The War of Resistance Against Japan (八年抗戰)
Publisher: Nieo Technology
Platform: PC
Taiwan Release: Already available
Developed by Nieo Technology, the company that brought us the wonderfully inane Go! Go! Taipei MRT (GO! GO!
As one of the only commercially available war games to deal with the Japanese invasion of China, the possibilities for creating a cutting-edge and graphically pleasing game are -- in theory at any rate -- endless. Sadly, however, Nieo appears to have opted to do it on the cheap.
Instead of creating a fluid and engrossing game, the company has produced a real dud. And while the concept is certainly worthy of applause, the actual game is worthy of very little.
The game is easy to master and game play is loosely based on that of the Steel Panthers series. The interface, though ugly, is straightforward and the scenarios don't take long to complete. The downside is that The War of Resistance Against Japan lacks the attractiveness and playability of many of its popular international counterparts.
It might prove entertaining for those with a whim for reliving pseudo-historical battles, but for more experienced war gamers there is absolutely nothing smart about The War of Resistance Against Japan.
The battles are not based on genuine ones, but are instead a series of random melees, and the actual environments in which the battles take place are far from inviting. The graphics are clumsy and lack detail and authenticity, and movement is awkward.
Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict
Publisher: Midway
Platform: X-Box
Taiwan Release: Mid-June
Midway's Unreal series has long been one of the most absorbing PC-based sci-fi first-person shooters on the market. It might not have created the same buzz as Halo and Counter Strike, but its stunning graphics and engrossing game play have always been on par with its big-name rivals.
The Liandri Conflict is the first saga in the Unreal series to have been designed specially for console play and, while PC purists will, no doubt, balk at the more arcade-like graphics, the long overdue X-Box version of the game is a real winner.
Game play is fluid, players don't have to fumble around with keyboard controls, the game doesn't slow down or crash and, more importantly, gamers don't have to install five disks and employ a whopping 5.5GB of hard-drive space to compete in the Unreal world.
The format may have changed, but the crux of the game remains the same -- well almost. Unlike previous Unreal adventures The Liandri Conflict shies away from the run-and-gun action and instead focuses more on close-quarters combat. Fist, sword, spear and staff fights all play a bigger part than ever before.
Sure, players can still choose to blast their opponents into tiny pieces with an oversized grenade launcher or take a more subtle approach and employ a sniper rifle, but for the most part The Liandri Conflict is an up-close-and-personal fighting game.
Sound and graphics-wise the game is superb. There are no glitches, at least none that this reviewer stumbled across, and game play is smooth and is made even more enjoyable by the fact that there are over 50 maps and environments and a dozen characters to choose from.
Players can choose to be human-like characters or one of the more outlandish and gnarly space creatures and do battle in spacious outdoor environments like the watery Viper Pi or in more confined arenas such as the dungeon-like and claustrophobic Decay zone.
Cold Fear
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: PC, X-Box and PS2
Taiwan Release: Already Available
Cold Fear has great potential, but is sadly one of those games that players will either take an instant liking or loathing to. Its graphics, gore and sci-fi storyline will appease those with a love for sci-fi thrillers, but its restrictive nature and linear format will annoy gamers more used free-roaming shooters.
Cold Fear is technically a first-person shooter, but is best played in third person mode. Gamers take on the role of US Coast Guard officer Tom Hansen as he sets out to explore a mysterious cargo ship.
The ship might appear to be deserted at first, but soon players discover that a whole lot of evil lurks within the ship's galleys, corridors, storerooms and decks. Hansen not only has to do battle with a heavily armed bunch of mercenaries, but he also has to slay and/or avoid a whole bunch of nasty zombies and alien creatures.
There are a few allies, who appear occasionally to aid Hansen in his quest to discover what nightmare has taken place aboard the ship, but for the most part gamers are on their own and at the mercy of the bevy of deadly ship-bound predators.
Much of the action takes place in the bowells of the ship and as such players are forced to fight it out in narrow corridors, blood-soaked galleys or dark, dank cargo holds.
In the beginning, this is all well and good, but regardless of the fact that players can utilize a whole heap of lethal weaponry and slay their prey in many weird and wonderful ways, fumbling around in the dark and being attacked by zombies or pounced on by an "exomass" level after level does prove to be very repetitive.
Knights of Honor
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Platform: PC
Taiwan Release: Already available
There's certainly nothing new to the theme of Knights of Honor, after all we've seen medieval strategy games before in the form of Medieval Total War and Age of Kings, but what sets Knights apart from other Middle Age titles is its attention to detail.
It's got just about everything any good strategy game needs, and then some -- stunning graphics, addictiveness, an easy-to-manage interface and a fantastic look that allows players to become thoroughly absorbed as they battle it out to the be master of all Christendom.
Like all real-time strategy games, players first choose the time frame, locale and type of army. Cities need to be built, farms tended, religious structures built, taxes raised and, of course, lands need to be conquered.
On the surface, it might all sound the same as any other medieval strategy game, but players will discover after a very short time that the detail in Knights easily surpasses that of other games. The game's depth, complexity and the designer's eye for detail are outstanding.
Players aren't thrown in at the deep end and the game comes with a very detailed tutorial that includes in-depth instructions on the hows and whys of the game. The AI is one of the best yet and players who want to concentrate on building rather than bullying can allow the computer to control battles. Of course, it is fun to watch as one's archers fire salvo after salvo into the heart of the enemy formations, but it does get a bit tiresome after the third or forth battle.
Graphically the game is an absolute stunner. The mountains, countryside and deserts look almost good enough to reach out and touch, and the detail given to buildings and characters is second to none. The same can be said of the game's audio content, which features a smorgasbord of differing voices and an exceptionally clear and colorful medieval-music-themed soundtrack.
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