Dungeon Siege from Diablo games Archives

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Age of Mythology review

Posted 11/4/2002 - 4:58PM, byYaz
With the weather getting colder and colder, maybe it's time to step in from the outdoors and spend some time in front of that warm monitor gaming. Ars has reviewed Age of Mythology, a new real-time strategy game that forces players to incorporate divine intervention into their strategy.

The three playable sides in AoM include the Greeks, the Egyptians, and the Norse. Each faction has unique graphics for displaying units and architecture, and each has a slightly different way to go about achieving victory.

Plus, the ability to have more than 200 units makes it possible for multiplayer games to feature players stocking up on an obscene number of units and having massive Braveheart-style battle royals. Read on.

Battlefield 1942

Posted 10/17/2002 - 8:48PM, byCaesar
The weekend is almost upon us, so check out the Ars review of Battlefield 1942, a compelling and somewhat innovative recreation of WWII style battle from a first-person perspective. In BF1942, you get a chance to be more than a doofus running around with a gun.

Or, if you feel like it, man some artillery, a battery of anti-aircraft guns, buzz around in a jeep or drive an armored personnel carrier. Perhaps the most alluring vehicles are the fighter planes and submarines. It?s actually possible, in the course of one scenario, to sink a destroyer, bombard an enemy from a battleship, hop in a fighter plane and strafe enemy encampments, bomb their armor and then maybe run someone over with a jeep.

Now that's entertainment. There's been a lot of buzz about this game, and now I see why.

Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven review

Posted 9/16/2002 - 5:42PM, byYaz
Carl has written a review of Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven, game that sets players right in the middle of the golden age of mobsters. It's good to hear that the game was designed with some realism in mind, using only weapons typical of the era and making ammo a more precious commodity.

As you battle your way through the game, you?ll notice that there is not a baffling array of weapons, just what you might expect to find appropriate to the era: pistols, Tommy guns, shot guns, and a rifle or two. There are no power ups, body armor, or any of the usual fare, but this all makes the game much more exciting. If you run out of ammo, don?t bother running around the level looking for more bullets. You'll have to kill someone and take their ammo if you want to reload.

On top of that, it sounds like the plot is a winner, by keeping players on their toes with surprise plot twists while mixing in suspenseful anticipation with more straightforward missions.

Dungeon Siege review

Posted 5/30/2002 - 8:00PM, byCaesar
Carl has landed in Seattle and is back online, and in anticipation of this weekend's Game.Ars return, we've got Carl's latest review ready for ya. This time he takes a look a Dungeon Siege, which from the sounds of its is worthy of an RPGer's attention.

No one out there can argue that the fantasy genre is overloaded and bursting at the seams. Developers who want to create a fantasy title ? be it strategy, role-playing or action ? will have games like Disciples 2: Dark Prophecy, Asheron?s Call and Diablo 2 to compete with. On top of all that, it is next to impossible to be wholly original working within the genre, so when a company decides to go ahead with a new fantasy game, it had better be pretty damn certain that the end product will outshine the competition ? or why bother? With Dungeon Siege, Gas Powered Games and Microsoft have decided that this time they have a diamond on their hands; but does that diamond sparkle? Based on my experience with the game, I have three words to answer with: Move over Diablo.

This weekend Game.Ars will return with an E3 wrap-up, and more Carlified news.

Review: Wizardry 8

Posted 1/2/2002 - 9:55PM, byCaesar
Nobody beats the Wiz! Man, the whole time I was editing this article, I couldn't get that Seinfeld episode out of my mind. Truly classic. Anyway, Carl's latest contribution to the world of gaming goodness comes in the from of his review of Wizardry 8, a game that's bringing new people into the RPG scene by the droves (at least in my area--most of the stores around me are sold out). Here's a snip from the review:

There are tons of monsters to fight, a terrific story to follow, lots of exploring and each character has a unique personality that is brought to life through spoken dialog. Whether or not you?re a previous player of the Wiz games, the endings all wrap up nicely. And yes, I said endings. There are three possible endings and along the way, four different diplomatic roads you can follow. Can anyone say "non-linear?"

Carl likes the game--enough in fact that he apparently played it for 8 hours a day for a few weeks. That's, uh, dedication for ya!

Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (last update 11/2001)
Shattered Galaxy (last update 11/2001)
Arcanum (last update 10/2001)
Max Payne (last update 09/2001)
Black & White (last update 09/2001)
Startopia (last update 08/2001)
Fallout Tactics (last update 07/2001)
Evil Islands (last update 06/2001)
Clive Barker's Undying (last update 04/2001)
Sudden Strike (last update 03/2001)
The Longest Journey (last update 02/2001)
The Operative: No One Lives Forever (last updated 12/2000)
Rune (last updated 12/2000)
Baldur's Gate II (last updated 11/2000)
Warlords: Battlecry (last updated 8/2000)
Diablo II (last updated 7/2000)
Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption (last updated 6/2000)
Daikatana (last updated 6/2000)
Hidden and Dangerous (last updated 6/2000)
Imperium Galactica 2 (last updated 5/2000)
Soldier of Fortune (last updated 4/2000)
Majesty (last updated 4/2000)
Nox (last updated 3/2000)
The Sims (last updated 3/2000)
Nocturne (last updated 2/2000)
Disciples (last updated 2/2000)
Revenant (last updated 2/2000)
Unreal Tournament (last updated 12/99)
Rites of War (last updated 10/99)
Outcast (last updated 9/99)
Jagged Alliance 2 (last updated 8/99)
Dungeon Keeper 2 (last updated 8/99)
Need for Speed: High Stakes (last updated 7/99)
Kingpin: Life of Crime (last updated 7/99)
Might and Magic VII (last updated 7/99)
Quake 3 Test (last updated 7/99)