This Month's Most Popular Games Tagged 'core, adventure' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/games/popular/month/core/adventure/?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss ]]> This Month's Most Popular Games Tagged 'core, adventure' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/css/logo.jpg This Month's Most Popular Games Tagged 'core, adventure' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/games/popular/month/core/adventure/?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss ]]> en-us Cave Story - Doukutsu Monogatari Cave Story is a freeware sidescrolling action/adventure/platformer title with leanings towards Wonderboy and recent sidescrolling Castlevania titles. You control a little amnesiac who runs around helping out these rabbit-ish creatures called Mimigas while trying to find your way out of the giant cave inside the floating island which makes up the game's setting.

This is a free game made by one man:

Pixel said,
It's been five years since I first thought to myself, "Hey, why not try making a game?" I developed Cave Story at my own pace, taking my time, and while doing so I released a few other smaller games as well.
]]> 26 Nov 2006 01:38:13 Shenmue The story of Shenmue begins in 1986 and centers around Ryo Hazuki, a young man who's father has been murderer. You play as Ryo and now must find the killers and avenge your father's death.

Gameplay in Shenmue is diverse; while most of the game is spent walking around the atmospheric, life-like Japanese locations in a third-person 'chase cam' mode (talking to people, searching for things, solving puzzles, and so forth), it is interspersed with many 'mini-games', including forklift and motorcycle races, bar fights, chases down crowded alleys, full versions of Sega arcade games Space Harrier and Hang-On (both originally programmed by Shenmue creator and director, Yu Suzuki), dart games, and 'free fighting' sequences.
]]> 24 May 2007 01:36:27 BioShock
The idealistic surroundings and grim reality are constantly at odds.

Often touted as the "Spiritual successor to System Shock 2", BioShock is a long awaited fps in development by Irrational Games, with lead designer Ken Levine promising to advance the definition of first person shooters.

As a likely 2007 release grows closer more screenshots and trailers are being released, and one thing that's apparent is a gorgeous environment, seemingly inspired in great part by the art deco period of the last century.

Game overview and features as reported at the official site
BioShock is a revolution in the shooter genre that will forever change the expectations for the FPS. Going beyond "run and gun corridors," "monster-closet AIs" and static worlds, BioShock creates a living, unique and unpredictable FPS experience. BioShock is the Shooter 2.0.

After your plane crashes into icy uncharted waters, you discover a rusted bathysphere and descend into Rapture, a city hidden beneath the sea. Constructed as an idealistic society for a hand picked group of scientists, artists and industrialists, the idealism is no more. Now the city is littered with corpses, wildly powerful guardians roam the corridors as little girls loot the dead, and genetically mutated citizens ambush you at every turn.


Features:

  • Take control of your world by hacking mechanical devices, commandeering security turrets and crafting unique items critical to your very survival.
  • Upgrade your weapons with ionic gels, explosives and toxins to customize them to the enemy and environment.
  • Genetically modify your body through dozens of Plasmid Stations scattered throughout the city, empowering you with fantastic and often grotesque abilities.
  • Explore a living world powered by Ecological A.I., where the inhabitants have interesting and consequential relationships with one another that impact your gameplay experience.
  • Experience truly next generation graphics that vividly illustrate the forlorn art deco city, highlighted by the most detailed and realistic water effects ever developed in a video game.
  • Make meaningful choices and mature decisions, ultimately culminating in the grand question: do you exploit the innocent survivors of Rapture...or save them?

Developer: Irrational Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Released: currently targeted for August 2007 release!

System Requirements
To be announced.

In motion, the water effects are truly amazing. In fact, Irrational has someone on staff whose sole job is to handle water effects - everything from the fountains and ripples to the distortion of the fish beneath the surface.

]]> 25 Dec 2006 12:58:07 Escape Velocity The original game in the Escape Velocity series from Ambrosia Software. An open ended space trading, combat, adventure rpg. It's similar to Elite, but with all the fun distilled and purified into one big addictive lump of super fun.

The following is the blurb from the official Ambrosia website:

Check your calendar: It's 2246, and the galaxy just isn't what it used to be. Spacefaring pirates roam free, civil war rages, and simple traders cheat death to make a living. Welcome to life in the 23rd century!

Ambrosia Software's Escape Velocity puts you smack-dab in the middle of that booming galaxy. As the captain of a shiny new spacecraft, you make your fortune and build your empire. If that sounds like a walk in the park, you're in for a surprise - dangers abound! Your lowly shuttle craft will need more than a little luck to make a profit... and survive.

Escape Velocity offers a rich and open-ended environment that evolves as you play. Over a hundred worlds occupy the galaxy, each with its own technology, alliances, and commodities. As you earn credits and gain fame, Confederation peace keepers and Rebel patriots struggle for power, leaving you in the middle.

Numerous sub-plots fill Escape Velocity's world; your choices affect the story's development, guaranteeing that each game will be different from the last. You'll have the opportunity to infiltrate hostile military bases, ferry emergency supplies to distant star systems, rescue passengers from stranded cruise ships, stop alien invaders, and more. In addition, Escape Velocity sports an open game engine. Future scenario designers will be able to create their own worlds for other players to explore...
]]> 14 Nov 2006 04:32:58 Psychonauts Embark on a unique third person psychic adventure through the minds of misfits, monsters and madmen....

For years, the Psychonauts have deployed their psychically-armed operatives all over the world, but this time trouble is brewing in their own boot camp. A deranged scientist is abducting camp cadets for their brains. One student, a mysterious and powerful new arrival named Raz, stands alone against the lunatic. Raz must develop and unleash an arsenal of paranormal powers including his most powerful weapon of all: the ability to launch himself telepathically into the minds of others. Ultimately he must enter the psyche of his worst enemy and destroy his dark plans at their source while trying not to lose his sanity in the process.
]]> 25 Nov 2006 11:14:08 The Longest Journey "The Longest Journey" is an amazing graphical adventure, where the player controls the protagonist, April Ryan, on her journey through more than 160 locations, spanning two original worlds, and featuring a cast of more than 50 speaking characters. "The Longest Journey" will take you on an exciting and original journey of discovery, where you will explore, solve puzzles, meet new people, face terrifying monsters, learn, grow, and live the adventure of a lifetime!

With a story spanning thirteen chapters and more than 30 hours of game-play, leading up to a surprising and emotional finale, "The Longest Journey" is an epic, best-selling, award-winning adventure to be remembered.
]]> 25 Nov 2006 11:31:04 Dreamfall Casablanca, 2219

Zoe Castillo is about to get involved in a conspiracy that spans parallel worlds and hundreds of years.

Something is affecting our world: static interference disrupts technology, and it seems to be linked to a ghostly presence seen only by a few - a presence inhabiting a black house in a wintry landscape.As Zoe begins her search for a lost friend, she discovers that there is a magical world behind our own - and the search is now on for the one person who may help Zoe unravel the dangerous web she has become entangled in:

April Ryan.
]]> 25 Nov 2006 11:44:40 Nethack After the Creation, the cruel god Moloch rebelled
against the authority of Marduk the Creator.
Moloch stole from Marduk the most powerful of all
the artifacts of the gods, the Amulet of Yendor,
and he hid it in the dark cavities of Gehennom, the
Under World, where he now lurks, and bides his time.
]]> 26 Nov 2006 12:00:10 Eternal Darkness

Eternal Darkness Sanity's Requiem


Storyline
Long before humanity graced the Universe with its puerile ideas, the Earth belonged to another species. An ancient species bound by neither physics nor nature; purpose nor ethic. Through the passage of time, the relentless advance of ice and continental plate and other less fathomable reasons, these "Ancients" were driven into the recesses of our world. There they lie imprisoned until such time as the conditions are right for their return.

"Oh oblivious, naive Humanity... How ignorant we really are - safe only in our blind "superior" view of the world. We are merely caretakers, for when the Ancients return we shall be swept aside like driftwood on the tide of destruction..."

Hungry for dominance, radical organizations seek to restore the Ancients to their former station. For eons they have schemed and plotted in the darkness, attempting to bring these unholy entities into our world through arcane magicks - blood rituals, worship and sacrifice.

Of these sects, little is known; those who learn their secrets tend to perish swiftly at their hands. Their scheming works to bring the return of the Ancients, and the extinction of humanity, ever closer.

Yet not all hope is lost. The fate of Humanity depends upon the actions of a chosen few.
They are average people, unprepared for heroic deeds, but the responsibility is theirs, nevertheless. Even as their lives are torn apart by unseen evils, they must show courage not only in the face of the enemy, but also their own fears. These poor souls will teeter on the brink of insanity, tortured by the horrors of the Ancients.

A secret war is being waged on the periphery of Humanity's perceptions - a war wreathed in shadows and deception. Now, the centuries-long game of the Ancients is reaching its final stages.

The Darkness comes...
]]> 26 Nov 2006 12:13:00 Grim Fandango Something's rotten in the Land of Dead and you're being played for a sucker. Meet Manny Calavera, travel agent at the Department of Death. He sells luxury packages to souls on their four-year journey to eternal rest. But there's trouble in paradise. Help Manny untangle himself from a conspiracy that threatens his very salvation.
]]> 26 Nov 2006 12:17:40 Full Throttle Motorcycles. Mayhem. Murder.

One minute you're on the road, riding. Then some guy in a suit comes along, says he's got a deal for you and your gang. But when you come to, you've got a lump on your head, the law on your back, and a feeling that the road you're on is about to get a lot rougher...
]]> 26 Nov 2006 05:42:45 Beyond Good and Evil For centuries, the planet Hyllis has been locked in conflict with a race of relentless alien invaders.

Wary of her government's promises to repel the aliens for good, a rebellious action reporter named Jade sets out to capture the truth behind the prolonged war.

Armed with her camera, dai-jo staff, and fierce determination, Jade soon finds herself inside the jaws of a horrific conspiracy, and face to face with an evil she cannot possibly fathom.

In a world where deception is the deadliest weapon of all, will Jade's discoveries be enough to free her people?
]]> 26 Nov 2006 11:41:51 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Though it may be a gaming journalistic cliche by now, it would seem that Wind Waker cannot be addressed without mentioning it's art style. Some would argue that cel-shading simply brought Zelda back to it's light hearted two dimensional roots -come now, turquoise red cape clad pig's hardly scream realism-while others would defend the honor of Ocarina of Time claiming Wind Waker to be saccharine aberration.

Regardless of your artistic preferences though, it cannot be denied that Wind Waker is a great game with quite a few flaws.

After all, it's universally accepted that Wind Waker is far too easy, features quite a lot of tedious sailing toward the end of the game, and is on the short side for a Zelda game due the painfully obvious scrapping of two dungeons.

For all of that, Wind Waker is still quite compelling oozing style and charm: a Zelda slightly worse than it's predecessors is still better than 90% of 3D games out there.

In fact, the core gameplay is of such quality that if the previously mentioned flaws were somehow remedied in, oh say; a Wiimake, Windwaker would probably stand a chance at being the best game in The Legend of Zelda series.
]]> 28 Nov 2006 12:55:42 Planetfall After the fall of the Second Galactic Union in 1716 GY, a ten-thousand-year dark age settled upon the galaxy. Interstellar travel was non-existent, and many star systems descended into a near-barbaric state, buring coal and gas for energy, and growing food directly from exposed topsoil.

In 11,203 GY, a treaty between the Empires of Tremain and Galium formed the Third Galactic Union. Ships of the Stellar Patrol (a pseudo-military wing of the Union government on Tremain) began exploring the galaxy, searching for the human civilizations that are the remnants of the Second Galactic Union.

You are a native of the planet Gallium. Although it is one of the most politically powerful worlds in the Union, Gallium is no garden spot. In fact, the Gallium Chamber of Commerce brochure entitled "Ten Great Reasons to Visit Gallium" ends on page 3. The author ran out of reasons after listing just two.

For five generations, your family has served in the Stellar Patrol. Your great-great-grandfather was a High Admiral and one of the founding officers of the Patrol. It was taken for granted that when you came of age you would join up.

Now, more than a year after signing up, and two months after being transferred to the S.P.S. Feinstein, you are still only ranked Ensign Seventh Class. You superior officer, Ensign First Class Blather, has been making your life miserable. You're begining to wonder if you're really cut out for the Stellar Patrol...
]]> 28 Nov 2006 02:39:20 Adventure Quest AdventureQuest is a fully Flash-animated RPG that you can play when you are on your lunchbreak, when the big game servers go down, or even for hours every day! You fight against hordes of monsters and enemies so that you can grow stronger and obtain ancient weapons of unimaginable power. You need nothing more than your web browser and the latest Macromedia Flash plugin to play.

Create a NEW Free Account today and enter the world of AdventureQuest! Explore an entire world, filled with over 700 monsters, hundreds of items, magical powers to gain, and many classes to master! Become a Fighter, Wizard, Ninja, Vampire Slayer, Rogue, Knight, Mage, Paladin, Dragonslayer, and more.

Always changing!
This game is in an ongoing development phase. We are always creating and adding new content to the game and updating the main game engine to improve the experience for everyone. New quests, areas, items or events show up every week in AdventureQuest!

There are currently over 600 unique enemies to encounter, 400 unique weapons, over 150 unique armors and shields to use, and hundreds of spells and pets to aid you in battle, all found in dozens of quests, towns and areas through the world.
]]> 29 Nov 2006 10:43:52 Pathogen Pathogen is an action-packed sci-fi horror game.
]]> 05 Dec 2006 07:46:39 Quest for Glory 3: Wages of War The third game in Quest for Glory series is set in the Africa-like world of Tarna, where you travel with your new liontaur friends you have met in the second game. Shortly after your arrival, you learn about the conflict between the liontaurs and the neighbor Simbani village, populated by the leopardmen. It is now time for our hero to become a skillful diplomat and to prevent an upcoming war between the two nations.

The gameplay system of "Wages of War" is the same as in the two previous games. The game plays like an adventure, with puzzles to solve and characters to talk to, with the additional of RPG elements: combat (action-based) and character development. You can play as either a fighter, a thief, a mage, or a paladin, and raise your skills directly after battles or by performing various actions. Graphics and interface underwent a major change. This is the first 256-color Quest for Glory game, and the first one to utilize the new, icon-based interface.

(from the Moby Games QFG3 page)
]]> 05 Dec 2006 11:32:14 Obsidian An adventure game like Myst, but with full-motion video. The puzzles range from simple to ridiculously difficult, and can sometimes be frustrating with subtle clues.

The art style is surreal, and that's an understatement. The advertising campaign was amazing, including magazine ads and tv spots.

The best way to buy it is to search around... it appears not to be widely carried.
]]> 07 Dec 2006 01:53:02 Vigil: Blood Bitterness Plunge into the dark and unsettling story to reveal the secrets of your ancient civilization's relics and exact revenge on the Evil destroying your universe. Ritualistic killings and blood-lust blur the line between your own kind and the Evil you seek to annihilate.

Engrossing cutscenes bring you every brutal detail as the Gothic sci-fi story unfolds. The chilling music, menacing characters, and stylized black and white presentation draw you deeper into this gruesome, episodic 3d adventure game.

Avoid traps, solve puzzles, and devour the faces of your slaves for sustenance. Seriously.

FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY

Developer: FreeGamer
Release Date: 12/2006
]]> 13 Dec 2006 04:52:48 Alan Wake Alan Wake's first novel is hailed as a masterpiece of horror, its source material having come from dreams that began just before meeting his fiancee Alice. Her sudden dissappearance leaves him devastated. Suffering from insomnia, he can no longer write, nor even dream. Desperate for help he travels to a sleep clinic in the secluded, small town of Bright Falls, Washington.

At the clinic he overcomes his insomnia, but meets a woman that looks remarkably like Alice. He begins to have nightmares, and starts writing a new novel based upon them, but soon finds that Bright Falls appears to be turning into the horrible place of his nightmares. With gun and flashlight in hand, he must find out what's going on.
]]> 14 Dec 2006 03:01:56 Outcast Plot

In 2007 the U.S. government successfully sends a probe to an alien world in a parallel universe. The probe starts transmitting video images of the world back to Earth. Then, just minutes into the mission, an alien life form discovers the probe and damages it, causing an unforeseen backlash of energy to create a black hole threatening Earth. Cutter Slade, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, is given the job of escorting three scientists on a mission to this alien world to recover the probe and close the black hole.

Arriving in this alien world, Cutter is separated from the other scientists and is hailed by the natives as their messiah, the Ulukai.

Technology

The game uses a voxel engine to render its objects and textures. This unique method is purely software-based; it does not rely on any hardware-acceleration via a graphics card. A voxel engine was chosen because there is no performance hit when rendering round or curved surfaces, thus allowing for a much more detailed Landscape. Had the same level of detail seen in Outcast been attempted on a hardware-accelerated polygon engine, there would have been a significant drop in performance.
]]> 14 Dec 2006 04:57:01 Drakan Game by Psygnosis.

Every self-respecting fantasy game has dragons, and nine times out of ten it's your job to slay the evil things. But Drakan: Order of the Flame is one of those rarer occasions when the dragon actually does your bidding. Drakan first comes across as a third-person action game like any other in the quickly burgeoning genre, but you'll know this game is onto something early on, when lanky redheaded heroine Rynn releases the kindly old dragon Arokh and takes to the skies on his back. Add great graphics, mean monsters, deadly traps, and huge areas to explore both from the sky and on foot, and you'll see that Drakan is clearly one of the better games in its class, even if it doesn't seem especially original. After all, Rynn's just a medieval Lara Croft riding on your average dragon. You won't remember Drakan for its characters, but you'll have fun playing it.

More at GameSpot
]]> 14 Dec 2006 07:55:14 Bioforge
Take the starring role in Origin's latest Interactive Movie"

Centuries in the future, a madman's interstellar plot is set in motion, and only you have the skills, the position and the armament to stop it. You are the Mondites' first success in creating the perfect warrior.

Stripped of memory and enhanced with both human and alien technology, you are a primary element of their master plan - unless you can rediscover who you are, uncover your enemies' plans and make your break for freedom. But you'd better be quick - time and opportunity are running out.

Game features:

  • Variable identity outcomes - your choices throughout the game determine your former identity from a list of experimental subjects.

  • Lifelike, fluid animation with 24 powerful combat maneuvers.

  • Interactive backgrounds - from ground-to-air weapons, to monitors and projectile-reflective surfaces.

  • 8-channel digital sound effects, cued by distance and camera location.

  • 3-D, texture-mapped synthetic actors whose images actually show the injuries suffered in combat.

  • Multiple camera angles and beautifully rendered alien environments.

  • 22 voice actors!

  • Believed to have the first single-skin, fully texture mapped, skeleton-based characters ever seen in gaming.

Origin Systems (An Electronic Arts Company) developed and published this single player adventure. It was released in the U.S. in April 1995. At the time the following system requirements were high end!

Requirements
MS-DOS: Intel486/50+ or 100% compatible PC system. Required: MS-DOS 5.0 or higher, 8MB RAM, 5MB Hard drive space (29MB recommended), 2x CD-ROM drive, MSCDEX version 2.2 or higher, Microsoft mouse , keyboard.
Graphics: 256-color VGA.
MUSIC: Ad Lib, Sound Blaster/SB Pro/SB 16/SB AWE, Wave Blaster, General Midi MPU-401 interface, or 100% compatible sound board.
DIGITIZED SPEECH and SOUND EFFECTS: Sound Blaster/SB Pro/SB 16/SB AWE or 100% compatible sound board.


Trivia: Spoiler warning! In spite of a highly detailed story that obviously was painstakingly crafted, the game ending is rather notorious for falling a bit short. The developers endeavored at one point to rewrite the ending, which then blossomed into a possible sequel, but at length the whole initiative was dropped.
]]> 14 Dec 2006 10:44:27 Mafia Mafia is a 3D action crime epic set in the seedy underworld of the 1930's. Rise from the lowly but well-dressed Footsoldier, to an envied and feared Made Man in an era of mob hits, car chases, and bootlegging. Earn a reputation as a tough enforcer, daring getaway driver, and deadly hitman in your quest for respect and power within the Salieri Family.
]]> 15 Dec 2006 05:38:27 American McGee's Alice Based upon characters and elements of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland", this 3rd person adventure contains elements of platform jumpers, shooters, action and puzzle games, all in a highly stylized and colorful world of fantasy.

Years have passed since Alice's trip through the looking glass. After surviving the fire that killed her parents, Alice is driven by despair into a catatonic state and institutionalized. The famed Cheshire Cat is teenaged Alice's constant companion as she finds herself once again in Wonderland.

The land is not as she had left it though, more twisted than ever, and her journey reflects that of the depressed, anxious, even suicidal girl battling for sanity and balance once more as she fights to overthrow the cruel Red Queen and put things right.

Alice's arsenal includes an exploding Jack-in-the-Box, nasty dice, an ice wand, and much more.

Powered by the Quake III engine, Alice was designed by American McGee, developed by Rogue Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, who released the game in October, 2000. It is of possible interest that American McGee's site no longer holds reference to the game.

The game features a soundtrack composed by former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna. The voice of Alice was performed by Susie Brann.

The related Universal Pictures film "Alice", starring Sarah Gellar in the title role is apparently set for release to coincide with the publication of Duke Nukem Forever.
]]> 15 Dec 2006 06:21:37 Earthbound
Nintendo Power said,
A meteorite crashes near the peaceful town of Onett, and a young boy's life is changed forever in Nintendo's role playing game, Earthbound. Earthbound is different, though, than the average sword-wielding RPG. In what other game can you defeat enemies with a frying pan, call a pizza-delivery man, or ask your dad for money? Need to get some cash? Just jog on down to the local ATM and withdraw some money for that great Yo-yo you saw at the drugstore. Similar to other RPG's like Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior, Earthbound uses a party-based fighting format, and you pick up new members as you explore both your world and others. Earthbound is irreverent, a little silly, and a must have for RPG fans.

Additional Game Features:

  • Gameplay employs many traditional elements such as buying equipment, recharging energy, interrogating NPC's, but while taking the player away from the traditional dungeons to a more contemporary era, full of wit and humor aimed at modern life and pop icons.

  • Gearing up in modern towns means that you'll more likely find baseball bats, yo-yo's and frying pans than swords! A wide variety of weapons are available in the course of the game.

  • Form parties to explore and battle.

  • Battles aren't random, as most enemies are visible.

  • Persistent onscreen analogue HP and PP meters assign losses gradually in real time, enabling the player added opportunity to heal or complete a battle.

  • Graphically simplistic, but rich in humor and imagination.

Developer: Ape, Inc. and HAL Laboratory, Inc.
Publisher: Nintendo
Producer: Shigesato Itoi
Written By: Shigesato Itoi
Game Designer: Akihiko Miura
Art Director: Kouichi Ooyama
U.S. Conversion Director: Kouichi Ooyama

Released in Japan August 27, 1994 for SNES as "Mother 2: Revenge of Gigyas!", and subsequently as a GBA port in June 20, 2003, also only in Japan. EarthBound was introduced to the U.S. on June 1, 1995 as a stand-alone game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. In Japan, however, its title refers to the fact that it's a sequel to the NES/Famicom rpg "Mother".

It's worth stating that this game has cultivated such fan devotion that there are numerous sites and communities rife with information and trivia regarding Earthbound, so that one can only scratch the surface of available information here!
]]> 16 Dec 2006 06:31:05 Blaster Master Developed by SunSoft in 1988, this game was one of the best games of its time.

It had action, adventure, powerUps, a very clever world design, and some very cool innovative gameplay. The only thing missing was the story.

Boy has pet frog, pet frog runs away and mysteriously runs into radioactive material sitting on the back yard. Frog eats some radioactive material, grows into giant frog, digs a hole in the ground and runs away. Boy runs after frog, jumps into hole in the ground (and this is where it really gets weird) finds a state of the art high-powered military vehicle complete with matching full body suit, which happens to fit him just right. And so he begins a great adventure in search for his pet frog.
]]> 18 Dec 2006 01:14:50 fahrenheit Indigo Prophecy is a paranormal thriller that lets you become multiple characters and view the experience from multiple viewpoints. Incredible film-style design pulls you into the story, until you're intimately immersed in the game. Your actions will affect the plot and create a scenario-driven, interactive experience.
New York City is stunned by a string of weird murders, all following the same pattern: Ordinary people kill total strangers in public areas. Lucas Kane becomes another of these killers when he murders a stranger in a men's bathroom. Covered in blood, Lucas regains consciousness with no Memory of why he committed murder. He must solve this mystery before being incarcerated for life. Over 50 stuntmen and actors were used for the game, to create the most realistic, high-caliber, Hollywood-style action sequences
]]> 18 Dec 2006 10:50:16 Grabbed by the Ghoulies Grabbed by the Ghoulies was released in 2003 by Rare for the Xbox. It was historic in that it was the first Rare game to be released under the Microsoft banner after being bought out from Nintendo. It also has the dubious distinction of being the biggest flop in Rare's history. The name is a pun on the British slang goolies, meaning testicles.

Ghoulies starred a young teenager named Cooper who set out to rescue his girlfriend, Amber, from Ghoulhaven Hall. This mansion was full of supernatural and otherwise unpleasant creatures, and Cooper would receive help along the way from the many hired hands that worked there. Ghoulies also had a mini-crossover with another Rare franchise, Banjo-Kazooie, via the small cameo by Roysten the goldfish.
]]> 20 Dec 2006 09:26:16 Banjo-Kazooie Banjo-Kazooie is a 3D platform/adventure video game for the Nintendo 64. It was developed by Rare and published by Nintendo in 1998. The game stars a bear named Banjo and a bird named Kazooie who set out on a quest to rescue Banjo's sister, Tooty, who has been kidnapped by the witch Gruntilda. Along their journey, Banjo and Kazooie receive help from Mumbo Jumbo the shaman and Bottles the mole, as well as from various other characters in smaller roles.
Banjo-Kazooie went on to become one of the most popular games for the console.
]]> 20 Dec 2006 10:02:54 Bad Mojo: The Roach Game REDUX The basic premise in Bad Mojo is to explore, discover and observe.

An old, brick building in San Francisco is the site of Eddie's Bar on the Waterfront, which was once a popular tavern. Above the bar lives Roger Samms, an entomologist who is conducting mysterious research. At the onset of the game, Roger is trnsformed into a cockroach by a strange object of antiquity. You assume the role of Roger after his bizarre metamorphosis.

Controlling the roach/Roger, you begin the game under the building. You must explore rooms and observe objects while searching for clues and answers. The building is dark and dangerous, and there are many obstacles to overcome before you can find your way back to humanity. There are animals, insects and people who live here as well. Some may harm you, others may help you, but solving the mystery beneath the surfcase of the game is up to you alone.

You must uncover the rest of the story yourself by roaming the floors and walls of Eddie's Bar. Listen to all that you hear, read what you can and try to piece together the story as you explore your true identity.

Crawl around and investigate everything. If you can't get out of a room, then perhaps you haven't seen all there is to see...

Bad Mojo: The Roach Game, and Bad Mojo: The Roach Game Redux are essentially the same, the latter being a reissue with minor optimizations, as well as a bonus features DVD which features quite interesting history on the development of the game, somewhat of a cult classic.


Additional Game Features:

  • Bizarrely original premise.

  • Vibrantly detailed visuals.

  • Terrific exploration and discovery with clever obstacles.

  • More than 800 navigable screens, rendered in high resolution detail.

  • Live-action video and spine-tingling music drag you into the dark, disturbing atmosphere.

  • Hints section for each level, but wouldn't you really rather figure it out?

Developer: Pulse Entertainment
Publisher: Got Game Entertainment. (North American release)
Released: 2004, original version released 1996


System Requirements
PC: Pentium 3 800MHz or better processor, Windows 98/2000/XP

Macintosh G3 or better, System 9.0 (or OSX Classic mode) with 50MB hard disk space, 8x CD-ROM, 24-bit color video display.
]]> 22 Dec 2006 12:40:16 Sam & Max Hit the Road Sam and Max are the oddest of detectives, an anthropomorphic dog and a psychotic rabbit, featured here in a cross country adventure. The game includes a wealth of crazy puzzles, nonstop humor, and sharp satire of Americana, as the trenchcoat wearing dog and and his pal search for an escaped bigfoot.


Additional Game Features:

  • Classic "point and click" adventure packed with humor.

  • 5 mini-games are also contained within the game.

  • Backgrounds beautifully drawn in 256 colors.

  • Based upon comic book characters created by Steve Purcell, who was also the lead writer of this adventure.

  • Graphical adventure using the SCUMM engine.

  • Released simultaneously on CD-ROM and Floppy, the CD version includes complete voice performances.


Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: LucasArts
Released: 1993 (DOS), 1995 (Mac)

System Requirements
386/33 MHz CPU, 4 MB RAM, 256 color VGA, DOS 5.0
]]> 23 Dec 2006 12:43:47 Zork: Nemesis
Awarded Editor's Choice in the December 1996 issue of PC Gamer

Zork: Nemesis (also known as Zork: Nemesis - The Forbidden Lands) is a first person adventure including puzzle solving and mystery.

In the final days of the underground empire four great alchemists dissappeared while searching for the secret of eternal life. A spy was sent to learn their fate, but he too was lost. That's when you are called upon as an adventurer to investigate.

In the Forbidden Lands you learn of the foul workings of a demonic force known as Nemesis, and with the "spiritual" help of the lost scientists you must attempt to restore balance to the world by recovering the four lost elements: fire, water, air & earth.

Additional Game Features:

  • First person perspective of a simulated 360 degree view.

  • Piece together clues, decipher codes, solve puzzles and learn the secrets of defeating Nemesis in the course of your extensive quest.

  • Travel to a a monastery, an insane asylum, a fortress, and a conservatory in search of the four missing elements.

  • Point and click interface, also utilizing a key-bound inventory.

  • Vertical and horizontal panning from any point, though not simultaneously.

  • Extensive use of full-motion video and panoramic scenes.

  • Humorous at times, this entry in the Zork franchise is also the darkest, including death and gore.

Developer: Zombie, Inc.
Publisher: Activision

PC version released in the United States February 29, 1996.
Mac version released: 1996



System Requirements
486/DX2-66MHz processor; 8MB RAM; 2X CD-ROM drive; 35MB hard disk space; VESA local bus or PCI video card with 1MB video RAM; 16-bit high-colour SVGA (640 x 480); MS-DOS 6.0 or above.

PowerPC Mac
16 MB RAM
2X CD ROM drive
OS 7.5.1+
]]> 23 Dec 2006 04:13:18 Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure
worthplaying.com said,
Getting Up has a fairly innovative take on gameplay mechanics, attempting to mix street-style brawling with elaborate jumping and climbing puzzles and a new take on player-involved graffiti tagging.

Play as Trane, a "toy" graffiti artist with the street smarts, athletic prowess and vision to become an "All City King"--the most reputable of all graffiti artists. Along your quest, uncover the mayor's deep, dark secret... and use your fighting talents and high-wire graf to expose the city's leader as a corrupt tyrant.

As you struggle to save a neighborhood from an oppressive government, one question stands out: What if graffiti could change the world? Risk your life battling city authorities and rival graf gangs--mere obstacles in your attempt to get your tag up. And in this city, not just any tag will do. You'll have to "Get IN, Get UP and Get OUT."


Additional Game Features:

  • A digital "black book" to store unlocked tags and graf images.

  • A groundbreaking graffiti gameplay system, designed to sharpen your skills as you tag with Aerosol, Rollers, Markers, Wheat Paste, Stickers and Stencils.

  • A revolutionary storyline written by Marc Ecko.

  • Authentic tags from more than 50 real-life graffiti artists, six of whom appear in-game as mentors.

  • Eleven distinct city environments, with 20 gameplay levels. Single-player only.

  • Fighting mechanics that combine kicking, grappling and punching, along with improvised weaponry.

  • The Evolution of Graffiti: As Trane grows from "toy" to "All City King," his style and the state of graffiti evolve.

  • Trane's Abilities: Combat, Graffiti, Intuition, Sneak Mode, Navigation Unique "Intuition" system, allowing you to find ideal places to tag.

  • World-renowned hip-hop artist Talib Kweli as the voice of Trane.

  • A limited edition includes the game, a black book, a soundtrack CD, a making-of/documentary DVD, and a silver Sharpie with the Getting Up logo on it, all in a big metal box. The DVD has a 30-minute documentary on graf culture, with interviews, some "making-of" stuff, and a whole "how to play" section with tips.

  • Acclaimed extensive soundtrack features songs from Hip Hop artists such as Talib Kweli, Mobb Deep, Pharoahe Monch, Del the Funky Homosapien, Eric B and Rakim.

Developer: Mark Ecko/The Collective
Publisher: Atari
Released: 2006

Minimum System Requirements
  • Operating System: Windows 2000/XP
  • Processor: Pentium 4 1.8 GHz or AMD Athlon 1.8 GHz or higher
  • Memory: 512 MB RAM
  • Hard Disk Space: 3 GB free
  • Video: 64MB Hardware T&L compatible video card
  • Sound: DirectX version 9.0c-compatible sound card
  • DirectX version 9.0c (included) or higher

    • * Hardware T&L video cards that do not support shaders, such as the GeForce 4 MX or Intel Extreme Graphics family, are not supported.
    ]]>     23 Dec 2006 07:47:36     Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds takes place one year after the events of Ultima VII: The Black Gate. To celebrate the defeat of the Guardian, Lord British invites the Avatar and his companions to his castle. However, in the night of the feast the Guardian attacks again, encasing the castle in a giant gem of blackrock. Deep in the sewers of the castle, another blackrock gem is found, created as an aftereffect of the attack. This gem is a teleporter to other worlds controlled by the Guardian. Now you, the Avatar, must travel to these worlds in order to free the castle from the Guardian's spell.

    This sequel to Ultima Underworld plays almost exactly as the original, with its 3D world, action-oriented combat, and magic and dialogue systems. The storyline is more connected to the main Ultima series and the game world is larger and has more variety: besides the usual castles and dungeons there are such diverse locations as an ice world, a totally alien place called Talorus and the enigmatic Ethereal Void. Graphics and sound have also been improved: the size of the viewing window has been increased, there are all-new monster graphics and the game now features digitized sound effects.

    from the (Moby Games UW2 page)
    ]]>     24 Dec 2006 07:00:00     Prince of Persia The Grand Vizier Jaffar has thrown you into a dark dungeon and plans to marry the girl of your dreams in an hour. You're not going to let that happen are you? Try to escape from the dungeon, take out Jaffar's guards, find your way through the sultan's palace and defeat Jaffar himself. Now go, you've got 60 minutes!

    Prince of Persia is a 2D action-adventure / platformer with run & jump gameplay. Avoid deadly traps, solve some puzzles and engage in sword fights. The player has an infinite amount of lives but has to restart at the beginning of a level each time he dies and must complete the game within an hour. An especially noteworthy aspect of the game is the very fluent animation of your character.

    from the (Moby Games Price of Persia page)
    ]]>     24 Dec 2006 08:39:15     The Blackwell Legacy The Blackwell Legacy is the first case in a miniseries of games that stars a medium named Rosangela Blackwell and her spirit guide Joey Mallone. Their mission, it seems, is to assist tormented spirits and investigate supernatural goings on. They don't understand why they are thrown together, but they do the best they can.

    The duo's first case will involve a series of suicides at a local university. Something unnatural has forced these students to kill themselves, and nobody knows why. Rosangela, who is just coming to terms with her new status as a medium, finds herself cast as the unwilling detective in this gruesome mystery.
    ]]>     25 Dec 2006 05:58:59     Monster Hunter Enter into a timeless and extraordinary world where every member of a primal civilization must work together to coexist. The struggle to "Hunt Or Be Hunted" is the everyday rule of survival.

    Battle against incredible creatures alone, or with up to three online teammates. Mastering your quests earns you reward money and valuable items to enhance your weapons and armor to become the Master Monster Hunter.
    ]]>     28 Dec 2006 09:00:22     The Guardian Legend "Long ago, in a distant galaxy, an alien race sent a huge world-called Naju-hurtling toward Earth, loaded with a cargo of mysterious life forms.

    During the long journey, these creatures have multiplied and become increasingly evil-and now Naju teems with evil. However, deep within this complex globe are self-destruct mechanisms that can be activated to destroy it before it reaches Earth.

    Now, you must battle your way deep within Naju's labyrinths to destroy the alien world. You are the guardian of Earth and your saga will become The Guardian Legend."

    The main character is anonymous, because their identity doesn't matter. What does matter are your actions, which include saving the world. It contains top down adventure action much like in Master Blaster and it has top down shooter sequences, which provides for a nice balance and variation in the action.
    ]]>     29 Dec 2006 09:31:35     Morning's Wrath Morning's Wrath is a Classic Adventure / RPG fusion. It combines rich story and puzzles with intense melee and spell-casting combat.

    Assume the role of Princess Morning of the Leowyn Kingdom and guide her on a quest to master the ways of magic and save her kingdom from invasion.
    ]]>     30 Dec 2006 08:25:10     Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 In this sequel to the critically acclaimed Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, reassume the role of Raziel, and travel back through the currents of time into various eras of Nosgoth's past in your relentless pursuit of Kain. Encounter new enemies as you unearth the mysteries of Nosgoth's ancient races, and expose the schemes behind the corruption of the Pillars, and the vampire genocide.



    Additional Game Features:

    • Acquire new and improved Soul Reaver weapon enhancements, physical abilities, and relics to interact with the environment and unlock the dark secrets of Nosgoth.

    • Devour the souls of new enemies including vampire hunters, Sarafan warrior-priests, spectral spirits, and extra-dimensional demons.

    • Immerse yourself in a gothic realm of highly detailed architecture and environments supported with an intriguing storyline, compelling voice-over and no in-game loading times.

    • Enhanced graphics and combat system designed specifically for the PlayStation?2 computer entertainment system.

    • Shift real-time between the spectral and material realms to access previously unattainable places.

    Developer: Crystal Dynamics
    Publisher: Eidos Interactive
    Released: November 2001

    System Requirements

    Pentium III 450 MHz or equivalent, 128MB RAM, DirectX 8.0 compliant sound card and 16MB 3d accelerator, 850MB hard drive space, 8x CD-ROM, Windows 98/ME
    ]]>     31 Dec 2006 03:40:13     Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Cast down to the material world, the mysterious entity 'Raziel' seeks vengeance for betrayal by his master: Kain. Cursed to stalk the dark realms of Nosgoth, he must slay his undead brethren; only then can he absorb their souls for the energy he craves. Moving between the spectral and material plane, Raziel must negotiate puzzles, overcome traps and defy blood-chilling enemies to reach his goal - the final battle with Kain!

    Game Features:

    • Feed on the souls of your enemies.

    • Explore the vast 3D worlds of Nosgoth packed with 60 hours of gameplay.

    • Shift real-time between the material and spectral planes.

    • Hunt 5 different tribes of murderous vampires with an arsenal of deadly hand-to-hand, projectile, and environmental weapons.

    • Third-person perspective, single player adventure.

    Developer: Crystal Dynamics
    Publisher: Eidos Interactive
    Released: 1999 for Playstation and Windows, 2000 for the Sega Dreamcast


    Minimum System Requirements
    P200 MHz MMX Processor (with 3D accelerator card, DirectX 6 compliant)
    P266 MHz Processor (without 3D accelerator card)
    Windows 95/98
    16 MB RAM
    4X CD-ROM drive
    DirectX 6 or higher required (included)
    100% DirectX 6 compliant Sound Card
    320 MB uncompressed hard drive space
    ]]>     31 Dec 2006 04:29:22     Blade Runner
    They don't advertise for killers in the newspaper. That was my profession. Ex-cop. Ex-blade runner. Ex-killer.

    The year is 2019 and you are Blade Runner Ray McCoy in this 1997 Westwood Studios adventure game based loosely upon the legendary 1982 science fiction film and the Philip K Dick novel that inspired it.

    Advertised as "the first real time adventure game", Blade Runner places you in a future Los Angeles, where replicants are known to be on the loose once again. The city is dark and gritty, and teaming with smatterings of the multitude of cultures who have so far resisted the beckoning recruitment to populate the "off-world" colonies.

    The universe created within the game coincides with that of the movie, and is faithful to the rich, dark vision of Philip Dick, as well as film director Ridley Scott.



    Additional Game Features:

    • Elements of the typical "point and click" games, with puzzle and mystery solving, plus some 3rd person action such as shooting.

    • As a Blade Runner you have access to advanced technologies such as the Voight-Kampff test, the Esper and the KIA.

    • Greatly enriched with numerous 3d atmospheres, many adapted from the film, and a number of characters from the original film.

    • Musical score includes film themes by Vangelis as well as original tracks composed for the game.

    • Sumptuous dramatic cutscenes rivaling any computer animations of their time.

    • Alternate endings (4) based upon your paths, as well as some variations in storyline in this single player adventure with "real-time" gameplay.

    Developer: Westwood Studios
    Publisher: Virgin Interactive Entertainment
    Released: Oct 31, 1997


    System Requirements
    90 MHz CPU, 16 MB RAM, 2 MB video card RAM, 4X CD-ROM drive, DirectX 5.0, 150 MB available hard disk space, Windows 95.

    Trivia! Lucy in the game is voice acted by Pauley Perrette, later to be known for her role as Abby Sciuto on the CBS television crime drama NCIS!
    ]]>     31 Dec 2006 05:07:39     The 11th Hour In this sequel to The 7th Guest, it has been nearly 70 years since maniacal toy and puzzle maker Henry Stauf murdered six guests at his Mansion. All of the horror seemed long past until ace tv report Robin Morales is sent on assignment to investigate the old Stauf Mansion, only to vanish without a trace.

    You assume the role of Robin's boyfriend Carl Dennings who has just received a game book in the mail directing him to come to Stauf Mansion. With little but the mysterious book in hand, you set out to solve a new set of Stauf puzzles in the evil residence in your quest to rescue Robin and forever destroy the wicked Stauf legacy.


    Additional Game Features:

    • Treasure hunt with a similar puzzle-based game strategy of the former game, but much darker and mature atmosphere in comparison with the first game.

    • Highly animated puzzles and lots of full motion video enhance the adventure.

    • Graphically creepy Stauf Mansion with lots of detail revealing its decayed decor.

    • Features the music of George "The Fat Man" Sanger and Team Fat.

    • Rendered with the "Groovie" engine.

    Developer: Trilobyte
    Publisher: Virgin Interactive Entertainment
    Released: 1995

    System Requirements
    486DX2/66, 8MB RAM, 4MB hard drive space, 2xCD-ROM, DOS 5.0+, Local bus video, soundcard, mouse.

    Trivia! An R-rated version was planned, including sex and more graphical violence, and the script for this version was included in the official hint manual. The developers denied that this version was ever filmed, but rumors persist that an R-rated version exists.
    ]]>     31 Dec 2006 07:57:51     Dino Crisis
    IGN said,
    It's Resident Evil with dinosaurs.

    In the near future scientific genius Professor Kirk was thought to have been killed in a lab accident on remote Ibis Island. An operative of S.O.R.T. visits Ibis 3 years later in search of information about new weapons technologies, and discovers something quite different. The young professor seems to have faked his death in order to proceed with secretly carrying out his research for a clean power source in isolation after his funding was cut off.

    As top special forces operative Regina, you and your team of special forces agents are sent with a singular mission: recover Kirk and get out alive. Things quickly take a turn for the worse when you realize the once lush paradise is now the home of creatures that have been absent from the earth for millenia.


    Additional Game Features:

    • A new adventure in survival horror from the creators of Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2.

    • Control the fate of special tactics agent, Regina, as she searches for the missing Dr. Kirk.

    • Puzzle-solving, mystery and dinosaur fighting action.

    • Completely realtime polygonal backgrounds, environments, and realtime lighting.

    • Advanced predatory AI turn the hunter into the hunted.

    • Enemies include the Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor, Pteranodon, Compsognathus and Therizinosaurus.

    • 3 unique endings.

    • Single Player adventure in the tradition of Resident Evil, but in 3D rendered environments.


    Developer: Capcom Production Studio 4
    Publisher: Capcom
    Released: September 23, 1999

    System Requirements
    Pentium-200 or equivalent, 32 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 4 MB VRAM, DirectX 6.1

    Dale Weir of GameCritics.com said,
    ...uses basic gameplay and ingenuitive pacing to put players on edge and accomplishes the rare feat of letting gamers scare themselves.
    ]]>     01 Jan 2007 04:40:45     Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors
    "The Bad Boys of Magic" make sure their interactive multimedia debut is everything a video game isn't supposed to be (Including a game that you just can't win)

    Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors was a 3D0, PC and Sega CD game that was never officially released. The Sega version is said to have been the only version completed, but even that was in doubt for many years until some back-up copies were given to website editor Frank Cifaldi, who received them from a reviewer of the original product who had kept them salted away for so many years.

    Owing to this, over recent years a lot of cult enthusiasm has been generated, most particularly over the hilariously minimalist premise of "Desert Bus", one of the mini-games within the title. As some available links make apparent, the game, or at least parts of it, are being played as a result of file-sharing and emulation.

    Essentially the game, as in their video of the time "Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends", is farce and satire, and the minigames themselves are a series of pranks upon other gamers, or even the gamer himself, but all within the brand of "fun cruelty" that is a trademark of the pair.

    Developer: Absolute Entertainment
    Publisher: Originally intended for an April 1995 release, the game never reached publication. It's original release was planned by Absolute Entertainment and later EA Games.

    "It's not that different from the spirit of our live shows," explains Penn Jillette, "except you won't be able to smell us."
    ]]>     07 Jan 2007 01:41:36     Mage Bros. Mage Bros is a 2 player 3D side scrolling game. The gameplay is fun and the graphics will bring you straight back to the Nintendo 64. Plus you can play with a friend at the same time.
    ]]>     09 Jan 2007 07:13:28     Final Fantasy II It's not an exaggeration to say that Square Enix's Final Fantasy series of role-playing games rates as one of the strongest entertainment franchises in the world. You'd be hard pressed to name another RPG series that can match Final Fantasy's breathtaking computer-animated FMV sequences, fantastical steampunk environments, gorgeous musical scores, and enormous, pristine worlds that practically beg for exploration. This is the series that introduced the now-trite concept of the airship to the gaming masses, after all.

    All of these elements are truly great, yes, but perhaps the Final Fantasy series' most important innovation has been in storytelling. The characters are believably human (even the nonhuman ones)--they get scared, play jokes on one another, and even get married. Although the world's always on the brink of destruction in Final Fantasy, the path to preventing the catastrophe is usually convoluted and filled with twists and cul-de-sacs, like a great fantasy novel. And the dialogue is consistently top-notch, from the everyday banter around the towns to the villains' soliloquies. The storytelling prowess didn't start with the original Final Fantasy, though. In its day, the game was more comparable in its construction to leading RPGs like Dragon Quest rather than to something completely groundbreaking. No, the revolution that created the rich RPG genre that millions of fans adore today began with the release of Final Fantasy II (Final Fantasy IV, in Japan). Together with Phantasy Star 2, Final Fantasy II invented the modern, story-driven RPG simply by making players care about what happened to their characters. This is why it deserves to be called one of the greatest video games of all time.

    he narrative in Final Fantasy II gripped you and shook you like a rag doll right from the beginning of the game. Your introduction to the protagonist, Cecil, took place on the deck of a military airship that had been ordered to extort a magic crystal from an innocent town (not a very heroic vocation). After his complicity in this war crime, the conscience-wracked Cecil was dismissed from the military and sent on an errand to a nearby town, along with his best friend Kain. Using generic archetypes for characters (like Final Fantasy's White, Black, and Red Mages, for instance) was standard operating procedure in RPGs at the time, but Final Fantasy II went off on a far more interesting tangent.

    You played a washed-up veteran with a tortured past, and the game quickly introduced you to a multitude of characters with different backgrounds, motivations, and abilities. Each character had unique combat abilities that fit together into a cohesive whole, like Kain's jump attack and Cid's peep. Furthermore, every character kept his or her own counsel during the course of the adventure. Some left the party at an important juncture in the story, only to return at an unexpected moment. Other major characters were simply, shockingly written out of the lineup. Was Kain firmly on your side, and, if so, why was he acting so erratically at times? What about Edge, the mysterious ninja? Did the game's chief bad guy, Golbez, really mastermind the evil plan you were trying to defeat, or was there some other, ulterior force at work?

    You simply didn't know the answers, and there was only one way to find out: fly to the moon on a spaceship that looked like a gigantic whale. This memorable sequence was only the most grandiose in a long line of in-game breaks for story advancement, which are now referred to as cutscenes. Some of them, like the noble sacrifice of the Magi Twins, Palom and Porom, were particularly poignant, while the epic-staged battle right before the end of the game was just awe-inspiring. Compared to other Super Nintendo games from 1992, Final Fantasy II was a feast for the eyes and ears. Nobuo Uematsu's gorgeous, haunting MIDI scoring was completely peerless, and the game did a lot of fancy work with the SNES's Mode 7 scaling technology, too. That Meteo attack looked like it hurt.

    In Final Fantasy II, your characters weren't dumb marionettes; they were full-fledged actors and actresses, and they delivered knockout performances. By the time you finished the game, you had developed such an affinity for your band of heroes that you actually wanted to see what happened to them after they defeated the final boss. And the game obliged with a sort of "where are they now?" trailer during the credits, which was another innovation in a game full of novelties.

    The Final Fantasy series has already chalked up a Greatest Game of All Time, and it will surely contribute more entries to the list over time, thanks in part to the quantum leaps Square made in Final Fantasy II. It was with this game that Square assumed the pole position in the console RPG market--a position it has never relinquished. We, and the Kingdom of Baron, are the better for it.

    -- Steve Palley
    ]]>     15 Jan 2007 09:41:58     Shadow of the Colossus Tales speak of an ancient land where creatures the size of mountains, roam the majestic landscape. Bound to the land, these creatures hold a key to a mystical power of revival - a power you must obtain to waken a loved one.

    Shadow of the Colossus is a majestic journey through ancient lands to seek out and destroy gigantic mythical beasts. With your trusty horse at your side, explore the spacious lands and unearth each Colossi. Armed with your wits, a sword and a bow, use cunning and strategy to topple each behemoth.
    ]]>     18 Jan 2007 10:58:36     Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain In this game you take the role of Kain, revived as a vampire by the Necromancer Mortanius to avenge himself by killing the bandits that murdered him. As a vampire Kain is easily able to kill the bandits. But after doing this Kain finds out from Mortanius and the spirit of the dead Ariel, one of the guardians of the pillars of Nosgoth that protect the world, that the other Guardians have gone insane because of Ariels death and the only way to save Nosgoth is by slaying the guardians.

    This is top down action adventure not completely unlike the top down Zelda games, but that's where the similarities end. As the player guides Kain through Nosgoth more and more of the history is revealed. But with every revelation, more questions rise, many of which are not answered until the later installments in the series.

    In his quest, Kain obtains many new weapons, special armor, items and tools. But as Kain becomes stronger as a vampire he also gains access to new magical spells and transformations. And through expanding Kains arsenal, the player is able to travel to more of Nosgoth in the quest for the truth that leads Kain not only through the darkest outskirts of Nosgoth, but also time.
    ]]>     19 Jan 2007 06:05:00