Games - 1 to 30

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Tue 7th Dec '04 10:17PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Learn To Play Bridge (PC) 5/10 By Bridge Base Incorporated FREEWARE A wonderful piece of software, which will teach you everything you need to get started in playing Bridge. One minor drawback however, once you finish the course, 40-50 hours later, you'll realise you're fully qualified to play an obscure US variant of Bridge. I want 3 weeks of my life back!

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Tue 7th Dec '04 10:28PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Warcraft 3 (PC) 6/10 Blizzard I loved Warcraft. I loved Warcraft 2. I had even learned to accept troop limits. But why make it more and more painful to your economy as your army grows? The more people you control, the less your resources grow. It engenders a strange 'mine/chop everything then build an army then attack' mentality, which may suit hardcore online RTS players, but doesn't really work on the single-player campaign mode. Nice 3d and RPG touches, though, and an engaging plot (as we've come to expect from Blizzard).

Dregan a flim flam is as good as a shim sham sam Wed 8th Dec '04 1:04AM 843 Posts Member Since 13th Apr '04

Half-Life 2 8/10 A worthy successor to the original. The physics engine has to be seen to be believed, and for the first four or five hours of the game you'll be absolutely enthralled. Then you get the Gravity Gun, and you'll be enthralled all over again. The graphics are above good, and it runs very well even on lower-end machines like mine. The sound is phenomenal, with true Doppler shifting and echoing effects [launch a rocket in a large, cavernous area and you'll see what I mean]. The gameplay.. well. It's a first-person shooter, so they're limited in what they can do, and for the most part they do it very well. But come the end of the game, it does start to drag a little. Still well worth picking up, even if only for the first time you shoot a guard in the head and his body falls onto another guard. "..." --Gordon Freeman Second opinion by Diziet on 20th Jan '07 9/10 give me my machine gun and let me rule the world...      Average Rating 8.5

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Fri 17th Dec '04 11:07PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Grand Theft Auto 3 (PC) 9.5/10 Seen by some as merely a demonstration of the GTA3 engine's capabilities before Vice City was developed, and by others as one of the most groundbreaking and downright fun games ever created. It's a madcap chase around the fictional Liberty City, completing missions to progress the plot whilst doing optional errands and 'rampages' to make cash on the side for weapons, health, armour etc. A plethora of secrets to discover and an incredibly diverse range of missions from racing to shootouts to vandalism to getaway driving; this is a game any adrenaline junkie will love, especially anyone who enjoys driving games. Utter fun, though occasionally frustrating.

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Fri 17th Dec '04 11:12PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PC) 10/10 It's GTA3, but more so. More plot, weapons, missions, map, cars, radio stations, vehicle types, rampages, humour, fun! Set 20 years before GTA3, you can cruise around two large islands, enjoying the sunsets whilst listening to hilarious 80s radio stations. As well as all the functionality of GTA3, you can now fly helicopters (full-sized and RC) and drive motorbikes. Purchase property and win businesses, and own your own mansion. In all, there are around 120 vehicle types to find and unlock. The story is more involving and the setting has far more character and beauty than the first game. Possibly the most pure fun I've ever had from my PC

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Thu 23rd Dec '04 5:37PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Mafia (PC) 9.5/10 Very much in the mould of GTA3/GTA3:VC, though without the open-ended level selection - the game is entirely linear through it's 20 meta-missions, each split with save points and cutscenes between sub-missions. If you loved GTA3, you'll probably love this too. The missions are similar, but this time you're driving 1930s gangster vehicles. Instead of a sense of speed, you get more of a sense of momentum - and the crashes and damage modelling reflect this. It's much more about keeping your current car in decent shape than hopping into a new vehicle every time you have a smash-up. Haunting 1930s soundtrack, and an innovative 'Free Ride' mode, in which you can drive a car of your choice, and pay for it's upkeep and fuel, and your own weaponry, by performing tasks such as taxi missions or mob hits. Saveable too, which is rare for an extra feature, but essential in this mode to provide long-term appeal. Second opinion by Xander on 13th Aug '08 8/10 When in the missions this is a great game and has an engaging plot. But the driving is more of an iritation than a selling point. Almost all the missions are done without vehicles and the only driving bit it getting to the location. In many ways it would have been a better game without the driving element. I also did'nt enjoy the 'Free Ride' feature. After GTA it's just disapointing and iritatingly hard. Great shooter though and only denied a 9 because of the 'Free Ride' feature.    Average Rating 8.75

The Guv I have no idea what to put here........ HELP ME Thu 30th Dec '04 9:08PM 320 Posts Member Since 29th Nov '04

Hungry Hippos 9.5/10 Classic kids game where as I am sure you all know there are 4 Hippos and all ya have to do is whack its back and eat as many balls as you can/ Kids love it and will play it and play it while you sit there and watch tele or paint dry whichever you prefer. For me : 2/10 For Kids : 9.5/10 Second opinion by Kelly on 20th Jan '07 8/10 I am currently eagerly awaiting an evening of Hungry Hippos, cocktails, curry, Clara and Deanery. We're starting at 6. The only concern is how I entertain myself until then. Yay hippos! Edit: Ooo, and Malcolm of course! Average Rating 8.75

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Wed 5th Jan '05 6:00PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Runescape 8/10 Browser/Java-based Rusescape is a free, massively multiplayer online fantasy roleplaying game, and it's the best and most detailed I've ever played. Be warned though: there's a decent size online manual to get through, and the speed of the game itself is akin to a MUD or something like Everquest, rather than a fast-paced action game. Slow and steady, with dozens of skills to practice, lots of quests, a semi-player-led economy, and good old-fashioned hack'n'slash levelling up. Some (most?) of the users seem somewhat idiotic, but then, isn't that always the way with online games? www.runescape.com Join the daddy.orgers on London server #32.

Amanshu* Giggity Giggity goo Tue 11th Jan '05 12:01PM 2707 Posts Member Since 25th Aug '04

KILLER BUNNIES AND THE QUEST FOR THE MAGIC CARROT 10/10 collectible card game This game is hilarious fun. The basic idea is to end the game with a bunny and as many carrots as possible, and with your opponents having as few carrots nad no bunnies as possible. So you spend the game amassing special cards, throwing all sorts of weapons at your opponents (arghhh! It's the green gelatin with evil pineapple chunks!) while desperately trying to defend your bunnies. And the decks stacked against you as well, draw the wrong card and one of your bunnies will just die. Bunnies can starve, you can suffer Noah's Flood, and just when you think everything's okay, somebody unleashes a rogue asteroid and kills everyone's bunnies off . Certain cards work differently on certain dates, there are shops to buy things to help you out, and every time they release a new booster the game completely changes. In the end it all comes down to the carrots you have, if you've got the magic carrot you win, so you can play a perfect game and still lose! I seriously can not recommend this game enough Webpage here

Jay21000 Jay21000 has left the building Wed 12th Jan '05 5:22PM

Monopoly 8/10 Cannot believe none of you have rated this yet! It needs no explanation. Wheel and deal around wherever your particular edition features.

Cwgerard The man with the peridot face Mon 21st Feb '05 10:35AM 100 Posts Member Since 20th Sep '04

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords 9/10 Nintendo Gamecube In a departure from the traditional RPG-style Zelda games, this is more of an adventure puzzle game. This isn't a blight on the series, though, as it still manages to be great fun. Making great use of the GameBoy Adavance / Gamecube connectivity, you can play with up to three mates. Have great fun chucking your friends into holes! Piss each other off by stealing gems! Dick about and slow everyone up! The single player game is, admittedly, a tad weak in comparison with the other games in the series, but as it's actually designed for four players, you can't complain too much. The only real disadvantage is the sheer amount of expensive gear you need to play the game properly - four GBAs and four link cables don't exactly come cheap. Also, if you're a friendless loner, the game will only serve to remind that no-one loves you. All-in-all, a great game.

Amanshu* Giggity Giggity goo Wed 23rd Feb '05 10:36AM 2707 Posts Member Since 25th Aug '04

Zombies!!! 9/10 Boardgame It's late, you're stuck in the town square, and the inhabitants have all been turned into Zombies who want to feast on you! As more of the town is revealed, more Zombies arrive to attack you (and when I say more I mean lots more). This is a fun game for 2-6 players including an ever changing map that you have to explore to try and find items that you can use to fight you're way to the helipad and escape to freedom. Use cards to hinder your opponents, get better weapons to help you survive. And there are four add-ons for when you get bored...

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Thu 24th Feb '05 7:37PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Sid Meier's Pirates! 9/10 (PC, check your spec first) Buckle up your swash and head for the Caribbean for peg-legged adventure and enjoyable arcade-style minigames. Ship-to-ship combat, swordfighting and ballroom dancing are the main diversions from the day-to-day navigation, ship maintenance and trading you'll experience as a pirate. Multiple, multi-stage quests generated anew for each character mean there's always plenty to work on, although after a game or two it can start to become a little repetitive. The ability to move up a skill level during your pirate's career does help to alleviate this, as a game lasts approximately 20 hours. Despite the above, the game is outstanding fun. It's Sid Meier, after all, what did you expect? Second opinion by Demian on 4th Nov '05 5/10 While great fun the first time around, I have to say I never played this again. Repeat value = very low indeed. Second opinion by Xander on 13th Aug '08 6/10 A great nostalgia game, began on the humble Commodore Amega, and has not changed at all except its got better graphics. Still it's very fun, but like Demian said when you've completed the missions once you won't go back again. Extra point though for the fantastic music.    Average Rating 6.67

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Thu 10th Mar '05 6:22PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Gun Metal 7.5/10 PC port from XBox For those of you who always wished Mechwarrior games were actually fun to play, this might be the game for you. At only 14 levels it's short, but challenging mech/flightsim-lite fun. You can transform at will from a 50ft metal stomping leviathan to a fighter/bomber jet with a keystroke, making for interesting and varied strategies and tactics. Earn more devastating weapons as you complete each level. Spang hundreds of puny flesh-based warriors in seconds whilst attacking giant battlecruisers, tanks and mech-foes. Pretty much a no-brainer, but a fun if short-lived shoot-em-up if your PC can handle the spec.

Dregan a flim flam is as good as a shim sham sam Fri 11th Mar '05 2:00AM 843 Posts Member Since 13th Apr '04

Manhunt 5/10 Overrated and mediocre. For the first few hours it's easily a 9/10 if you're a sick bastard [sick bastards represent], and every time you find a new weapon it entertains briefly again. Other than that, it's just the stealth sections of Metal Gear Solid over and over again. As the media would have you believe, it is rather gore-filled but not as much as you might think. Some of the executions will make you cringe, sure, but vanilla combat isn't all that hot.

Dregan a flim flam is as good as a shim sham sam Fri 11th Mar '05 2:07AM 843 Posts Member Since 13th Apr '04

Soldat 9/10 Fast, fun, sideways-on little shooter, available for free from http://soldat.prv.pl/ and worth it. It's how I imagine Quake Worms would be. It's primarily a multiplayer game, but the bots are good enough to make singleplayer entertaining as well. Download it. It's free, like.

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Thu 11th Aug '05 7:19PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Darwinia 9/10 An utterly unique PC game set inside an experimental virtual Eden which has become infested with a nasty virus. The interface is unlike anything you've seen before, despite being oddly familiar - for example, alt-tab switches between active programs (in this case, units). Mouse gestures allow you to summon new programs at will, and by researching new technology you can increase the power, talents and number of simultaneous programs. The graphics are simultaneously beautiful and retro-themed, with space invaders and caterpillars roaming the psychedelic wireframe landscape, waiting for a good ol fashioned blast-em up. It's hard to categorise, but has elements of RTS, shoot-em-up, arcade, puzzle and god games. Charming, mesmerising, satisfying, and just downright fun.

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Wed 31st Aug '05 4:56PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

World of Warcraft 10/10 I just realised that since I've spent 6 months so far on this game I'd better come up with a review. Hailed as one of the most fun and accessible of the MMORPGs, though I'm not rich enough to try them all to compare. For your ?9 per month you get access to the servers maintained by Blizzard, thus guaranteeing your character doesn't get lost, and also regular updates to counter exploits as they occur. It's easy to pick up, nice to look at, and will take you probably years to master it all. To say the world is 'large' is an understatement of major proportions. I started playing the same day as Swoop and it took a fortnight before we even met up online. There's more quests than you can imagine, some nice humorous touches, a fantastically varied and well-thought-out public transport system, and the ability to purchase your own steeds later in the game. One of the most intriguing parts is the fact that you fight on the side of either Horde (Taurens, undead, orcs, goblins) or Alliance (Humans, gnomes, elves, dwarves). The fun thing is you can't communicate at all with the opposition, e.g. a whisper to a friend in an opposing faction would be displayed as gibberish to them. This makes for a great atmosphere of distrust and suspicion between the two factions, thus providing the perfect background for the game. You can take on opposing players (PvP) or simply stick to the challenges and monsters provided for you by Blizzard (PvE), or many points inbetween. It's nowhere like as in-depth as an old-skool MUD, but then, what is? This is certainly the closest I've seen to one, in that it's a complete living, breathing, inhabited and evolving world. You'll lose yourself in it

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Fri 4th Nov '05 6:08PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Eve Online 5/10 This should have been so much better, especially at 15 euros/month. It's a beautiful and incredibly detailed and comprehensive space sim, which allows you to choose your own path to glory - be it trading, fighting, mining, ship building, etc etc. The main trouble is the slow gameplay and the repetitive nature of the missions. A typical 'combat' mission might involve travelling to a star 5 jumps away (which is 10-15 mins of watching the screen / reading a book, then engaging the enemy (fighting is done automatically although you do have tactical control of the situation), then flying all the way back again (10-15 more mins of nothing) to collect your next mission. It has a certain compulsion to it, and I imagine it would become more satisfying once you have tons of nice gear, skills and spaceships, but the sheer boredom of travelling long distances on autopilot (there is no manual control of your spaceship) has led me to abandon it before having to pay my second month's fee.

General* Windows Bob - the best! Mon 12th Dec '05 11:45PM 4210 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Fahrenheit / The Indigo Prophecy 7.5/10 A regular joe goes into a diner, the next thing he knows he is in the bathroom with symbols carved into his arms, a knife in his hand no memory and a dead guy in front of him. So begins Fahrenheit (Called The Indigo Prophecy in the US) the latest attempt to create an "Interactive Movie". The interesting thing about this game is that you get to play all of the main characters. You can play the killer trying to cover up the evidence and then the detective investigating the crime scene. The game takes the form of a 3rd person RPGs, but is refreshingly free of inventories, statistics and leveling up. The control method is based on gestures with one hand moving the character and the other making a motion to achive actions (Actions you can make appear at the top of the screen depending what you are near). Action sequences play themselves out without direct control of the character however main character Lucas has developed some slightly odd powers which allow him to read minds and persform super human feats. When the chroma is available two colour wheels appear on the screen and show a simon says type sequence on the screen which you have to follow to get lucas out of scrapes. (Using a twin analogue joypad makes this a hundred times easier) First the bad the game is very short. I was at 9:30 on the game clock when I finished it and I had been pretty thorough. As with many RPGs and interactive movie type games the game is really quite linear although you can broadly influence the outcome. Some points require you to do a track and field style left right button bash to achive endurance type actions and this is a little bit peurile and early 80's arcade game for the modern gamer. The plot takes a huge leap towards the end that seems like 3 or 4 scenes have been missed out which smacks of deadlines, or budgets being missed and a rush to get it on the shelves. In some scenes it is easy to keep dieing for seemingly no reason and being dumped back at the start which is anoying if you have to wade through lots of stuff you have seen before to get to where you were. There are some matrix inspired "bullet time" scenes FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WE HAVE SEEN THIS ENOUGH NOW! Now the good The plot is well thought out and gripping and genuinly eery in places. the quality of the voice acting is excellent which can't be said for most games. Though the chroma is simple it keeps you on your toes as any scene can suddenly require a bit of button bashing. Conversation is done extremely well. It is paced naturally and you have to pick key words to a tight timescale to control whats being said or your character will fluster and say somthing stupid (Bad idea if you are being interogated by the cops) this makes you feel like it's a real conversation where you have to think on your feet and you can't always explore every option as once you have talked to someone once that's it. The wintery new york graphics look pretty and set the tone nicely and the SFX and music work very well. The game stops you exploring too thoroughly and probing every option (wait too long and the cops will shop up etc) which gives you the genuine hunted feeling and keeps you under the cosh. All in all a good game let down by the short playing time and a couple of duff ideas.

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Sun 18th Dec '05 12:37PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Pro Pinball: Timeshock! 10/10 If you like pinball, you will LOVE this one. Undoubtedly the most enjoyable simulated pinball table I've ever played on. For absolute realism, you might be better off with Microsoft's Pinball Arcade, but this table has more bells and whistles than all of Microsoft's 6 tables combined. The physics feel absolutely real and believable, and there's enough features and specials to find, earn and unlock to keep you busy for weeks.

General* Windows Bob - the best! Tue 10th Jan '06 1:25AM 4210 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Warhammer Dawn Of War 8/10 When I was a nipper I had the tabletop war game Warhammer 40,000. I spent hours reading the huge manual packed with well crafted descriptions of fully realised alien societies and spent many hours more painting little lead miniatures. Once I had found a kindred spirit I invited him over to my house and we lined up our tiny legions on my kitchen table come battlefield only to discover that the game we were playing was as dull as hell. You spent hours rolling dice and referring to the encyclopaedia sized rule book to settle disputes and in the 5 or so times I tried to play it we always got bored and ended up giving up after half a dozen turns. It was a fully realised compelling universe filled with fantastically realised creatures, but what it needed was something to do all the boring mechanical bits for you so you could get on with the manic laughter and world domination. That's why I was so interested when I discovered that Games Workshop had released a game that promised to do exactly that. Dawn of War is a real time strategy game set in the Games Workshop Warhammer 40,000 Universe. For people who have played Warcraft, C&C, or similar this will be very familiar. The game is set in the year 40,000. The human race exists in the form of the Empire a totalitarian, fascist collection of thousands of planets with tens of billions of inhabitants who worship the god like emperor and aim to annihilate all alien races. You play the commander of the Space Marines the empires elite force of genetically engineered super commandos equipped with robotic armour and all manner of huge guns and tanks. Other armies from the tabletop who are represented on the PC are Orks (Think Tolkien orks in space), Eldar (Elves in space), Chaos (Think deamons in you guessed it space) and the imperial guard (Regular Joe soldiers of the empire who help you out from time to time). All races look and play uniquely and you get to fight all of them in the single player campaign. In the single player campaign you progress through a series of missions fulfilling objectives to move on to the next linked with cut scenes. One thing I hate about most war games is the insane way you put your armies together. You seem to arrive on a map with a couple of chaps and set to mining for gold and chopping down trees to build units and buildings (Anyone would think the idea to go to war had just dawned on them). Dawn of war makes a lot more sense. The two resources you need are power which you get by building generators and requisition which is gained at a rate based on how much of the map you control (This closely equates to real wars in which the ability to be supplied/reinforced is based on being in control of enough land to establish supply lines). New troops and field buildings are deposited at your base by drop ships from the orbiting Space Navy. The sound and graphics are both solid. When you get into a big skirmish there are literally thousands of bullets from automatic weapons flying around and huge explosions as tanks and buildings get taken out. The game is predominantly designed for multiplayer gamers (Which I'm not really) as the single player campaign only has 11 missions and only allows you to play the Space Marines. It is enjoyable to play through, but due to the stupidity of the computers AI it is a little too easy. the PC never gets the hang of attacking in force so as long as your front line always has enough gun emplacements and mine fields to stop a couple of squads of troops you can progressively annex the whole map safe in the knowledge that your base isn't going to get taken out in a massive raid. Overall better for multiplayer gamers than Billy no mates like me, but entertaining none the less. Second opinion by Diziet on 20th Jan '07 8/10 great real time strategy. the multiplayer game is fantastic and theres enough depth to keep you interested for ages.      Average Rating 8

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Mon 17th Apr '06 6:29PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

The Godfather 8/10 Take the free-roaming, city-wide, mission-based structure of GTA, add in the car chases and shootouts of GTA, add a dash of GTA's interface and controls, and blend with all the adrenaline and excitement of erm.. GTA! The similarities are such that it could even be mistaken for a GTA mod. However, if you liked GTA, and who didn't, then what's the problem? The game itself plays near-perfectly, however 2 points deducted from a maximum score for the sheer blatancy of the rip-off. GTA/10

Dregan a flim flam is as good as a shim sham sam Mon 17th Apr '06 7:36PM 843 Posts Member Since 13th Apr '04

Metroid Prime: Hunters 8/10 The latest in the Metroid series of games, and for the Nintendo DS, Hunters is an interesting take on the standard adventure fare for the series. You're still Samus, and you're still going to be backtracking. But this time there are six recurring opposing hunters, who are also vying for the same objectives as you. Though you're the only one who can initially acquire the eight keys, if you lose to another hunter, they're going to steal one and you'll have to find them and battle them to regain it Gameplay-wise, it has made the transition to DS fairly well. The stylus control system takes a bit of getting used to, but once you've got it you'll be flying. The adventure game is a bit short [on my first time through, I beat it in seven hours], and once you start getting the alternate weapons the hunters become a cakewalk. Multiplayer is fantastic, though sadly limited to four players regardless of whether local wireless or wi-fi is being used. Wi-fi is currently suffering from some fairly bad lag issues; however this is likely because the game hasn't actually been released in the UK or Europe yet. Overall, if you liked either of the Prime games on the Gamecube, this is a worthwhile purchase. It's not too hard, but not easy either.

Diziet optical moose Thu 24th Aug '06 8:39PM 2522 Posts Member Since 20th Jul '05

roller coaster tycoon 3 10/10 a sim game that puts you in charge of lots of different theme parks. the gameplay is simple (which is good if, like me, you have no patience for sim games), the graphics are gorgeous - you can zoom right into the faces of the peeps roaming your park - and the addiction level is astronomical. the best part of this game is the rollercoasters. you can spend hours designing insane rides (once you've figured out the fairly basic mechanics of the construction controls) and then, best of all, you can click on 'coaster cam' and get a first-person ride inside the coaster you've just built. shiny, intensely addictive fun. goodbye life. hello dribbling lack of sleep.

General* Windows Bob - the best! Fri 19th Jan '07 5:32PM 4210 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Dawn of War - Dark Crusade 7/10 If you scout up the game review page you will see that I really rather enjoyed the first Dawn of War game when I reviewed it back in January last year. Since then two add of modules have been introduced to the game and Dark Crusade is the second of these. There are two main additions from the first game. Firstly the addition of two new armys to play bringing the total to seven and a Risk like board game element linking battles rather than the story driven approach of the first game.. The new kids on the block are the Tau who are high tech aliens obsessed with dedicating themselves to "The Greater Good" and the Necrons an alien race of undead cyborgs who seek to kill all lifeforms in the galaxy. What is increadibly impressive is that with 7 playable armys they all retain their unique looks and balance of strengths and weaknesses. The new way of tieing battles togather also adds a lot to the game you start off on a map screen showing which provinces are held by each of your 6 enemies (All seven forces feature in the single player game and you can play any one of them) to initiate battles you move your army to enemy teritory whereupon the familiar game interface begins. As you annex more of the map you gain new units and abilities for your comander and finally when strong enough you can take on the capital of each of your enemys (Removing them from the game). This new way of playing has plus and minus points. It is great that you can be anyone and manage the campaign however you want to but you loose out on the story progression. What really diapointed me was the lack of a range of well thought out difficulty levels. Map locations can be spied on before battle to check out troop and base sizes etc and some are much harder than others but the problem comes about half way though the game when you take on a province that has already been fought over by the computer. When you win a province your bases stay there as you left them so attacking these areas can he an excersise in frustration as you can spawn your undeveloped base next to a huge army and be instantly decimated before you can build up any troops (Even the gamespot review said the single player game was exceptionly hard). I can only asume the level of difficulty is reflected in the fact that it is the third in the seriesand it has become the RTS geeks game of choice in recent times. Switching to a different difficulty level does little good as unfortunately "easy" mode takes the simple option of making your oponents troops really easy to kill rather tnan changing the AI to make your oponents less aggressive. This upsets the dynamics of the game comnpletely as it becomes possible to march a couple of units into heavy fire and ignoring the troops destroy your oponents HQ (triggereing a win condition) before they get killed. If the game had maybe 5 levels of dificulty instead of 3 it woudl be excellent. As it is it's only good.

Demian* Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole Mon 23rd Apr '07 6:17PM 4678 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Mario World 64 DS 9/10 If you enjoyed this game on the N64, you'll probably love it on this system. There's more stuff to find, a heap of minigames to unlock, four unlockable and playable characters each with their own unique powers (Yoshi, Mario, Luigi, Wario) and lots of new secrets and surprises. There's also a download-play multiplayer battle mode, but it isn't very much use. After a star or two is collected on each level, special new green shells allow you to quickly skate around levels you already know, saving long treks between corners of worlds. I've seen some criticism over the control method (the 64 had an analogue thumbstick), but the 3 types of control mode are easy to swap between, and I find the D-pad sensitive enough to cover almost all required movements anyway, but if you do need the extra analogueness you can use the touchscreen to guide your character. If you don't know the original game, this is a 3-d 'platformer' set in and around Bowser's castle. Paintings lining the walls lead to self-contained worlds, each of which contains many puzzles and challenges in order to find the 8 stars hidden therein. Various doors throughout the castle can only be opened after a set number of stars is collected, so you'll be consantly discovering and unlocking new playing areas as you work through the game. Run, jump, swim, bounce, float, surf, fly, and launch yourself into space with cannons - there's usually many ways to approach any challenge and every level is chock full of secrets and hidden areas. Occasionally frustrating in parts, but mostly just hugely entertaining. Definitely the best game I've played so far on the DS.

General* Windows Bob - the best! Sun 2nd Sep '07 2:15PM 4210 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Gottlieb Pinball Classics - Wii 7/10 Billed as the most accurate pinball simulator of all time this PS2 port was one of the launch titles for the Wii. The RRP of the game is a quite staggering £40 which to put it in context is £10 more than the magnificent Resident Evil 4 and the same price as Zelda Twilight Princess. Much as I love pinball there was no way I was going to shell out that kind of cash for it. Luckily play.com came to the rescue selling the game for a much more reasonable £17.99 which is the point at which I decided to make my investment. The game features exact emulations of 11 tables from the history of the famous pinball manufacturer focusing on tables that are either historically significant, or favored by pinball enthusiasts. Unfortunately licensing restrictions prevent many of the classic games making an appearance so there is no Streetfighter II or Mario pinball to be found which is a shame. The play of the tables is to some degree a touch hit and miss. Some of the tables notably Black Hole and Victory are great tables with lots to do and keep you entertained. Unfortunately some of the tables have been chosen because of their appeal to competitive pinball players which equates to them being exceptionally hard rather than fun, though fortunately this is only the case for a couple of the tables. As a pinball simulator the game doesn't make huge use of the Wiimote, but the buttons for the left and right flippers are on the Wiimote and Nunchuck which makes it feel more like a real table than holding a gamepad and you can nudge left and right by shaking either hand. As a PS2 port the graphics are pretty much as you would expect and though clear and smooth the textures aren't that sharp and don't do anything to dispel the 2 Gamecubes taped together myth put about by Wii haters. The game is a very full package featuring voice over histories of each game with promotional material and strategy guides and offers a nice 4 player tournament mode, but does have a slightly weird system whereby you have to play tournament games until you earn credits to play games in the arcade which you can then unlock for freeplay by attaining challenge goals. This kind of thing seems to be all the rage in games these days, but personally I would rather just be able to freeplay all the tables from the off without jumping through any hoops. All in all if you want a realistic pinball simulation then this is the game for you, but make sure you don't pay the frankly insane full price for it.

The Guv I have no idea what to put here........ HELP ME Sat 15th Sep '07 3:26PM 320 Posts Member Since 29th Nov '04

Super Paper Mario - Wii 8.5/10 Right here we go, As Super Mario Galaxy is not out for another few weeks yet I though i would try this one. Basically it is mario in 2d format but he can flip to a 3d world!!!!!. I put the game in the machine and.....................i kid you not it takes 15mins to actually start playing this game as when you create a profile you have to go through all the story spiel and it takes what seems like forever, don't let that put you off though. Anyway once the game starts you are bounding your way across classic mario style levels in 2d and when you flip to 3d the whole level transforms and many hidden secrets can be found. The music is also ace, proper mario jingles. Anyway I would recommend this to anyone with a wii and who likes mario. Go on have a go. I give it 8.5. It would have got 10 if it wasn't for all the god damn text and story spiel Second opinion by General on 10th Oct '07 8.5/10 Paper Mario.... whasat all about then? In a nutshell it is a cross between a regular 2D Mario game and an RPG. You jump about stomping Goombas like in the Mario games we know and love, but you also have spend time talking to people who ask for various macguffins that you must fetch for them to to progress with the level. In old skool Mario style you travel through 8 worlds split into 4 levels each. Unlike classic Mario games you are fighting against the evil count Blek and Bowser is on your side! The levels are constructed like elaborate puzzle boxes which require some lateral thinking to beat. The two main playing mechanics are swapping characters and using Pixls. You start off playing as Mario, but other characters join your party as you progress and each has a special skill: Mario can flip between 2D and 3D views of the world, Peach has a parasol which can be used as a parachute and a shield, Bowser has flame breath and does double damage, but is big and slow (playing as Bowser, how awesome is that!) and Luigi can do power jumps which go really high and damage flying enemies. The Pixls are little glowing critters who tag along and provide you with powers like blowing things up, shrinking you to a tiny size or discovering hidden things. At each step you will have to switch character and Pixl to get through for example it is not unusual to have to switch to Mario to hop to 3D and walk around a barrier that was impassable in 2D, use Boomer Pixl to blow up rocks that block your path, then switch to Peach and float accross a chasm, use dottie to shrink down to fit through a little gap then, switch to Bowser to melt some ice with the flame breath all in the space of 30 seconds. If I had sprogs I would encourage them to play this game because it taxes your brain at the same time as your reflexes and the level design and imagination that have gone into this game is a joy to behold. The plot is typically Japanese Manga insane and doesn't really make much sense, but the dialog is snappy and well written with lots of SMB in jokes and good character interplay. I particularly liked the geeky chameleon boss who has to get home to tape star fighter x51 and Blecks evil PA who books people into a 2pm brainwashing appointment tapping it into an ever present PDA. On the negative side the platforming isn't as pin sharp and frenetic as the true Mario 2D masterpieces SMB3 and Super Mario World and you don't get the essential Mario run button. The game also features RPG style hit points rather than the usual Big Mario, Small Mario, dead Mario from older games which means that monsters don't really pose much of a problem, even falling off a chasm only knocks off one HP and by the end of the game you might have 55HP to play with not to mention being able to store 10 items including HP restoring shroom shakes. As a result I completed the game without actually dieing once and on later levels where tough to kill monsters abound I found myself running past without stopping because you can soak up a few hits without much worry. These aren't big problems though and over all the game was a joy to play and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Mario games. Average Rating 8.5

General* Windows Bob - the best! Tue 16th Oct '07 11:43PM 4210 Posts Member Since 7th Apr '03

Marvel Ultimate Alliance - Wii 4/10 Got this game from my love film subscription yesterday and it has already gone back. If you don't know about it, it is a beat em up / RPG in the style of Diablo. In principle it should be an ace game. It's a mega budget Activision game which allows you to control a team of 4 super heroes from a list of just about every Marvel comic (about 50 in all) in some kind of epic save the world type of adventure fighting Dr Doom which apparently offers 20 hours of game play. You can also build your team, customize outfits, develop new skills and powers and use custom equipment. The cut scenes are awesome and the characters all have individual personalities and have decent voice acting which allows them to quip as they kick ass. Unfortunately the game has some really bad shortcomings. All of your superpowers are activated via motion controls which are so unresponsive they only come off one time in 5. As a result if you try and use them by the time you have actually pulled it off your opponent has half killed you. This means that you just use the "a" button punch feature spoiling most of the fun. With 4 guys on your side and the view being quite wide you can't see what the hell is going on and often end up dead at one end of the screen while thinking that you were actually doing something else at the other side. If it offered a mode that let you use the classic controller then it would get a couple of extra marks, but as it is it's an unplayable mess.

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