The gift-giving season
is here, and it is likely many of your dear ones have access to a computer.
Some may even fall under the category of the digitally addicted — to
action-packed games, that is. We’re not talking about Solitaire here. If you
are shopping for someone who chooses to forego sleep in order to kill the last
beastie or is up ’til dawn solving just one more irritatingly impossible
puzzle, then you might want to stuff their stockings with the suggestions
below.
First, some adventure titles that don’t require the reflexes of your preteen
son: LucasArts is rightfully proud of its recent Full Throttle (see
“Scanlines”), a game in which you play the role of a tough but gold-hearted
motorcycle rider out to make the Earth of the not-so-distant future a better
place to hang out. Local multimedia developer Human Code has been getting its
Austin-grown software published by the Discovery Channel lately, and their two
most recent titles are intended to both educate and entertain. The Nile:
Passage to Egypt is a beautifully presented tour of the spectacular African
river, while Operation Weather Disaster is a humorous adventure which tricks
kids into learning all about our planet’s weather and the study of it. However,
If you’ve given up trying to expand their intellect you might try 7th Level’s
Monty Python’s A Complete Waste of Time, a very silly bundle of Pythonesque
games and diversions. Another fine adventure game from Sierra Online is
Phantasmagoria, but beware — it is an interactive horror game filled with
violence and gore. All of these titles have been developed for both the PC and
the Mac.
The following games are more action filled, and could be a little intimidating
for novice gamers. They are all designed for PCs only.
Origin just finished the fast and violent Crusader, set in a grim future run
by an oppressive corporate state. In Raven Software’s Hexen: Beyond Heretic
(reviewed in “Scanlines” 11/24) you take on the role of a mighty adventurer in
a medieval fantasy world. Another great action game is Bullfrog’s Magic Carpet
Two (see “Scanlines”). Earlier this fall Activision’s Mechwarrior 2 hit the
stands, a very compelling simulation of what fighting in 100-ton robots 1,000
years in the future might be like. Unfortunately, Origin’s next installment in
the Wing Commander series, Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom, won’t be
ready until January, so you’ll have to get a raincheck for this one. I got to
play the beta version for a few hours at the end of November; it looks terrific
and I can’t wait for it to come out. Another Austin-based company, the Logic
Factory, just finished Ascendancy. It’s a wonderfully elaborate strategy game
where your civilization — chose from among 21 unique alien races — competes
against computer-based opponents to establish galactic dominance in the distant
future. Westwood Studios’ Command and Conquer is another fantastic strategy
game that moves quickly and deeply into its battles (reviewed in “Scanlines”
11/10). Additionally, Microprose has finally finished its multiplayer version
of Sid Meier’s Civilization, called CivNet. Each player chooses a
civilization to lead from its infancy thousands of years ago into a struggle
for world leadership, and finally, interplanetary exploration far in the
future.
Iomega’s Zipdrive is one of the most useful investments I’ve ever made in
computer hardware. Its floppy disk-sized cartridges hold 100 Megs of data for
about $20 apiece, and you can take the SCSI version with you wherever you go to
use on either PCs or Macs. If you’re in a particularly generous gift-giving
mood this season, you might buy them a Sony Playstation (“Scanlines” 9/29), the
best of the game machines available right now. If they’re lucky enough to have
a Playstation already, Battle Arena Toshinden is the best game I’ve played on
that machine, in fact, it’s the best fighting game that I’ve ever played on any
machine!
Before you buy, be certain to find out what kind of computer (PC, Mac, etc.)
and processor (Pentium, 486, 68040, etc.) the lucky recipient of your gift
owns; the speed of the processor (anywhere from 33 to 150 MHz); the speed of
their CD ROM drive (double, quad, or 6X); and the amount of RAM installed. This
will ensure that the game you purchase will run successfully. All these items
can be found at a variety of stores: CompUSA, Computer City, Egghead Software,
Best Buy, and Super Software offer a broad selection and competitive prices.
So if you’re filling the wish list of someone who will be staring into the dim
light of the computer screen when Santa’s trying to sneak the gifts into their
living room, you’ve got some great things to choose from. These games are so
captivating, the arrival of the new year could come and go without the
slightest notice. n
This article appears in December 15 • 1995 and December 15 • 1995 (Cover).