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Winston Raj

Silent Storm

Publisher: Encore Software

Developer: Nival Interactive

Genre: Strategy

Release date:  January 20, 2004

Another second world war action flick? That was my first thought when I played the demo version  but I was  surprised with the depth and visual candy  offered.  This is not an action game but  a turn-based  game of small-squad tactics, with  realistic physics and walking tanks.  Its closest kin is probably the cult classic Jagged Alliance 2, in which  tactics are used to overcome  challenges, rather than working  your finger muscles into a cramp.   The game starts  in 1943 with  a mission to put together an  elite team of soldiers. Your task is to get top-secret documents from deep behind the enemy lines.  The graphics are gorgeous, with  'rag-doll physics' - an animation technology that shows  how a body might get blasted.  When characters are killed  each reacts differently, depending on how and where they are struck.   The game can be  played in any order and on three levels.     Do not expect well-scripted  storylines, and there is no   multi-player mode. Nevertheless, this open-ended strategy game allows  you to try any crazy tactics you can imagine.  They might just work.

One Must fall: Battlegrounds

Publisher: Diversions Entertainment

Developer: Diversions Entertainment

Genre: Action

Release date:  December 19, 2003

A good, blood-curdling, bone-cracking fighting extravaganza, this game fills a  gap that has haunted PC games for decades.  For ages, this category has been the bastion for console gamers. For PCs, the only successful Street Fighter-style port was the 1993 release of One Must Fall 2097.  Now, a decade later, Diversions  has finally released a follow-up with One Must Fall: Battlegrounds.  The newcomer sticks to  the fighting genre while featuring a vast, full 3D game for up to 16 players. It puts you in command of a pilot character who controls a giant fighting robot.  The game suggests robot fighting  will be more popular than soccer  or rugby in the future,  so you will have no shortage of opponents.  The plot is almost non-existent, but then One Must Fall: Battlegrounds was never made for excellent storylines. Rather it was built for fighting and it does that very well.  It gives you eight robots to choose from, each with its own set of strikes and  attacks.   You can strike your opponents in various ways, then use the evade button to  dodge incoming attacks.

War and Warriors:  Joan of Arc

Publisher: Enlight Software

Developer: Enlight Software

Genre: Action

Release date:  February 7, 2004

Before you dismiss this game as a tardy historical remake, several key elements set it apart from others.   First, Trevor Chan, the developer, is  adept at making games that are sleeper hits. Take  his Seven Kingdoms, which many still play today, and  Capitalism, which got great reviews.   War and Warriors: Joan of Arc represents his  first entry into the action genre. While it does contain vague strategy elements, the game has an arcade look and feel, and its hack-and-slash game play mirrors the Dynasty Warriors action games for  PlayStation 2.  In the game, you play  Joan of Arc and  other  military commanders of the era, and  spend most of your time   running around looking for mobs of English soldiers to slay - isn't that fun?  The game takes place over eight huge missions - the latter averaging between three and five hours apiece.   Don't expect any eye candy in terms of graphics.  But when it comes to rendering huge melee fights with more than 100  warriors, the game holds its ground well.

There

Publisher: There

Developer: There

Genre: Role-playing

Release date:  October 27, 2003

Have you ever wanted a full makeover and to hang out with your friends in a dreamy setting? In There, you can - at least virtually. This  is a 3D virtual-world game featuring four exotic environments to explore, a system for user-created content and an economy that lets players buy There bucks with real currency.  It is basically a 3D chatroom: your onscreen characters talk via speech balloons as you type.  They blink, breathe and nod when you type yes.  Start throwing in actions  such as winking, yawning, gasping, even burping - and  you've got  a conversation that looks like a cartoon but  feels uncannily real. There is like a  date with plenty of activities to keep you amused,  such as dune-buggy racing and jet packing.   If you ever wanted a cheap date with your online love, this is it.  Everything from the cute Toy Story-style graphics to the stylish clothing stores where characters can dress up in the latest fashions  (courtesy of Levi's and Nike) is designed to give you something to talk about. Best of all, it works - perfectly.



Game on