PC

Command & Conquer: The First Decade

March 5, 2006

PC / Reviews / by Chris Massey Make a comment! / Tweet it!

We’ve come to that point. Video game franchises made popular in the 80’s and 90’s are getting older, and with that, companies try desperately to make a buck off them by doing something to commemorate the fact that the franchise in point hasn’t fallen into obscurity yet. [i]Command & Conquer[/i] turns ten this year, so in natural form, EA has followed through with [i]Command & Conquer: The First Decade[/i], a collection of every game in the series on a single DVD. Being a fan of the games, I leaped at the chance to own all the [i]C&C[/i] games at once. I probably should have taken into account, though, that EA was producing this collection. While there is a great nostalgic sense to this package, EA has pieced this compilation together in a sloppy, bug-riddled manner and rushed it out the door. This is a collection strictly for [i]C&C[/i] fans only, and that’s if you can stand the bugs present in your classic games.

It seems a bit bittersweet that EA is making this glorified collection of [i]C&C[/i] games. After all, Westwood Studios-the now corporately swallowed company-was responsible for the groundbreaking series and its numerous sequels and expansions. Despite this, EA has now brought us every title in the series on one compact DVD. That’s twelve games (six games and six expansion packs) all on one disc, which is a pretty nice deal. However, it is very evident that EA has pieced this together very poorly. This package could have been a great homage to a classic game series, but the quality of [i]TFD[/i] is as if EA simply slapped each game onto the disc and hoped for the best.

There are some glaring problems right off the bat for some of the games found on this disc. While more recent games like [i]C&C: Generals[/i] seem to work perfectly fine, I particularly had issues with [i]Red Alert 2[/i] and its expansion locking up, and the first person shooter [i]Renegade[/i] has seen frequent drops to the desktop. Indeed, a look into EA’s forums revealed a number of people complaining of other issues, ranging from a lack of video in the campaign mode of [i]Red Alert[/i] to the individual games asking for their respecting discs despite the DVD being in the drive. The biggest thing to swallow in this whole story is that when I installed the stand-alone version of [i]Red Alert 2[/i] a few months ago, it worked perfectly fine. Combine this with the fact that EA has missed any opportunity to clean up any issues that plagued the older games in their day, and something has certainly been lost in translation.

Meanwhile, there are also a few issues to be found in the earlier games, although these can be attributed to their age rather than bug anomalies. Most notably, [i]Command & Conquer[/i], [i]Red Alert[/i], and their expansions are all missing the ability to play online. EA clearly states that online play may be discontinued on the back of the box, but it still feels like a missed opportunity that EA could have included. The worst thing is that when you click the button for online play, it prompts you to install Westwood online components that are not only absent from this disc, but may also very well be obsolete by this point. The original games from 1995 and 1997 are preserved in their entirety, although for some this might be a turn off. Not only are these vastly underdeveloped compared to more recent strategy games, but some of the full motion video cut scenes just look terrible ten years later.

This brings us to the practicality of [i]TFD[/i]. Fans of the series will no doubt enjoy just about everything to be had here (particularly the preservation of everything), but for others, there are some very different game styles at work here. [i]Renegade[/i] is a first person shooter, and is probably the most out of place game on the disc, using a simple FPS engine oozing with [i]C&C[/i] references that someone outside the series just won’t understand. Meanwhile, fans may not appreciate [i]Generals[/i], which goes under a completely different play style than the other games, and those willing to give this compilation a try will probably skip the first few games due to their underdeveloped nature to more recent games. The fact is it may be very hard for someone to like everything available on this disc.

Then there’s the bonus DVD. Just when you thought the idea was only for movies, they went and inserted one with this compilation. As you probably would expect, it wasn’t the first thing I went to, and as you might also expect, it isn’t incredibly interesting. The bonus disc mostly consists of video of EA employees talking about their history and experiences with the game series, and since most Westwood employees left after EA absorbed the company, the only developer insight you’ll get are from the people behind the [i]Generals[/i] games. There’s an interview with the creator of the series, but that may be the only thing worth watching on this. I suppose they felt that they needed to make some attempt to make this collection worth purchasing rather than just throwing every game on the first DVD. If they thought this would impress [i]C&C[/i] fans, though, then EA is really out of touch.

Unless you are a fan of [i]C&C[/i], you will want to pass on this deal. Fans of the series may very well see a worthy purchase here, and by all means, go wild if that is the case. Those fans should be aware that, while there is the added benefit of having every [i]C&C[/i] game ever made on one disc, there are a lot of problems and bugs to be found within the separate games, and really all you are getting is each game installing as if you had put the original games in the drive one by one. EA had a good idea coming out of the gate with this collection, but clearly stumbled somewhere along the way. Fans of [i]Command & Conquer[/i] deserve better than this, and Westwood Studio’s legacy certainly deserves more than bug-ridden versions of their finest work.

Fable: The Lost Chapters

February 26, 2006

PC / Reviews / by Ben Jacobs Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Let’s get this out of the way first: [i]Fable[/i] is a game directed by Peter Molyneux. He promised all kinds of cool things that did not end up in the final release. Boo hoo. Get over it. Now, with all of that over and done with, what we have is one of the PC’s best action RPGs in a long time. If you played the original Xbox version of [i]Fable[/i], you’re not going to see very much that is new. There are a few notable editions, but [i]The Lost Chapters[/i] is the same game you played on the Xbox a year ago. Now, PC players can join in on the fun.

PC gamers do not get to enjoy the hack-and-slash games that their console brethren get to very often. The click-fest genre has been quite dry since [i]Diablo II[/i], so it turns out that [i]Fable[/i] is a very welcome addition the PC library. The core gameplay of [i]Fable[/i] is what you would expect. You click with the mouse, and as a result, things die. There are many ways to cause this death. Huge swords, accurate long bows and powerful magical spells round off your character’s abilities. Most likely, you will pick one of these specialties and stick with it for the majority of the game, as specialization is certainly the way to success.

The combat system is not very robust, even given the large array of abilities you can pick from. You will most likely pick one of the three and use it almost exclusively. Melee fighters have a definite advantage over the magic users and archers. They are capable of building up much larger combos much quicker and are generally more fun to play. The gameplay when the player is utilizing magic or arrows requires a lot of running away, which unfortunately causes a lot of difficulty because of the game’s seemingly broken lock-on system. (Not the only thing that the game borrows from the [i]Zelda[/i] series, the system for locking onto characters just simply does not work very well.) You will lock onto one character and then be harried from the back, and there is no easy way to switch away from the character that you are targeting to another one quick enough. Combat forms the bulk of [i]Fable[/i]’s gameplay, and as a whole, it is satisfying.

If [i]Fable[/i] does not shine in an amazing combat system, what does it do well? The main draw of [i]Fable[/i] over another game is the rich world in which you will be traveling. As a young hero in a world of competing heroes and lesser folk, you will have to earn your mettle with gradually more difficult missions. Through the use of a hub guild, the player will go on quests. Completing quests awards experience points, money and prestige. The experience points can be put into learning new magical spells, toughening up your character or making him more agile. The game does not explicitly have classes, but there are three categories for growth which epitomize the classes of Fighter, Thief and Magic User. The money can be used to buy new weapons, gifts for the ladies and even a few houses. Earning prestige will make your character more memorable. Crowds will cheer for popular heroes as they pass, and grateful women will throw themselves at you. Prestige also earns you access to more advanced quests.

It is this interaction with the people around you that makes the game at once a great victory and a terrible tragedy. The groundwork is clearly here for a more advanced game system, with more clear consequences for good and evil actions, but the game does not really tackle these subjects. Your actions have clear results. Guards will try to stop you from committing crimes, and killing indiscriminately will affect an alignment stat. After many hours with [i]Fable[/i], the interaction with NPCs becomes surprisingly shallow. You can make friends, fall in love, get married and perform quests for people, but there isn’t a lot to it beyond that. The game is thankfully short in this regard. Just as you start to bore with the NPC interactions, the game is over.

Aesthetically, [i]Fable[/i] really works. The graphics look beautifulA

Unreal Tournament 2004

February 19, 2006

PC / Reviews / by Chris Massey Make a comment! / Tweet it!

The Unreal series started with [i]Unreal Tournament[/i] in 1999. [i]Unreal Tournament 2003[/i] came out in late 2002, and received much acclaim from gamers worldwide as being one of the best First Person Shooters around and having some of the best computer A.I. in a game. The Unreal series has now entered into its third installment, [i]Unreal Tournament 2004[/i]. Before this review goes on any further, lets just make this clear: [i]Unreal Tournament 2004[/i] is one hell of an awesome game.

What makes [i]Unreal Tournament 2004[/i] so great is the content within the game. The game has, and count them, a total of one hundred different maps divided into nearly a dozen different gameplay types. Yes, a hundred maps. To be fair, [i]Unreal Tournament 2004[/i] basically splices most of [i]Unreal Tournament 2003[/i] into itself, and a good number of [i]UT2k4[/i]’s maps come straight from [i]UT2k3[/i]. Have no fear though, as there are plenty of new maps available, and the older maps are still just as enjoyable. Of course, there is a downside to the game having one hundred different maps. While [i]UT2k4[/i] comes as a steal of a price, you’ll be getting a whopping six CD PC game, which takes up an overwhelming 5.5 gigabytes of space on the hard drive. It’s all worth it though, and if you happen to have a DVD drive, you can also get the special edition set, which packs the entire game into one DVD, and comes with a headset and other extras.

The [i]Unreal Tournament[/i] games have always been about frantic FPS action, and [i]UT2k4[/i] doesn’t disappoint. The gameplay is, for the most part, just like the gameplay from [i]UT2k3[/i]. You’ll end up jumping in all sorts of different directions, frantically trying to aim your weapon while dodging the enemy’s. At times, a kill shot may be completely due to luck, as it can be near frustrating to aim your weapons while jumping around like a fish out of water. This frantic gamestyle is what makes [i]Unreal Tournament[/i] so compelling though. If you count out gametypes where you work as a team, the only strategy you really need to know in order to play [i]UT2k4[/i] is how to aim, and head into the fray, guns blazing. This makes [i]UT2k4[/i]’s learning curve easy for new players to get used to. They can simply get into a game and unleash their wraith upon the other players, learning as they go along.

You might be asking yourself why this game is so much different from any other PC FPS around, if that’s all it takes. [i]UT2k3[/i] eliminated this question by adding in a variety of different game modes that focus on teamwork. These are more accustomed to intermediate and advanced players, and involve a lot more strategy than your basic deathmatch and team deathmatch. Bombing Run, Capture The Flag, and other modes were introduced, and like [i]UT2k3[/i]’s map selection, they too make their way into [i]UT2k4[/i].

[i]UT2k4[/i] also adds in its share of content, including many new game modes. The two most anticipated modes are known as Onslaught and Assault. Onslaught is a complete change from the traditional UT gameplay, mainly because of the addition of vehicles. The objective in Onslaught is to capture what are known as nodes placed throughout the levels, until you make it to the power core located at the enemy base, which you then have to destroy. The maps in Onslaught mode are big, and actually require a good usage of vehicles in order to be successful. This doesn’t mean lone players without vehicles are helpless, and the game does a good job of balancing pretty much everything. Tanks are powerful enough to take out most vehicles, but are prone to aerial attacks. Smaller vehicles are fast, but easily destroyed, and while infantry aren’t exactly strong enough to take out a tank very easily, a tank will have a hard time clearing out large groups of people.

Assault is a mode where one team attacks a series of enemy objectives in order to complete the final objective at the end of the level. Meanwhile, the other team must defend their objective until the timer runs out. Assault (and Onslaught for that matter) is one of the modes that require a lot of teamwork in order to be successful, and if your team is scattered around the map, you will probably lose, very badly at that. Vehicles are present in Assault, but not to the extent that they are in Onslaught.

The downside to these two great game modes is that, neither of them have many maps. Assault has less than a dozen maps, and while Onslaught has a couple more, there still aren’t a whole lot. The good news is, it’s only a couple weeks since its release and Epic Games has already released three different maps for Onslaught, so you know they aren’t sleeping on the job.

Like its predecessors, [i]UT2k4[/i] is at its best when playing online. There’s no better challenge than playing against other real people, and there’s no better experience than working with others to complete an objective. The added headset that comes with the special edition DVD boxset allows people to communicate with each other and issue commands. You can also use headsets other than the special edition, so those who have bought the six CD set don’t have to feel left out.

Even though multiplayer is where it’s at, you shouldn’t count out the offline computer A.I. The UT games have always had some of the best A.I. in a multiplayer dominating game, and they are actually challenging enough to play against, unlike the A.I. in a game like [i]Battlefield 1942[/i]. The singleplayer campaign treats the [i]Unreal Tournament[/i] like, well, a sport. You first battle through deathmatches and once you climb the ladder; form a team of computer bots to fight with you. As you progress, you will unlock more of the higher gamemodes like Bombing Run, which fuses football and the UT gameplay into one, and the classic Capture the Flag, which has each team fighting for the other team’s flag.

The graphics in [i]UT2k4[/i] are amazing. Weapons bob as you run, and the detail of the maps are great. Vehicles look great as they come bearing down hills towards you, and in only seconds, your head has been chopped off by a Manta hovercraft. The rag doll physics have returned from [i]UT2k3[/i], and it makes dying a little enjoyable. There’s just something captivating as you watch your character’s dead, limp body fall from a 10,000-story skyscraper. It’s probably a little disturbing in its own merit, but if you are disturbed by a dead body flailing all over the place, you probably shouldn’t be playing [i]Unreal Tournament 2004[/i].

[i]UT2k4[/i] lets you create your own character from a huge amount of skin choices, including many from [i]UT2k3[/i]. While character creation level isn’t as detailed as that of a RPG, it is nice for a FPS. The sound quality is excellent, which you probably would expect from a game like this. You can have around 4 different voices to choose from in your character’s profile, and there is also a command menu to communicate with other players. Like stated above, you can also use a headset, which will allow you to talk out tactics with your fellow teammates. The music sounds good for this type of game, with the usual dark, ominous rock feel to it.

As you might have guessed by now, this game is awesome. The game easily opens itself up to new players with deathmatch, and reels in veterans of the series and FPS fans by adding in a number of tactical gameplay types. This is simply one of the best FPS games to come out in a long while, and it deserves every bit of the score it gets. To be frank, if you are a fan of the FPS genre, and you have the PC power for it, there is really no reason not to buy this game.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

February 12, 2006

PC / Reviews / by Wayne Phinney Make a comment! / Tweet it!

First, let my start off by saying that [i]Vice City[/i] is what [i]GTA3[/i] for the PC should have been. This game is a blast. There are so many good points. For those of you who have played [i]GTA3[/i], you’d be surprised that [i]Vice City[/i] actually feels like a new game and not just an upgrade. This game has an actual storyline that really pulls you into it. Then add in that it runs better than [i]GTA3[/i] because of better programming, and that’s enough to prompt someone to buy it right then. Did I mention that the game runs nice and smooth? I had it at double the resolution of [i]GTA3[/i] and it ran twice as well.

I think a big improvement this time around was that there were various new vehicles. There were many more boats this time around. They also had choppers, small planes, and of course bikes. You just can’t beat the bikes. I can’t think of the number of hours I wasted doing tricks on bikes, and I thought it was cool as hell that I could pull off that move Tom Cruise did in MI2. You know, the whole stop while pivoting and shooting at the same time. Of course it’s no easy task, but it is possible. The choppers fly nicely as well, although it’s a little tough with the keyboard and mouse. I actually think that a joystick would have helped in the case of choppers, but with everything else I prefer the keyboard and mouse. Speaking of new things, there’s a plethora of weapons to choose from. There are different classes and you can have one weapon of each class at the same time. Some of these weapons are sweet, and others are oldies but goodies. Either way, they are great. This reminds me… another great new thing is the two, that’s right, two talk radio stations. After my 30 hours of game time before I beat it, those two stations were just about all I listened to and I’m still not tired of them.

Of course, every game has its downsides. For instance, the FBI seems slower and stupider than in the prior incarnation of GTA. The regular street cops bust me quite often when I have a one star rating. One just comes around the car, I’m not paying attention, and I’m busted. Also, on the fastest bike, if you get on it while a cop is right there, it’s near impossible to speed off without him busting you. Rather annoying. Then take the city itself for instance. Most of it looks the same making it a little harder to learn the layout of the place. Along with that, it’s incredibly flat. Now, I know this is based in Florida and all which is flat, but really, there is such a lack of any sort of hills it gets rather boring in that respect.

Even with those negatives, there still are plenty of positives, and I can’t get over the upgrades in this game. Of course, one of my favorite changes is that you can blow out tires of your vehicle or others. This is far more realistic and makes getting away with a high wanted level rather tough. It’s really bad if you’re on a bike and your tires get flattened. Pure insanity.

Still, this game is quite fun, even after logging over 100 hours into [i]GTA3[/i] before owning [i]Vice City[/i]. I played through and after about 30 hours beat [i]Vice City[/i] with a 60% completion rating. Not too bad really. There are so many things you can do like in [i]GTA3[/i] when it comes to roaming around and just having fun, but there is a very solid storyline as well that [i]GTA3[/i] was completely lacking. The storyline in [i]Vice City[/i] is what really kept me going. I wanted to see what was going to happen next, and the voice acting I loved because of that. I especially loved that Tommy Vercetti talked in this game. Nothing wrong with the quiet badass thing, but it’s just nice to have the main character have… well… more character.

Overall, even though this is essentially just an upgrade to another game, it played very well, added a lot of new things that we didn’t have before, and really held its own. I think for sheer fun factor this game has earned a high rating, but it’s still not a perfect game, so it certainly will not receive a perfect score. Still, I give it a respectable score. This game was a blast, and I really think the only thing that can make the next game in this franchise as great as this one would be multiplayer. We can only hope.

Battlefield 1942

February 12, 2006

PC / Reviews / by Chris Massey Make a comment! / Tweet it!

WWII games are one of the fastest growing types of gaming. Starting out with [i]Medal of Honor[/i], they’ve really raised the bar, especally for a war that’s somewhere around 60 years old. While [i]Medal of Honor[/i] may have started the whole WWII genre, [i]Battlefield 1942[/i] is probably the first to bring a quality WWII title online. [i]Battlefield[/i]’s greatest strength would be the game’s multiplayer online setup. In fact, multiplayer in [i]Battlefield[/i] would probably be the only reason to play the game, seeing as how there is virtually no single-player present in the game. Sure, there is a campain mode, but it’s basically just a dumbed down version of multiplayer, played aganst bots over real people. To really enjoy this game, you’ve gotta get online, and when you do, you’ll thank god for your broadband service. By the way, before I go on, I’d like to mention that this game is virtually unplayable on a 56K modem, (believe me, I’ve tried it…) so you’d better scrounge up the money for broadband.

The most fascinating thing about [i]Battlefield[/i] is the ability to interact with virtually anything on the play field. Planes, tanks, flak cannons, even the infamous jeep, or as most call it, a speeding bomb on wheels. The developers really did a nice job balancing every unit out. For example, while tanks are monsters that can tear through enemy forces, one shot of a bazooka to the rear, and it’ll blow. Even the common soldier with a Thompson can take down an aircraft within one clip, providing he aims at the sweet spot.

While [i]Battlefield[/i] is a masterpeice, it does have it’s flaws. It’s biggest would probably be the fact that you’ll need one hell of a computer to run it on. Expect to have a fairly decent graphics card. The ATI Radeon 8500 works decent enough. Above all, be sure to have well over 256 megs of RAM. This game sucks the RAM right out of your system. I suggest a 512 RAM minimum for best results, although 256 will work.

Another fault would be not in the game itself, but with the other many online players. I can’t begin to tell how many games I’ve gone into, only to find at least half of my team standing mindlessly on an airfield, waiting for another plane to respawn, only to have everyone race for it. Once some reaches it, other players, bent on rage, shoot the living hell out of the plane. Other faults include that for a game based on teamwork, there is actually very little teamwork going on. People often attack in scattered clusters of men, never really organizing a battleplan or anything. Many don’t even try to capture the flags on the field, which is the main focus of the game.

All in all, [i]Battlefield 1942[/i] is a great game, with very few flaws. When you get into a game with great teamwork going on, it’s a great online experience.

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