| Sonic Adventure | Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus |
| Soul Caliber | Half Life |
---Reviewed by John Kane
Helping to get the release
of the Sega Dreamcast off to a great, speeding start, this latest edition
of the Sonic game series is a stunner. For those unfamiliar with the series
it's Sega's flagship platform game. The star of the game is the blindingly
fast Sonic the Hedgehog who this time around is traveling through a variety
of exotic locales collecting Chaos Emeralds in order to stop the Chaos Demon.
Okay, that gets the unimpressive plot out of the way and while we're mentioning
flaws the game is hampered by a dreadful soundtrack, laughingly bad voice-over
work, and some difficult camera angles which can occasionally make game
play difficult. Now for the praise: a rich and detailed world to immerse
yourself in, dizzyingly fast levels that are action packed, and then there's
the graphics. Clearly designed to show off just what the Dreamcast is capable
of, Sonic Adventure shows that the gap between arcade games and console
games has been closed. Whether he's dashing through casinos, flying airplanes,
or snowboarding down a mountain there's eye candy galore rushing by so fast
that if you blink you lose. In a nice move to prolong game play you can
also replay levels as different characters such as Sonic's sidekick Tails
and his love interest Amy with the challenges and obstacles changing to
suit each new character. Hours of exhilarating entertainment await and if
you don't have a Dreamcast this game makes a hell of a reason to purchase
one. 
---Reviewed by John Kane
Basically, this sequel to Soul Blade is Tekken 3 with better
graphics. Now improved graphics may not sound like much of a difference
but these graphics are eye-catchingly fantastic. With every screenshot worthy
of framing, it's easy to get distracted by the sheer beauty and incredible
detail that went into the design of this superior fighting game. Getting
distracted is not a good idea though, unless you enjoy the computer chanting
YOU LOSE again and again. Game play is standard fighting stuff---several
basic one button blows can be dealt but the real powerhouse plays require
fast and precise multi-button skills. The only major problem with the game
is that it is slightly too easy, a good player should be able to beat the
computer enough times to unlock all the characters within two days at the
most. But this isn't really a single player game, the joy comes from playing
against friends and beating them to a bloody pulp. The characters are pretty
standard stuff (martial arts guy, samurai dude, whip wielding babe, even
Yoshimitsu from Tekken 3) but one character does deserve special
mention: Voldo. Decked out in House-Of-Pain bondage gear and walking in
a hunched over fashion that suggests his underwear might be just a bit too
constricting, Voldo and his Freddy Krueger hands is the character to play
when you want to giggle while doing your slicing and dicing. This is easily
the best fighting game for the Dreamcast and it will probably be a long
while before anyone puts out a more stunningly beautiful slab of violence
then this. ---Reviewed by John Kane
More of a remake then a sequel to the much beloved Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee,
this game offers improved graphics, the ability to save the game at any
time, and, well... exploding farts. Once again the gamer is playing that
poster boy for bad posture, Abe, the savior of the Mudokon race. This time
his job is to save his people from being turned into SoulStorm Brew by the
never nice Glukkons. Gameplay is much the same as before: running, jumping,
the excellent gamespeak feature. The puzzles are occasionally too difficult,
but there’s nothing here the seasoned gamer won’t be able to accomplish.
Basically, if you loved the first game, you’ll love this new and improved
version. Oh, and the cinematic scenes are truly spectacular. Somebody at
Disney should hire these guys to do their movies. ---Reviewed by John Kane
Okay, regardless of all the praise, one thing has to be said, the opening
setup is big time stupid. I mean, how does a research project gone wrong
somehow make psycho aliens and mutants appear? Is that really the best the
people with Valve could come up with? Don’t know about you, but I had major
David Banner-Incredible Hulk deja vu happening. Okay, now for the praise,
this is without a doubt one of the greatest first person shooters ever created.
Great graphics submerge you into this well designed, hyper-violent, kill-or-be-killed
game. By keeping the environment as real as possible (i.e. no flashing powerups
or cases of bullets out in plain view) the game plays more like a scary
movie then any of the other Quake II rip-offs out there. And while the setup
may be lame once you’re past it the game has nary a flaw to report. Oh yeah,
one more thing, this game is so addictive the FDA should look into regulating
it.