Haegemonia: Legions of Iron
International Distributor: Wanadoo
Local Distributor: Unalis Technology
Platform: English for PC
Release: Currently available
When Homeworld was first released in 1999 with its fully 3D visual and rich-audio effects, sci-fi fans were enthralled. Since Homeworld: Cataclysm, an expansion set, came onto the market two years ago, there has been a shortage of high-quality sci-fi games. Digital Reality, the designers of Imperium Galactica have now come out with Haegemonia, probably the most spectacular game released this year.
The game is set in 2104 and is an epic tale of conflict and alliance between four races. Plot elements include intergalactic colonization, the subsequent move for independence of the colonies, and conflict between planetary systems. During this course of events, aliens seek to infiltrate the solar system, and an ancient race long dormant suddenly reemerges.
"The player takes the role of one of the commanders, who not only leads troops, but also looks for ways of resolving the conflict," said Antonio Lu, senior editor of Gamebase Web site. "Everything from the sound effects, visuals and accompanying music have been designed to give the game an epic scale, with the player responsible for the destiny of his or her race."
The Walker Engine which powers the graphics took Digital Reality 18 months to develop, and is designed to fully exploit the capabilities of DirectX 8.1 for the representation of shadows and reflections. The battleships, created out of 100,000 flat surfaces, have an extraordinary realism from whichever angle they are looked at. And there are many beautifully rendered background effects of stars and galaxies, not to mention the discharge of laser guns and ion canons during the spectacular battle sequences.
Grandia II
International Distributor: eSoftnet, South Korea
Local Distributor: Unalis Technology
Platform: Chinese for PC
Taiwan Release: Currently available
Grandia II established its popularity on the TV-based Sega Dreamcast game platform and has long been seen as a rival to the Final Fantasy series (太空戰士). This year it has finally been adapted for the PC and PS2 platforms.
In Grandia II you take the role of Ryudo the bounty hunter, who travels the world with his team of specialists. It is similar to a role-playing game in that Ryudo meets up with over one thousand other characters during his adventures and must also make use of his team members' expertise, whether this be in magic or in combat skills, to achieve his aim.
"The difference with most role-playing games is that these targets will appear on the exploration map. The player has the option of bypassing them, or even launching a surprise attack against them," said John Chiang (
Gandia has adopted a partial real-time format in which combat is turn-based yet has time limits. While this allows space for players to consider overall strategy, they must also take into account the movement speeds of individual characters.
With the transfer from Dreamcast to PC, the designers have put great effort into enhancing the graphics quality, which is now rendered in 3D at a resolution of 800x600 pixels. Combat special effects take advantage of Japanese-style "full screen" presentation.
Unlike most role-playing games, the number of commands needed is limited, giving Gandia II a much lower entry barrier. The ability to use external consoles makes playing the game as simple as it was on the Dreamcast platform.
Command and Conquer: Generals
International Distributor: Westwood Studio and Electronic Arts
Local Distributor: EA Taiwan
Platform: Chinese and English for PC
Release: Currently available (English version); February 2003 (Chinese version)
The real-time strategy (RTS) Command & Conquer series, with the incorporation of combined 2D and 3D graphic effects, has released its latest edition -- Generals. The Cold War model has been let go, and now the adversaries are the US and China, with the added element of terrorist threat.
The date is 2020 and a terrorist organization call the Global Liberation Army is active in China. There struggle against the Chinese government leads to the use of biological weapons and ultimately an international conflagration. As the game is set in "the near future," the range of weapons available can be expanded by the player. In addition, current advanced weaponry is also available and players can make free with Daisy Cutter anti-personnel bombs, nuclear strikes and "Scud storms."
Generals is following the current trend in real-time strategy in providing "heroes" as the persona for the player. In this case there are nine characters that can be chosen, which with their own weapons and vehicle will decide which military unit the player is accompanied by. And, according to Jack Lin (
As it is regarded as the most highly anticipated game of the winter season, EA has rushed through the release of the English-language version of Generals this month. Unfortunately, although EA has already completed the localization process, the Chinese version will not be available until mid-February.
Combat Flight Simulator 3:
Battle for Europe and
RalliSport Challenge
Local Distributor: Microsoft Taiwan
Platforms: English for PC
Release: Currently available
For those unwilling to face the crowds and the congested highways of the Chinese New Year Holiday period, there is nothing better than sitting back with these two games from Microsoft, which give you the freedom to travel roads of unprecedented excitement. Battle for Europe is an expansion set of the already established Microsoft flight-simulator series, and despite a relatively high level of difficulty, it has been long awaited by fans.
RalliSport offers 29 different makes of race car which have been licensed to the game, and over 48 race tracks, ranging from off-road to short tracks. You can even race over glaciers, 007-style.
RalliSpor includes many famous vehicles, including the frightening 1980s B-class underground racer. It is also possible to limitlessly enhance vehicles such as the 850hp Tacoma pickup. With the extra money you might have coming in for the New Year, you could also have the opportunity of accessorizing both of these games with new hardware components from Microsoft. For even more enjoyment of Battle for Europe and RalliSport, why not pick up a wireless optical desktop (including a cordless keyboard and mouse), a SideWinder ForceFeedback steering wheel or Microsoft SideWinder ForceFeedback 2 joystick, to give you even more control?
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