 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Grip your mouse firmly, then click for action
By WES PLATT and DAVE GUSSOW
© St. Petersburg Times, No matter what you're in the mood for, you're likely to find something worth having for your home computer this holiday season. You want sims? They've got an abundance, from vehicular adventures with Flight Simulator 2002 and Train Simulator to whimsical theme park action in Rollercoaster Tycoon and the Ultimate Ride to the nitty gritty of simulated suburban life in the Sims to the empire-building endeavors in Civilization III and Stronghold. Manage a zoo in Zoo Tycoon. Play god in Black & White. Action? Plenty of that to be found in games such as Alien vs. Predator 2, No One Lives Forever Game of the Year Edition, Diablo II and Max Payne. Role playing? Return to the cloud-shrouded intrigues of Myst III: Exile, explore a world where magic meets gadgets in Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, or embark on new journeys in the massive multiplayer game Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty. Just about something for everybody. Some good, some bad, and some terribly ugly. We help sort it out. Sid Meier's Civilization IIICompany: Infogrames Price: $45 System: Windows Put those forgettable Civilization: Call to Power games out of mind. Wait, you probably did that already. Sid Meier, the master of the original empire-building simulation is back, and Civilization is better than ever. As in the original versions of Civilization -- before Meier went away and left the game concept in the hands of amateurs for a while -- you assume the role of one of several world leaders who must guide a society from antiquity to the age of interstellar travel. But the game now features improved graphics, cultural influence, combat options allowing for armies, air missions and the draft, new wonders of the world to give your civilization prestige, and an enhanced trade system, complete with an array of commodities. You've also got to cope with the occasional barbarian raids. On the more difficult game settings these barbarians have their own agendas and they don't always come with a warning like they did in the good old days of Civilization I and II. The game's not as graphically spectacular as Age of Empires, but the mechanics are sound even without a lot of visual splendor. Civilization III should be a nostalgic favorite for those who have played the originals in the series, and a welcome respite from the wrong turns made with Civilization: Call to Power. -- WES PLATT, Times Staff Writer Alien vs. Predator 2Company: Sierra Studios Price: $45 System: Windows Play this one in the dark with the sound turned up. Alien vs. Predator 2 is the follow-up to the hit shooter game that lets you play either a wall-crawling, acid-drooling alien, a relentless hunter Predator, or a gung-ho human Marine. Lock and load; it's a lot of fun. The action takes place on Planet LV1201, pitting the three species against each other in a battle for survival. Each species has unique weapons: Colonial Marines pack explosive firepower, Predators wield those cool whirling discs of death, and aliens have claws and a whip-like tail. Three interlocking stories provide for at least that many unique perspectives in the single-player game, but Alien vs. Predator 2 also features a multiplayer option with unlimited opportunities to match wits and skills against players from around the world. The graphics are impressive, and coupled with great sounds, it makes for an adrenalin-charged immersive gaming environment that may leave you jumping at shadows. -- WES PLATT, Times staff writer The Operative: No One Lives Forever -- Game of the Year EditionCompany: Sierra Studios Price: $30 System: Windows The campiness of Austin Powers meets the gee-whiz gadgetry of James Bond and The Avengers in No One Lives Forever, one of the most enjoyable first-person shooters to come along since Half-Life. Players assume the role of Agent Cate Archer, a superspy with a neon-hued wardrobe, lethal skills and an array of weapons and other toys to use in her missions against the criminal organization known as Harm. Settings include trains, planes, snowcapped mountains, underwater and a space station a la Moonraker. It's an homage to Cold War spy films, complete with exciting cinematic cutscenes and clever dialogue. Good graphics, engaging storyline and an easy-to-grasp interface make this a must-have for action gamers. The Game of the Year edition, released to celebrate No One Lives Forever's well-deserved victory for that title, includes the game and strategy guide. -- WES PLATT, Times staff writer Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick ObscuraCompany: Sierra Price: $44.99 System: Windows Magic mingles with Industrial Age gizmos in Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. If the game has a look and feel reminiscent of Baldur's Gate and Fallout, that's because the team that developed Arcanum includes veterans from those grand predecessors. Arcanum doesn't really break new ground, it's just more of the same. That said, you could do a lot worse than repeat the pleasures of the past. Although Arcanum may not offer much that's new, it offers plenty that's fun. Players get to explore a massive game world and solve many intelligent puzzles and challenging quests, more than 100 possible side quests in a rather open-ended storyline. The game opens with a spectacular dirigible crash, and your character is the only survivor. Quickly, you become teamed with Virgil, a seemingly hypercaffeinated mystic with a tendency to trip over his tongue. And just who are you? To an extent, that's up to you, thanks to Arcanum's personalized character creation system, which lets you develop a character concept with a brief background and personality traits. But, in the end, you're still the resurrected spirit of an elven wizard who must save the world from the forces of evil. The character selection process determines how well you match up against combatants and whether you use magic or technology -- you can't use both. Because players must choose tricks or tech, the game has automatic replayability, which means you can play it at least twice without having the same experience. On the downside, combat can be tedious and character interactions are old-fashioned pick-a-response menus. The graphics, although good, are nothing special. And unlike the games that have gone before it, Arcanum doesn't allow you to manipulate the inventories of automated non-player characters who join your party. Despite these dull spots, Arcanum makes a worthwhile role-playing game for the enthusiast's collection because of its scope, complexity and replayability. -- WES PLATT, Times staff writer Asheron's Call: Dark MajestyCompany: Microsoft Price: $20 for program; $9.95 monthly fee System: Windows It's pretty. It's bigger. It's got more features. But it's up to the gaming-savvy consumer whether Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty is worth the investment. Microsoft wisely gives players a free month to explore the land of Dereth and the new island of Marae Lassel, and take advantage of player housing (you can build your own abode in the fantastic territory). If you've got only the original Asheron's Call, you don't get to enter the new realm, can't own a house and can't go on the added quests. After the first month, it costs $9.95 a month for your new addiction. You don't have to own the original Asheron's Call to run this game; it includes the original software in the CD. However, the caveat I offered back when Asheron's Call first came out still stands: As massive as this multiplayer game is, as attractive as its graphics are, as comprehensive as the magic system is, and as addictive as the action can be, it is still little more than a prettified MUD. A MUD, for those who don't know, is a Multi-User Dimension. It's a text-based game that often has many of the same features found in Asheron's Call, Everquest or Ultima Online, without the computer-memory-hogging graphics. The MUD Connector (www.mudconnect.com) lists more than 1,700 up-and-running text-based MUDs. And most MUDs are free -- all you need is special software such as MUSHClient (www.mushclient.com) or SimpleMU (simplemu.onlineroleplay.com) for Windows, or Mud-Haven (www.hsoi.net/mud/clients/) for Macintosh. But if you must have graphics and don't mind doling out $120 a year for the privilege of exploring a virtual world, Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty makes the grade. -- WES PLATT, Times staff writer Train SimulatorCompany: Microsoft Price: $54.95 System: Windows More than 40 years after I accidentally engineered his prized electric train into a bucket of wallpaper glue, a cousin still holds it against me. We loved those trains, and the hours we spent watching them go around on the metal tracks set up, in this case, on a table in the basement. So I was curious about Microsoft's game for train lovers. But it's simply not the same thrill setting up and running a train on a computer screen. Microsoft has done a fine job of giving virtual engineers a lot to do in the cab, a variety of choices of trains and routes and different views as the trains chug along. People expecting it to have the same challenge and interest as Microsoft's popular Flight Simulator, though, are bound to be disappointed, as was a friend. -- DAVE GUSSOW, Times personal technology editor Flight Simulator 2002Company: Microsoft Price: $49.95 (standard); $69.95 (professional) System: Windows The same friend who had little interest in Train Simulator couldn't wait for the new version of Flight Simulator. It's a bit odd, since he used to loathe flying, but such is a midlife discovery. Now he goes up with a pilot friend and plays with the software (complete with yoke and foot pedals) on his PC. Microsoft delayed the release of the software after the Sept. 11 attacks, in part to redo the New York skyline. The current version offers more of almost everything: planes, views of a plane's cabin, a new air-traffic controller feature for yet another touch of realism, and improved graphics. But gone is the helpful 238-page Pilot's Handbook, replaced by a 32-page Before You Fly brochure and onscreen handbooks that you must read on your computer or print out. Those are minor quibbles for someone who now can soar without getting queasy. -- DAVE GUSSOW, Times personal technology editor
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
|
