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Rainier's Articles


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

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

Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel (PS2) - Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - E3 2004 May 14th

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST and the Broken Angel brings a fresh new action RPG to this year's Square Enix lineup. Based on a wildly popular Japanese animation and comic of the same name, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST and the Broken Angel traces the journey of two brothers on a life-changing quest.

Edward Elric is a genius alchemist. He and his younger brother Alphonse tried to raise their mother from the dead, a forbidden act that cost Ed his left leg and Al his entire body. Immediately after the accident, Ed

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

Final Fantasy XII (PS2) - Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - E3 2004 May 14th

Since 1987, the FINAL FANTASY series has sold over 58 million units. FINAL FANTASY XII carries on the proud tradition, bringing new ideas to the series and innovation to the RPG genre. Our story takes place in a world called "Ivalice," in an age when magic was commonplace and airships plied the skies, crowding out the heavens.

War was on the horizon. Seeking to strengthen its base of power, the

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

Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia (PS2/PC) - Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - E3 2004 May 14th

The first cross-platform, cross-continent MMORPG, FINAL FANTASY XI, allows gamers to connect to the same exact world regardless of whether they are playing on a personal computer (PC) or PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and whether they are playing in North America or Japan. In Japan, FINAL FANTASY XI for the PlayStation 2 and for Windows® were released in May and November 2002, respectively. Approximately a year later in October

Russian Publisher 1C's E3 Line Up

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

Perimeter, PC, Q4 2003 release date

Perimeter is an original RTS experience combining innovative warfare and terraforming capabilities with traditional RTS gameplay. The gamer will create modifiable combat units using advanced nanotechnology – units that can be modified in mid-mission as tactical situations change - and launch a campaign to seize territory. Once land is captured, powerful defensive perimeters are arrayed and the land is converted into the principal energy source. Developed by K-D LAB.

Rig'n'Roll, PC, 2004 release date

Rig'n'Roll (from creators of famous Hard Truck series) is delivering players the ultimate truck driving experience with authentic models of trucks and their

'WWE Day of Reckoning 2' (NGC) - Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - E3 2005 May 20th

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