Review: Call of Cthulhu

Website: http://www.callofcthulhu.com
Screenshots: http://www.3dgamers.com/screenshots/games/callofcthulhu/
Platform: PC CD-ROM, X-Box

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Based on the fictional horror/thriller writings of H.P. Lovecraft (especially the short, "Shadow Over Innsmouth", "Call of Cthulhu" is a well done, first-person action/adventure interpretation of the mythos. From the menu, you're offered a few difficulties to start your game in. The more you uncover (such as journal entries), the more completed the game may become. Game completion is tracked in a Statistics menu, along with accuracy of shots, amount of kills and headshots, and more.

Your role begins as Detective Jack Walters. Released from the insane asylum after a period of amnesia, you're back in your niche when you recieve a call from somebody in the town of Innsmouth, asking for help investigating a local theft and a missing person. You arrive there via bus, and the first thing you may notice is the people populating Innsmouth are... different. It seems a plague has beset them - from their appearance and voice to the way they treat you, all creepy. For the first 1/4th of the game you'll be mostly exploring and finding clues. You won't get a weapon until the end of that first quarter, and even then it's a crowbar.

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Despite that you're weaponless, you will find yourself in some hair-raising situations where you'll need to get out alive. One particular sequence has you escaping an Innsmouth hotel, opening doors and closing them, then bolting them - while your pursuers slowly but surely break down the doors you've left shut in your path. If you're a trigger-happy gamer with no patience, such sequences will likely upset you. Add to the fact that the game has no quick-save option - you can only save at a curious white symbol, which you'll find painted on walls. I honestly hadn't found the save system too bad, mostly because the game keeps you on your toes with it's adventure facet, with the pace and action picking up only until later.

Immersion is top-notch here, and one of the reasons for this is the lack of any HUD or onscreen indication of your health or ammo. This seems particularly foolish, but I adapted rather well to it. Your inventory screen can be referenced to see how much ammo you have left per bullet type, and any decline in health is indicated by shortness of breath, blurring of vision, blood splatters and declining hearing. You'll walk slower if you're injured, especially if you've broken a leg bone - of which you can hear cracking with each step. Use a medkit to patch up wounds or splint a broken bone and you're soon feeling better. Audio effects and voice acting is generally well done, if at times a little insincere. The music score is quite effective and meshes very well with the game - I enjoyed it very much. You may notice the graphics in Call of Cthulhu are dated, but don't let it dissuade you from giving the game a chance. The art direction is very well done here, evident in detailed textures and well-featured character models and detailed environments. Physics are rather non-existant, and characters die in animation sequences (then fade away) and not ragdoll effects - but it's really not an issue, the rest of the game makes up for such missing elements.

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Interaction with the environment and characters saturates most of the gameplay. Whether toggling switches and solving fitting (and not too bizarre) puzzles, or keeping dialogue with characters to aid in your progression - there should be enough to do, to keep you engaged. You'll need to take a look at items or documents on desks, or even bookshelves, chests or drawers. Jack will mostly make comments on what you're interacting with, sometimes noting it's usefulness, or even it's uselessness. His dialogue may give you subtle clues - perhaps there is an area behind a warm wall, or a hole that requires a lever piece. Needing to actually be your character instead of some mindless tough-guy with big guns is quite a welcome break, and the action portions help breakup the adventure with some fun suspense. As far as environments go, I really have to credit the developers with giving us a fun variety. You may tire of the dark town of Innsmouth, but later in the game you should be quite thrilled to peruse the other locations. The detail and well constructed environments range from hostile sea cliffs to immaculate and shining temples, towns full of little landmarks, dark alleyways and shops, to intriguing worn-down houses, never knowing what may lie beyond it's doors. You'll really have to watch your step in the caverns and rocky areas. Some portions will crumble before you, or may feature semi-hidden traps which you can usually circumvent. It doesn't help that you can't run - some of the jumps would be easier. You can either walk (and it's slow), crouch, or sneak (which does help you get by unnoticed). One example where jumping a gap seemed quite impossible - I was in a burning bank, and had to clear a gap and land on half a staircase. I always missed it. When I checked some forums online, I'd realised there was a beam above my head I was hitting, and to avoid it - I had to move a little more to the left before jumping, as the beam was at a higher angle on that side. I then cleared the jump perfectly.

Whether protecting a coast guard ship and riding monolithic waves, exploring dark and otherworldy caverns keeping watch for monstrous beasts, or aiding the FBI in a shootout at a warehouse, or firing rounds from the back of speeding truck to escape a horde - there's never a dull moment. Some levels have simply awesome moments, of which I am tempted to give away but don't want to spoil you with. All I can reveal is you'll be facing some huge and interesting beasts. I'm not talking 8 foot demons like Doom's Baron of Hell - I mean much bigger, and all-the-more exciting.

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There are a few key characters throughout the game you'll be meeting, and revisiting at some points. Innsmouth introduces you to a lady by the name of Rebecca, who isn't affected by the plague. A beautiful black-haired "dame", but her history is rather non-existant and we never really know what she's doing in Innsmouth or why she cares about your livelihood. Also in Innsmouth you'll find an accomplice of sorts, working undercover. You may want to visit him for help in further progression. Call of Cthulhu is not short of disturbing and gorey scenes involving semi-important characters either. This is beyond mere blood splatters and generic dismemberment - you'll be seeing guts and severed limbs or heads. Such scenes actually trigger Jack to go temporarily insane. This is a prominent feature of the game, and it is your obligation to keep your mind in check, by keeping yourself sane. Vision blurs and sways, Jack mutters out of fear, and hears chattery voices. The pinnacle of experiencing insanity for too long is that of suicide - although this is preventable. One way to aid this is to avoid looking at or investigating such gorey scenes, or even extremely unreal monsters. Inevitably, some experiences you just won't be able to avoid, and in this case you can just walk away for a minute and regain your composure, letting your heart-rate settle back down and your vision level out back to normal.

A first-person-shooter just wouldn't be as such without weapons, and once you acquire a decent set you have much better chances of survival. Weaponry ranges from a semi-auto pistol or revolver, double-barrel shotgun, tommy (machine) gun, rifle, and a powerful and rather cool weapon you'll recieve near the end of the game. Sometimes you will be able to man stationed weaponry, such as a cannon on the Coast Guard ship. Each weapon can be aimed - the ironsights brought up into center view - the game does not have a crosshair, and the ironsights perform well. Particularly fun is to take the knife, hit aim - and you'll be holding it with two hands, ready for a hard, downward stealth stab. Sometimes this is the only way to sneak your way through with a necessary kill and without firing a shot. Ammo is moderately located about and is usually in proper areas, not scattered about without reason - as is with med-kits. I did have one small issue with the weapons, and it involves controlling your viewpoint. Your weapon is not static or attached to a centerpoint of the player's viewpoint, and as such there is some swaying of the head while the weapon remains immobile. This does feel weird for those of us used to most first-person-shooters, but I soon had adapted to it and was no longer bothere.

An inventory screen is available as well , for collected items (such as important gems or useful objects) and journal entries. Your journal will feature automatic entries on recent experiences and thoughts, and collection of general evidence (such as notes and important writings), -- and occultic writings which actually aid in some areas of progression. Some discovered journal entries may help in opening locked safes or doors, but it isn't always obvious - and this is where a little online research or FAQ reading helps.

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Interspersed throughout the game are cinematic cutscenes. Some are from the viewpoint of enemies or other characters, some are actually foretelling. Few are realtime interactive, such as flashbacks to your time in the asylum, or other horrifying memories. One particularly memorable scene (in first-person) is when Jack is laying on a table during interrogation in a dark room save for a ceiling lamp in your face, and an unknown man by your side. A doctor of sorts leans over with a pair of electrical clips, attempting to shock you into admittance. Such temporary breaks from actual gameplay tend to re-engage the player and piece together what my be going on beneath the surface.

Story progression is never fleeting and there's usually some new connection to reveal as you move on. You'll find the connection between the town of Innsmouth and a cult, ultimately finding it's deeper ties to the Cthulhu mythos and the journey you'll be partaking. Your actions don't affect any outcome or the world around you - Call of Cthulhu is pretty linear, which can be dissapointing. However, despite the linearity, the experience as a whole doesn't make lack of plot dynamism a big issue. Questions and confusion to whatever extent will ultimately arise in various spots, though a replay of the game may help piece together loose ends.

Outside of the story portion of the game, there isn't too much incentive to replay such a linear experience. You can unlock a few extra features such as concept art and character renders, or gain a Mythos ranking by completing the game in a certain amount of time completing it 100% (having found everything), but with Call of Cthulhu's few laborous situations, I'm just glad to be done with a memorable experience. It took me about 9.5 hours to complete the game in about a week. I should mention there are a few issues present, some of which I suspect came from the X-Box build of the game. An early chase/escape sequence was very hard for me to complete. The biggest factor was your timing, and you had to be quick and avoid any obstacles to your route, and pushing a few big bookshelves to progress to the next area. I had to drop my resolution and turn off anti-aliasing to pass this. Gameplay was much smoother, even though I had absolutely no performance issues at 1024 x 768. There is some kind of resolution/player-control synch issue and it's very frustrating that I had to sacrifice detail to remedy it. I experienced the same issue in a chaotic moment in "Indigo Prophecy" as well, where I also had to drop my screen resolution. Funnily enough, the graphics engine between them is quite similar.

A couple bugs have cropped up, one being the inability to push a set of 4 important levers, which all aided in completing the level. No matter what I tried, I could not attack the levers (you had to swat at them instead of 'use' them, because you weren't playing as Jack). The solution? I started the level over and now they worked fine. Another bug I recall is during a frenzied, quick cutscene that had ended, yet part of it still remained in effect, albeit part of the scene was frozen, and I was able to walk around the two characters featured in it. A reload of the saved game and the problem was gone. One more issue that wasn't too prevalent but occured when it was least welcome, was that I could not grab items such as a med-kit or ammo off a table. Jack just wouldn't "see" the item, thus picking it up - and instead would comment on the general area, such as "nothing useful here". By stepping back and looking at a different angle at the item, I was able to pick it up. Some items I just could not grab at all!

Call of Cthulhu was a very interesting and fun experience that I do not hesitate to recommend. If you're looking for chilling immersion, interactive environments and adventure elements, well-paced progression and tense action, $30 isn't too high a price to have it all in a well done adaption of Lovecraft's classic horror story.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fascinating, immersive and thrilling gameplay and plot, artistic direction, awesome monolithic monster battles, good balance of adventure and action
Cons: A couple frustrating interaction and gameplay issues, no real incentive for replayability

Review: XIII (Thirteen)

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Website: http://www.xiii-thegame.com
Screenshots/Demo: http://www.3dgamers.com/games/xiii/ - http://www.3dgamers.com/screenshots/xiii/
Platform: PC CD-ROM, Gamecube, X-Box, PS2

XIII (Thirteen) is a first-person shooter based upon a 1980's series of Belgian comics. The plot involves a man who has awoken on a beach, with no recollection of who he is or how he came to his current situation. Throughout the story and game in the role of 'XIII', we discover a dangerous and mysterious government conspiracy. Naturally it's our role to topple the plans and well, save the world - or at least the country.

The most noticeable feature of this game is it's cel-shaded graphics. Cel-shading is a method and style in animation/cartooning that has been adopted in the game, admiringly adopting the style of it's comic-book resource. Where XIII may lack in sharp texture detail and bump-maps, it makes up for with it's aesthetically piquing presentation. Noises, words and screams emit from their sources in comic-book fashion with bold lettering. For example, shoot en enemy on the edge of a cliff, he'll plummet down with a stream of "AAAAAAaaaa!!!" following him, shrinking the farther away he falls. Because the game does have audio, you would think such a feature would be redundant - or at the very least, annoying. I didn't find it to be a hinderance, it just further supported the very unique video game world the developers have adapted. Panels will appear within panels during realtime cutscenes, or further-length cutscenes in which there is no player interaction. A rather nice example of this is when you score a headshot on an enemy - 3 small panels pop up in succession in the top-left of the screen, showing the enemy's head like a deer in headlights - then the projectile piercing the head, complete with animated blood. From the comic-book-style execution of enemies and others, you might think XIII is dark-toned game, but truthfully it's more of an adventurous-action fun in the vein of Bond, with a bit of campy humor and nothing too serious.

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XIII can pick up various objects to use as melee, such as bottles, broomsticks or even chairs. You can smash people with them - the screen turns blue to signal the knockout factor, as the character groans in pain and slumps to the floor. From there, you can usually pick up the body, carrying it over your shoulder (and wielding a one-handed weapon in your right hand), and hide the body elsewhere. Nice. Weapons are varied and quite fun to see in cel-shaded fashion, and they all translate well. From throwing fists, throwing knives, shotguns, harpoon, semi-autos, grenades and RPGs, even a shard of glass - XIII offers an array of tools to cover your ass. Most weapons feature an alternative-fire mode. The M60 machine gun may fire in auto or burst, the shotgun can be fired or butted against somebody to knock them out, knives can be thrown (unretrievable afterwards) or stabbed/thrust with, and the crossbow can zoom in twice. Items you can carry may be a lockpick, keys, keycards, health kits, and even a grappling hook - which is fun to use, even if it's a bit limited in it's abilities. You can only latch onto particular hooks, not ledges or anything such a hook could support your weight with. This is probably most likely a developmental decision, as having the player grapple his way throughout the game could be compromising to story and experience.

Thankfully, not all of XIII is run-and-gun. Occasionally you will just walk around and avoiding detection, or doing a little weaponless espionage. One particular mission earlier in the game has you going to a bank to retrieve some belongings. Simple and innocent, but naturally something has to go wrong, and from there the story snowballs. Interaction with key characters is interesting to watch. Characters look sharp and distinctual, you start to develop a sense of their mannerisms. Though overall, character development here is lacking. We don't really know the history of your partners or major enemies. Perhaps with such danger in your way and weight on your shoulders, you wouldn't have time to care!

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Later in the game the unraveling occurs, and it isn't just via gameplay and cutscenes. XIII's menu offers a few extras to the player. Clicking on Documents, you can read papers you've collected throughout the game. Some you must retrieve, others are optional. Also in the menu is a list of conspirators, who are further revealed and debunked in the list, the more you progress. The developers clearly wanted the player to do a little guesswork and thinking about the story, instead of having it totally revealed - and I think this is a step in the right direction.

Missions and levels vary well throughout and rarely boring. Seeing as you start on a beach, escape from a bank, infiltrate a submarine, scout a wintery log cabin, avoid detection in secret military base, and progress through a shipyard - there should be enough scenic variation to keep you happy. Level design is usually quite well done. Some static objects, such as grates, glass or lumber pieces obstructing an entryway, can be smashed, allowing further (sometimes optional) progression. Even though most levels allow you to backtrack and discover at least 2 routes, there is still a sense of linearity throughout the game. Your actions don't seem to affect a whole lot, or delineate the progression of the story. It's not a big issue, because XIII delivers a memorable and downright fun experience, even if questions are left unanswered - and they will be. XIII covers only the first 5 volumes of the comic, which had a weighty amount of 18 volumes, mostly consisting of 3 issues per. That the game adaption only covers about a quarter of the entire comic may be a dissapointment (especially since there is no announcement of a sequel yet), but don't let it hinder you from purchasing the game.

The game employs a checkpoint save system, there is no quicksave/quickload format here - although the 1.1 patch allows you to quicksave/quickload to the last checkpoint - which kinda baffles me, because if I recall right - it autosaves at each checkpoint regardless. For those of you who can't stand replaying sections of levels, I would say grin and bear it - the game has enough to offer that a repetetive save system shouldn't cripple the experience.

Artificial Intelligence here is nothing outstanding. Reinforcements are called, but most of them just run and gun you with not much regard to their lives. Occasionally they will take cover or root you out, but overall they're just bullet fodder. But wait, theres more! You can also take people hostage. Walk up behind them, hit the action key and you will have them in a choke hold in your left arm, while your right arm may carry a one-handed weapon. By walking backwards towards your intended area, enemies will see that you have a live hostage and (usually) will not fire. A great way to bargain your way out, and save precious ammo. Press the action key again to break the hostage's neck, letting them slump to the floor. Very sleek, very effective. Allies (whether support or escort) usually fend well for themselves, so you don't usually have to worry about keeping the other alive if you're focused on your own defensive obligations - unless that ally has no weapons, then prepare to babysit.

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An immersive and mysterious story isn't the entire core of the game. XIII also features multiplayer. You can play on a LAN, Internet or even offline against bots. Multiplayer modes feature: deathmatch, capture-the-flag, team-deathmatch and sabatoge - where teams of 2 or more players with specific skills must defend their given checkpoints from explosion. In addition to a single player game of over 30 missions, and the multiplayer, the developers have included the Unreal Editor, for creating your own levels - further extending the games replayability.

Ubisoft has given fans of espionage and action a well featured and classy game that has made up for it's minor flaws in spades. I can only hope Ubi will release more sequels, completing the XIII saga.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pros: Intriguing storyline, sharp and stylish graphics, array of fun weapons and methods
Cons: Save system can be discouraging, only 1/4 of the XIII saga is covered leaving you wanting more

Review: SWAT 4 Gold

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Website: http://www.swat4.com
Screenshots/Demo: http://www.3dgamers.com/games/swat4/ - http://www.3dgamers.com/games/swat4ss/
Platform: PC CD-ROM

I should first let you know that purchasing SWAT 4 Gold (the original SWAT 4 + it's expansion, The Stetchkov Syndicate) wasn't an easy decision. The demo didn't give me a good enough impression to decide whether I liked or disliked it enough. Though on a whim I decided for $30 new, why not? The game is a slower paced first-person-shooter, with a bit of tactics involved, set in a realistic, present day environment.

Don't misunderstand "slower paced" as "slow". The SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) teams were formed to handle dangerous situations with precision, thought and tactics - often employing non-lethal solutions. For trigger-happy gamers, it isn't very mandatory that you resort to non-leathal weapons (such as bean-bag shotgun, pepperball gun, or tazer guns) - though you will score more points by apprehending suspects without drawing any blood. Among the selection of weapons you'll find the aforementioned non-lethal set, slug & BB shotguns, a door-breaching (non-lethal) shotgun, semi-auto & assault rifles (9mm SMG's, .45, M4A1 carbine, GB36 etc.), a sniper rifle (expansion only), and pistols (1911 .45, 9mm GLOCK, .50 cal -- expansion only). Some semi-autos and pistols have a flashlight built into them, which is very useful because each mission consists of a dark location or night-time setting. It's too bad, I'd of appreciated some daylight missions.

There are also a few grenade-type weapons: flashbang (explodes and emits disorienting flash of light and noise), stinger (disperses non-lethal, rubber balls), and gas grenade (disorients and disrupts the victims). Items of selection include door wedges, glow-sticks (interim, decent lighting tool that you can drop anywhere), optiwand (the form of a two-handed gun, allows you to peek under doors and around corners via an extension-camera and LCD display) and C2 charges (for blowing open locked doors - which will also stun or kill anyone very close to the door). As you progress throughout missions in the expansion, you'll gain access to a few new weapons such as non-lethal grenade launcher that gives you more leverage to launch flashbangs, stingers and gas grenades. The expansion also gives you the ability to punch, a decent way to make hostages comply in order to be cuffed, so you can reserve your taser ammo.

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Missions throughout the original game vary and have no unifying story. This can make gameplay feel repetetive after awhile, but what makes it interesting and challenging is each locale is new and different. Tactics that may have worked well in a previous mission aren't guarnateed to work in the next. Most tactics and mission progression depend on utilizing the layout of each building or area - from deciding which doors to wedge, breach or mirror, which rooms to cover or clear. Some areas are more open or confined, keeping the dynamics of gameplay constant - especially since enemies and hostages are randomly placed each time you play a mission. You won't be playing any mission the same way twice, and for me this made up for the repetition factor.

In the expansion Stetchkov Syndicate, missions still vary as far as location, but are now tied together with a story involving the Stetchkov family of drugrunners. To be fair, it's just 7 more missions and it still feels like more of the same. Neither the original game or the expansion have any cutscenes to serve any missions or story. It would've been nice to have, giving the player a bit deeper, boiling sense of why they are there, instead of "just another day at the office". The original game and expansion offer the following modes of play: Training, Career, Instant Action, Quick Mission, & Multiplay.

Career mode will bring you through 14 missions in SWAT 4 and 7 missions in Stetchkov. You'll be selecting your weapon and item loadout for yourself and your team, and your point of entrance at the location. You can select a difficulty of Easy, Normal, Hard or Elite. Depending on difficulty chosen, you will be required to meet a certain score (from 0, 50, 75 and 95) before you move on to the next mission. Meeting that score may require non-lethal apprehension of suspects, or keeping hostages or your team alive. Points are deducted if you kill or injure hostages or your team members. Each Career mission has a moderately sized text and audio briefing from headquarters about the situation, (some missions allow you to listen to the 911 call) information about possible suspects and hostages, and a situation timeline.

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Quick Mission allows you to select any mission you've completed and set extra gameplay parameters - setup equipment and items, number of men on your team or go in alone, amount of suspects and hostages, suspect's skill, mission objectives, and more.

Instant Action places you in the most recently completed mission, using all it's parameters that you previously chose - so you won't have to fiddle and can jump in and play.

Multiplay offers a few modes of play over LAN or Internet: Barricaded Suspects (neutralize/arrest opposing team members -- like deathmatch), VIP Escort (Suspects arrest VIP SWAT members, SWAT members bring VIP to extraction point -- cat & mouse), Rapid Deployment (3 to 5 bombs randomly placed, must be disarmed within time limit), and Cooperative (play missions as SWAT together with others online).

Cooperative and Barricaded Suspects play was an absolute blast to play with or against other friends. Hilarious and frustrating moments ensued (like setting C2 charges on doors, waiting for the opposing player to open it and BAM they're blown dead). Cooperative play is possible with just 2 players, but it can get quite frustrating if 1 of the members dies, leaving the other a lone wolf. Therefore, co-op is best played with 4 people.

To summarize the gameplay, a typical scenario may progress like this: you and your team are setup at your chosen entry point. From there you may pretty much go about the mission however you like. I usually would select red or blue team members (2 members each side), or sometimes gold (which means all team members), and have them mirror under a door. Then send the other team to stack-up against a different door and check if it's locked. If all was clear, I would send team red through the first door, send team blue in for cover. Provided that room was clear, we might progress onto another room. If team red finds suspects on the other side, I can command either part of the team (or all) to open the door, toss a flashbang, move in and clear it of suspects.

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Other ways to progress a mission might be to take lead yourself, scouting out the location, then having the team fall back in to you. You can command team to open, pick-lock, breach (C2 or shotgun, depending what you've chosen in equipment setup), mirror, wedge, close door, open door, move-and-clear-room, breach-and-bang door/room, etc. I had my command menu open with mouse-button 4, and while keeping the button down I select a command, let go and the team performs it. If you point at a door, you get door-specific commands. Anywhere else you point, you get other general commands (such as move to, cover, deploy flashbang/gas/wedge etc), restrain suspect/hostage and more. The expansion introduces the ability to hold a command, and only let the team perform it when you say so. This is useful if you want the team to be ready for a command, while you complete another task. Once you're finished with that task it's simpler to give the team the go-ahead for that particular command. The game setup menu will let you choose from a few ways to interact with the menu, or you may choose the classic menu - an overlay graphic with numbered commands. Hit a number key and the command is performed.

Artificial Intelligence is fairly competent and nothing to complain about. Team members usually stick to your orders, suspects will run or hide for cover, or engage at will. Hostages sometimes will become stubborn and won't give in to your commands. It's always a bit of a scary moment when restraining a hostage or suspect and you hear a door swing open, knowing it's not any of your team members. There is that split-second window of time to react, and sometimes it can make the difference between mission success or mission failure.

A useful and interesting feature of SWAT 4 and it's expansion is the ability to see what your team members see. Each member has a small camera attached to their helmet. By pressing either of a set of keys, you can view a picture-in-picture realtime view of what that team member is seeing. Press caps-lock and the picture expands. From there, you can move the camera around, effectively being the member's eyes -- and thus giving more specific commands, such as opening a door - that you the player cannot actually see or may not be near by. In addition to viewpoints of team members, you may also take view of 1 or 2 snipers setup in some missions.

Original SWAT 4 missions range from a night club, automotive parts dealer, a hotel, medical center, research center, to a serial killer's urban household and more. Stetchkov expansion missions vary as well from agricultural center, amusement arcade, warehouse, etc. Most missions feature suspects of varying backgrounds, some are just run-of-the-mill criminals and thugs, others are high-profile crime bosses, weapons dealers or drug lords. The environments are detailed convincingly - from soda cans, trash, food on counters, strewn-about messes, static TV's, glowing computer monitors, shelves full of items, posters, photo frames - these are not bare rooms by any means. Graphically as a whole, SWAT 4 is quite nice. The bump-mapping helps a great deal, and I've found it wasn't as big a performance hit for me as Doom 3's bump-mapping was. Depth of brick-walls, team members, other people and objects really helps the immersion factor. Scalability of the graphics is nice as well - textures can be set to low, medium or high. Aforementioned bump-mapping can be set to off, low, medium or high, along with other visual settings.

SWAT member, hostage and suspect models are done well - although SWAT members seem to have more finer detail going for them. If someone on the blue team has 3 grenades on their belt and tosses 1, you'll see 2 left. If they're carrying an optiwand, you'll see it hanging on their back - it doesn't disappear when it's put away. Hostages and suspects aren't completey unique - sometimes you'll see the exact same women hostages throughout a mission, or even in the same room. Hardly convincing, unless this mission features a set of twins or quadruplets for either side!

Physics are alright, but are a bit lacking. While a ragdoll model does exist, physics for general objects is dissapointingly lacking. Some buckets and containers can be shot off and tumble down, gas canisters can (rather weakly) explode, but many other items remain rather bolted in place. Lights cannot be shot out either. Imagine being in a firefight with suspects, with objects flying about along with more debris and your only source of light being shot out. It certainly could've done well for immersion, although graphics and audio make up for it.

SWAT 4's audio is quite nice. When a team member or suspect is injured badly, the gurgling and pain sounds are convincing and well, sometimes disturbing. Effectively disturbing, actually. It seems to bring a sense of heavy realism to the situation - that this is life and death, not Cowboys and Indians. I've always enjoyed the really pissed off suspects who'll use every swear word in the book. I thought this was important to have in the game because hostages or suspects in such a dangerous situation wouldn't literally say "fudge you!" or "gosh darn it all!". Voice acting is also generally well done, from hostage's worried or angry comments on the situation, crying, moaning, screams and general craziness. Weapons are loud (especically the flashbang, I had to turn down the volume) and engaging, and general environment ambience is there to further support the locale - whether crickets or machinery.

I truly enjoyed SWAT 4 and it's expansion as a whole. The demo didn't sell me but the Gold edition has been a worthy $30 purchase. The biggest issue in SWAT 4 is that there is no unfolding drama or engaging presentation given to the player, it's just briefing-and-mission, after briefing-and-mission. If the developers would've included even brief cutscenes detailing the situation, or news reports and interviews for each mission - it'd of been much more interesting as a whole. Since SWAT deals with dangerous life and death situations, why shouldn't we be emotionally engaged, even if a little, as well? Regardless, if you want fun co-op with a replayable career mode, pick up SWAT 4 gold.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Pros: Detailed and immersive graphics and audio, tense and challenging missions, good AI
Cons: Missions lack an engaging briefing or back story

Quick Review: Saitek X-52 Flight Control System

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Website: http://www.saitek.com
Platform: PC (USB)
Price: $100 - $120

Features

JOYSTICK
- 2-stage trigger
- 2x 8-way hat switches
- 4 fire buttons including missile launcher with spring-loaded safety cover
- precision centering mechanism
- 3D rudder twist (lockable)
- 3-position rotary mode selector
- 5-position handle-height adjustment
- 3 spring-loaded toggle switches

THROTTLE
- Progressive throttle with tension adjustment, detents for afterburner and idle
- 2 fire buttons
- mouse controller (nub)/hat-switch with mouse-button
- 8-way hat switch
- 2x rotary controls
- slider control
- clutch button initiates ‘safe mode’ to allow on-the-fly profile selection, or to display button functionality without activating

I hopped on my bike a few hours before heading to work for the day to pick up the Saitek X-52. It's a joystick and throttle system for between $100 - $120. I zoomed past traffic (roughly 15 MPH kiddies!), leaned into quick turns, and bunny-hopped cars - one-handed-biking - on the way and back, all while carrying the box too big to fit in my backpack. And then half-way home it starts raining, oh joy! The things I do to get what I want because I can't wait another day, and the X-52 is such an item.

So is it worth $115? Mostly (although Saitek does sell a $70 refurbished version - however, they were out of stock when I was looking to place an order). The X52 system consists of a joystick and throttle. The joystick has 6 buttons (including trigger, which has is actually 2 triggers in one [a very subtle middle-range click]), 3 up/down springed-switches on the base, 2 8-way hat-controls, and a 3-point dial for selecting the system's mode. You have the trigger, 2 thumb buttons, a bigger thumb button beneath a nice toggle-switch cap - flip the switch up before hitting the button, a good idea to prevent accidentally dropping bombs or firing rockets when you didn't mean to in the heat of the action. Another bigger thumb button to the left, and even a pinky trigger.

Click for full-size

The throttle has 1 8-way hat switch, 3 buttons, a scroll-wheel that also serves as a button, a slider, a rubber nub that acts as a small mouse (if you're familiar with the IBM notebook 'eraser mouse', same deal here. It's great for panning around the cockpit, and it also includes a seperate button that by default, acts as the left-mouse button. The throttle also contains 2 rotary dials situated around a couple buttons. These can be useful for adjusting elevator/aileron trim or propeller pitch, or flaps, or whatever you want really. On the base of the throttle you have the obvious LCD screen - yes, on a joystick set. It's purpose is that it will tell you which joystick mode you are in, which customized button-configuration profile you have setup or chosen (there are many downloadable at Saitek's website for a variety of games, or you can trade profiles with other users), and also the current time, in addition to a stopwatch function.

Click for full-size

Now you can really see the X-52 is quite well featured. Keep in mind that you have 3 modes to initiate the controls in, on-the-fly, anytime within the game. In total you have 19 functional controls. Multiply that by 3 and you have a set of almost 60 points of control, on a set of just 2 controllers. I doubt you will need to reach for your keyboard often. So with all these control options, what's going to help you set it up? Saitek includes it's controller programming software. It loads 3D models of each controller that you can spin around and click each button and control, (or physically press them), and from there you can configure the system how to act. Basically, the controls will emulate a keystroke, an axis or a band. So perhaps in-game you have SHIFT + T to lock your tailwheel, well just assign say button 6 with SHIFT + T, and once you hit button 6 in-game, it performs the same option. Unfortunately, while the programming software is powerful enough, it may get a bit confusing for you at first. At first glance it's a little bewildering, but it really isn't ridiculous - it's just a one-time setup to customize the system most any way you wish to use it. The X-52 and it's software is versatile, and that is a great thing to have in a control system.

Having been playing IL-2 Sturmovik Complete Edition (a World-War 2 flight sim), I had to buy the X-52 because I was tired of using my other Saitek, the ST290 Pro. While it's a great budget stick ($20 - $25), it didn't have nearly enough functions as the X-52, and it's a great thing to have both hands on your controls, and not have to leave them to hit a key combination or use a mouse. The throttle is probably my more favored control of the 2, because I can adjust it's tension. Another word about the throttle - at the near-top and near-bottom of it's range, you have a slight resistance to push past. There is no click (audible or tactile), but it is a little signal to let you know you are pushing into afterburner or pulling back into idle throttle. This cannot be disabled, as it may be up to personal taste - but I'm fine with it.

An important note: When I first installed the X-52 with the drivers and programming software off the CD-ROM, it worked well in-game, except for the "ministick mouse", rubber nub on the throttle. It would give feedback in Saitek's calibration application (found in Windows Control Panel under Game Controllers), but wouldn't appear in-game. I then uninstalled everything, downloaded the latest X-52 drivers and programming software from Saitek's website - and it worked. So get the latest drivers and software!

The only adjustable piece on the joystick is it's hand/palm-rest height - you cannot adjust the spring tension. This is unfortunate because the X-52 has a lighter action than the ST290 Pro. This may put some gamers off, but I got used to it quickly. The joystick also features a twist-rudder. Just twist the stick and you can control the vehicles rudder. If you have a set of pedals and don't want the twist action, there is a lock-out button which will prevent it from twisting.

That said, the set is made mostly out of plastic, with some metal parts. The bases aren't ridiculously light, but they could use a bit more weight regardless. Thanks to Saitek though, for providing a set of suction cups, if you need them. Having been through dogfights and bombing runs, I haven't had a problem of lifting up either controller in use. The construction feels pretty sturdy and it's no lie, it's kinda thick. The throttle is pretty much shaped like a fat pork-chop - I can only imagine one of the designers having an epiphany at dinner. The joystick is thick as well. The good thing is it's alright for big hands, smaller hands might have a problem - but you just need to feel a demo unit at a local store and see if it's right for you.

I could go into more depth with the X-52, but it's not really necessary. Just give the manual a read if you want ( http://www.saitekusa.com/usa/down/manuals.htm ), and check out the rest of Saitek's site to see if there's a readily available profile for your favorite simulation, but don't sweat it if there isn't because again - you can make your own, suited to preference.

If you need a damn versatile and well-built Hands-On-Throttle-And-Stick system (HOTAS) at a fair price (compared to $150+ from competitors for either stick OR throttle), the Saitek X-52 is a great buy.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Pros: multitude of functions and buttons and versatility, solid build, adjustable-tension throttle, it looks nice, well priced
Cons: Bases could use more weight, joystick should have adjustable tension too, initial functionality issues with CD-provided drivers

Quick Review: Saitek ST290 Pro Joystick

Click for full-size

Website: http://www.saitek.com
Platform: PC
Price: $20 - $25

Saitek is a popular and solid manufacturer of game controllers from joysticks to wheels to gamepads, ranging from budget-buy to top-line. I decided to buy the ST290 Pro and see if it was worth just $20.97.

Features
- (semi)adjustable and programmable stick
- rapid-fire trigger
- 5 buttons
- 8-way point-of-view hat switch
- lever throttle

One thing to notice about the ST290 is this curved, plastic bit that is screwed to the side of the stick, with a flat plastic piece below it. This is simply a hand/palm rest, of which you can raise or lower to fit your hand height, regardless if you are left or right handed (it can fit either side). The actual flat piece/palm rest can be removed if you just want something for the side of your thumb to rest against. At the top of the stick are 5 thumb buttons, with a POV hat switch in the middle, providing 8 directions, and ahead is the trigger. All buttons have a travel of about a mouse-click, except for the trigger which travels a bit farther. The clicks are audible and not annoyingly loud. Stick action is smooth and unhindered, allowing good manueverability. The stick also features a twisting action (Z-axis) for rudder control, which is a very welcome feature you don't usually find in $20 joysticks. At the base is a wide throttle lever you can push up and down. It's resistance is perfect - it's not loose and it's not real tight, just the right amount of friction for the right feel. Although, I think I would've preferred the throttle to be on the left of the stick, but I assume it is behind it to suit both left or right-handed players.

Overall the stick is lightweight plastic, with no real weight to the base. This may turn you off if you use your stick heavily. I haven't had any problems with the base lifting up though, but it's always nice to have a weighty feel at the bottom. So what might be the problems? If you look at the top 3 thumb buttons below the hat switch, it looks as if you could adjust their angle as we see some sort of axle that they are held onto. This is merely part of the aesthetic design, the buttons are not adjustable. It would be nice if they were, provided anyone finds their angle too shallow. While the joystick does not come with any software (as it is Plug-And-Play), Saitek mentions in the paper guide that you can download drivers and programming software for it. I downloaded the 30 MB drivers, of which would not install - it would ask me to plug-in my joystick before proceeding with the next step. The joystick was plugged in (a blue-light indicator at the top shows if there is any power going to it, by the way) but alas, no luck installing the drivers via the setup program. I had to right-click and choose "Install" on the WinXP driver .INF file, and copy all the rest of the files (.DLL's etc) into C:\Windows\System32. I've no idea what functionality these drivers are to provide, if any - since the stick is Plug-And-Play. Along with the drivers came Saitek's stick programming software. Their website mentions the ST290 Pro is programmable, but the software told me it couldn't find a supported stick! Regardless I was able to get the ST290 working in "Operation Flashpoint" and it was a relief to finally fly without a keyboard and mouse.

For $20 the Saitek ST290 Pro is a well featured joystick that outdoes competitor joysticks of the same price range.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pros: 5-buttons + trigger, hat-switch, rudder-twist action, ambidextrious design, good build and price
Cons: Driver and programming software installations didn't work, light-weight

Quick Review: Thief: Deadly Shadows

Website: http://www.eidosinteractive.com/games/embed.html?gmid=141
Screenshots/Demo: http://www.3dgamers.com/games/thief3/
Platform: PC CD-ROM, X-Box

The "Thief" series is carried on in part 3, "Deadly Shadows". Having no real prior experience with the past 2 Thief games, I still found this to be an enjoyable game on it's own. You take upon the role of the infamous thief Garrett, and throughout the story you unravel a mystery of the dark ages, eventually combatting the forces that brought it about to "The City". It is your choice whether to play from third-person or first-person, or both. A very welcome feature for to suit people with different playing styles and preferences.

I liked the interweaving of subplots throughout the main plot. The submissions you do for particular, larger missions have a connectivity that gives a sense of accomplishment, and not entirely a spontaneous romp through various loot runs. Although, you are free to sway away from the main progression and loot shops and homes. This loot can be sold for money, and in turn, you can buy items and weapons (from various types of arrows that gas, explode, shroud/choke (moss) or douse fire (water), to explosive mines, flash grenades, health potions and more).

I found variation in enemies to be fairly satisfactory, from city watch guards, always looking to catch Garrett, to plot involved organizations such as the Pagans, Hammerites or the Keepers. Of course, there are civilians to whack n' loot if you wish. Guards seemed fairly determined to find you, and will sometimes stick around away from their usual patrol in case they may see you again.

There are various ways to evade and deter your enemies from dousing torches/candles with a water arrow, tossing a flash grenade to temporarily blind them, or even hiding in the shadows or clinging to a stone/brick wall with climbing gloves. They come in handy so very often, and as such it's a good item to buy once you can. Combat and such was fun, if you choose to get into it instead of evade conflict. I thought the AI was a generally good challenge, actually. Depending on how well you can sneak past them or cover your tracks, this will vary. AI will notice if a comrade is missing, or if a torch nearby has been doused, or even if there are puddles of blood. This will then trigger them to search around the perimeter for the bloody "taffer" - which is usually you, but not always - as NPCs will get into occasional conflict, allowing you another means to evade under the distraction.

Your weapony ranges from the blackjack (a heavy blunt object to whack people out cold from behind), a dagger, a bow and an assortment of arrows, and as mentioned above, various tossable weaponry. Sniping guards with broadhead arrows for an immediate-kill head or chest shot never tires, although aiming with a bow will take some practice, even when you zoom in.



Your main item is of course a set of lockpicks, and you will be using them to open locked chests and doors. The ease of use varies from simple to a bit harder, but nothing really stumping. It's all about finding the right spot in the lock, which is represented on screen. Once Garrett's right hand is steady, wiggle around and pop each tumbler (from a few to several).

Locales aren't just within the cramped city streets and alleyways, though. You'll be visited landmarks such as a city clocktower, church, graveyard, a haunted sea ship and an abandoned, burned down, haunted orphanage a wealthy museum, underground caves and more. I believe it was Audale that had some fairly high buildings and rooftop walkways you could traverse and hunt from. While you'll find variation in your thieving cover and locations, everywhere you go is shrouded in darkness or dim light. While this is great for a thief, it gets tiresome quick. You just want to see some sunlight to break the oppressive mood because it never lets up.

I thought Thief 3's graphics were just a notch below Doom 3, with it's convincing use of bump-mapping, shadow casting and lighting. The occasional graphical bug will occur, such as NPC's hair changing color or style even. I rarely clip through walls, but I have fallen into a "void" a couple times after climbing in a tight area. Animated cutscenes are also present to tell more of the story throughout, which most seem to be 3D but rendered as if they were a live-motion painting. Audio and voice acting is well done and generally convincing, never with a too serious tone, but nothing laughable either. I did sometimes experience multiple NPCs or narrative talking on at once, which makes it tough to focus on what you want to hear. Music is a fairly subtle ambient deal that really helps bring together the mood and especially tension in some moments.

Thief 3 is a good game, but it's constantly dark environment really hampers it's appeal after several hours. Despite this, it's a keeper with an ample amount of slow to medium paced missions that should give you at least `16 hours of loot n' whack fun.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Pros: Good, detailed graphics, fun and enticing AI, memorable weapon and items to use, intriguing storyline, ambient score
Cons: The dark, the dark, the dark! I demand more light than torches! Multiplayer would've been fun but it's not here!

Review: Hitman series

Series Overview

Developed by Denmark based IO Interactive ( www.ioi.dk ), the "Hitman" series is comprised of 3rd-person action/stealth, where the core of the gameplay is to assassinate a multitude of downright evil or corrupt targets. Throughout the games, you can take several different paths to your target(s) and generally accomplish your goals in any order you choose. You may also general clothing disguises to con your way through potentially troubling situations. Additionally, and definitely one fun-factor of the series, is that you have a multitude of ways to take out your targets. Up close and personal with a knife, inconspicuously by poisoning their food or drink, in a blind rage with semi-auto guns and pistols, or from a shadowed distance with a sniper rifle. Such is the selling point of the Hitman series.

The general plot begins as a seemingly anonymous person ("Agent 47", your role) wakes up in a mental institute of sorts. Soon he learns his one true role is that of a hitman. Throughout the series, Agent 47 will question the depths and true reasons of his origin, the morals of his duties, and will encounter a dangerous and personal conspiracy.

This series review is more of an overview, with bottom-line points.


Hitman 1


Resources
Platform(s): PC CD-ROM
Official Site: www.hitman.dk
Screenshots & Demo: 3dgamers.com/games/hitman/

Overview
In "Hitman: Codename 47" we arrive to the beginning of Agent 47 and work for a contract agency known as "The Agency". Details are scarce on who is completely behind The Agency, but 47 is guided by a particular member known as Diana. Level progression begins at the initial starting level of training, onto the broad day streets of Hong Kong and the center of a gang war, to the deep jungles of Columbia and the drug trade, or the arms deals going down in the gloomy Rotterdam harbor, and more. The first Hitman is a diverse experience, and your choice is to go complete your missions with strategy or with all-out brutality.

Memorable Moments
"Traditions of The Trade" mission, in which you must assassinate two terrorist targets planning to bomb a very important world leader conference. The hotel is a fair sized place of three stories with metal detectors and guards about. If you want to use a weapon other than your fiberwire, you're going to have to look around. This mission is very fun because it puts you in a very public place where no one suspects anything of you. From the inviting and elaborate swimming pool room, to the multitude of rooms to hide in, and room balconies to jump along, the hotel is done very convincingly.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pros
- 13 sizable missions: approach them how you wish - slowly and strategically, or all-out one man army.
- myriad of weapons from melee, to handgun, to semi-auto, to rifle - or even poison.
- fairly replayable
- weapon buying system - perform your mission better, and earn more money
- great moody and catchy electronic/ambient score by Jesper Kyd. It really supports the atmosphere well.

Cons
- no save system. If you mess up, you've got to start all over.
- a few more missions would be nice, but with so many approach avenues it's not a big deal
- AI can sometimes be easy to get around
or deal with


Hitman 2


Resources
Platform(s): PC CD-ROM, Gamecube, PS2, X-Box
Official Website: www.hitman2.com
Screenshots & Demo: 3dgamers.com/games/hitman2/

Overview
In "Hitman: Silent Assassin", we find 47 has tired of his violent past and decided to give it up - for gardening at a monastery. Although unfortunately (or even fortunately perhaps) for 47, his priest friend has been abducted by the Mafia - who seemingly, know about 47's past. Throughout Hitman 2, 47 will once again travel the world, employed by The Agency, to return his friend to his rightful place at the monastery. Upon his journey, 47 will also once again combat terrorism and lethal cults. Hitman 2 will bring the player through Italy, Russia, Japan, Malaysia, India and more. This time around, the missions are definitely tougher and quite interesting - such as the Japan missions where you will encounter ninjas, and get to use weapons such as a crossbow or katana. Or get brutal with a fire axe in the "Basement Killing" mission, a corporate building in the country of Malaysia.

Memorable Moments
"Jacuzzi Job" mission, standing several stories up on the outside of some very tall Malaysian towers, outside a wealthy man's apartment. Wait for the fat-man's bikini-clad mistresses to leave his jacuzzi, take out the power, and in the dark - go for the kill. Headshot? Wire? Drown? It's up to you. Just don't forget about the local tower maintenance man coming up the elevator to restore power and thusly the apartment's lights.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Pros
- 20 riveting, varied missions again with multiple avenues of approach
- more interesting mission goals, such as: fatal heart surgery, placing a tracking bug within a victim's food, or narrowing down a group of generals to the correct target, before you take that him out
- updated graphics, including optional first-person mode
- cinematic and orchestral score by Jesper Kyd
- mission rank - earn the ultimate rank of Silent Assassin and unlock new weapons

Cons
- the AI this time is atrociously unfair - they now suspect disguises much, much easier
- Personally I preferred the more electronic and moody score ala Hitman 1
- weapon buying system is not implemented


Hitman 3


Resources
Platform(s): PC CD-ROM, PS2, X-Box
Official Website: www.hitmancontracts.com
Screenshots & Demo: 3dgamers.com/games/hitman3/

Overview
"Hitman: Contracts" finds 47 near-death in an apartment in France, nursed back to health by an unknown man. Due to the gunshot-inflicted wound, Agent 47 experiences a series of flashbacks, and in these instances the player will replay them as missions. Some flashbacks are recollections of 47's missions in Hitman 1, except this time around when you play them, there are a few twists thrown in. Other flashbacks recall missions exclusive to Hitman 3. The AI is not nearly as problematic as in Hitman 2, and a graphical upgrade has been thankfully implemented - such as the post-filter option, giving the game an even more gloomy but cinematic aesthetic. The darkest and most serious of the series, Hitman 3 is a slightly familiar but rewarding addition to the series.

Memorable Moments
"The Meat King's Party" mission set in a butcher house. When I first played it I was kinda disturbed, and it takes a lot to disturb me. From the pools of blood along the floor from the decaying animal carcasses, and the S&M/goth dance party featured inside, this is quite a different mission from your standard set of Hitman missions. One of your targets: a very obese and probably immobile "fat bastard" known as the Meat King. Investigate the butcher house a little further and you'll find a gruesome and twisted shrine of a particular missing girl - of which you'll need to retrieve some... evidence from. This mission just evokes "horror movie" everywhere. Oh and, have fun with the meathook.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Pros
- 12 interesting experiences of 47's past missions through flashbacks, makes you wonder about the conspiracy within the entire Hitman story
- the updated graphics are very welcome and help the dark tone throughout
- first-person mode is here again
- a few more fun ways to take out your target (like shoving a pool cue through their abdomen)
- along with mission ranking and Silent Assassin weapon awards
- Jesper Kyd's best Hitman score to date

Cons
- could've been more original missions, rather than mildly different retakes on familiar Hitman 1 missions
- the gloomy and depressive atmosphere may get tiresome as there is no variation upon it
- only 12 missions, c'mon IOI give us 5 more!


Overall

The Hitman series overall is a very worthy, varied and replayable set of single-player games with minimal dissapointment. Try out the demos, but be aware each game has much more to offer. It's usually hard anyways to judge a complete game by playing just 1 or 2 missions. If you like the gameplay despite the aging graphics, you should not pass up Hitman. Although if you're waiting for something more current generation and a lot of improvement to the series, then take a look at the upcoming 2006 release, "Hitman: Blood Money".

Quick Review: Indigo Prophecy aka Fahrenheit

Website: http://www.atari.com/indigo/
Screenshots/Demo: http://www.3dgamers.com/games/fahrenheit/
Platform: X-Box, PS2, PC CD-ROM

I read enough online at forums about "Indigo Prophecy" (USA, but known as "Fahrenheit" overseas - as the USA version has some trivial nude scenes cut out) and decided to finally look into the game, and downloaded the demo. While the demo was insultingly short - I found the gameplay to be very refreshing in these days of 5-star first-person-shooter releases. "Indigo Prophecy" (IP) is an adventure-action game. It is not as tedious as say, Myst where you are stuck in one viewpoint had need to click and point around to find clues. IP plays out like a movie - your viewpoint is very much like what you would see in a movie - with different camera angles, cinematic post-production effects on the visuals (such as color fading, motion blur, and other effects in some scenes or realtime gameplay). You can control the camera view depending on the scene - sometimes you can swing it around the character, pop into first-person mode (only to look, can't walk in this mode), or in other scenes a tap of the right-mouse-button changes the rigged camera angle.

As you start the game, you find you are in control of Lucas Kane, and your goal is to unravel the reason behind a rather nasty thing you just did - murdered a diner patron in the restroom, while in some sort of possession or trance. Because of this, Lucas feels he is not quite resposnible for his actions and thus decides to evade the police while on his quest to find out how this all happened. We learn later on that very similar murders are being committed around the city, and have in the past - but not by Lucas. So, generally you are unravelling a supernatural conspiracy which as the title indicates, involves a prophecy of sorts.


Soon in the game you'll also control 3 other characters - Carla and Tyler, detectives of the New York police department, and Markus - Lucas' priest brother whom he has lost ties with. Your control of these characters helps you to understand the story from multiple viewpoints, just as you would witness in a movie. Depending on your character and scene, you will be talking with other people, searching areas for needed items or clues, or going through action sequences. The dialogue with other people is often a timed choice of dialogue - by moving the mouse in the direction of the icon next to a particular option, you will perform that action or speak/inquire that dialogue. For instance, moving the mouse up while holding the left-button may open a door, while pulling it down might have your character kneel down and look at a clue or speak with someone. Some sequences require left-right arrow key mashing to simulate your character's strenght such as when holding on to something, or walking against a tough wind. This can get very frustrating, sometimes downright impossible - but usually completable. (In fact I have found lowering your in-game resolution for some reason, has an effect on key feedback delay, and thus I was able to pass a few of these frustrating bits.)

The action sequences are performed by doing a "Simon Says" type of mini-game. By hitting keys (or using a gamepad) in correspondence with 8 lights (4 on the left and 4 on the right, each have up, left, right and down), and doing it in a timely manner - your character will perform an action to pass through that particular moment of the scene. These Simon Says sequences usually appear in sets, and really aren't too hard as the lights don't flash too quickly. But you will still need to pay attention.

Characters and general environment design are all done well. Faces tend to have emotion displayed depending on the mood, mouths move with dialogue (even if the lip-syncing isn't perfect, it's OK enough). Speaking of moods, also in the game your character's mental health is something you will need to occasionally take care of. It never becomes tedious, but it's something to not forget. Your mental state ranges from wrecked, overwrought, depressed, stressed, tense and neutral. Once you're at wrecked, it's game over. At this point your character may have chosen a game-ending decision - maybe it's leaving the NYPD force, or deciding not to live. You maintain your mental health by doing things that will content or cheer up your character, such as drinking a glass of water, warming your hands over a fire, speaking with somebody - generally little things like this.

The blessing of IP is this: multiple choices throughout the game. Depending on what you do, and what you say - your character and the people around you are affected, whether now - or later in the game. Leave evidence behind and the cop wanting to check your apartment will see it, question you and it may be game over. Hide it and you may be cool. It's not always that straightforward, though. You just need to explore a bit - but it is very satisfying because you can play scenes differently, to get different outcomes - making IP a rather replayable game - especially with 3 different endings. Scenes aren't always just focused on you however. Some scenes may split into 2 or more windows, almost like a comic-book panel - and in realtime show what is going on in other areas - such as you standing in the bathroom, and a cop walking down the hall about to enter the bathroom. It definitely is one way to elicit suspense and tension.


The music score is hauntingly done. Additionally the game features licensed music from the rock band "Theory of A Deadman" - of which you can choose tracks on your stereo system in your apartment to play, while you play the rest of the scene out. The atmosphere throughout the game is memorable as well. You will be inside and outside, in snowy weather and dark, eery halls. With 4 characters and over 40 chapters to play, the game should have enough variation to keep you on your toes. Some other quick things to note. The game auto-saves throughout chapters, by scenes. You can access where you left off, or click a chapter to replay it. The only bothersome thing here is you cannot skip any cutscenes. It would be welcome if you're replaying a chapter and don't want to watch them again.

Overall if you want a refreshing game that feels like an interactive movie, and has a decent amount of replayability and choice-affects-outcome gameplay, and you are comfortable with a paced progression (face it this isn't a run-n-gun game) - Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit is a great game. It felt a tad short, but nothing too bad. The story is a constantly intriguing, supernatural murder mystery that never really let me down or felt blatantly hollow - and best of all, it actually had enough depth to get me to feel a little empathy for some of the characters. I can't think of many games that do just what a good movie can do. Try out the demo, DO NOT let it discourage you by it's stupidly short length - if you like the gameplay you find in it (and give yourself a chance to adapt to it and understand it!), you won't go wrong with the full version.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pros: Replayable, looks great, very cinematic/filmic feel, engaging and intriguing, mysterious storyline and character depth. Interesting gameplay formats. Doesn't require a workhorse PC (800 Mhz minimum)
Cons: Could've been maybe 5 chapters longer. The bug? of high-resolution affecting key feedback in the left-right key-mashing action sequences was very frustrating - shouldn't have to lower your resolution just to alleviate the issue.

Playing: SNES -- Super Star Wars

Ah Star Wars. This title is for Super Nintendo, which I'm running on the Snes9x emulator for Mac OS X. As with most platformer-shooter games, it can get tough. But it's fairly fun and follows the classic trilogy storyline. Throughout the game you can play as Luke, Chewie or Han Solo. You also get to ride around the hovercar and shoot those pesky Jawas. Levels include the Jawa sandcrawler, Mos Eisley, the Death star, and more. Apparently I'm almost done with this episode, too - a rather short game. Then it's on to Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Return Of The Jedi.

Review: Mafia

Website: http://illusionsoftworks.com/

Minimum Requirements:
- Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
- 500 (700) Mhz
- 96 (128) MB RAM
- 16x (32) CD-ROM
- 1.8 GB hard-drive space
- 16 (32) MB video card
- Direct X 8.1

To my knowledge, there hasn't been even a handful of Mafia oriented PC games. There was "Gangsters", an isometric strategy game, and unfortunately that's all I can think of. Either way, "Mafia" by Illusion Softworks and Gathering of Developers picks up the slack. Though it was released in 2002, after completing the game I have since considered it a timeless game - and with it being set in the 1930's, such eras never really become "old". Mafia brought me a memorable experience. But enough preamble, here's the dish.

Story
Your role is as cab driver Tommy Angelo, in the fictional city of Lost Heaven, which is nicely inspired by the urban locales of New York and Chicago. During a night on the job shift, the sound of gunshots grabs your attention and little had you anticipated you would become the next tool in the local mob toolbox. Some of Don Salierie's gangsters immediately pressure you to drive them away from a rival mob, and this is where the gameplay begins. Once you've successfully evaded and lost the rival mob and dropped Salierie's men off at his bar, you are given an offer by one of the gangsters to join the Salierie family.

Well enough, gameplay picks up upon the next day, back at your job escorting customers to their desired destinations - only to be foiled by some Morello family gangsters, who want your blood for helping the Salierie gangsters get away. After evading them on foot, you revisit Salierie's bar. You reflect on whether you want to live your life working in your current job, rather dismal and not so well paying. Or, you could join the family and come to riches. The real answer is, if you don't join now, the Morello family will get you someway. Now you are no longer Tommy the cabbie, but Tommy the gangster. Throughout the game, Tommy learns more about himself and the inner conflicts of his decisions, manages to find love but at a price, and much more.

Gameplay
The really neat thing about this game is that story is correlated via cutscenes of Tommy conversating with a detective about his history in the mob. Tommy wanted to give up the mob life, while his entry into and out of the family and everything inbetween, is primarily the gameplay. Your first mission since joining the family is taking revenge on the Morello gang, and destroying a handful of their shiny new cars with a baseball bat and dynamite. If you're just not ready to jump into action however, you can take a tutorial on combat and driving, which is a nice addition to orient yourself with.

Mafia features two main play modes: combat and driving, either of which you can and will do at anytime throughout the game. The city of Lost Heaven is immense and fairly detailed - over 12 square miles of inner-city and country roads, skyscrapers, landscapes, traffic, pedestrian and police. As you progress throughout Mafia, you learn to lockpick a variety of cars and trucks - from the basic buggy types to streamlined 30's autos - 60 individual model variations, though all with fictional brand names. If you're looking for a vast selection of getaway cars, you'll have no complaints here. You are also given a selection of 1st person and 3rd person driving views. Joystick, gamepad and wheel users should be happy to know that you may use these to drive, instead of the keyboard and mouse. If you are stealing a car within sight of any police officers, you will be chased after and arrested if caught, otherwise you are able to evade and lose your arrest warrant. Handling of the cars is an important issue, and I found that even with a keyboard and mouse, the handling was well done. It should be noted that these cars obviously are nowhere near the power of the sports cars of today, but I thought speeding at 70 - 80+ MPH was fairly fast. Driving up steep hills is really a chore though, and you typically can't reach beyond 15 MPH going up them. By law you cannot exceed 40 MPH, and there is a handy speed limiter function you may turn on in case you wish to avoid getting a speeding ticket. As long as no cops on foot or on car patrol are in range, speed all you want! Just watch those sharp corners.

This also brings up a handy feature, a basic radar in the upper left corner of your screen. Cars are represented by light-green marks, cops by blue, cops or mafia in pursuit of the player in red, and yourself in white. The radar has a basic 360 degree range that is a bit short but not too problematic. I only wished cars weren't represented by mere line ticks, but by dots or squares. The car driving also features auto or manual gearing, limited fuel (you can fill up at gas stations), a horn - which is useful for clearing your path of pedestrians, and the ability to shoot a one-handed weapon out the side of your car, while you are driving. This mode brings you to a 3rd person view, whereby you can manipulate your aim with the mouse. Drive-by's aren't the easiest facet of the game, however. Usually up to 4 or 5 people can fit in a car, this includes you (typically but not always the driver) and other passengers throughout the game. Lastly, a very cool facet of the driving gameplay is the ability to blow out tires - whether by bullet or wreckless driving, shooting off the wheels themselves, and blowing the car up by hitting the gas tank.

On-foot combat is handled entirely in 3rd person. You may carry several weapons, but you cannot conceal all of them. For instance, if you have a Tommy gun and a rifle, you'll need to usually drop one of them somewhere, and you can hide the other within your coat. You cannot leave a weapon in a car, unfortunately. Weapons range from a variety of handguns, rifles, shotguns, grenades, brass knuckles, molotov cocktails, a baseball bat (my melee favorite) and of course your bare fists. By holding the fire/attack button for about 5 seconds, you can charge up melee attacks for a stronger hit. By doing this with the baseball bat, you can typically knock someone out cold while walking up behind them. Weapons should also be hidden from public view - this means pedestrians and cops, or else the cops will be looking for you and will arrest you. If you find yourself in such a predicament, you still have the freedom to defend yourself from the cops, run or drive away to lose their tail and your "Wanted" level, or all of the above. Sometimes you will find yourself flagged down by a cop in the heat of a battle or in a quick getaway. The ensuing chases can be quite fun, though sometimes frustrating, as the cops are very hardheaded about arresting you and will slam your car, setup barricades or fire at you. One little thing to note - you are free to walk around holding a baseball bat, as it is not considered a weapon - although if a cop sees you beating on somebody with the bat, they will still give chase.

An entirely seperate play mode entitled "Free Ride" allows you to do pretty much as you please throughout the city or countryside during day or night. You can set the abundancy of traffic (this includes police cars), pedestrians and police patrols. A similiar but goal-oriented mode is "Free Ride Extreme". By playing this mode, you can unlock various extra cars - some realistic and some just crazy hot rods or very fast race cars. You may then use these cars in the normal "Free Ride" mode as well. "Extreme" is no exaggeration either - this play mode is quite tough, but either "Free Ride" option provides a fun means to take a break from the story and goof around. On an unfortunate note, it seems that the developers never released their proposed patch that would implement a multiplayer mode, which is too bad - that would be loads of fun.

Experience
Your 20 missions throughout Mafia are well varied in goals and difficulty. A few memorable missions are a bank heist, an assassination on a steamboat, a challenging car race, and a rooftop escape. In the bank heist mission, things start out quiet and fairly normal but only for a short time. Your mob pal Paulie informs everyone that this is a heist, and keeps things in check, while your goal is to get to the safe and grab the dough, all while avoiding security guards. Once you've gotten the loot, it's time to escape quickly as possible via car to a hotel.

The steamboat assassination is rather fun. Before you board the boat you need to con your way onto it. Once aboard, it's smooth sailing from there, provided you can escape unscathed to a nearby boat. The boat was a memorable location because of the social groups gathered around with their own conversational dialogue, and even a band performing on the upper deck, while the city can be seen along the horizon and the sun is set.

The rooftop escape takes place after another assassination and may be one of the more difficult missions, having to watch around and above you rather cautiously for policemen with handguns and rifles.

Given that the game has no checkpoint or quicksave features, such missions are likely to be frustrating attempts. It would have been nice to have at least a limited number of saves per mission. Despite the way things are handled in this context, replaying a mission isn't always so bad, because usually the locales are big enough to allow different strategies or paths to complete the missions. Control of Tommy on foot and in car generally felt well done, but if you wish you can use a gamepad, joystick or wheel in addition to keyboard and mouse.

Throughout the game I felt like I was watching a movie. The characters involved in the story really have a believable depth and personality to them. This is partially due to some very nice voice acting. Dialogue is not exaggerated or "cartoony". It generally sounds convincing (although does sound a bit as if read straight-from-script). Though Mafia is just a video game, I did have a kind of emotional understanding and attachment to Tommy's life, conscience and his personality. I really can't vouch for many games that pull me in and move me to some degree, like a movie could. Trust me, the story and character elements are definitely not overlooked in Mafia.

Conclusion
If you want 3rd person action, convincing characters and story, and an all-around well done game - Mafia is it. With it's varied gameplay, extra play modes, suspenseful and tense shootouts and car chases, Mafia is a definite classic.

RATING: 5 out of 5

Pros:
- photo-realistic graphics
- believable characters and story
- long, challenging and variable action-oriented gameplay
- extra play modes
Cons:
- promised multiplayer patch never released
- no manual save system

Quick Review: Doom 3

Website: Doom3.com

Doom 3. Long anticipated and then it finally arrives. Yes the graphics set another milestone for id Software. So what. Doom 3 is a well done retelling of the original Doom. It provides a backstory throughout the game, and all of the levels are quite cohesive, as opposed to the original Doom. Monsters are varied and most are from the original Doom lineup, such as the Imp, Cacodemon, Zombie-infantry and Hell-Knights. Weapons are varied and generally fun to weild. The BFG makes an excellent come back as well, although seems a bit underpowered compared to the original. No big deal though. Audio is top notch here, from monster sounds to weaponry and definitely the atmospheric ambience, which really lends to the creepy factor in Doom 3. In fact I would go so far as to say the audio alone makes up half of the immersiveness.

While the game is initially fun, it gets boring about midway. You'll find you're navigating the same ol' military base halls, all of which are quite dark. Once in awhile you'll venture out into small, mars outdoor areas, but not for long. It really is a breath of fresh air (figuratively speaking). You will interact with the environment such as quite sharp, computer interfaces, or other soldiers and people of the military base. Monster, human and weapon models are all finely detailed and done well, although human-lip-sync for speech audio is nothing to write home about. Occasionally the game will introduce an attention grabbing, in-game cinematic or moment - such as an Imp suddenly springing in front of you, clinging to the glass of the room you're in, then dissapearing. This is one method of scares in Doom 3, among others such as the infamous and rather gimmicky "monster closets". It sounds ridiculous but it couldn't be more true - wall panels opening up and a monster popping out. It happens dozens of times and it gets cheap real quick. Eventually you travel to Hell and then come back and yada yada save Earth from the demon infestation yada yada...

Ah I can't forget the reliance on PDA's. You can collect handheld computers, PDA-CD's and access cards throughout the game, and often you'll need a soldier's PDA to gain access elsewhere. Not only that, you may need to peruse e-mails and audio logs to unlock a storage locker or a door to progress somewhere. This got so tedious. I appreciate that it was a little something to inflict story and interesting little bits about soldier life at the Mars facilities, but I thought this avenue of progression was too forced.

Doom 3 was a fun experience but not for long. In addition the overall game length felt short. It's reliance on cheap scares and ad-naseum dark base corridor navigating - ultimately little variation in gameplay and experience, kept Doom 3 from being a keeper for me. Is it worth $20? Yes. But don't pay any more for it.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Pros: The graphical and audio quality and detail, overall immersiveness
Cons: Short game that becomes too predictable, too soon, to save itself.