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Rainier's Articles


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

Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament (PS2) - Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Pre - E3 2004

Yu Yu Hakusho™: Dark Tournament aims to bringbrings the excitement of the hit animated series’ “Dark Tournament” sagaoriginal series to to the interactive realm through a fast paced multi- mode arcade-style fighting game. The gameThe game will feature several different game modesways to play, including a rich story mode that is authentically based on the most exciting aspects of the Dark Tournament episodes of the Yu Yu Hakusho animated TV seriesSaga. It will also feature an arcade modeand a survival mode where solo a single players can will fight their its way through a numberseries of increasingly difficult AI-controlled opponents.

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 - '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

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

'RollerCoaster Tycoon 3' - Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Pre - E3 2004

Get your barf bag ready! A thrilling new sequel to the stomach-turning excitement of the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise will make its way to store shelves later this year. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 will take the series to new heights with brand new features including 3-D graphics, giving players complete control of views around the park, and a front seat to the action with a new Coaster Cam feature that allows players to ride the roller coasters.

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is being developed by Frontier Developments, Ltd. of Cambridge, England, in conjunction with Chris Sawyer, the creator and sole developer of the RollerCoaster

PS2 Preview - 'Yakuza'

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

Genre: Action/Fighting
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Release Date: September 2006

The point of Yakuza, according to Sega, is to allow the player to “see the underside of Tokyo like never before.” Set in 2005 Tokyo, Yakuza is a beat-‘em-up that purports to “deliver the authentic experience” of being a member of the modern yakuza, the Japanese mafia.

Apparently, being an authentic yakuza involves beating roughly five hundred men a night to death with whatever happens to be handy, from bicycles to street signs to knives.

Yakuza is a story-driven beat-‘em-up that takes place on the mean streets of

PS2/Xbox/PC Preview - 'Arthur and the Minimoys'

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

Genre: 3D Platformer
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Etranges Libellules
Release Date: January 2007

There is something faintly surreal about sitting down to a demonstration of a license game based on a very prestigious license that you've never heard of. The developers seemed to have been getting that reaction out of journalists all day, and helpfully explained exactly why I should care about Arthur and the Minimoys before they got down to the nitty-gritty of showing me the game. Since I imagine I'm not the only American who felt that way, I'll pass along this information before I

'Terminator 3: The Redemption' (NGC/PS2/Xbox) - Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Pre - E3 2004

Terminator 3: The Redemption will feature high intensity arcade style vehicle combat and character based missions from a third-person perspective. The Redemption is presented in a massive and diverse Terminator world, allowing the player to experience gameplay through three distinct timelines. Gamers will see the world of Terminator like never before – they will go places and do things that have only been hinted at in the films, including a futuristic world where Sky Net has defeated the human resistance.

'Locomotion' - Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Pre - E3 2004

Designed and developed by the creator of the best-selling RollerCoaster Tycoon® series, Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion challenges you to build and operate a money-making transport network by linking passengers and cargo to their destinations. As the spiritual successor to his original 1994 masterpiece Transport Tycoon, this latest strategy offering from Chris Sawyer continues his tradition of putting the fun in the world-watching as well as in the creation. Fans of RollerCoaster Tycoon will immediately recognize Chris Sawyer’s well-known interface, addictive gameplay, and pioneering style as he brings a world of moving trains, trucks, buses, ships, and aircraft to life.