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Rainier's Articles


PSP Preview - 'Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics'

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

Genre: Tactical RPGs
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Kuju Entertainment
Release Date: Q4 2006

After the change-over to 3.5 rules, Dungeons & Dragons became a game that practically required some sort of miniatures to play it properly. There were all sorts of rules about facing and attacks of opportunity and reach that you just couldn't follow very well on paper unless your GM was willing to hand-wave through a lot of rules. As any gamer knows, of course, the problem with using tons of miniatures is the sheer cost involved. If you want really nice ones, you can

PC Preview - 'Neverwinter Nights 2'

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

Genre: RPG
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Obsidian
Release Date: September 2006

Obsidian managed a successful debut with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, despite having to face the Herculean task of crafting a sequel to one of the finest licensed games ever made, and by a developer no less than Bioware. In light of that, it suddenly seems a bit more understandable that they're now tackling the unthinkable challenge of crafting the sequel to Neverwinter Nights, perhaps the single most popular Dungeons and Dragons game ever. With NWN, there is not only the challenge of

PS2/Xbox/Wii/PS3/X360/PC Preview - 'Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'

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

Genre: Action/RPG
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Raven Software
Release Date: Q4 2006

Hey, remember all the fun you had playing the X-Men Legends games? Activision, which employs few if any fools, does, and they wish to hook you up again. This time, they’re expanding that style of gameplay to the greater Marvel Universe, and to pretty much every console you can think of.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is the story of what happens when Dr. Doom reunites the Masters of Evil, and proceeds to attempt to mess up the wider Marvel Universe. In the face of such a threat, Nick

PC Preview - 'El Matador'

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

Genre: Action
Publisher: Red Mile
Developer: Plastic Reality
Release Date: Q3 2006

El Matador is a third-person tactical shooter about a top Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Victor Corbet, who has been sent deep into drug cartel territory to stop drug trafficking. Mainly taking place in South America, El Matador's mission is simple: kill and eliminate all drug lords and bosses. As you progress through the game, its movie-like storyline unfolds with in-game cinematics and dialogue.

The story of El Matador is told through expository movie sequences, and the dialogue and cinematics inform you about the targets. Gameplay

PS2 Preview - 'Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2'

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

Genre: 3D Fighter
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Spike
Release Date: October 2006

If Super DBZ is the "professional" of the two upcoming Dragon Ball Z games, then Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is the feel-good, super mainstream title. Building off of the best-selling DBZ title in history, the original Budokai Tenkaichi, BT2 introduces new characters, stages, and gameplay modes. The gameplay is still super-accessible 3D brawling, complete with multiple transformations for most characters, an expansive selection of characters, and enormous levels in which to battle.

BT2 is determined to outdo the previous title in every respect. The already-large BT levels

PC Preview - 'World in Conflict'

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

Genre: Real-Time Strategy
Publisher: Vivendi
Developer: Massive
Release Date: Spring 2007

It may look like another World War II RTS when you see the screenshots, but it isn't. World in Conflict is actually a World War III RTS, set in an alternate universe where the Cold War did not end in 1989.

Instead, it heated up rapidly, culminating in Russia invading the United States via Alaska, forestalling the collapse of their economy by shooting the hell out of people. As a result, the settings of World of Conflict aren't the usual Eastern European/Middle Eastern hellholes; you'll be fighting

X360 Preview - 'Mass Effect'

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

Genre: Action/RPG
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Bioware
Release Date: TBA

One of the most anticipated titles at E3 was Bioware's next-gen action RPG, Mass Effect, which is coming exclusively to the Xbox 360 in 2007. Mass Effect is all about size and scope, and the demo level we saw, "The Citadel," was of an expansive futuristic city that featured a massive docking bay for large spacecrafts. There was a rich use of color throughout the level and some incredibly impressive lighting effects. The lighting really stood out as looking "next-gen" and quite realistic, complete with the blending of

NDS Preview - 'Crash Boom Bang!'

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

Genre: Party/Puzzle
Publisher: Vivendi
Developer: Dimps
Release Date: October 2006

Well … Crash is back.

Crash Boom Bang! is sort of weird, in that it's the first game in the long-running Crash series being made by a Japanese developer. For Crash's DS debut, the reins have been given to Dimps, the house behind Dragon Ball Z: Budokai.

As a result, Crash Boom Bang! has taken a turn for the anime. (Look, Mom, I'm using nouns as adjectives!) The game is more colorful than its American predecessors were and definitely more cute; Crash has gone from looking insane to looking

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

'Death to Spies' - 12 New Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under Leipzig Games Convention - Leipzig Games Convention 2006