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Black & White Average Customer Review:  CD-ROM (28 March, 2001) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review If you've ever wanted to play god, Black & White shoulddefinitely be on your short list. This highly anticipated game takesthe concept literally, letting players navigate and influence a lushworld using only the "hand of god" as an interface. Players can use thehand to uproot trees, hurl rocks, rescue (or punish) followers, andcontrol all aspects of the camera as it zooms, dips, and swerves overthe completely 3-D environments. The game gets off to a slow start, but things pick up once players getto choose their creatures. Creatures are giant animals that serve asyour physical link to the mortal world, and they have a sophisticatedartificial intelligence that lets players teach them how to act. In thebeginning, there's only a cow, ape, and tiger from which to pick, butthe choices expand as the game progresses. And for a limited time, Amazon.com customers can download a bonus creature--a magnificent horse. Click here for details. Ultimately, creatures grow, and their appearance gradually changes toreflect both their tendency toward good or evil and the treatmentthey've received from the player. Deny the animal access to food and itwill lose weight. Pet it each time it eats a villager and you'll soonhave an evil juggernaut that strikes fear into people's hearts. Most ofthe game's fun comes from spending time teaching your creature andsimply watching the crazy things it does of its own volition. Best ofall, players and creatures don't have to have the same alignment,making it possible to be an evil god with a glowing, beloved,benevolent creature. It all depends on why you choose to reward orpunish the creature. Unfortunately, Black & White tries to be too many things atonce, and there is rarely any real focus. It's difficult to enjoytraining a creature when villages need protecting, villagers needdirection, and buildings need to be built in order to expand theplayer's influence and ultimately win each level. It wouldn't be so badif the villagers were half as smart as the game's creatures, but theyrequire a lot of micromanagement to work efficiently. The single-playercampaign gives players plenty of time in each mission to overcome theseshortcomings, but prepare to spend many long hours administrating yourholdings for every hour of pure joy that Black & White iscapable of providing. --T. Byrl Baker Pros:
Reviews (506)
Asin: B00004UE0O |
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Frustrating!
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Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain Average Customer Review:  CD-ROM US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Reviews (6)
PC players will appreciate the higher resolution, good sound, and analog control (assuming you have a dual analog gamepad) that the PSX original could not offer. Console players who caught the sequels (which I didn't like as well as this one) get the chance to re-visit the game's roots, and nostalgic PC players get an old favorite with improved graphics, and sound. While not truly comparable to modern RPG heavyweights, this is must have for nostalgic players, fans of gothic, medievil fantasy adventures, and collector's of rare PC console ports. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, is a good game, and has more than enough gaming meat on your RPG bone to be well worth your money.
Asin: B00004XQ6V |
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Brilliance.
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Blood Omen 2 Average Customer Review:  CD-ROM (27 March, 2002) list price: $29.99 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Features Reviews (12)
The Game is fun to play, with all of the cast from the previous games coming back to voice over. I was actually expecting to see Kain raise Raziel in this game, but i was left in the dark, alot of questions about kain's past is still left un answered... this games is really a filler story to the actual one of Legacy of Kain, and therefore there really isnt that much of one, especally compaired to the others. This game gets only 3 stars, because it just doesn't fit into the Kain continuum...
Asin: B000063CDK |
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Diablo Average Customer Review:  CD-ROM list price: $9.99 -- our price: $9.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Diablo is a fantasy role-playing game that captures the spirit of original face-to-face games like Dungeons and Dragons. With a straightforward story line based on fulfilling quests assigned by nonplayer characters, you equip yourself, venture into a dungeon, and slaughter legions of hideous foes. Along the way, you unearth magical treasure, discover mighty spells, and earn experience that can be used to increase your combat abilities. Almost all of your time with Diablo is spent underground, exploring and conquering ever-deeper levels of the gloomy dungeon. Combat is fast, brutal, and constant. Whether your weapon of choice is a sword, axe, bow, or spell, all forms of combat employ a simple two-click system, which is elegant without being simplistic. Replayability and customizability are Diablo's strong points; the incredible number of options and possibilities--and the fun that can be had experimenting with different strategies--keeps players coming back for more. All the dungeon levels are generated anew each time you draw up a new character, and are packed with an entirely different set of textures, features, items, traps, creatures, and quests. While one game may stock the fifth subterranean level with an army of skeleton warriors, the next game may pack that level with hordes of winged gargoyles. Multiplayer options exist for two to four players, so you don't have to take on the world by yourself unless you prefer solo play. Released in 1997, this game is far simpler than newer titles that have expanded on its original concepts; there are only three character classes and a limited number of ways to truly distinguish your character from others. But sometimes there is no beating a classic. Three years old and with a sequel due in mid-2000, the original Diablo has aged remarkably well. Many of its features will seem familiar to seasoned fantasy gamers, just because so many of them have been incorporated into later RPGs. Players who yearn for uncluttered adventuring and those with older computers will definitely want to check this one out. --Alyx Dellamonica Pros:
Features Reviews (126)
Asin: B00001IVBL |
$9.99 |
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Diablo 2 Average Customer Review: CD-ROM (29 June, 2000) list price: $19.99 -- our price: $19.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Everything that made the original Diablo great--nonstop action, wicked monsters, dark gothic atmosphere, and fantastic magic items--has returned. But new enhancements such as the class skill system and cheater-proof multiplayer competition make Diablo II even better than the original. The millions of gamers who fought their way through the horror of Tristram'scatacombs in the original Diablo realized that all was not well aftertheir hero destroyed the demon's physical body. Diablo II opens with avivid animated vision of that mad, doomed hero, who unwittingly spreads chaos ashe moves toward a fate of Diablo's choosing. With the original character classesgone, players choose from a new cadre of champions: the Barbarian (can wield twotwo-handed swords at once, one in each hand), the Necromancer (raises the deadto fight his battles), the Amazon (master of bow and spear), Paladin (holycrusader), and Sorceress (wielder of elemental magic). These warriors follow adiabolical plot through four acts, and each act is roughly as big as theoriginal Diablo. Diablo II looks and behaves very much like Diablo. Players areassigned quests by nonplayer characters and adventure through dark catacombs andcrypts. Hordes of vile monsters assail the hero, who survives by force of arms,powerful spells, and through the use of varied and exotic magic items. Randomlygenerated dungeons guarantee fresh adventure each time a new game is started.But unlike the original game, characters must fight their way through the above-ground wilderness before entering a dungeon. Fortunately, some of thefrustrations of adventuring have been lessened in Diablo II, thanks to thenew ability to run and the clever implementation of "waypoints" that let yourcharacter quickly travel to and from the safety of town. Along with the new character classes comes a new character skill system. As inthe original game, players improve their character's ability scores as they killmonsters and gain experience. But unlike the original game, players get to addspecific skills, spells, and powers each time they advance. For example, aftergaining a level you could choose between taking a skill that improves yourattack speed or a skill that allows you to scatter your foes with a mightyshout. With this customizedadvancement system it is unlikely that two high-levelcharacters, even characters of the same class, will be alike. Instead ofprogressing along a set path, you can choose skills and powers that complementyour own particular playing style. Interestingly, this new customizable classsystem closelyparallels the changes made in the new editionof Dungeons & Dragons. Other enhancements include a method for creating and customizing magicitems, 3-D accelerated spell effects, anticheat multiplayer code, and a place to safelystore excess money and equipment. But even without these tweaks, even withoutthe sophisticated story line and all the cool new features, Diablo II isjust a great game. The sound, music, and graphics combine to create atantalizingly eerie setting. Players will willingly let their game-playing hoursslip well past reasonable bedtimes, suffering bleary-eyed classes and meetingsin exchange for "just one more" magic item, dungeon level, or characterskill. Diablo is back. Say hello to the game that will once again dominate gamers'computers, and say good-bye to your free time. --Michael Fehlauer. Pros:
Features Reviews (533)
Asin: B00002CF9M |
$19.99 |
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Diablo 2 Expansion: Lord of Destruction Average Customer Review: CD-ROM (25 June, 2001) list price: $19.99 -- our price: $14.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Not content to merely add additional levels, the creators of theDiablo II: Lord of Destruction expansion have improved the entireDiablo II game experience while concluding the story. The expansion hasbeen described as both an add-in and an add-on, and it truly is a must-have forDiablo II players. The add-on is the new act, which finally concludes the epic tale of Diablo. Theend of the fourth act of Diablo II saw Baal, brother of Diablo and lastof the Prime Evils, reclaim his soulstone from the deceived mortal Marius.Lord of Destruction tells the story of Baal's destructive trek throughthe Barbarian Highlands of the north. The player must stop Baal before hecorrupts the magical Worldstone and opens hell to the mortal world. An ancientbarbarian tribe guards the holy mountain that houses the stone, and is the onlything that stands between Baal and Armageddon. The player must use a characterwho has completed the fourth act to access the fifth act (the expansion) andhelp the besieged barbarians. The add-in is all the improvements to the core game. The most obvious is thegraphics. Lord of Destruction lets gamers ratchet up Diablo II'sgraphics resolution to 800 x 600. This means both prettier graphics and theability to see more of the battlefield at once, which effectively increases therange of spells and missile weapons. Best part: the graphics boost applies toall of the original game as well as the expansion's new act. The graphics boost is nice, but hard-core players will most likely betterappreciate the gameplay enhancements. It's hard to pick the single best elementfrom the long list of substantial improvements: a larger character stash, moresocketable items, more unique items, new classes of weapons for high-difficultylevels, and new Horadric Cube recipes. Entirely new features include the abilityto craft unique magic items, runes (which function like gems but can be combinedto form powerful runeword combinations), totems (which add ability, combat, orresistance bonuses, but take up space in inventory), and hireling inventory(you'll hand down your old equipment to your hireling). All these improvementsare applied to both the new act and the four earlier acts in Diablo II.After playing with all these tweaks, you'll wonder how you ever managed to playwith the tiny stash, blurry graphics, and weak hirelings of the original. Even experienced Diablo II players get to appreciate the improvements tothe first through fourth acts because the two new character classes (Assassinand Druid) must complete all four acts in Diablo II before you can usethem in the expansion. The Assassin is a stealthy warrior and wizard slayer whouses martial arts, traps, and mental discipline to defeat hell's minions. TheDruid is a feral whose spells, animal summoning, and shape-shifting abilitiessuit a wide range of playing styles. Both are cool enough to warrant playingthrough all of Diablo II once again. And the conclusion to one of thebest-loved and most-played games of all time is satisfying--well worth the hoursof sleepless nights and blurry-eyed mornings. --Mike Fehlauer ... Read more Features Reviews (267)
Asin: B00005A3I8 |
$14.99 |
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Grand Theft Auto 3 Average Customer Review: CD-ROM (21 May, 2002) list price: $24.99 -- our price: $24.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review With Grand Theft Auto III, Rockstar proves that not alldevelopers are concerned with toning down the violence in their games.This sequel is even more bloody, violent, and sadistic than its popularpredecessors, offering up an enormous 3-D city in which nearly anycriminal act is possible. Players are free to steal cars, beat up thelocal population for their money (or weapons), make time withprostitutes, or simply roam to their heart's content. Those seekingmore structure can embark on dozens of plot-driven missions or stealcars that let them play minigames. Nab a cop car and go on vigilantemissions. Grab a cab and play a deadly version of Crazy Taxi.Take a fire truck and earn money putting out fires. The game just nevergets boring. As in real life, there are consequences for your criminality. As yourrandom acts of mayhem mount up, the police start hounding you,eventually calling in SWAT trucks, the FBI, and even the army if youcontinue down the path of destruction. Shaking these pursuers is easilythe most fun part of the game, especially when a bunch of friends arepacked in the room to witness your narrow escapes. Grand Theft Auto III is fine-tuned to near perfection in everycategory. All the vehicles, from slick sports cars to lumbering dumptrucks, handle exactly as you'd expect and smash apart realisticallywhen abused. The three islands in the game are rendered in terrificdetail considering their size, and are packed with traffic,pedestrians, and hidden jumps. The audio is equally amazing.Pedestrians talk, cops scream at you, and you can tune in ninedifferent radio stations whenever you are in a car. It all adds up to amonumental achievement: the rare console game for adults that managesto get everything right. --T. Byrl Baker Note: This review refers to thePlayStation2 version ofthis game. Pros:
Features Reviews (263)
Asin: B00005YTYJ |
$24.99 |
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ONLY ONLINEHALF LIFE:GAME OF T YR Average Customer Review: CD-ROM list price: $19.99 -- our price: $19.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Your gun had better be loaded if you're playing Half-Life: Game of the Year Edition, the smartest, shootingest, bloodiest game ever to hit the PC. Take control of a scientist charged with destroying the alien invasion force that arrived, courtesy of government experiments gone wrong. Of course, in the post-X-Files world, there's additional bad guys in the form of federal "cleaners" who want you just as dead as the monsters. Power up your environmental suit and plunge through level after level of increasingly difficult and creepy challenges, rescuing your fellow scientists and ultimately clearing out the whole complex--if you're lucky. Game play is smooth and simple, after the obligatory false starts and botched maneuvers common to learning every new game. Persistence pays off, though: Half-Life rewards tenacity with increasing power and understanding of the virtual world. Play on a network and cooperate or compete with folks across the world or in the next cubicle. For those who've mastered the intricacies of Half-Life , the Game of the Year Edition includes Worldcraft 2.0, which the designers used to build every detail of the base. Make your own levels and snicker at other players' pathetic attempts to evade your deathtraps. It's easy to see why Half-Life won Game of the Year from dozens of publications; try it and see for yourself--if you're not too squeamish. --Rob Lightner ... Read more Features Reviews (246)
Asin: B00001KUII |
$19.99 |
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Half-Life: Counter-Strike Average Customer Review: CD-ROM (14 November, 2000) list price: $29.95 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Half-Life: Counter-Strike contains all the elements of the popular online multiplayer game originally built as an add-on for Half-Life. While the version of Counter-Strike available online requires a copy of Half-Life, this standalone version contains the Half-Life engine on the CD-ROM. The team-based gameplay divides players into terrorist or antiterrorist squads. Each team has access to different real-world ammunition and equipment, and all players have unique attributes plus the ability to upgrade their gear after completing missions. Missions have different goals, such as defusing a bomb or rescuing hostages. All the multiplayer maps and gameplay from the original Half-Life Multiplayer and Half-Life: Opposing Force Multiplayer are included, plus Team Fortress Classic. Half-Life: Counter-Strike also contains four new gameplay modes of Counter-Strike: firearms, wanted, ricochet, and redemption. ... Read more Features Reviews (295)
Asin: B00004TJCL |
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Half-Life Expansion Pack: Opposing Force Average Customer Review: CD-ROM (18 November, 1999) list price: $19.99 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Opposing Force returns the player to the Black Mesa facility, but tells the tale from the perspective of Col. Adrian Shephard, one of the soldiers sent to clean up the scientists and their reality-altering mess. Just as in Half-Life, things quickly go badly for Colonel Shephard and his men. Ambushed by aliens, Adrian must fight his way through the ruins of the facility in an attempt to reach a helicopter extraction point. What makes Opposing Force shine is the way it expands on the story of Half-Life. Colonel Shephard passes though areas that players of Half-Life are sure to recognize, and he occasionally runs into characters from the original game, including the infuriating Man in Suit. Opposing Force also introduces several new weapons, such as a sniper rifle (with scope), heavy machine gun, and a .357 Magnum with a laser sight. There's even a "weapon" that is actually a common alien creature from the first game; its unique features allow it to be used as a kind of grappling hook. Several new aliens make an appearance as well, almost all of them deadly. They exhibit the same sophisticated AI (artificial intelligence) as the monsters in Half-Life, relentlessly and intelligently attacking Adrian as he makes his way through the game's impressive levels. Fortunately, Colonel Shephard's rank allows him to take command of any soldiers he encounters. Riflemen and machine gunners can be ordered to follow Adrian and provide covering fire, or assigned to guard a door or room. Engineers can cut through locked or blocked doorways, while Medics can heal the injured. Unlike Half-Life's solitary "me against the world" game play, the addition of competent friendly forces provides a feeling of camaraderie: there's nothing like leading a squad of loyal Marines against an alien horde. --Mike Fehlauer ... Read more Reviews (69)
Asin: B00002CF96 |
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Hitman: Codename 47 Average Customer Review: CD-ROM (22 November, 2000) list price: $19.99 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review It's hard to deny the appeal of Hitman: Codename 47. Whatactionfan hasn't wanted to slip into the suit of a diamond-hard assassin-for-hireequally adept at both stealthy hits and all-out assaults? Hitmancertainly provides you with the tools of the trade, offering everything frompiano wire and silenced pistols to bull-pup submachine guns and predator-styleminiguns. It also lets you perform many of the tricks of the trade, likestealing your enemy's clothes and dragging bodies away so roving patrols won'tstumble onto them and get curious. Unfortunately, heavily scripted leveldesignand some fairly dumb enemies get in the way of the fun, forcing players torelymore on memorization than quick reactions. Be prepared to play each levelseveral times just to figure out exactly how to accomplish your objectives,andseveral times after that to successfully carry them out. At least there was a lot to look at as we repeated each level. Hitmanhassome of the most beautiful graphics ever placed in a game of this type and therendering engine can depict both lush outdoor environments andnear-photographic-quality interiors. The audio is equally splendid, and aftersomepractice you can tell what an enemy is firing simply by listening to theweapon's report. If the gameplay equaled the audio-visual quality, we'd have aclassic on our hands, but as it stands Hitman plays more like a puzzlegame where you have to guess what the designers wanted you to do. --T. ByrlBaker Pros:
Reviews (89)
The first is that it does not work on a great many newer computers. Fortunately, it works on mine, but I have tried lending it to two different people. Neither one could use it, and the Eidos Support page is very helpful, essentially saying it's Microsoft's fault, and they have no intentions of releasing a fix to make Hitman more compatible with newer systems. The map is useless, showing only you and your exit point. It is even more frustrating than that, but there aren't enough words to describe everything, so I'll move on. You cannot save; you must complete the entire mission before it will autosave for you. You cannot check during the game to see if objectives have been completed; if you're unsure, for example, if you've properly hidden a body, or placed something at the scene of the crime, or maybe if you went on a rampage and aren't sure if you hit your target or not, you need to go all the way back to your Exit point to see if the objectives are marked as complete or not. Many of the buttons and commands require you to be in a very specific location to access them. You can be looking directly at a button, moving the cursor around in front of it, but it may be that you need to be standing a few feet away, facing in the opposite direction to use it. Time-wasting trial and error is wonderful, especially when you can't save the game. Finally, the AI is just great. I loved pulling a silenced gun a ways behind a civilian, sending him immediately running, as he obviously heard me pulling the gun from my coat. The old man then soaked three shots to the body. So these civilians are psychic -and- sporting body armor! In conclusion, Hitman 2 was amazing fun. I opted for the Silent Assassin style myself. Hitman: Contracts was not as good as Hitman 2, but still great. The original, Hitman: Codename 47 shows me that the design team was lazy, the support team ineffective, and the game ended up being more frustration than it's worth to play. Buy one of the other games, and play it twice. Skip this one.
Simple? Well no it isn't, because you never know what to expect. Your job takes you to distant places like the Rotterdam, Japan and Romania. Plus you have to make sure there are no witnesses to the crime. Then you have to get out and OH MY! This game has many a path through it. Sure you can simply shoot anything that moves, but where's the fun in that? The idea of the game is to use stealth. To help you, you can change your clothes and blend in with the crowd, just make sure you hide the body afterwards because if a guard finds it, then your in trouble! If you start acting suspicously, I.E if you steal a key in the view of someone, then the guards will be notified ad they will hunt for you. I could go on forever, but I think I'll move on now... You have many a weapon at your disposal, such as rifles, SMG's and a laughably lethal Minigun which can tear through the The graphic detail is quite graphic. If you shoot someone, then a red bullethole appears on them and they start to bleed. Same for slash marks etc. But there are some truly dissapointing bits as well. This is a decent game but it lets itself down with silly little mistakes which can ruin the gameplay in places. But that doesn't stop it getting a decent score... GOOD BITS BAD BITS The verdict: 4 out of 5
Now some details on game play itself. Expenses at times are taken out of your income if you accidentally-or purposely-kill unnecessary targets such as police officers or civilians that often stand in your way (can't buy all the best guns if you blow all your money on just killing people, which includes sniper rifles, and an assortment of automatics, some of which come with silencer attachments to further improve your performance as a professional killer). The game encourages you to find alternate ways that are not always so obvious to make your hit. Encouraging stealth and perfection. Hence, the game's primary challenge. Besides, if you just open fire on anything that moves in this game (like what we see with too many other games) you'll maybe live 10 or 15 seconds after the first shot. Stealth is the key. Every mission can be beaten without you ever getting shot, or spotted (I know people don't believe that, but believe it or not I can make those Columbian levels look as easy as the very first mission). Ways to avoid detection include hiding the bodies of the people you kill, dressing as the enemy (gangs and terrorist groups alike often have certain dress-code and you can take the clothes of any person you kill in this game) poisoning, waiting for certain patrolmen guarding your main target to separate and taking them out one by one with a silenced pistol. And many other ways, depending on the situation. The AI of all moving people in this game is superb. You can literally hide behind any given object (dresser, tree, bookshelf) after you have been discovered, and the enemies won't know where you are until they see you, even when they are in the same room. In most games they just come right to you. If their backs are turned you can sneak up on them to either slit their throat or strangulate them, which I've seen in a few other games, but not to this astounding degree. If you sniper someone from afar, people will gather around the body (which could be helpful if the congregated group of people are all people you prefer dead). Your un-silenced weapons will be heard if fired and frighten civilians or alert the enemy. People turn their heads to look at you if you walk by. If one yelps too loud in the instant it takes you to pull out your gun and shoot him, others will come. The thing is, they REACT! They are not just mindless, close-knitted colored pixels on the screen. They react to sound, to your presence, and to the things you do.In fact, the AI is too good. There have been incidents where I was following someone too close and the draw of my weapon was actually HEARD, causing the person I pursued to turn around, to see the gun in my hand, and to draw a weapon of his own in the second it took me to shoot him smack-dead in the face. Close one. Amazing how many miles per hour your heart can accelerate in a matter of seconds... This game can be sick, challenging, exciting, and most of all, engrossing. You can just kiss all the hours of a whole weekend away playing this beautiful game. The only drawback is that there is no in-game save. It saves automatically after you complete each mission. Hitman 2 is just as good, if not better (some of the quirks in the AI in Hitman 1 was corrected in Hitman 2, the graphics are ten times better and there is in-game save in Silent Assassin). Hitman 3 is out this Spring. Don't neglect this series. Buy it now. Hitman 1 is available for PC only. I would have never played it if it were not for playing Hitman 2 on playstation, the best game console ever. ... Read more Asin: B00004RFBE |
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Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Average Customer Review: CD-ROM (01 October, 2002) list price: $49.95 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Features Reviews (80)
First off the enemy AI is out to lunch. Enemies will flip out on you at times when it feels you're doing everything right (prompting the often used WTF phrase for the game), and are happy-go-lucky at times when your clearly up to no good. Many times you can upset the enemy by doing something wrong or being in the wrong place only to rectify the situation completely by a change of clothes which many times is done in a dead end room or hallway. If the AI was any good enemies should get at least a little suspicious of a 6foot5 bald dude (oh yeah...UPC tatoo) now wearing a change of clothing coming out of the same place/area the enemies just chased your character (Agent 47) into. But no, everthing is kosher with them. To make matters worse sometimes enemies catch you in the act of changing into the clothes of a victem you just killed only for them to stand there and go "hmmm...is this right?". Sometimes you can actually get away with even that just by walking out of the area. One level in particular had problems with AI. Basically the idea was that you needed to come up with a Pizza delivery boy disquise and had to take out a Pizza boy for it. I found the best place to do that was in the bathroom while the delivery boy was taking a whizz. Nobody else was in the bathroom at the time so no one would immediately see a crime and then report it. Killing him was no problem. Changing into his clothes was no problem. But, the second you go to drag his body to a more secluded location everybody goes nuts. From the map system you can see how all security make an immediate beeline from across the building to the bathroom you are in to take you out. After trying this a couple of times I opted not to drag his body anywhere; taking a risk that someone would walk in on it. No one ever did. I find that with both the first and second Hitman I have to "work around" the AI like that. I hope they totally changed the AI on Contracts. Although the map system has been greatly improved and simplified over the first Hitman I personally think that having a "satellite" dynamic feedback on every individual on every floor (inside and outside) is stupid. It really makes the new feature of looking through keyholes in doors(for enemies)laughable. I hope they have removed this in "Contracts". Another thing I dislike is the report card you get at the end of every level. You get ranked on how aggressive you were in the past level (the more aggresive the poorer the score) and how stealthy you were (the higher the better). Although I don't mind being ranked on my performance in the game, this system allows players to finish levels with horrific scores. In another words they can go through the level shooting at almost everything in sight. Personally I think that defeats the purpose of the series. If you want a shooting fest you shouldn't expect it here. I would prefer if it was more like the original (I said more like it, not just like it, because that system was not without faults either). If you can't finish the level like something resembling a "Silent Assassin" you shouldn't get past it. You should get shot to pieces in a real hurry. Unfortunatly this is not the case. You just get a bad report card and move on. I like the addition of the tool shed; a place you collect all of the various weapons available throughout the game. Unfortunatly many of the weapons are unholsterable and have to be carried out in plain sight of everyone else in order to be collected. If you are seen with it causing an alert (very likely) your score goes down. Also such weapons have to be carried out of the level one at a time. So you have to gamble with which weapon you leave a level with, hoping ones you have discarded will be available later in the game for you to collect. For example the first level allows you to collect a Golf Club and a sniper rifle. But you can only take one out. I have yet to see another occurrance of either weapon later in the game. I also liked the use of more appropriate costums in this release. Gone are the days of a 6foot5 caucasion chineese waiter (in China) delivering poisened food to unsuspecting targets. Eventhough I liked the levels of the first Hitman better (I thought more time was spent on them, ie plant leaves moving out of your way as you pass by) I also liked some of them here. St.Petersberg, for example, was done pretty well. Overall I have to say I liked the original (despite the extra lives system) better then the second. I hope that Contracts is considerably revamped over Hitman 2. This game is not bad, but it could of been better. ... Read more Asin: B00005V9DX |
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Konami Collector's Series Average Customer Review: CD-ROM (02 December, 2002) list price: $9.99 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Features Reviews (4)
They should also release collections for XBOX, Gamecube & PS2.( not just PC only )
Asin: B00006969T |
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This game isn't very good.
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Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Average Customer Review: CD-ROM list price: $19.99 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver tells the story of Raziel, one of the undead lieutenants of the vampire lord Kain. Jealous of Raziel's newly evolved wings, Kain tears them apart and casts his former champion into the netherworld. But something--some kind of powerful entity that dwells in the netherworld--has restored Raziel to a semblance of life and has set him on a path of vengeance. After this tantalizing movie introduction, you take control of Raziel in the spectral realm, where your new existence is explained to you. From there you enter the physical plane, ready to begin your quest for power and revenge. Raziel's combat moves are extremely brutal, as you'd expect from a vampire who has returned from the dead. When he finds a spear, Raziel gleefully stabs and slashes before he impales his foe, lifts it off the ground, and feasts on its soul. Doing so enhances Raziel's power, and devouring the souls of the rest of Kain's lieutenants is the only way to get the special abilities--scaling walls, phasing through gates, etc.--needed to reach Kain himself. While fun for adults, parents should take note: this game is definitely not suitable for kids. ... Read more Reviews (15)
With not so many expectations, I was awe-struck at the level of detail and creativity poured into the story, the characters, the dialogue, the music, as well as the graphics, level-design, and playability. Just search the web for keywords such as Raziel, Kain, Soul Reaver, Blood Omen, and you will see for yourself how intense this storyline has proved to be. There are many fan sites out there thriving on the epic characters and universe that the Legacy of Kain series have created so gracefully. A few of the key elements I found captivating about the gameplay is the fact that there were no 'loading screens' keeping you waiting. The game seemlesly loads the respective portions from the CD as you walk around. Another feature that caught my attention is the ability to destroy your opponents in several different ways, which all of them, by the way, clearly display the power of hatred and vendetta gathered within your game character, Raziel. I recommend this fantastic piece of game which delivers art in all forms you can imagine (audio, video, literature) to all of you. But know before you buy, that the graphics, although still beautiful, may not live up to the expectations of some of you out there, who have started gaming very recently, or can only be impressed by nothing more than a Quake-3-engine running on the latest 3D accelerator video card. ... Read more Asin: B00001YVBN |
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Max Payne Average Customer Review: CD-ROM (26 July, 2001) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Max Payne, the New York police detective, has had a bad time of itrecently, and it's time for payback. Three years ago, junkies high on amysterious new narcotic called Valkyr slaughtered his wife and child. Thetragedy drives him on a prolonged path of vengeance. It turns him from adetective looking for easy work to a deep undercover vice cop infiltrating theMob to a hardened vigilante. Max Payne is a film-noir-inspired gameabout revenge that is unflinching in every way possible. It's dark and moody,extremely twisted, and turns PC action gaming on its ear by featuringstate-of-the-art graphics, audio, and cinematic action. Aside from its inspired use of photorealistic graphics and unique graphic novel(comic book) panels to further the plot, the game also features something calledBullet Time: a slow-motion toggle, usable for a limited time, that re-createsthe awe-inspiring diving maneuvers made popular by director John Woo and, ofcourse, The Matrix. At the touch of a button, Max can go into slow motionand leap forwards or back, and side to side, while pumping generous amounts oflead into his enemy's bodies. This toggle isn't just eye candy, it's a strategicdevice that evens the sometimes staggering odds the game throws at you. Theaction is made even more visceral by the interactive environments (glassshatters, plaster puffs into dust, and wood splinters) and generous amounts ofblood. The game carries a Mature label, and this should be taken very seriously. Thegame doesn't pull a single punch, whether in flashbacks showing Max's reactionto his gunned-down spouse, or even, somewhat tastelessly, flashbacks thatinclude his slain infant daughter. And he mows down a virtual army of hackneyedJoe Pesci-style Italian mobsters or ski-mask-wearing terrorists with extremeprejudice. The plot is predictable, the script is humorously bad (intentionallyso?), but the action will definitely make a shooter fan drool. Max Payneis the übershooter, and as such, it should be kept out of the hands ofkids. But mature action fans will love it. --Andrew S. Bub Pros:
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