Games Reviews

Halo (最後一戰) International distributor: Microsoft Local distributor: Microsoft Taiwan Platform: Chinese for PC and XBOX already available

Since the release of Xbox, Halo is the first Microsoft game to have really made a splash, with the game selling over 3 million sets worldwide, and has now made its much anticipated transition to PC. Although it is a first-person shooter (FPS), Halo also incorporates adventure and fantasy, putting it into a new league.

The year is 2552. Planet Earth still exists, but overpopulation has forced many of her former residents to colonize other worlds. Faster-than-light travel is now a reality, and Earth's unified government, through the United Nations Space Command, has put its full weight behind the colonization effort. Inevitably, this leads to conflict with an alien force, which, interestingly enough, is an alliance of religious fanatics who declare humanity an affront to the gods. Pushed to the limit, the forces of the United Nations Space Command are reduced to a single ship carrying the last of mankind's elite military forces, called Spartan II's.

To do this on PC, the Xbox version of the game has been considerably augmented, offering enhanced graphics, online game options and additional maps and levels. As for the interface, keyboard and mouse control provides greater precision, and with compatibility with advanced hardware components, is able to achieve a definition of 1,600 by 1,200.

Lord of the Ring: Return of the King (魔戒三: 王者再臨) International distributor: Electronic Arts Local distributor: EA Taiwan Platforms: Chinese version for PC, English version for Xbox already available, English version for PS2 later this month

According to Chiang Ching-ming (蔣鏡明) of the Online Game biweekly, Halo breaks away from a simplistic Hollywood film stories which have served as the models for so many games and involves gamers in complex scenarios in which human character and the devices of a devious enemy must all be taken into account.

TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES (魔鬼終結者三) International distributor: Black Ops Entertainment Local distributor: Atari Taiwan Platform: English for PC, Xbox already available.

The major battles of the Second World War are viewed through the eyes of different combatants in Call of Duty, the new game developed by the team that brought out Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Fight through the chaos of Stalingrad or the Normandy landings, with a greater depth of realism than ever before.

These battles, and the others in Call of Duty have all featured in earlier FPS games, but effects are even better with the use of an enhanced Quake III game engine, creating an even higher level of playability. If you are stunned by shells, the view presented to you is blurred and chaotic, the kind of detail that gives the game great realism.

With a choice of campaigns fought by US, British and Russian troops, there are plenty of environments from rolling hills to bitter winter battles, defensive actions and paratroop assaults. The ultimate aim: to take Berlin.

The actions range from large engagements of armor to urban warfare at its most unpredictable. While Call of Duty might not be the biggest name in the game billboard, its design team has focused on historical accuracy and has given added excitement to small-scale engagements than was present in earlier games such as Medal of Honor. While there is much of the first-person shooter in this game, there is also a demand for teamwork with non-player characters, which greatly enriches the game.

The fate of Middle Earth is in your hands. In Lord of the Ring: Return of the King, JRR Tolkien's epic story draws to its conclusion, as the ring draws near to Mount Doom and the dark forces converge on the last bastions of humanity.

This is the second game by EA based on the classic fantasy novel. Compared to The Two Towers, there is plenty of innovation and technical improvements that make The Return of the King a must for ardent game players.

With the Fellowship split, the gamer can select to follow the path of Gandolf, the group of Aragon, of Legolas and Gimili, or of the two hobbits. These are very different adventures requiring different strategic and tactical thinking but does up the challenge.

There is plenty of variety in the weaponry, and plenty of tricks for maximizing damage on the enemy. There are also hidden levels to test even those who regard themselves as experts in action games.

Voices are those of the characters from the movie and the team play mode provides a greater sense of adventure. Then, of course, there is Howard Shores award-winning score, which adds to the dramatic impact of the game.

Not many games can boast that they had the Governor of California do the dubbing, but this is one thing that Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines has in its favor, even if the film itself will be a quickly forgotten appendage to the first two films in the series.

More than 20 scenes are taken from the movie which serves as a backdrop for T-1000 to save the world from the technologically superior T-X model, in its red latex bodysuit.

There are plenty of weapons available to the T-1000 and there is also the option of getting down and dirty in hand-to-hand combat.

Although there is plenty of combat, the game -- like the movie -- doesn't take itself too seriously, and players can make Arnold perform his body building poses to celebrate victory. He even becomes more muscular as his skills and physical abilities improve.

The Chinese version of this game has already been given a limited release at the recent Computer Show and garnered an enthusiastic response from gamers.