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Rainier's Articles


PS2/Xbox/PC Preview - 'Scarface: The World is Yours'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: Grand Theft Pacino
Publisher: Vivendi-Universal Games
Developer: Radical Entertainment
Release Date: Fall 2006

The Godfather might have been a fun sandbox game in its own right, but let's face it: it completely failed as a licensed title. From the total lack of subtlety to ludicrous elements like the horse-head stealth mission, the game sometimes felt like a profoundly extended exercise in missing the point of the original movie. I bring this up because the upcoming Scarface: The World is Yours is in some ways a remarkably similar title. Not only is it a GTA-style sandbox

NFL 2004 (PS2/Xbox) - Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Pre - E3 2003

NFL 2004

Listen. Do you hear it? Squint your eyes. Do you see it? You don't, do you? You don't because "NFL 2K4" goes beyond mere sound and vision - you feel it. You feel that deep breath you take when you're staring down 80 yards of real estate, a six-point deficit and 1:31 on the clock. You feel the fear in the air that results from unblinkingly staring down a quarterback from your middle linebacker position. You feel that brief moment in time when the ball's in the air and all that fills your mind is the overwhelming need to

PC Preview - 'Joint Task Force'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: Real-Time Strategy
Publisher: Vivendi
Developer: Most Wanted Entertainment
Release Date: September 2006

You may be able to overcome countless terrorists, foreign insurgents, and enemy armies, all before breakfast, but in Joint Task Force, your greatest enemy might be CNN.

JTF is a story-driven, tactical RTS from Most Wanted Entertainment. You play the part of a fictional, multinational peace enforcement unit, with missions set in such recent real-world hotspots as Afghanistan, Bosnia, Colombia, Iraq, and Somalia. Your unit may not be real (Most Wanted's aiming for gameplay over realism here; to quote them, "Real is not fun"), but

NCAA College Basketball 2004 (PS2/Xbox) - Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Pre - E3 2003

NCAA College Baseketball 2004

The risky steal, the well-timed block, the buzzer-beater …mind-blowing plays in the final seconds holding every moment suspended in time. Tears, yells, chest pumps…every expressible emotion at its peak -- flowing through the veins of every player, coach and fan. Deafening chants, face-painted students, music blaring bands…unforgettable experiences sending all five senses into overtime. Tradition, pageantry, pride…the definition of college basketball. The moment, the championship, the legacy: “NCAA College Basketball 2K4”…real play, real emotion, real heart.

PlayStation 2

NBA 2004 (PS2/Xbox) - Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Pre - E3 2003

NBA 2004

Go ahead - leave behind the old traditional style of game. You know, the one of uncontested lay-ups and simple chest-to-chest passes that’s been around for the last few years! Welcome to a new kind of hardwood. Turn on the skills of the next generation and experience the new NBA attitude with “NBA 2K4.” Start with fanatical crowds, blinding lights and deafening sounds that set the stage for each competitive match-up! Heart pounding and filling with anxiety, it’s now time for you to step on the court with a “let’s play” swagger! You got game, so rise above the

PC Preview - 'Caesar IV'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: Simulation
Publisher: Vivendi Universal Games
Developer: Tilted Mill
Release Date: Q3 2006

Caesar IV is the latest in the distinguished Caesar line of city-building sims that rose to great fame as part of the late, lamented Sierra Entertainment. Even though it's been a good eight years since the last iteration came out to positive reviews and much love from simulation fans, Vivendi Universal has allowed developer Tilted Mill to bring back the franchise for one more outing on the PC. What's special about this title is that the development team includes many staffers who've worked on

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (NGC) - Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Pre - E3 2003

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (NGC)

Gamers will collect magical eggs, use them to solve puzzles and nurture them with items found while exploring the world. Gamers will be able to hatch the eggs and discover magical creatures with a variety of skills, introducing a strategic planning element to the combat and puzzles. Players will explore massive, colorful environments, each with their own missions and secrets, and then defeat the evil boss of each stage. It’s up to Billy Hatcher to return light to the land!

NGC/PS2/Xbox Preview - 'The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: Action/Adventure
Publisher: Vivendi
Developer: Krome Studios
Release Date: October 2006

Spyro's newest venture is entitled A New Beginning, and for good reason. With this new game, the reset button's been hit on Spyro; all past adventures have been forgotten in favor of giving one of the hardest-working mascots in video games a fresh start.

In this case, it means shifting the onscreen action's focus from cutesy platforming to surprisingly intense action. Krome Studios, the dev house that gave the world Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, has set out to make Spyro's newest adventure feel like "playing through a

Various Midway E3 Screens (GBA/PS2/NGC/Xbox)

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Pre - E3 2003

PC Preview - 'FreeStyle Street Basketball'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: Sports
Publisher: Vivendi
Developer: JC Entertainment
Release Date: Q1 2007

It is within the bounds of possibility that you could sell a million copies of anything in Korea, as long as it was a massive multiplayer online game. Ideally, it should be an MMO you can play with one hand, freeing up the other hand to smoke a cigarette.

Freestyle Street Basketball is, at once, a demonstration of this principle and an idea I'm surprised we haven't seen before now. This is a game where you can create and kit out a cel-shaded cartoon avatar, and then