Computer game reviews

China II: Everlasting Empire

By T-Time Technology

Scheduled release: End of August

In the lull after the release of major imported games such as Soldier of Fortune II, WC3, T-Time Technology (光譜資訊), along with other local game designers, have chosen to release games with a more regional slant. With China II: Everlasting Empire (中國貳: 永恆帝國), Sid Meier's now classic Civilization series has acquired a Taiwan version. As in Civilization you select to play a national leader such as Stalin, Genghis Khan or Elizabeth I, each representing a specific nation. The main difference in this regard is that while in Civilization the leader of China is Mao Zedong, in China II it is Sun Yat-sen.

If a player decides to play Taiwan -- an option that Civilization doesn't offer -- its rivals include Japan and Korea as well as the China across the Strait!

As with Civilization, China II is a turn-based strategy game, and the two are largely similar in terms of game play, with primary aims being to find fertile land in which to build a city and then develop the surrounding area building the foundations for population and military and scientific development.

"The main difference with Civilization is in the combat sequences," said Atwood Yen (嚴餘金) a member of the T-Time design team. "China II allows players to develop elite troops, and also to combine military units of the same type into larger and more powerful units. In addition, it is possible to create combined air, sea and land forces." During combat, play switches from the world map to a battlefield map, allowing the player to command individual units, with play moving forward turn by turn like chess.

Unknown: Journey of Reincarnation

By Electronic Art Taiwan

Scheduled release: September

Taiwan game designers rarely venture away from role-playing and arcade formats, which makes the arrival of Unknown: Journey of Reincarnation (輪迴), which combines the first-person shooter and Street Fighter-style games into an exciting Action & Adventure Game. "In designing this game, we wanted something that could provide the excitement of a first-person shooter, while displaying the complex movements of the fight and the special abilities of the combatants," said Jack Lin (林守杰), general manager of EA Taiwan (台灣藝電).

The game's developers, Info Bank Technology Corp (台灣寰訊科技公司), are already planning to release an English-language version, and also adapt the game to PS2 and XBox formats for international release. As it is, company president Yan Ju-shan (顏如山) is confident that the environment-mapping and light-mapping effects developed for the game are a match for any in US developed games.

"Because the characters develop, this game also has some of the qualities of a role-playing game," Lin said. Moreover, characters can choose from over 100 action moves to develop their own special combat techniques."

There are many ways that players can draw on the mysteries of Atlantis to increase their abilities, discovering ways to call on special weapons, or improve their own offensive or defensive capabilities. In large scale combat, players can draw on a wealth of special abilities simultaneously in order to defeat otherwise overwhelming odds.

Thunder Blade: The Maniac

Interwise Mulitmedia Corp

Scheduled release: September

Interwise, a long-term associate of US Interplay and the distributor of the Baldur's Gate series of games, has finally decided to use that game's powerful game engine to power a local release based on the popular Pili Puppet TV series.