World of Warcraft
Publisher: Blizzard
Platform: PC only
Taiwan release: Already available
Released late last year, the latest addition to Blizzard's award-winning Warcraft series is an online RPG game that anyone with a love for fantasy games will find a truly engrossing experience. Like countless other games in the multi-player online RPG mode, World of Warcraft allows gamers to create a unique online alter ego. Players first get to decide on the race, the class and the appearance of their character and then get to choose what side they wish to be on in the mythical online challenge -- the Horde or the Alliance.
This done, players enter the gaming zone and are tasked with completing a series of quests. Along the way gamers get to fight a wide array of imaginary monsters, explore dark and dank underworlds, manufacture items such as swords, join guilds, raid and level enemy townships and, of course, go head-to-head with other online gamers from around the world.
While the crux of each quest revolves around simply killing a certain number of monsters or enemy combatants and then returning to the safety of the castle with an object of value, the game's enthralling storyline and brilliant graphic and sound hubs ensure that boredom is never an option. Unlike some recent RPG games, in which getting lost is all to easy due to lame maps, gamers will find it almost, if not totally impossible, to lose their way in World of Warcraft, thanks to Blizzard's inclusion of colorful landmarks and easy to understand directions.
Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers
Publisher: SouthPeak
Platform: PC, X-Box and PS2
Taiwan release: Mid-February
Did you ever wonder what it would be like if a World War II-based game was given third person overhead projection and a RPG look? The answer is simple -- as anyone who has bothered to play SouthPeak's Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers will tell you -- absolutely rubbish!
Set in a European theater of war, gamers get to control either an American paratrooper from the 101st or 82nd Airborne, or British paratroopers from the 1st Airborne. Each character has his own skills and as the game progresses gamers can earn merit points and skill levels increase depending on the number of Germans killed or missions accomplished.
Missions are short and to the point. There's no aimless running around trying to find the enemy and nor are there any quiet moments when its best to avoid the enemy. It will find you and once that's happened there's no time to pop off to make a nice cup of tea. The point of the game is simple -- find people and kill them; find a tank and blow it up; find an artillery piece and destroy it.
The amount of accompanying text and background information relative to each mission is so small and useless that it might as well not be there. While the aforementioned flaws don't apply to this game, the camera angles and inane manner in which gamers are supposed to find the Germans is even worse. Visibility is limited because of the way in which the camera view stays firmly affixed above the player's head. As such enemy troops have the upper hand from the start.
America's Army: Rise of a Soldier
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: PS2 and X-Box
Taiwan release: Mid-February
Since its release almost three years ago as a downloadable online shooter, America's Army has become one of the most widely played first person military games of all time. It could be played by both Apple and Microsoft users, it was visually stunning, regardless of one's operating system and, more importantly, it gave gamers a dose of realism that was lacking from many military-based shooters.
The game has seen numerous updates over the years, but Rise of a Soldier is the first time the game has been made available for console play. The PC version's Special Forces updates will no doubt be arriving on console format in the very near future, but for now, X-Box and PS2 owners will have to make do with the basic package, which allows gamers to take on the role of a raw recruit and gradually turn their character into a battle hardened veteran.
Like its online kin the game begins with basic training. Here gamers get to learn all about the US military's arsenal of small arms and how to use them. Before gamers get to pick up a weapon, however, they are shouted at by officious NCOs as they make their way around the obstacle course in what is one of the best and most in-depth tutorials to accompany any game, regardless of genre.
Depending on how well gamers fared on the obstacle course and how good their marksmanship was they earn certifications, which translate into skill points that can be used to upgrade the characters in several different areas. From here players ship out and the real game begins. Players are tasked with everything from escort convoys to oil field patrol duty to going up against a ruthless enemy. Gamers aren't able to simply run around and deal with the bad guys solo, as America's Army is a rigged squad-based game and teamwork is an important factor. Gamers who attempt to do anything on their own won't last long.
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows
Publisher: Midway
Platform: PS2 and X-Box
Taiwan release: Already available
If it's mythical hack and slash you crave then Midway's Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows is for you. Packed with enchanted lands, immortal heroes, wily warrior clans and, of course, magical and often malicious wizards, the game offers players the chance to roam through myriad lands, where they'll encounter a host of lovable and loathsome characters.
The story follows the Emperor Ghost of the once all-powerful Uricointi Empire, who is cursed by an evil wizard and must both regain his once mighty empire and deal with the evil ones who never wish to see the Uricointi Empire rise from the ashes. The game's plot is laid out by the Emperor, who narrates the game with theatrical flare. The crux of the game revolves around four characters, each of whom has a different fighting style.
Gameplay is easy and there's no need to master any difficult control variations. Combat is simply a case of pressing a single button with which players can throw projectiles or whack evildoers on the head with deadly weapons from their arsenal. Each level features both combat and puzzle solving, but for the most part the puzzles are easy and it's a lot more fun to concentrate on killing everything on the screen rather than running around looking for a secret passageway.
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