Divine Divinity. Yeah, it IS pretty obvious why. The game would also appear on another list – if someone could figure out how to name it. That list would be ‘best deep role playing game that fans of classic RPG’s have ignored because it features action-RPG combat and has a very difficult and long dungeon in the beginning.’…

Game Diary, Reviews

Orba for iPhone/Touch App Review

My gaming tastes are either changing, or I have become a simple person in my older age. It seems the flurry of simple puzzle games not only entertain me, but also keep me addicted to the small bursts of gaming time I have. Orba is a simple screen clearing game. The premise is simple and has been seen in several games. Tap chains of three or more orbs in an attempt to clear the board.

Reviews

InfeCCt iPhone Game Review

I like puzzle games quite a bit. I travel a lot, and so even though I enjoy things like Dark Nebula, Earthworm Jim (yay!), and Cro-Mag Rally, puzzle games like Myst or Beneath a Steel Sky or Bookworm or Glyph are better for me, as they are easy to stop in the middle, the time pressure isn’t a big issue, and I don’t have to worry about being jostled or hitting air-pockets and losing a life as a result. Thumb-twitch games are tough on the heavy traveler. So I’m big on puzzle games. (Also card games, but that’s another review.)…

Reviews

PSP Go! … or PSP No Go? Review

Sony has seen no end of bad press since just after they confirmed the early leak of the PSP Go. There was the lack of a second analog stick, the high price, the lack of clarity on what happened to UMD libraries, the price, and so on. But now the system has been released, and I’ve had it in my hands for several weeks and been able to evaluate the reality of things compared to the hype. So how does it measure up? Read on and find out.

Reviews

Commodore 64 Emulator iPhone Game Review

I love classic games of all sorts. I still occasionally replay my copy of the original 1981 Castle Wolfenstein through an emulator and have always loved playing arcade games when the arcade collections are released. So when I heard that a Commodore 64 game emulation system was coming to the iTunes App Store, I was thrilled. Of course, that joy was short-lived as the app was approved but quickly pulled due to an exploit that allowed BASIC to run and potentially allow harmful code to execute (I know, I know, but still …). Anyway, recently Manomio have announced that a…

Reviews

SiN (1998, FPS) Review

Context is everything. I hadn’t touched SiN since replaying SiN Gold when it was released for the Mac in 2000. Then they released the first ‘episode’ of SiN Episodes, called ‘Emergence‘ in 2006, which came with a Steam copy of ‘SiN 1? as it was called. Naturally I played some then as I waited for the release of the episode, but didn’t make it all the way through. Since it is now more than ten years since the original release, I thought it only appropriate that I should do a Retrospective for a franchise that has spent its’ life in…

Game Diary, Reviews

Real Racing GTI for iPhone/Touch App Review

Before deciding this is not an interesting gaming option because it is the Lite version, read this review. You may be surprised on what you find! I have to admit I am usually not a fan of lite versions of paid apps, but this game is different. One reason is Firemint has teamed up with Volkswagen to bring this game as an introduction of the new 2010 GTI. Yes, the game is basically a commercial for the new GTI, but this also means it is a really nice version of the $4.99 Real Racing game for free!

Reviews

NERF N-Strike Elite! Wii Game Review

Last year Electronic Arts released a game called NERF N-Strike for the Nintendo Wii. The game merged a NERF blaster that could hold a Wii-mote and an arcade-style shooter. Reviews were middling, but the hybrid game sold enough to become EA’s second-highest grossing game of the year. Now they are back with an improved blaster and a game with more features and claims of a better overall experience. So how did they do? Read on and find out!

Reviews

Nintendo DS & Wii Game Review: SimAnimals Africa

Early this year EA released SimAnimals, a game that allowed you to engage animals in their natural surroundings rather than in a zoo. You managed and guided their interactions and environments as you progressed further and further into a forest in a game that followed the typical ‘god game’ protocols. Unfortunately SimAnimals for the Wii was torn to shreds by reviewers for being ugly, clunky and boring. The DS version did slightly better, being seen as a fun but limited forest life simulator for kids. Now EA has taken the simulation to Africa on the DS and Wii once again,…

Reviews

Spore Hero, Nintendo Wii Game Review

Will Wright’s 2008 PC game Spore was hyped to the point where anything that was actually released couldn’t help but disappoint. The publishers also made some arrogant claims regarding their DRM that led to the game being quickly cracked and becoming one of the most pirated games of the year. The game offered an amazingly deep creation system but the ‘anything is possible’ shine quickly wore off as gamers worked through the chapters. Yet after all of the hype and backlash … what we were left with was a very good game that offered loads of fun. Similarly there were…

Reviews

Spore Hero Arena Nintendo DS Game Review

The Hype: Create your Spore hero and prepare fight to become the galactic champion. An arena style fighter, Spore Hero Arena allows players for the first time to build fully 3D Spore creatures on your Nintendo DS and take them into battle. In addition, you can explore planets all over the galaxy, fight creatures, and gather parts to customize and enhance your mighty hero. Join the fight and compete in a variety of arena battles against dangerous enemies in your quest to become the galactic champion and save the galaxy. Story and Gameplay Stranded on an alien planet after you…

Game Diary, Reviews

Sudoku (Free) for iPhone/Touch App Review

Sudoku is a terribly addictive number puzzle game. The object is to fill in 9×9 grid using numbers 1 through 9 as well as filling them into a 3×3 region with no numbers repeating in rows or columns. Before the iPhone days, I was hooked on sudoku playing the puzzles on with pencil and paper. I even used to carry around a little sudoku puzzle book in my bag so I could play when there was a spare moment. My sudoku play tends to attempt to work quickly and I rarely stop before finishing a puzzle. The iPhone has changed…

Editorials

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2: The Stark Reality for PC Gamers

The hype has been building for months, and Tuesday we get what some are calling “the most powerful entertainment industry launch of the year, outshining even Hollywood blockbusters.” The launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. But while millions of console gamers are eagerly awaiting the release, many PC gamers are mourning what they see as the loss of the core elements that has made the franchise great since it launched on the PC several years ago. Rather than detail all of them, here is a nice chart that shows the changes since the last Modern Warfare game:

Game Diary, Reviews

Skee-Ball for iPhone/Touch App Review

I recently took my oldest son and a few of his buddies to Incredible Pizza in San Antonio for his 5th birthday. We started with the pizza of course, but the boys could hardly contain themselves just staring into the game room. Once I let them hit the games, we headed straight for the skee-ball. They decided tickets were what they were after so they could get some wax lips and parachute men, you know the good stuff. I can think of no better way to earn tickets in a game room than play skee-ball. The game has been one…

Reviews

Hexplore (1998, RPG) Review

There are many games from the history of computer role-playing games that deserve the attention of a full retrospective, looking back in-depth at what made the game great and putting it into a modern context. However, for every ‘Ultima IV’ or ‘Arcanum’ there are a hundred games like Hexplore – minor releases that added something at the time but were not significant enough to merit much attention even a year after they came out. Certainly, I had never heard about it until recently when it was mentioned in a thread on a PC RPG forum. As part of my love…

Reviews

Dissidia Final Fantasy for PSP Review

There are few franchises that have cast a larger shadow over the history of console gaming than Final Fantasy, and the core series of role-playing games has been constantly tweaked and upgraded through the years to stay current. There have certainly been games that have strayed from the usual jRPG format – the classic strategy game series Final Fantasy Tactics, and more recently the RTS-like Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings for the Nintendo DS. But one of the most anticipated entries in the series is the fighting game called Dissidia Final Fantasy. Square Enix released a demo on the PSN…

Reviews

The Netbook Gamer: Unreal (1998, FPS)

Given that my first love of gaming is first-person shooters (FPS) based on my love of the original Castle Wolfenstein back on my Apple ][+, it is somewhat surprising that I was ‘late to the party’ on Unreal by nearly a year. But hey, gimme a break – I had a three-month old colicky baby when it was released in late May of 1998. Yes, that is right: Unreal is well past the celebration of its tenth birthday … but in terms of my ownership it has just passed the decade mark, so I guess that counts for something! You…

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