Romance of the Three Kingdoms IX (三國誌九)
Sin Sangokumusou 3
(真三國無雙三)
Developer: Koei (Japan)
Domestic distributor: Taiwan Koei Entertainment Software
Language: Chinese
Release Date: PC (late March), PS2 (currently available)
The chaotic Three Kingdoms period, which followed the Later Han dynasty and lasted until the fourth century, is the setting for several games, among which are Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Sin Sangokumusou, both developed by Koei.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series the player needs to organize infrastructure, manage resources, develop the army, and finally unite China by conquering his or her enemies.
The Sin Sangokumusou series uses an action game format and was developed for Play Station 2 (PS2). The player picks a heroic figure from the historical epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms, who then leads the army to fight the enemy, conquer territories and unify China.
The biggest change in the ninth edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is that the player plays a feudal baron, instead of a military officer, whose abilities he needs to develop. This is strategic rather than tactical, and the mode has shifted from turn-based play to real-time strategy (RTS).
"This is in line with gaming trends. The old turn-based system was good for single players playing against a computer. Now, games are harnessing the power of the Internet, and things happen much more quickly," said Sammy Liu (
The third edition of the Sin Sangokumusou series was released at the end of February. What makes this game different is that players can switch characters during the course of the game.
"The best part of the game is that it offers the player a chance for wild killing, so as to release the accumulated pressure from a long day's work," said Liu.
Splinter Cell: Stealth Action Redefined
Publisher: Ubi Soft Entertainment (USA)
Domestic distributor: Unalis Corporation
Language: English
Platform: PC, XBOX
Release Date: currently available
Splinter Cell is the latest game from the series based on the work of best-selling author Tom Clancy by Ubi Soft Entertainment. In a game world that seems almost real, the player assumes the role of Sam Fisher, an outstanding intelligence agent of a secret national security organization. He or she will then be sent to out on a series of dangerous missions.
The story starts in 2003 when the American National Security Agency establishes a secret squad, code-named Third Echelon, which handles the most advanced technologies but whose existence is denied by the US government.
On March 10, 2004, two CIA special agents go missing while on a secret mission in Georgia. Fisher is summoned to find them.
The player is set to go through 24 levels in four countries -- Myanmar, the US, Georgia and Russia -- undertaking 11 missions, which include sneaking into a military's headquarters to steal information, destroy papers and eliminate the enemy.
"Since it is named `stealth action,' the player certainly needs to operate in secret and killing is not the only choice when encountering an enemy," said Chuang Cheng-han (
Impossible Creatures
Publisher: Microsoft (USA)
Domestic Distributor: Microsoft Taiwan
Language: English
Platform: PC
Release Date: currently available
Every year hundreds of RTS games come onto the market, but only a few are able to attract a sizeable audience. In one of the more innovative of these, Microsoft's Impossible Creatures, the main character is a geneticist who reassembles the bodies of real creatures and breeds new kinds of animals. The animal Frankensteins created by the scientist are then sent to do battle with evil monsters.
"The concept of the game may have come from Pikachu," said Vincent Huang (
Impossible Creatures has a 3D graphic interface and offers 50 species for the player to reassemble.
"There is no standard for the player to follow, so their is plenty of room for creativity, but at the same time, players must test the effectiveness of different designs for themselves," Huang said. "We want to see how game players in Taiwan respond to this high level of creative freedom in online games."
Rise of Nations
Publisher: Microsoft (USA)
Domestic Distributor: Microsoft Taiwan
Language: English, Chinese
Platform: PC
Release Date: May
To cater to the increasingly jaded appetites of PC gamers, RTS games are adding more and more features drawn from other game formats. Rise of Nations is a combination of Microsoft's Age of Mythology and the Civilization series which offers the player the satisfaction of conquest and construction.
The designer of the game, Brian Reynolds, was one of 25 "Game Gods," selected by PC Gamer magazine. He was the main developer of several turn-based strategy games, such as Civilization II, Colonization and Alpha Centauri. Reynolds established Big Huge Games with three other game developers and started work with Microsoft in February 2000.
Reynolds said he wanted to combine RTS with turn-based strategy games to create a new kind of RTS, but emphasized that he was not trying to create a new kind of game, but simply wanted to underline the importance of constructive behavior in the game, not just killing and conquest.
"I hope that everyone can learn about `construction' and `growth,' look at the big picture, such as the development of social system and culture, to extend his or her power within the game," said Reynolds.
Role playing is one of the game's cross-over features, with heroes from a total of 18 civilizations who give the player an added dimension of fun when planning military strategies or constructing a city. Another feature that injects a does of realism is the use of a real-world map, which means that the player has to plan wisely in order to avoid fighting on too many fronts.
"In general, the old RTS games, such as Age of Mythology, are very cool, but our new games are more profound and strategic," Reynolds added.
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Taiwan under brutal martial law. “There were a lot of buses, and there was a long queue,” Hsieh recalled. “It was a school rule. We had to bow, and then we went home.” Chiang’s body is still there, under guard in a mausoleum at the end of a path
Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50