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New games enter familiar territory
By WES PLATT, Times Staff Writer This holiday season, the shelves of computer stores are packed with sims, strategy games and shooters. Many are sequels and add-ons or expansions of hit games, but some are stand-alone classics in their own right. From appeasing a Greek deity in Age of Mythology to resuming the role of superspy Cate Archer in No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way, players will find much to enjoy in familiar territory. In one game, the engaging adventure Syberia, players can participate in a wonderful story within a gorgeously illustrated gameworld. Age of Mythology
The creators of the hit games Age of Empires and Age of Kings have done it again. And, as usual, they've done it well. Age of Mythology is a resource management and strategy game that blends the best aspects of its predecessors with the fanciful legends of Greek, Norse and Egyptian mythology. Overall, it's what players have come to expect from such games: You build cities, collect raw materials, develop technology and try to ensure that your civilization outlasts those around you. What's new are the twists that come with the setting. Each of the three central civilizations explored in this game have their own pantheon of gods and heroes. As a society evolves, it can choose the heroes to protect it and the gods who are worshiped by it. Worship the gods enough and they'll grant favors, such as laying waste to your enemies, smiting opposing temples and restoring your depleted armies. Friends in high places, and all that. The game offers several play options, from random maps to single-player campaign to multiplayer Internet connections. Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Saga
I figured I would really like Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Saga, which combines the legendary space fantasy movies with the popular game engine that drives Age of Empires, the popular historical-based strategy game. Sadly, it fell flat for me and sometimes seemed downright silly. The image of Darth Vader whomping on heavy machinery with his lightsaber like some re-pixelized Warcraft troll had me imagining the Dark Lord humorously hissing "Who's your daddy?" while applying that abuse. Star Wars just doesn't lend itself to the idea of "strategy" gaming and resource-building. The whole gist of the first trilogy was that the outmatched Rebels had to work with less and the overconfident Galactic Empire ultimately would fail despite having the greatest technology and the most resources at their disposal. And strategy? What self-respecting Death Star designer left that gaping hole in the superstructure leading straight to the reactor? And sending a few dozen X-Wings up against a world-blasting battle station? Han's right -- it is suicidal. In the Galactic Battlegrounds Saga, the otherwise fun storytelling elements of Star Wars are cast aside in favor of combat and resource management. The big selling point for the "saga" package is that you get campaign scenarios from the original Star Wars trilogy era and the more recent The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. I could easily bring myself to play in the original trilogy campaigns. It took a little more effort to get enthusiastic about the scenarios inspired by the latest movies, mostly because, well, I just haven't liked the new movies all that much. But, oddly enough, it was in the Episode I and II scenarios that I found my guilty pleasure of the game: Killing off Gungans in droves. That doesn't make this package worth paying for, however. Stick with Age of Empires and its sequels. The Sims Deluxe Edition
The Sims Unleashed Expansion Pack
They're sort of like Sea Monkeys. Remember those packets you could order from a comic book? You'd pour the magical ingredients (okay, so they were just brine shrimp) into an aquarium or a fishbowl full of water, sit back and watch a tiny, briny civilization come to life. That's the gist of The Sims, except these virtual people don't just drift around listlessly. They've got needs: Food, shelter, clothes, companionship, career. And it's up to you to provide for them and keep them happy. If you enjoy home decorating, micromanagement of others' social lives and potty training, then you probably will love The Sims Deluxe Edition and its latest addition, The Sims Unleashed Expansion Pack. If you prefer games with a little more action and a lot less furniture shopping, then they're not for you. These games are a lot of fun for what they are. The "deluxe" edition comes with a Sim creator that will let you import your own image, paste it on the face of a Sim, and drop him or her into the middle of Sim society. The Unleashed expansion pack offers the option of giving your Sims pets. Get it? The Sims you adopt in turn adopt pets. You get to manage the Sims' lives, and help them manage the pets' lives. Isn't symmetry wondrous? Rollercoaster Tycoon 2
I absolutely loved the original Rollercoaster Tycoon. And although Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 is a fun followup, it doesn't feel like a full-price game. It feels like an expansion pack with some bonus features. The new game includes easy access to all the available scenarios (few as there are), offers more player control over theming of parks and allows for experimentation with some famous rollercoasters from Six Flags amusement parks around the United States. Other than that, you get some new shops to tinker with and land management has been altered a little. But, by and large, it's the same interface with a few new gadgets and gizmos. If you consider Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 a must-have, at least wait until it's on a bargain rack -- save yourself some money and avoid disappointment. No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way
No One Lives Forever scored Game of the Year honors when it came out. And it certainly deserved the honor, with its tongue-in-cheek take on 1960s superspy movies, clever female heroine, funny gadgets and entertaining dialogue. British intelligence agent Cate Archer returns in No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way, and the game is a worthy sequel. It's fun, but it doesn't break new ground. Don't expect it to garner Game of the Year. Still, it's classic fare, in which Cate tackles a Cold War crisis to stop World War III. Her journey takes her to such exotic locales as Siberia, Calcutta and Ohio (yes, Ohio -- where you get to fight a ninja inside a mobile home that is hurled around by a tornado). Syberia
Of all the games reviewed for this roundup, Syberia proved the surprise favorite. It's a classic graphic adventure game, free of killer zombies and high body counts, with beautifully rendered environments, clever logic puzzles and engaging characters in a remarkable story that unfolds during about 15 hours of gameplay. Syberia isn't just a game. It's an immersive experience. And it's what game developers should study when the phrase "roleplaying" comes to mind for a game. You don't run around killing monsters or raising skills. Instead, you're dropped into the life of Kate Walker, a New York lawyer shipped off to some obscure European village for a seemingly simple purpose: Get an old lady to sign a contract selling her family's toy company. Naturally, things get complicated. First, Anna Voralberg, the old lady in question, has died. There's talk of a surviving heir -- her brother, Hans, a genius who loved to build automatons and became obsessed with wooly mammoths. Before long, you get hooked up with Oscar, a quirky automaton engineer who drives a clockwork train, and go off in search of Hans Voralberg so he can sign the contract. Along the way, you repeatedly get calls on the cell phone from back home: The boss, threatening to ruin your career if you blow this mission; your mom, wanting to kibbitz; your best friend, shooting the breeze; and your boyfriend, whining about letting him down for the big dinner party. My only complaint about this otherwise wonderful adventure is that the storyline is quite structured and tightly scripted, and Kate's character is effectively relegated to puzzle-solving to get from one well-done animated scene to the next. Several times I wanted options in how Kate might respond to things people said or did, rather than having them forced on her by the storytellers behind the game. That aside, it's a great story that's well-told. - Wes Platt is the Times' assistant editor in Hernando County and an avid gamer.
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