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Like your motorcycle games big, bold, and beautiful? All those superlatives and more apply to Motorcross Madness 2, the sequel to one of the most funny (if not the most realistic) motorcross simulations ever created.
This sequel improves on the original by offering larger racing environments, more modes of play, and much more detailed graphics. The environments now have a full complement of trees, cacti, bushes, and other solid objects to smack into, and some game modes even introduce highway traffic into the mix. There's nothing like jumping over a moving semi on your way to the finish line! The new Pro Circuit career mode adds a lot of replay-ability (and long-term strategy) to the game, and fun multiplayer modes like tag offer a refreshing break to standard racing when playing online.
On the downside, all the new graphical goodness requires some advanced computer hardwares. While a 3-D accelerator isn't required, that's a little like saying your car doesn't need an engine because you can still push it. With a decent 3-D card, at least a 350 MHz processor, and plenty of RAM, however, the game really comes to life. Those of you with 3-D audio cards are also in for a treat, as it becomes possible to tell where other riders are just by listening. It took time to get used to Motocross Madness 2's complete over-the-topphysics. Hitting even a minor jump launches the bike straight up into the air, and bigger hills can leave you staring down at the treetops for over five seconds. It's a little ridiculous, but once we gained some familiarity with the tracks it virtually made the game a lot of fun. More air time means more chances to perform outrageous aerial stunts, from the Tail Grab to the back-bending Cordova. Unfortunately, it also means unfortunate encounters with trees which are much harder to avoid.
If you buy sports games based only on their ability to realistically portray the sports they are simulating, Motocress Madness 2 will disappoint. For those of you who like big air, big stunts, enormous open environments, and lots of challenging arcade action, this game is better than its predecessor in every way.
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SimCity 3000 is back, and it's bigger than ever! Maxis pulled out all the stops for this new version of the bestselling game, adding enough new customized graphics to recreate cities from all over the world. The new European mid Asian building sets serve up hundreds of new buildings that match the architecture of these diverse environments. From the Great Wall to the Berlin Wall, it's in there. Of course, you can still mix and match—freedom to manage a city as you choose has always been the name of this game. No addition to the SimCity family would be completely without some new methods for destroying your creations, and Simcity 3000 Unlimited has four mare devastating disasters than the old version. You can recreate the movie Armageddon by unleashing large chunks of flaming space debris, smite your populace with a buzzing swarm of locusts, destroy seaports and coastal developments with a whirlpool, or uncork some toxic clouds. The Building Architect, formerly available as a free download, is now packed on the CD-ROM. This 3-D architectural program lets users set up the buildings of their dreams, from dilapidated outhouses to towering skyscrapers to works of modem art that are intended for pure decoration.
Don't worry if you don't foci like using this powerful tool to create things yourself—the game comes with dozens of new ways to make your cities unique, and you can always head to the SimCity Exchange to download imaginative add-ons created by other users. The infinite expand-ability and infinite replay-ability of this game should keep would-be mayors completely occupied until they move to the suburbs of The Sims.
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Want to live forever? Get a taste for what it's like with Vampire: The Masquerade Redemption, the first computer role-playing game based on the tremendously popular dice-and-paper and live-action RPG from White Wolf Game Studio. Die-hard fans will grumble a bit at some of the translation concessions from book to hard drive. The vampiric disciplines in particular are less flexible and occasionally more hassle than they're worth—sure, you can mm into a wolf, but you can't return to your natural form until the time limit expires. Still, these limitations don't interfere with the gameplay, which is fast moving, challenging, and genuinely creepy. Graphics and sounds are well designed, and along with the plot they evoke the mood of gothic horror that has made Vampire so popular.
The single-player mode locks you into the story line of Christof, a medieval crusader who blunders into immortality at the fangs of an ancient Brujah vampire. Christof's damnation and search for redemption lead him from the Prague of the Dark Ages to modern New York City. Multiplayer options include local area network and Internet play as well as the ability to make and run your own stories for other players. The manual is beautiful and helpful, a rare combination. Clearly, the designers took their cue from White Wolf, as evidenced by the clarity of text and carefully chosen illustrations. Though Redemption is really worth playing, garners should be warned that the save-game feature is irritating and often beyond the player's control and that the installation requires at least 720 MB (and up to 1.3 GB!). Despite these flaws, the game is still wicked fun and merits plenty of praise.
· is sold well? 71. ______
· requires steep hardware requirement? 72. ______
· is probably frightening? 73. ______
· offers some more ways to destroy what the players have built? 74. ______
· seems difficult to save the game? 75. ______
· has no easy track for the game? 76. ______
· enables players to construct buildings in different styles? 77. ______
· has detailed and interactive environments? 78. ______
· enables players to make up their own stories? 79. ______
· will frustrate those who like to play sports game on computer
just as they play in the reality? 80. ______