Reader reviews, page 134

Trinity review

Infocom's text adventures were usually better at being funny than serious. For example, Zork I and II were better games than Zork III. But Trinity, based on your efforts to prevent the first atom bomb from exploding, works, and…

aschultz · June 12, 2009

Reader Apple II

Snake Byte review

Snake Byte was a simple, high-resolution graphical update to White Lightning, one of the first games made for the Apple, in BASIC and low resolution graphics. I knew it first as Hustler, from the TRS-80 at our school, and then after the…

aschultz · June 12, 2009

Reader Apple II

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy review

The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGG,) based loosely on the Douglas Adams book of the same name, was the best text adventure from Infocom and likely will continue to be the best for all time. The puzzles were funny and clever. So…

aschultz · June 12, 2009

Reader Xbox 360 Review of the Week HG exclusive

A Fading Melody review

From the nightmarish forest landscape and encroaching darkness, right down to the shrill beeps of the heart monitor that can be heard between levels, A Fading Melody is a triumph of intelligent, integrated design.

JANUS2 · June 12, 2009

Reader NES

Super Black Onyx review

Powerful, mysterious, doing-not-saying characters are a cliche in computer RPG's, but games like that are sadly rare. Super Black Onyx (SBO) is such a game. Released in Japan but using English characters, SBO relies largely on the graphic…

aschultz · June 12, 2009

Reader PC

Hoosier City - Assault of the Orcs review

Someone finally snapped and sent the Earth into nuclear apocalypse. Cities were blasted into oblivion, civilization collapsed, and humanity was all but wiped out. The few people yet clinging to life are gathered in three habitable domes…

sashanan · June 11, 2009

Reader PC

Quest for Glory II: Trial By Fire review

Quest for Glory II is the second in a series of graphical adventure games with an RPG twist. For the most part, it's an adventure in classic Sierra style - visit locations, collect items, solve puzzles - but an RPG element is added in…

sashanan · June 11, 2009

Reader PC

Quest for Glory I: So You Want To Be A Hero review

Originally known as Hero's Quest and later renamed to Quest for Glory, this game is the first in another Sierra ''Quest'' adventure series, with a significant twist: the Quest for Glory games combine RPG elements into the adventures. You…

sashanan · June 11, 2009

Reader Sega Master System

Sonic the Hedgehog Chaos review

Why another Sonic release on the antiquated Master System? The 16-bit Sonic series was selling the Mega Drive faster than you can say “Nintendon’t”, and the SMS barely tapped the dominating NES. However its strong user base in Europe and…

bigcj34 · June 8, 2009

Reader PlayStation 2

Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis review

The PlayStation 2 has been a very prolific platform for RPGs during its lifecycle, and even long after the PS3's release, a select few developers continue to service it. Gust is among them, choosing the PS2 for Mana Khemia (2007 in Japan…

sashanan · June 8, 2009

Reader Atari 2600

Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em review

You know, I was trying to come up with a good intro for this. Something interesting, like a little descriptive scene or narrative. The usual. But I can’t. Not for a game like this, anyway. One can only stare slack-jawed at that blank page…

disco · June 7, 2009

Reader PC HG exclusive

X-COM: Enforcer review

I’m in a habit of paying no attention to Steam’s frequent pop-up advertisements that bring to light the various discounts the service offers on games I generally don’t care about, but the announcement that all five titles in the renowned…

Suskie · June 5, 2009

Reader PC Review of the Week HG exclusive

Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat review

I really, really suck at Insurgency. But I have an excuse! My excuse is that I play a lot of Team Fortress 2. My regular server has me tallied at more than nine full days of play time (that’s over 200 hours), and when you’ve devoted that…

Suskie · June 5, 2009

Reader PlayStation

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 review

Tony Hawk’s is probably one of the most ubiquitous franchises of the last decade. It’s appeared on every format made since ollie-ing into the PlayStation park in 1999, and when each game is designed to be built better than the last…

bigcj34 · June 3, 2009

Reader PlayStation 2

Neo Contra review

After the dreadful Appaloosa game that had the word Contra slapped on it (C: The Contra Adventure), Shattered Soldier was a welcomed return to the series' roots. Bill Rizer reappeared as the main character, who was accompanied this time by…

dementedhut · June 1, 2009

Reader PlayStation 3

inFAMOUS review

It all started with a bang. Or rather, it ended with one. Half of Empire City, gone in a fiery apocalypse. Buildings, roads, people, everything. The bomb left almost nothing behind, not even the bodies of its victims. Just the sickening…

disco · May 31, 2009

Reader PC

Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards review

Leisure Suit Larry (LSL,) despite notoriety after its first release was less disgusting and offensive than its sequels, most of which overused weak riffs on material from the original game anyway. It's surely one of Sierra's very best…

aschultz · May 28, 2009

Reader Atari 2600

Laser Blast review

For years, I remembered Laser Blast (LB) as the game that I should've won, but I had to go to the bathroom. LB has an appealing, amusing concept. You are a UFO, elliptical and with windows spinning around the center. You must fire down at…

aschultz · May 28, 2009

Reader PlayStation 3

Resident Evil 5 review

Over the countless years I’ve been playing video games, I’ve anticipated the release of many titles. Most of them have been sequels—Shining Force II, Lunar: Eternal Blue, Bloodrayne 2. It’s a long list. But never, ever, have I anticipated…

True · May 28, 2009

Reader Wii HG exclusive

Major Minor's Majestic March review

Major Minor's Majestic March has an impressive pedigree. Its developer NanaOn-Sha, or more specifically musician Masaya Matsuura and artist Rodney Alan Greenblat, helped shape the rhythm game genre with iconic 90's releases PaRappa the…

woodhouse · May 25, 2009