System Rqs : Processor= 1.4GHz RAM= 256MB Graphics= 32MB
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry, Ron, and Hermione are back in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a game based on J.K. Rowling's fourth book. As Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger enter their fourth year at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, new challenges await them, both "professional" and personal. The Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire video game sticks strictly to the adventure aspects of the story, never touching upon the sticky relationship drama that makes up key subplots in the novel and the film. You'll still have plenty to do in the game, though: Guide the trio of young wizards through various locales, fight magical creatures, solve puzzles, and usher Harry through the Triwizard Tournament challenges just before a climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort himself. Though the collection aspects of the game are a drag at times, The Goblet of Fire still does enough to keep Potter fans engaged throughout. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are back in the newest Harry Potter video game. The Goblet of Fire makes a few departures from the last game in the series, The Prisoner of Azkaban. You still play as Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but the three don't have unique abilities anymore. You also can't switch between them during a mission in The Goblet of Fire. But you'll still solve plenty of environmental puzzles using each character's standard, context-sensitive charm spells. Cast a charm in the direction of a boulder and you'll lift it with a wingardium leviosa spell. Cast it in the direction of a fire, and your character will automatically do an aqua eructo charm to conjure a stream of water for dousing the flame. Carpe retractum (for opening gates) and herbivicus (for causing plants to bloom) are other context-sensitive charms used in the game. The puzzles you need to solve are usually fairly obvious. For example, while exploring the greenhouses of Hogwarts, you may need to use carpe retractum to pull down bridges, and herbivicus to open up lily pads that let you cross small bodies of water. Some obstacles, like extra-large boulders or flames, require two or more of the characters to simultaneously cast their charms to overcome them. The artificial intelligence controlling the other characters is smart enough to help you out when it needs to, but if you're playing three-player cooperative mode, you'll need to work with your friends to do the same task. It's also worth noting that players can jump out of cooperative mode at any time, switching control over to the computer if one player needs to leave. Jinx spells are another primary spell type. Jinxes are basically just an attack you use to attack monsters in the game, which include fire salamanders, dugbogs, and erklings. The menagerie isn't very extensive, but each of the monsters has a different fighting style and offers a different challenge. You can combine charms and jinxes to do combined attacks on creatures, as well. For example, if one character lifts a creature up in the air with a wingardium leviosa charm, the others can jinx it while it's being held for a combined attack, which is more powerful and effective than just spamming the jinx button. As you make your way through the game's levels, solving puzzles and fighting creatures, you'll collect Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans, which you can get when dropped by defeated creatures, or by jinxing random parts of the environments. The beans serve as currency, which you can use to buy cards to power up each character. The character card system adds depth to the game, letting you customize each of the three characters depending on the situation and play style. Some cards increase the power of your jinxes; others add stamina or duration to your magicus extremus meter, which when filled, gives you a limited amount of increased firepower for your spells. The more expensive and interesting cards let you fire double or triple jinxes with each cast, or give you an advantage against certain creatures. Each character can only use three cards in a mission, so you'll need to choose carefully before starting. Each character also maintains his or her own bean count and deck of cards, so that encourages you to switch between characters as you go through the campaign and make sure all of them have around equal power. The primary gameplay in The Goblet of Fire involves collecting Triwizard shields that are scattered about the various levels. Some are hidden away for you to pick up, while others are earned by defeating boss creatures. Most of them require you to use your spells to solve environmental puzzles and reach them in out-of-the-way places. As you collect Triwizard shields, later levels are unlocked for play, letting you explore areas such as the Forbidden Forest and the roofs and greenhouses of Hogwarts. There are other items scattered about the levels, such as minishields, statuettes, and mushrooms, that you're asked to collect. Some of these also yield Triwizard shields, while others unlock cards. The problem is that after you've collected all of a certain item, it's never made clear what you've won. Sometimes a Triwizard shield popped up elsewhere in the level. Other times, we never quite figured out what we won by finding all the statuettes or magic mushrooms in a given map. Because the game relies a lot on having you replay certain levels to find all the collectibles, it's somewhat frustrating to not receive immediate feedback on what you've gotten out of searching every nook and cranny. Despite that flaw, it's still pretty fun to explore each of the game's levels the first time, fighting the monsters and finding the Triwizard shields. The Triwizard challenges you unlock also help mix up the gameplay, as they're different in nature from the standard levels. The Triwizard challenges follow the template used in the book and the film; one challenge has Harry fly off on his broom with a dragon in pursuit, while another has Harry explore the depths of the Black Lake. These levels don't involve any exploration or collection--they're pretty much linear races, with some light combat involved. You'll explore various levels looking for Triwizard shields. Graphically, The Goblet of Fire is competent, excelling the most in its environment. For example, as you scale the towers and roofs of Hogwarts, you can see the surrounding buildings of the school grounds in the distance. The dragon that chases you through your first play of the Forbidden Forest is also quite imposing and impressive visually. Spell effects also look impressive, making use of particles and other lighting effects. However, the character models look pretty small on screen and don't animate particularly well. What's most disappointing is that the game never leverages any media from the film, aside from still shots used to decorate the cards. The cutscenes in the game are comic-like in their style, not unlike the cover art of the books. Though they still offer an air of authenticity, the frugal nature of the cutscenes seems oddly deflating given the visual splendor Potter fans have come to expect from the films. The four platforms look quite similar in general, with the Xbox and PC versions offering the sharpest graphics, and the PS2 and GameCube versions looking somewhat muddier in comparison. As far as sound goes, the spells and creature effects seem pretty good, as does the music used in the menus and during cutscenes. The voice acting used in the game can get somewhat repetitive over time. As a platformer aimed at the younger crowd of Potter fans, The Goblet of Fire does a good job at delivering an experience that is in line with the plot of the books. Even if you're an older fan of the Harry Potter books, the game is still worth checking out, especially if you've got two other friends to play the game in three-player cooperative mode. It's definitely not quite as awe-inspiring an experience as seeing the films, but if you want a more interactive take on what it might be like to be in the world of magic, The Goblet of Fire video game will suit you just fine.
System Rqs : Processor= 933MHz RAM= 128MB Graphics= 32MB
Knight Rider 2 Davilex Games today announced that Knight Rider 2: The Game will be released on PlayStation2 (£19.99) and PC."Turbo boosted with more special effects, dialogue, in-game animations and chest hunkin' action, players must use all the thrilling features associated with the original K.I.T.T. to successfully complete missions. Drive in ski-mode down narrow alleys, utilize night vision to see where others can't, scan buildings to assess situations and chase the bad guys with incredible speed. Equipped with a range of car-based weapons, use K.I.T.T. and all his skills to fight off robots, armoured vehicles and of course Garth, Michael's evil twin-brother and arch enemy". As in the first Knight Rider, the player will play K.I.T.T. and must use all the unique features that this famous car was capable of in order to successfully complete missions. Whether its driving in ski-mode in narrow alleys, utilizing night vision to see where others can not, chasing the bad guys with incredible speed by activating the Turbo Boost or scanning buildings to analyse a situation, Knight Rider 2 will still offer all the thrilling features associated with the original K.I.T.T. car of the TV series. KNIGHT RIDER 2: THE GAME - WHY CAN'T MY METRO DO THAT? Veenendaal, The Netherlands (July 30th 2004) - Dutch publisher, Davilex Games today unveils news of the return of the world famous black Pontiac Trans-Am in Knight Rider 2: The Game. Developed under the official Universal Studios licence, Knight Rider 2 is due for release on PlayStation2. Turbo boosted with more special effects, dialogue, in-game animations and chest hunkin' action, players must use all the thrilling features associated with the original K.I.T.T. to successfully complete missions. Drive in ski-mode down narrow alleys, utilize night vision to see where others can't, scan buildings to assess situations and chase the bad guys with incredible speed. Equipped with a range of car-based weapons, use K.I.T.T. and all his skills to fight off robots, armoured vehicles and of course Garth, Michael's evil twin-brother and arch enemy. Featuring all the 80's classics including Devon, K.A.R.R., GOLIATH and the lovely Bonnie, squeeze into your tightest jeans, unbutton your shirt and get ready for a 300mph lorry leaping adventure. Keeping true to the original series, Knight Rider 2 just wouldn't be the same without the chance of entering one of Michael's infamous dirt track racing competitions. Together with other mini games such as the shooting gallery, extra features can be unlocked by successfully completing missions. Meaning the only thing missing is befriending a drunken tramp who doesn't realize he's talking to a car. New tracks, environments and a breathtaking multiplayer mode also add to this high speed chase, race, explore and puzzle gaming experience. So become the lone crusader in a dangerous world. The world of the Knight Rider. -ENDS- About DAVILEX GAMES: Davilex Games is a dynamic company where professional dedication and a high degree of motivation are combined with commercial and creative expertise. The company has undergone rapid development since its establishment in 1986 and has expanded into an international publisher, without limitations in platform, medium, topographic markets or sales channels. Davilex Games designs, markets, sells and supports its products in house. Fun, Ease, Affordability & Recognition are the basic ingredients of the mission statement. Davilex Games is known throughout Europe where it holds a strong position in the racing genre, having released such chart hits as London Racer (UK), A2 Racer (Benelux), Autobahn Raser (German territories), Paris-Marseille Racing (France), Europe Racer & US Racer (both Pan-European). Davilex is also known for its licensed property titles such as Knight Rider - The Game. Davilex Games works with strong & longstanding local distribution partners in each territory. Davilex Games is based in Veenendaal, The Netherlands. About KOCH MEDIA UK: Founded in 1994, KOCH MEDIA UK develops, publishes and distributes a diverse mix of titles for home console gaming systems, personal computers and the Internet. Based in Basingstoke, the company has distribution contracts with a number of software publishers, including NINTENDO.
Delta Force 3 - Land Warrior: If you want to mow down terrorists using the latest firearms in a variety of colorful settings, then this is your game. When most other shooters had you locked indoors, hunting for power-ups as you fought fantasy creatures, Delta Force helped usher in the hard-core tactical shooter. Delta Force and its sequel focused on relatively realistic Special Forces actions. Single shots could kill, stealth mattered, and you could engage targets outdoors from extreme distances. While marred by weak enemy artificial intelligence, the new third installment, Delta Force: Land Warrior, builds on this formula. It introduces a new graphics engine, some of the latest military firearms, and 30 colorful single-player missions. In real life, Delta Force is the US Special Forces unit that carries out the most difficult and sensitive counterterrorist and commando operations. In Delta Force: Land Warrior, you can play as five different Delta Force operatives, each with his or her own specialties. Characters have detailed backgrounds, and they're pretty interesting; for instance, heavy gunner Pitbull was a heavyweight fighter from the Bronx, while Gas Can, the resident demolitions expert, is a good ol' boy from Texas. These characterizations have little bearing on gameplay, but each character's special abilities do: One is a swift swimmer, another can hold heavy weapons steadier, another is a superb knife fighter, and so on. You'll want to pick a character for each mission who has abilities suited to the task at hand and who can most effectively use your favorite game weapons. One of the biggest strengths of Land Warrior is the inclusion of more than 20 different firearms. You get to lug quite an arsenal around, including a sidearm, primary and secondary weapons, explosives, and grenades. For pistols, you can choose 9mm and .45 caliber models from Glock and Heckler & Koch, as well as a dart pistol for underwater combat. There are submachine guns with different effective ranges, magazine capacities, and options like silencers. You can snipe with the Barrett .50 caliber rifle or a silenced PSG-1, among others. When you need to break out the big guns, you can use the M249 SAW (squad automatic weapon), the Jackhammer automatic shotgun, the MM-1 automatic grenade launcher, and even the AT-4 anti-armor rocket launcher. You can rig explosives, set booby traps, throw grenades, and paint targets for artillery strikes. You can wield famous assault rifles like the AK-47, the Steyr AUG, the Heckler & Koch G11, and the futuristic OICW of the US Army's Land Warrior program. The real-life version of Land Warrior is the US military's attempt to create high-tech soldiers who will use an integrated electronics system to increase their combat effectiveness. Currently under development, the system will likely include advanced radio equipment, night vision, a global positioning satellite unit, a laser range finder, and a portable computer that jacks into the soldier's helmet. The system also includes advanced "interceptor" body armor to protect against high-caliber rifle rounds. Much of this is modeled (if loosely) in the game in the form of heads-up displays with dynamic map readouts, friend-or-foe indicators, a night vision view, and so forth. In game terms, one of the most interesting features of the Land Warrior system is the OICW, or objective individual combat weapon. It fires both 5.56mm rounds and 20mm air-bursting high-explosive grenades. The air bursts allow shrapnel to hit targets hidden behind cover, and the OICW has a farther effective range than most current assault rifles, which increases your chance of engaging the enemy before coming under fire. The Delta Force series is known for providing huge outdoor combat environments in which to use such long-range weapons, but in the previous two games, NovaLogic's voxel terrain technology had drawbacks, like sluggish frame rates, pixelated graphics, and compatibility issues with certain video cards. Land Warrior's new 3D-accelerated graphics engine now renders both expansive outdoor areas and tight building interiors quite effectively. Areas vary widely from high, snowy hills, to deserts spotted with huge cacti, to tropical lakeshores. So you may need to snipe at a guard hundreds of meters away from a stand of pine trees on a mountainside, or you may need to swim below a lake's surface, knife in hand, to silently infiltrate a base on the far shore. While the graphics - particularly the skies - are good, don't expect the same quality from Land Warrior as from games based on the Quake III Arena, Unreal Tournament, or even LithTech engines. Grass textures in Land Warrior look muted and monotonous, trees are sparse, and textures on hills shimmer as you run. Indoor areas tend to lack textural and architectural imagination, though there are some notable exceptions such as the pyramids and Sphinx of Egypt - yes, you get to fight in them! Also, the character models in Land Warrior are a bit blocky, and the animations look stilted, while the weapon graphics tend to look slightly blurred in first-person view. Still, there are many nice visual effects in the game, such as birds soaring overhead, little plumes when bullets strike water, and flashes from ricocheting rounds. The graphics may not be gorgeous, but they involve you in the gameplay, which is ultimately more important. Like the graphics, the sound effects in Land Warrior are good but not great. Weapons effects are vivid, and the heavier guns sound weighty and powerful. The sounds of footsteps, while too quiet overall, vary from softly padding across grass to crunching through snow. Unfortunately, environmental sounds are very limited in Land Warrior, which makes most areas seem lifeless - yet you'll hear enemies shout or cry out in pain from extreme distances. The menu music is nondescript and doesn't add much to the game. Delta Force: Land Warrior offers 30 missions, including a training course to familiarize you with game conventions, ten quick missions, and 19 linked campaign missions. There's also a mission editor. Missions take place in exotic locales across the world, including Africa, Indonesia, and South America. You'll have to destroy the power plant of a mercenary group, eliminate an assassin about to join forces with a major drug cartel, and rescue VIPs from a fortified compound. Night missions create lots of tension: Shots ring out, but you can't place the shooter, and enemies can appear right next to you before you can react. Before missions begin, you get a briefing and a chance to select appropriate gear. However, you don't create any detailed plans like in the Rainbow Six games. Missions often open with you being inserted by helicopter or even parachute, which really immerses you in the scene. You'll then use your HUD to navigate to preset waypoints that you can edit while in the mission. For practical purposes, most missions are solo adventures, though you may have a computer-controlled teammate or two accompany you. The interface makes issuing orders to them awkward, however. Delta Force: Land Warrior is a compromise between the complexities of tactical shooters like Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear and the more basic designs of traditional shooters. Land Warrior is easy to learn, but there's enough subtlety and diversity to the weapons to maintain your interest. In fact, the huge arsenal is half the fun, the other half being long-distance engagements and sniping. The vivid settings of the single-player missions are immersive, though the missions generally aren't challenging enough. Multiplayer is frantic and fun, though not as sophisticated as it could be. If you want subtlety and complexity, Delta Force probably isn't for you, but if you want to mow down terrorists using the latest firearms in a variety of colorful settings, then this is your game.
System Rqs ; Processor= 733MHz RAM= 128MB Graphics= 32MB
FIFA 2003 Soccer: It isn't quite perfect, but the latest FIFA game is a refreshing and compelling step ahead in a series that's known for its quality. As we've seen both in 1998 and this year, EA Sports generally tries to take full advantage of the World Cup, and how much interest it generates in the sport of soccer, by releasing not one, but two soccer games in a year. And now, just five months after 2002 FIFA World Cup comes FIFA Soccer 2003. The latest edition of this decade-old franchise is perhaps the most intriguing in some time, highlighting the tactical battles of the real-life sport and at least partially abstaining from the slam-bang superhuman action of past versions. Make no mistake, the pace can still be inordinately fast unless you choose to slow it down, but this may well be the FIFA that hard-core fans have been waiting for. After each goal, FIFA 2003 superimposes the team logos and current score onto the pitch. Presumably since EA Sports has already covered international competition in its earlier game, 2002 FIFA World Cup, FIFA Soccer 2003 focuses on club competition. However, its scope is absolutely huge, encompassing 450 teams from around the world and more than 10,000 individual players, each modeled after real-life counterpart. You can choose from globally renowned powerhouses such as Real Madrid, North American Major League Soccer teams such as the San Jose Earthquakes, or somewhat less-renowned franchises like Korea's Pusan Icons. The game also features the complete 40-squad international roster from this year's World Cup competition, more than two-dozen gorgeous and purportedly accurate stadiums, and a full allotment of home and away uniforms (and additional "alternate" kits where applicable) for each and every team. Play modes include one-off skirmishes, league seasons, and authentic and custom cup competitions and tournaments. Skilled players have an opportunity to unlock even more tourneys and stadiums by proving themselves worthy on the pitch. This time around, EA Sports has opted for a deceptively minimalist user interface that makes it easy for rookies to jump right in without being assaulted by a barrage of information screens and choices, but the interface seems poorly designed for veterans who feel the need to tweak and customize. Furthermore, most menus tend to look comparatively rough, with little of the flash and high-end options you might expect from an EA Sports game. Particularly frustrating are the small arrow-shaped icons used to advance forward and move back; they're difficult to locate and hard to activate once you do see them. It's not a completely minor issue either, because these annoying little arrows are used throughout all of FIFA 2003, even for the in-game menu system. One interesting amenity that you won't even find in the game but can download free of charge is the official "FIFA creation center," a nifty utility that lets you create new players, customize their physical attributes and soccer skills, concoct new kits with predesigned or personalized artwork, modify competitions, and even construct your own logos and banners. It's certainly great, but it should have been included in the game right out of the box. But FIFA 2003's most important feature is its increased focus on a realistic playing experience. In that respect, EA has significantly tweaked a number of gameplay elements to reward those who calculate their movements in advance, devise pass-based attacks, and use every single button and button combination at their disposal. It has also devised a game with substantially fewer offside calls, and that's good news for everybody. In FIFA 2003, you can't always rely on the good old speed-burst option to pull you through. In fact, speed bursts are nothing like they were previously. When you hit the jets, your players will take a moment or two just to get up to speed. They'll also take at least that long to slow down again at the end of the burst, and they'll also have a lot less control over the ball while they're in the process of speeding. To make matters worse, the defender marking your runner will dog him every step of the way, most often closing ground simply because he doesn't have to worry about dribbling a soccer ball. Clearly, the speed burst is much more realistic than it was in previous games. Scoring a goal in FIFA 2003 is similarly more challenging. You'll no longer pull off amazing on-target blasts by simply touching the shoot button and letting go of your movement key or gamepad. Now, you're forced to point your striker directly at the net and punch the shoot button in precisely the right spot or face a string of missed opportunities. Snapping one wide from even a scant 20 feet out is a distinct possibility. In addition, goaltenders now stray well off their lines to cover the entire penalty area, and they sometimes go beyond. It doesn't help that the game still tends to direct too many shots toward goalposts just to keep the score close, though in FIFA 2003, you'll get less of a sense that the game has decided the final score in advance than in previous games. With the aid of FIFA's new metering system, Roberto Carlos lines up a potentially dangerous free kick. FIFA 2003 is certainly a more difficult game to master than its predecessor was. More players touch the ball via deflections, bump passes, blocks, and missed passes, and that calls for quicker reactions and better planning. Even gathering in a high ball on the touchline involves more precision and skill. Fortunately, EA Sports has included a number of complex advanced maneuvers and aids designed for those who want to take the time to master them. The most obvious of these new features is FIFA's metering system. Though it's used for different purposes in different situations, FIFA 2003's meter works much like the swing meter in a PC golf game; it indicates the velocity or direction of your upcoming pass or shot and ultimately gives you more control over the proceedings. Advanced players will also want to experiment with the game's new freestyle control feature, which, when used properly, coaxes a variety of unique and often thrilling signature moves from star performers. Back for a return engagement in the announcer's booth is quintessential soccer broadcaster and FIFA series veteran John Motson. Together with former Scottish football star and FIFA newcomer Ally McCoist, who serves a satisfactory first-time stint as color commentator, Motson is typically brilliant. His verbiage is believable and wide-ranging, and his delivery is impeccable. In fact, the commentary is so seamless that you may sometimes wonder if Motson and McCoist have set up shop inside your computer. With FIFA 2003, EA Sports has proven it will finally take a few risks by varying the formula behind the world's number one soccer game. In so doing, it has produced a considerably more challenging and complex affair that should stand the test of time better than its predecessors. It isn't quite perfect, but the latest FIFA game is a refreshing and compelling step ahead in a series that's known for its quality.
System Rqs : Processor=550MHz RAM= 128MB Graphics= 16MB
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup is a decent first effort at simulating the chosen sport of wizards, it falls short of its promise primarily because of sluggish controls. The games based on J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter franchise have always been great commercial successes, riding the coattails of the wildly popular books. The games' publisher, Electronic Arts, has boldly attempted to branch out from the action adventure games by creating a "sports" game based on the fictional sport of quidditch, which is described in the various Harry Potter books and depicted in the films. While Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup is a decent first effort at simulating the chosen sport of wizards, it falls short of its promise primarily because of sluggish controls and shallow gameplay. Quidditch is analogous to soccer. For those who aren't familiar with the Harry Potter books or films, quidditch is roughly analogous to airborne soccer. Seven players on each team ride broomsticks around a huge arena while chasing and interacting with four balls that are in play simultaneously. Three vertical hoops of varying height stand on each end of the oval field, or "pitch," as it's called. These hoops represent the goal-scoring area for each team. Three players on a team take the "chaser" position; their role is similar to that of a forward on a soccer or hockey squad. Their primary responsibility is to score goals through the hoops using the quaffle, which is one of the balls in play. Each goal is worth 10 points. Two other players on each team are the "beaters," and their role has no equivalent in any other sport. The beaters are armed with small bats, which they use to swat at two magically propelled balls, called bludgers. The bludgers will randomly attack the players on the pitch--the beaters' duty is to protect their own players from the bludgers while using their bats to try to encourage the bludgers to go after the other team. One player is the "keeper," and as the name suggests, the keeper's job is to play goalie near the vertical hoops and prevent any goals. Finally, the seventh player on each team plays as the "seeker." The seeker's job is to keep an eye out for a tiny and elusive ball called the golden snitch. Like the bludgers, the snitch is magically self-propelled. A match of quidditch continues until the golden snitch is caught; the seeker who snatches it earns 150 points for his or her team. The books and films have always portrayed quidditch as a chaotic spectacle. With 14 players zipping around on lightning-fast broomsticks while chasing and dodging four balls in play, quidditch is obviously a very complex sport. In an attempt by the developers to simplify the game for the younger audience, who will likely be the primary players of Quidditch World Cup, you'll directly control the chasers and the seeker only. You don't seem to get any control over the keeper, and your interaction with the beaters is limited to pressing the bludger button, which will cause one of your beaters to launch a bludger at the opposing chasers. From there you control only the bludger as you try to collide with the enemy quaffle-carrier. The game does a good job of easing you into the game of quidditch and teaching you the fundamentals. The four-team tournament at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry serves as an extended tutorial. First, you practice simple concepts like passing, shooting, and tackling, and then you are allowed to play a game against one of the other houses at Hogwarts. After that, bludgers and special moves are introduced, and another game in the house tournament is played, until finally you are indoctrinated with the concept of combo passes, and the final tutorial game is played with all features enabled. If you should win the round-robin tournament at Hogwarts against the other houses, the World Cup will be unlocked, and you'll be able to choose from nine different world teams including the US, England, Australia, and Germany and play in that round-robin tournament for the World Cup. You'll meet many recognizable characters along the way. Quidditch World Cup also does a good job of including recognizable characters from the books and movies. Potter serves as the seeker for Gryffindor, with the Weasley twins at the beater positions. Malfoy is the recognizable jerk playing seeker for Slytherin, while Harry's love interest, Cho, is the seeker for Ravenclaw. As you advance into the World Cup, Ludo Bagman, the international head of wizard sports, handles the play-by-play announcing. Quidditch World Cup's primary flaw lies in its control, which often feels sluggish. The game doesn't seem to do a very good job of capturing the speed of the game as it was portrayed in the films. Instead of feeling the freedom of flight, your players often feel more like they're slogging through a thick soup. No turbo button exists to speed up your players. While you won't always want to fly at the same speed, it seems as if the computer decides arbitrarily how fast you can fly or how sharply you'll be allowed to turn. Passing is also imprecise. You have control over the direction of your pass using the directional stick, but oftentimes your teammates will inexplicably leave their passing lanes just as you throw the quaffle. Expect to turn the ball over frequently and not always know why. The console versions all control similarly, but PC players who lack a gamepad may find the keyboard and mouse control a bit tricky, though not unlearnable. Even if the gameplay is a bit shallow, Quidditch World Cup does a pretty good job of visual presentation. All of the pitches in the game are beautifully presented, including Hogwarts' pitch in the summer and winter and all of the nine international pitches. The Japanese quidditch pitch is one of the more impressive ones, set over top of a shallow koi pond with delicate bridges arcing over it. The Nordic team plays within a wall of glaciers; you can see the cold breath of the players as they breathe out during the cutscenes. The graphics quality between the consoles is pretty comparable--there are no significant differences to speak of, although the Xbox and PC versions are a tad sharper. The sound in the game didn't fare quite as well, with the music being somewhat overdramatic and the play-by-play announcing from Bagman and Lee Jordan (during Hogwarts matches) being extremely repetitive. Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup is a pretty decent first effort at simulating the fictional sport of quidditch. However, the developers have definitely left plenty of room for improvement. With tighter controls and a little bit more effort put into deeper, more strategic gameplay, Quidditch World Cup might have turned out to be a very good game. As it stands, the game will primarily appeal to hardcore Harry Potter fans who are willing to overlook the flaws.
System Rqs ; Processor= 1.4GHz RAM= 512MB Graphics= 96MB
Instructions
Extract with WinRAR WinRAR Password= muhammadniaz.blogspot.com Create New Folder Extract both files in this Folder Open Setup "Registry File" and Select "YES" and then ok Enjoy
PES 6- Pro Evolution Soccer 6 Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series has usually managed to outdo EA's FIFA series in the eyes of European critics, even if it rarely manages to generate the same level of sales. When Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (or Pro Evolution Soccer 6 in Europe) was announced for the Xbox 360, it seemed gamers could finally look forward to a game that combined superb playability with more impressive visuals and a compelling online offering. We're pleased to report that the newest Pro Evolution Soccer continues the series' tradition of playing a great game of football. From the moment you kick off, either against a friend or the computer, Pro Evolution Soccer delivers a fantastic representation of the sport. Realistic body shapes, player momentum, and ball physics combine to provide the greatest result yet. Just like in real football, you have to work at creating build-up play and set pieces, but in return you'll get a deep level of satisfaction when you score a truly remarkable goal. The game's visuals have received some Xbox 360 attention. Konami has made this year's game tighter than ever before. For example, players need to be facing their intended targets to attain any sort of passing accuracy, and the game usually favours the defending player in one-on-one situations. Consequently, Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 is a slower game than its predecessor and favours quick-passing play as opposed to selfish, solo runs. On the other hand, fouls are awarded much less frequently this time around, which prevents the stop-start routine that marred PES5. Although it takes a while to adjust to these changes, the new version of Pro Evolution Soccer is the best yet in terms of action, and it will reward dedicated players with a good degree of depth. However, as a next-generation title, Pro Evolution on the Xbox 360 doesn't work quite as hard as it could. The lack of licensed team data has always been an issue for the series, but this version has even less functionality than last year's PlayStation 2 game. The German league has mysteriously disappeared, and while there are still a reasonable number of licensed teams, only four are represented from the entire British Isles. That's fine if you're a fan of Rangers, Celtic, Arsenal, or Manchester United, but everyone else will have to make do with a fictional team name that is based loosely on the real club's location. Spurs fans must put up with North East London, Reading fans with Berkshire Blues, and so on. Even worse, Konami has now decided to omit the editing features that were available in previous Pro Evolution Soccer games. These options have been comprehensive in the past in order to make up for the lack of official licences in the game. In fact, while the full roster of team and player changes can still be made in the PlayStation 2 version of the game, in the Xbox 360 game you can only make alterations to players' names and statistics. Appearances, kits, and even fake team names can't be changed, which is something of a step backwards, although the proportion of accurate player names overall is higher this time around, and transfers are accurate to the end of the August 2006 transfer window. What's more, there's no option to save goal replays either, so the days of saving your most glorious strikes to show off to your mates are gone. Also, the unlockable items that PES points previously allowed you to buy are gone, although national teams of classic players can be obtained by winning some of the cup competitions available. All of the usual national tournaments return in exactly the same format as before. The Asian Cup, which includes just five teams, provides a short-term challenge, and for something more comprehensive, you can play the European competition or set up your own club or national team tournaments if you so desire, playing as any team in the game. The focus of the single-player game has always been the master league, and thankfully, it returns in this year's game. Because this is a long-term challenge in which you take a team of low-quality fictional players to the top, you'll need to win matches and accumulate in-game currency to buy decent players on the way. This year's version of the master league is exactly the same as in previous years, with one or two changes in presentation. For example, it's now possible to choose whether or not players age or improve. By switching this last option off, you can re-create the experience from past Pro Evo games and gradually build up a team of today's superstars, as opposed to a raft of regenerated youngsters with the exact same names as famous players now. Licensed players look great, but there aren't enough of them. Either way, there's nothing in this career mode that shows any particular ambition, and Konami has been content to simply serve up what we've seen in previous versions of the game. Therefore, if you've spent weeks working your way out of fake-player obscurity and into the world-class arena previously, you can now contemplate doing exactly the same thing over again, in exactly the same way. As you'd expect from a game that is making its Xbox 360 debut, the biggest improvement to Pro Evolution Soccer is in the visuals. The high-definition overhaul means that you can really appreciate the player details, particularly in the way they move. The interaction between players and the ball has been key to Pro Evolution Soccer's success, and it's never looked as clear as on the Xbox 360. While it's not yet in the same league as the 2006 FIFA World Cup game in terms of detail and authenticity, there's still enough to please the eye. Player likenesses are reasonable enough so that you can tell who the players are for the most part, although the licensed players certainly seem to have had more attention paid to them. There are still entire club and national teams that feature players with incorrect names, and a few of them have hair colour or facial characteristics that will no doubt baffle some football fans.
Peter Brackley and Sir Trevor Brooking make a return in the commentary box, and while there seems to be less repetition in their remarks, there's nothing noticeably new in the stock phrases either. It's always been one of the Pro Evo series' weaknesses. Although they won't have you switching off the commentary after playing for a few days, it's nothing to write home about. There has been a fair amount of anticipation about the online multiplayer capabilities of Pro Evolution Soccer 2007, as with many other Xbox 360 games. While playing against the computer is certainly compelling, competing against real people is far more exciting, and players can battle over an online leaderboard. Each person's Xbox Live profile will build up an online database, which keeps track of a variety of statistics, including your performance over time and even your favoured choice of team. The online mode will sort you into several leagues, depending on your ranking. And you will move up and down based on how many times you win, lose, or draw. If you want to play practise matches or against friends, then you can play in unranked games. But the real challenge comes in playing online ranked matches that will contribute to your leaderboard position. The real disappointment is that you can't set up online tournaments with friends. So while the online multiplayer mode is incredibly fun and addictive, it's a decidedly last-generation experience. Body shapes and player movement make the game feel realistic. The performance of online play is fairly stable, although there are some issues that blight a game, which depend on quick reactions. Shots, crosses, free kicks, and corners are much trickier online because of a lag between the button press and the onscreen power bar. This means that you'll often hold the button down for longer than you need. And when the action is completed, you end up with way more power than you'd want. After a few games, you'll work out how to compensate, but it's still off-putting. Achievements in the game are straightforward to win by playing through the preset tournaments and the master league competitions. It may sound as if a lot of time is required, but it's possible to unlock most achievements by setting the game to the easy mode and on the shortest match length to romp through them. Much harder to achieve are the online badges, which require you to play 100 online games and win 100 matches. Overall, while the most important part of the game--the football--is of the usual high standard, there's a general lack of ambition in other areas of the game. But there's no doubt that for the foreseeable future this game will continue to play some of the greatest matches around, and the challenge to be one of the best players online will live on for a long time to come.
System Rqs ; Processor= 400MHz RAM= 128MB Graphics= 32MB
Delta Force 2 It will keep you on the edge of your seat and tuned to the action at all times. n the original Delta Force, you played as a soldier in the US Army's elite commando and counterterrorist military force. The game overcame its graphical shortcomings by delivering top-notch action in both single- and multiplayer modes. Apparently NovaLogic was willing to bet on the same horse again, as Delta Force 2 uses yet another voxel-based graphics engine, but like its predecessor, its gameplay is good enough to buoy its less-than-stellar visuals. Delta Force 2 offers around 45 single-player missions, including 25 sorties split between two campaigns and 20 stand-alone scenarios, in which you must prove yourself against large and heavily armed terrorist armies. In most cases, you'll work alone or with a handful of computer-controlled support teams. Most scenarios involve a clandestine attack-and-destroy mission against enemy bases, though many also include hostage rescue, recovery of stolen assets, and other commando-style objectives. The game also contains a powerful mission editor that lets you craft complex scenarios with relative ease and even provides thorough documentation for it. The mission design in Delta Force 2 is generally excellent. Not only are most scenarios more difficult than the missions in the original, but they also seem realistic and believable. Although some are definitely influenced by Hollywood (one stand-alone mission conjured memories of the train attack scene in Lawrence of Arabia, for example), even these are a lot of fun from beginning to end. Gameplay is very similar to the original Delta Force; once again, it emphasizes lots of long-range sniping punctuated by the occasional close-quarters ballet of full-auto panic fire. In many missions, you can work your way slowly towards the objective by moving and sniping until only a handful of indoor defenders remains. In other missions, time is more of a factor. Direct assaults are almost always a sure recipe for disaster, despite the game's ludicrously dangerous default mission waypoints. For this reason, most missions tend to last awhile - 30 to 45 minutes on the average. Also, you cannot save during a mission, so a lucky shot fired by the final bad guy requires you to start over from the beginning. Another potential problem is a glitch that lets some enemies see and shoot you through wooden or even stone walls. Fortunately, this bug only reared its head on a handful of missions, and always in the same place, but it will undoubtedly irk some players. Yet another possible problem is the graphics engine. By using the enhanced Voxel Space 32 3D engine, NovaLogic made a design decision that adversely affected both Delta Force 2's gameplay and its viability on store shelves. Because the game uses grainy voxels instead of crisp polygons, much of the long-range combat in the game boils down to hunting for moving pixels. Also, because of the exclusively 32-bit graphics engine, Voodoo3 owners are left out in the cold: The game will only take advantage of hardware acceleration (which really only affects objects like trees, buildings, and vehicles anyway) on 3D cards based upon 32-bit graphics chips. Fortunately, Delta Force 2 looks pretty good on a fast system. Even with the inherent blockiness of the voxel engine, the settings and characters look fairly lifelike. In fact, the gently rolling hills and impressive water effects make many of the maps quite beautiful, especially with 32-bit color enabled. Still, the frame rate was very choppy at 800x600 resolution on a 450-MHz Pentium II with a TNT2 card, though it looked fairly good and ran smoothly at 640x480. It took switching to a GeForce 256 card to make the game playable at 800x600.Unlike its graphics, Delta Force 2's sound effects deserve special praise, since they are some of the most convincing weapons effects you're likely to hear in a computer game. The M249 SAW in particular has to be one of the coolest-sounding weapons ever. Other effects, such as the zing of near misses and the bloodcurdling screams of your victims, help to create a highly believable environment that will keep you on the edge of your seat and tuned to the action at all times. In addition to the sound, the gameworld itself is immersive and dynamic; enemy units respond in various ways to gunfire - some come running, some drop prone, and some seem to ignore the offending noise completely. These varied reactions ought to keep you on your toes, since you'll never know in advance. Also, because many of the missions are chock-full of enemies - dozens in some cases - you are forced to hide in tall grass as often as possible, which is a new addition to Delta Force 2. Though the grass looks like little more than big pixelated blobs on the ground, it does add a welcome element of stealth. It also works for the terrorists in some cases, as bad guys who drop prone in tall grass become nearly invisible. Other new features include airborne insertions for particular missions. This is simply an automated parachute drop at the beginning of some of the scenarios, but it does add a little element of excitement - especially when you find yourself dropping right on top of an enemy patrol. Also, the game's interface has been cleaned up and improved; you now have access to a minimap at all times without sacrificing room on the screen. However, much like in the original Delta Force, your computer-controlled allies are virtually useless if you deviate from your preplanned mission waypoints, which nearly always take you on a suicide run directly through the heart of enemy defenses. That's because they move based on triggered events, most of which require you to walk over a waypoint. Thankfully, you can modify the waypoints using the new commander's screen. You can also use this screen to coordinate the movements of your teammates during multiplayer games, which are one of Delta Force 2's greatest strengths. Online sessions on NovaWorld are lively, frenetic firefights that are almost certain to turn the game's harshest critics into fans. Delta Force 2 is one of the most exciting and enjoyable online gaming experiences out there, despite the fact that some of the promised features haven't yet been implemented. The game supports as many as 50 players at once and features a wider array of weaponry than before and a new armory building that lets you change your weapon loadout without logging out. However, the new game modes, including attack and defend, search and destroy, and team flagball, are not yet available on NovaWorld. Fixed gun emplacements, which are by far the most intriguing of the new features, are not yet available either. But NovaLogic plans to roll these features out over the coming weeks. Performance on NovaWorld is good over 56K connections and even better over a fast pipe like ISDN, cable, or DSL. Delta Force 2 is a great single-player game with an impressive multiplayer component. Owners of incompatible video cards should make sure the game is playable and palatable before buying it, but otherwise the game should have a widespread appeal among fans of tactical action games. While it doesn't deserve as high a rating as the first Delta Force since the two are so similar, Delta Force 2 can't be beat for free-ranging commando combat.
System Rqs : Processor= 1.4GHz RAM= 256MB Graphics= 32MB
Hitman 2 fixes virtually all of the problems of its predecessor and stands tall on its own merits as an outstanding action game. There's no mistaking what Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is all about. One look at the bald, sharply dressed man on the cover, grim as death and armed with a hardballer pistol in each hand, and you can tell that this isn't exactly lighthearted stuff. Hitman 2, released simultaneously for the PC, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 platforms, is the sequel to a PC game released two years ago by Denmark-based developer IO Interactive. The original Hitman: Codename 47 featured some undeniably impressive technical elements, but it also had a number of serious problems. Some players were able to overcome the control issues and punishing difficulty level of the game and appreciated it on the strength of its violent concept--you played as a genetically engineered contract killer and were tasked with stealthily eliminating a number of well-guarded targets. At its best, the game offered both full-on intense action as well as plenty of nail-biting suspense. The sequel takes this same idea a step further and fully realizes it, proving that IO Interactive has the ability to back up flashy graphics and controversial subject matter with great gameplay. Simply put, Hitman 2 fixes virtually all of the problems of its predecessor and stands tall on its own merits as an outstanding action game. As 47, you'll be charged with a number of high-risk assassination assignments. Those who never played the original Hitman already know all the background on Hitman 2 that they'll really need. The game begins with the enigmatic man known only as 47 working not as a hired gun but as a gardener. He's given up his violent ways and is now serving as a humble groundskeeper in a Sicilian church. But when the church's kindly minister is kidnapped, 47 has no choice but to once again don his black suit and unpack his deadly arsenal of firearms and close-range weapons. He contacts his former employer to try to track down the priest, but he'll need to perform a few jobs before they'll cough up any details on his friend's whereabouts. So much for early retirement. Yet though the story unfolds vividly using beautifully staged cinematic cutscenes rendered using the game's 3D engine, the actual story of Hitman 2 doesn't really get too far off the ground. It's largely an excuse to send 47 around the world to exotic locations like Japan, Russia, Malaysia, and India, where you'll help him infiltrate heavily fortified locations from an ancient castle to a high-tech software corporation. The game comprises more than 20 missions in all, which you'll play through one after the other. Though the settings and the details of each mission are different, most all of them share some basic themes: getting in, eliminating a key target, and getting out. How you meet your objective is up to you, whether by guile and stealth or by brute force, and most missions are cleverly designed to have at least several viable, even intuitive solutions. If you're really good, you can make it through most missions leaving only a single corpse behind--the only one that matters--and you can make it through having never even drawn a firearm. If that's too subtle for you, you can opt to try to mow down anyone who stands between you and your victim. But you'll need to be careful, because your primary target might flee the scene amid whatever turmoil you cause. Actually, one of the big differences between Hitman 2 and its predecessor is that, for various reasons, a forceful approach is much more viable in the sequel. At the normal difficulty setting, it's in fact much easier, and much faster, to just blast your way through most missions, partly because your enemies just aren't that smart in a shootout, though they can overwhelm you in numbers. Nevertheless, the game still encourages you to be stealthy, and you'll have to be at the game's two higher difficulty settings. Regardless of how you play, the fact that you can just start shooting if you blow your cover will lead to many thrilling, unscripted gunfights against large groups of foes that look realistic and often act realistically too. A frontal assault can be effective if you catch your foes by surprise. As 47, you have access to the sorts of moves and weaponry that you'd perhaps expect from a character of his nature. You'll get to see 47 ply his deadly trade from a default third-person perspective, though the developers added an optional first-person view as well. That's a nice touch, but still, it's hard to pass up the third-person option, since it gives you a clear look at all of 47's lifelike animations and gives you some good peripheral vision too. While 47 has no hand-to-hand combat moves, he can take out foes at close range by slashing their throats in one quick motion, strangling them with his trusty fiber wire, or knocking them out with chloroform--an uncharacteristically humane addition to 47's arsenal. Melee weapons ranging from a golf club to a katana are also available, as well as a massive variety of real-world firearms. All manner of pistols, shotguns, submachine guns, assault rifles, and sniper rifles can be found and used, and as you scavenge new weapons from your missions, you'll find them lovingly displayed as new additions to your collection back at your inconspicuous base out of Sicily. While you can then select which weapons to bring with you on a new assignment, you can't just lug everything around. In particular, you can only carry a single rifle at a time, and these bulky weapons can't be concealed. Concealment, of course, is critical to 47's success. As in the first Hitman, in the sequel you can relieve just about any killed (or unconscious) male character of his clothing and drag prone bodies out of sight. Donning disguises is handled as strangely as before, meaning one moment you'll be wearing your original outfit and then, moments after selecting the "change clothes" command, you're suddenly wearing a new one as the old one appears neatly folded on the ground. In a game that's generally so believable, this aspect of Hitman 2 comes across as a bit silly--but the fact that you don't have to spend hours looking for a victim who wears the same size of pants that 47 does certainly helps the gameplay. At any rate, unlike in the original, in Hitman 2 there's more to concealment than just putting on a disguise and then having free rein to walk among your enemies. When the 6-foot, pale-skinned 47 tries to blend in with the locals in India, you'd best believe he'll have to do more than just put on a turban. Generally, you need to stay relatively far away from most passersby if you want your disguise to work, and you need to act casually. Hitman 2 is exceptionally well done in most every way and represents a major improvement over the original. A true multiplatform game, it wasn't developed for the lowest common denominator, but it instead showcases the best of what the PC, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 have to offer, as though the game were specifically designed for each. Clearly, many of the design decisions made by IO Interactive were directly in response to common criticisms leveled against the original, but these improvements don't come at the cost of a simpler or easier experience. Even the most experienced gamers will find a serious, rewarding challenge in the game's highest difficulty mode, yet the well-rounded design of Hitman 2 means just about anyone with a taste for the subject matter, or just a stomach for it, will really like the game and its distinctively cinematic style.
System Rqs : Processor= 233MHz RAM= 96MB Graphics= 16MB
Delta Force 1: If ever there was a game that proved the value of gameplay over graphics, it's Delta Force. At first glance, NovaLogic's Delta Force doesn't look like the sort of action game you might expect to see here at the tail end of 1998. After all, a game in this genre has to be 3D accelerated to be good, right? Not necessarily. If ever there was a game that proved the value of gameplay over graphics, it's Delta Force. Delta Force is a game of special forces combat against terrorist and insurgent forces. You can play the game from either a first- or third-person viewpoint. You can even do both at the same time, thanks to the picture-in-picture feature that lets you see your first-person view in a small window while playing the game from a third-person POV. While comparisons to Rainbow Six are inevitable, Delta Force bears only a passing similarity to Red Storm's tactical shooter. For starters, you do not plan your own operations in Delta Force; they are assigned to you. You also do not have the luxury of working with seven squad mates. You will typically have two to four other soldiers in the field with you, but they make up separate assault teams that you cannot control (and which often have separate, specific mission goals). Finally, each of the game's 40 missions takes place in the great outdoors. The only real similarity between the two games is the special forces angle and the semirealistic action where one shot translates into one kill. Delta Force includes five single-player campaigns, each against a different foe in a different theater: a drug lord in Peru, terrorists in Chad, terrorists in Indonesia, insurgents in Uzbekistan, and more terrorists on the Russian island of Novaya Zemlya. The foliage (which is universally sparse), the buildings, and the bad guys all vary from region to region, though the landscapes are all pretty much the same except for color changes (green for jungle, tan for the desert, white for the snowy arctic circle, and so on). Rolling hills and plains pitted by deep, smooth canyons are pretty much the standard terrain type here. Most of your missions involve finding and eliminating an enemy base, but these are well varied because of differences between the many bases you attack. At the beginning of the game, for example, you'll encounter enemy strongholds that are typically guarded by foot soldiers, a few roving patrols, and maybe a guard tower or two. Later on, these bases become much more formidable, with bunkers, razor wire fences, increased patrols, and even a few enemy helicopters. The attack-and-destroy missions are interspersed with a healthy number of other scenarios. For example, there are a few missions where you will have to infiltrate a base to steal a laptop or some other source of intelligence data. Others include rescue missions, convoy ambushes, and (in one of my favorites) laser-designating targets for naval bombardment. Overall, the mission design in Delta Force is very strong. Another positive note is the fact that you have a lot of control over the order in which these missions are completed. You can even skip around from theater to theater, if you like. And even though the basic goal is pretty much the same throughout (kill all the bad guys and make it to your extraction point alive), the mission specifics are varied enough to keep things exciting, challenging, and reasonably fresh. One point where Delta Force could stand some improvement, however, is in the mission-planning phase. As mentioned earlier, you have no say in the mission plan itself. You can alter your starting equipment and weaponry, but the mission waypoints are fixed - and suicidal. Nearly every mission is planned out so that your first dozen or so steps will take you straight into the heart of heavy, concentrated enemy fire. The best way to complete most missions is to ignore the waypoints entirely and make your way slowly around the objective, sniping all visible bad guys from extreme range before moving in to mop up the survivors. Unfortunately, the movements of your fellow soldiers seem to be triggered by the waypoints, so they will not always move if you don't walk over a particular spot on the map. This was especially evident on the last mission in Novaya Zemlya, where my pals in Charlie Team stayed safely hunkered down in a ditch - about 10 feet from a group of four terrorists - throughout the entire mission. Then again, the computer-controlled good guys aren't often much help anyway (particularly Charlie Team, which was about as useful as red shirts in Star Trek). For some reason, these poor fools got wiped out early in almost every single mission, often before I could even make it to my first few waypoints (maybe that's why they wouldn't leave their hole on the last mission…). The AI for enemy troops, on the other hand, is quite good. Unlike in Rainbow Six, a bad guy in Delta Force will most certainly respond when you blow away his buddy - and so will a dozen or so of his comrades. Opening up with an automatic weapon from an unprotected spot is sheer suicide, as the bad guys will quickly home in on your stream of fire and wipe you out. Also, a few shots in the wrong place or at the wrong time will bring in hordes of reinforcements to make your job more difficult. Still, for the sake of playability and game balance, the bad guys generally present you with a good target and pause enough between shots to give you ample time to react to an attack. Your ability to locate and kill your enemy, however, is directly proportional to the speed and power of your PC. Based on NovaLogic's highly tweaked Voxel Space 3 engine, the unaccelerated graphics in Delta Force are functional, with even an occasional hint of brilliance - but only on a well-equipped Pentium II machine. The game's minimum spec calls for a Pentium 166 with 32MB RAM, but on a Pentium 233 with 64MB RAM and a 12MB Voodoo 2 card, the game crawled along at any resolution higher than 512x384 at 256 colors and looked just plain ugly at any of the lower settings. Unless you have at least a Pentium II 300 with 64MB RAM and an 8MB video card, you will have a hard time picking out enemy troops from the multicolored chunks that make up the landscape. NovaLogic is reportedly working on a 3Dfx patch that will accelerate the character animations and the building rendering (all of which is polygonal), but no release date has been set for that patch. Still, the tepid graphics engine does not ruin this game. So long as you have the hardware to run it at 640x480 with 16 million colors (the aforementioned Pentium II 300 can do this just fine), Delta Force can actually be quite impressive from a visual standpoint. The maps are all very well designed, as are the various bases, airfields, and other objectives you'll encounter. The player and enemy animations are excellent and realistic. The death animations even vary depending on where a character is shot. And the rolling terrain makes sniping a real challenge, as you often have to wait for a bad guy to pop up from behind a rise before pulling the trigger. The idea was to create believable outdoor environments where combat could take place at extreme ranges (we're talking about distances of up to a kilometer here), and Delta Force truly delivers in that respect. The game's Dolby Pro Logic 3D positional sound and excellent sound effects make the battlefield even more realistic and immersive. The sound of bullets whizzing by is often the only indicator you have that you're under fire. When you hear slugs hitting the ground all around you, you know that it's time to move and move fast. Also, the shouts of your enemies (which come complete in a language native to the theater) will let you know whether or not you've been spotted. Once, after shooting a Peruvian at point-blank range, I heard him yell "Medico! Medico!" before crumpling to the ground. The weapon sound effects, from the suppressed H&K MP5 to the mighty M249 SAW, are utterly fantastic - possibly the best I've ever heard. In multiplayer games, the weapon sounds of 32 players combine into an unforgettable din. When you enter a multiplayer game of Delta Force on NovaWorld, NovaLogic's free gaming service, you will feel like you're entering a real combat zone. In general, multiplayer games of Delta Force are incredibly fun - when they work. NovaWorld is very obviously lacking in the bandwidth department, and reports are flying all over the Net about difficulties getting this game to work well over modem and generic Internet links. Still, if you catch NovaWorld on a good day and at a good time, you're in for a treat. Delta Force online is one of the most enjoyable and thrilling multiplayer experiences I've ever had. Game variants like capture the flag, king of the hill, and team deathmatch are a real blast no matter how many players are in a game. While the game has several flaws, such as horrific warping, questionable stability, and bizarre scoring glitches, it's still a lot of fun. Hopefully, NovaLogic will address the game's problems in a patch or two. One feature it should add is the ability for players to start their own games on NovaWorld (currently, you are limited to a set number of games already in progress). And for all you deathmatch purists out there, forget all that crap about the evils of camping. Sniping is the key to victory in Delta Force. If your CTF team does not have a sniper or two in the hills, for example, you simply will not win. Delta Force is a very impressive game overall, despite the limitations of the graphics engine and the multiplayer flaws. The excellent single-player gameplay, the solid multiplayer component, and the incredibly immersive battlefield environment make for a truly impressive game. Any action fan who is open-minded enough to look past the graphics engine will see a game that easily ranks with Rainbow Six as one of the year's best "alternative shooters." Just make sure you have a powerful system, otherwise you'll waste all of your ammo firing at pixels you could almost swear had just been moving.
System Rqs ; Processor= 1.4GHz RAM= 256MB Graphics= 64MB
Age of Empires III: Those looking for a complex and interesting real-time strategy game with fantastic good looks and some historical flavor will find just what they want in Age of Empires III. Six years have flown by since Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings became one of the definitive real-time strategy games on the market. Age of Kings typified this style of gaming in many respects, but it innovated and improved the style in many others, establishing the template for untold numbers of historic real-time strategy games to come. Coming off the successful spin-off that was Age of Mythology, Ensemble Studios is back with another installment in the series that put the developer's name on the map. Age of Empires III advances the series hundreds of years into the future, trading swordsmen and catapults for musketeers and cannons, while keeping the series' signature formula basically intact. What's more, the game features some gorgeous visuals and an interesting, inventive twist in its persistent "home city" system. So it's unfortunate that the actual meat-and-potatoes combat of Age of Empires III didn't turn out better, since what ought to be the most fun and exciting part of the game is actually the part that feels like it's seen the fewest improvements. You'll need a lot more than three musketeers to win a typical skirmish in the New World in Age of Empires III. Make no mistake, Age of Empires III is still an impressive game overall. But fans with fond memories of the previous installment will be left feeling nostalgic for that game. Part of the reason may be purely subjective. The colonial setting of Age of Empires III, which focuses on hypothetical conflicts between European powers vying for control over the New World (that is, an unfettered North and South America), presents a subtler culture clash than, say, samurai fighting Persian war elephants. And the transition through five different ages that's presented in the game, culminating in the industrial age (when locomotives and mass production became a reality), aren't drastically different in gameplay terms, since the magic of gunpowder is available from the get-go. Nevertheless, one look at either Age III's majestic galleons firing all broadsides or horse-drawn cannons readying a deadly payload ought to be all the convincing you need that this is a welcomed direction for the series to take. Eight different European civilizations are at the forefront of Age of Empires III, though mercenaries from other foreign nations sort of make cameo appearances, and various Native American tribes are also included. The usual suspects are here, like the British, the French, the Spanish, and the Dutch. The Russians, the Portuguese, the Germans, and the Ottomans are also available, and each has certain key differences in its economy and military leanings. These differences are significant in practice, such as how the British automatically gain additional workers when they build new houses, or how the Russians may quickly train up large numbers of light infantry. But the eight cultures' personalities don't necessarily come across in combat, because most of the units and structures unique to each side aren't so unique as to be highly distinguishable, and many units and structures are shared in common across most sides. There are certainly exceptions--the Ottomans, with their heavy emphasis on gunpowder, bring to bear some of the biggest and baddest guns in the game, for instance. And, oddly enough, British longbows seem just as surprisingly deadly here as they did in Age II. It's probably just a necessary consequence of the setting, but don't expect for Age III's factions to blow your mind by how different or unusual they are. Fortunately, each one is complex enough and seems viable enough to where it's easy to find an early favorite and want to stick with it. Age of Empires III is every bit the fully featured game you'd expect it to be, featuring a lengthy single-player campaign in three interconnected acts, each one a generation apart. There's a fully customizable skirmish mode with five difficulty settings for the computer opponent; there's the ability to play over a network; and, of course, there's the ESOnline player-matching service, where you can compete in ranked matches over the Internet, chat with other players, and more. There's also a scenario editor, in case you wish to create your own maps or campaigns, plus some encyclopedic information about all the game's units, structures, cultures, circumstances, and more. A tutorial is there to teach you the basics, and you can also play a practice match in which a fairly helpful narrator will gently remind you of the stuff you're basically forgetting to do. The game looks dramatically different on the surface, but much of the Age of Empires formula remains fully intact. When you get right down to it, Age of Empires III plays a lot like Age II. It's been simplified in a number of ways that fans of the past game will quickly notice and mostly appreciate, but the overall flow of gameplay remains very similar. You're put in charge of a fledgling colony in the New World, and you must deploy workers from your town center, who may build new structures and harvest the game's three resources: food, wood, and coin. Stone, which was a fourth resource in Age II, is no longer a factor, and you don't have to worry about creating resource drop-off sites this time around (settlers sent to chop wood, for instance, will just chop away without ever heading back to a town center or lumberyard). A marketplace structure centralizes economic upgrades, and mills and plantations can be built to produce an infinite supply of food and coin, respectively. So later on in a match, you can safely stop worrying about micromanaging your resource gathering--at least until your foes swoop in and damage your economic foundation. Meanwhile, additional houses must be built to support a growing population, and walls and defensive structures may be used to repel guerilla tactics. Military forces mainly consist of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, and they're trained from separate structures. Most military units can be queued up five at a time, so rather than produce musketeers one by one, you can build a group--provided you have the resources. Presumably this is so you can quickly marshal some defenses if caught off guard, but it's strange that the same amount of time is needed to train one soldier as is needed to train five. You can effectively get an interest-free loan by training your first troop, then waiting until he's almost ready before quickly queuing up four more. So in an average match, you'll spend a considerable amount of time building up your base and your economy, eventually marshaling a mixed group of forces with which you'll try to overwhelm your enemy. Dancing between your economy and your military, as you micromanage each in turn, is the key to victory. While the game's interface makes it fairly easy to keep track of what's happening on these fronts, your manual dexterity is still key to success, both when preparing for combat and when engaged in it. A lot of buildup can end very quickly if opponents aren't evenly matched, while equally skilled opponents may be at each other's throats for longer than an hour in a typical Age of Empires III match. Combat between large forces gets chaotic, and the frame rate can bog down too. Micromanage your way to victory! The game offers plenty of interface features for letting you keep tabs on everything, but when you get down to the combat, things are more chaotic and less true-to-life than you'd probably expect. Groups of units automatically form columns, just as you'd assume (infantry in front, artillery in back), and they move at the rate of the slowest unit. Unfortunately, when ordered to attack, they still move at that same slowest rate. So to make your cavalry effectively charge into battle, you must order them separately from your crossbowmen, and so on. The neatly arranged ranks immediately break apart when the battle begins, with riflemen fanning out to attack and horse riders clumping around their targets and swinging away, rather than charging through the ranks. Units can all turn on a dime, so cannons have no trouble hitting moving targets, and the game's stately ships display some shockingly absurd behavior when in close quarters or near shore. Most units appear small onscreen, so it can be difficult to keep track of individual combatants in a hectic battle, especially since the game's frame rate will noticeably bog down--even on fast machines--when the bullets start flying. So not only does the game favor whoever brings to bear the biggest force in the first place, but also it favors whoever's got the fastest trigger finger in the West, not to mention the best frame rate, since you'll need to finesse some of your units around the battlefield to make the most of them. Granted, this is nothing out of the ordinary for a real-time strategy game, but that's just the problem: You might reasonably expect the long-awaited sequel to one of the best real-time strategy games of all time to have provided a good solution for what many players have identified as one of the genre's setbacks. The imperialistic premise of Age of Empires III sets up the game's most unique feature: the concept of you having a home city looking out for your fledgling colony. At any time during play, you may instantly cut to your home city, which will occasionally send you aid in the form of resource surpluses, economic and military upgrades, and reinforcements. You can gain access to these shipments by earning experience points, which happens automatically as you build up your base and--better yet--kill foes and blow up their buildings. Different shipments are available in different ages (at first you can get just modest economic boosts, while later you can get cannons and cavalry), and most may only be used once. So you constantly have to weigh strategic options, like whether it's best to request reinforcements to mount an offensive or best to keep the option around should your enemy mount an ambush. The shipments system is both easy to use and interesting, and it also thankfully promotes somewhat of a more aggressive, more forgiving style of play than Age of Empires II.
The home city concept is a novel addition to Age of Empires, and it helps instill a sense of permanence to every victory--and to every defeat, since losers still gain experience. What's more, your home city is permanent in that the experience you earn from one match to the next all adds up, gradually giving you access to more and more shipment options. You unlock these as "cards" every time your home city gains an experience level. More-powerful cards are available only when your city reaches level 10 (which you can reach after about that number of matches), and stronger ones are available at level 25. Certain cards have prerequisites, too, so the system is similar to a skill tree in a role-playing game. In fact, Age III likens the home city concept to creating a character in an RPG, although the game's thin attempts to let you personalize your home city won't do much to make you grow attached to the place. But unlocking new cards can be pretty rewarding. You're limited to no more than 20 cards in a given match, but since it's possible to unlock many more than that, the game also invites you to build different decks to suit different situations. For example, shipments of free caravels and galleons won't be of much use to you in the Great Plains, but they'd certainly help when battling in the Caribbean. All eight cultures have different cards available to them (though many cards are shared in common), and ultimately you can use this system to add some panache to your playing style. One possible side effect of this system, though, is that it encourages you to pick a side and stick with it. When playing online, you can't just pick a random civ like you could in previous Age games, and you might not even want to anymore since it's tempting to want all your experience points going in to one bucket. Age III makes a number of other changes to the series, though these may seem less original if you've kept up with real-time strategy gaming. For example, new colonies start with an explorer, an unkillable hero character whom you should use to reveal the fog of war around your starting area and who can also collect treasures and earn you experience early on. You'll find bandit camps, wild critters, and more guarding various trinkets that can help give you an economic edge in the beginning. More importantly, the explorer gives you something to do besides waiting for your resources to add up in the early going. If your explorer loses all his hit points, he collapses and may either be ransomed back for some coin or recovered by friendly units. As mentioned, you may also ally yourself with various Native American tribes by building trading posts on their reservations. Perhaps in the spirit of political correctness, Native American buildings cannot be destroyed, but by crushing a foe's trading post, his ties with the tribe are severed. Native American tribes each have a handful of units and economic upgrades you may purchase if you like, diversifying your strategy. Trading posts may be used in other places. The Native American tribes may be friends or foes during a typical match. Some foreign mercenaries may make appearances, too. In previous Age of Empires games, you could win a match by building and defending one of the wonders of the world, as opposed to just stomping all your opponents back to the Stone Age. For better or worse, in Age of Empires III, conquest is the only option...down to the very last man. Annoyingly, you need to completely decimate the enemy's side to win a match. The opponent is free to resign at any time, but when playing against sore losers on the Internet, matches might easily drag on for longer than necessary because some uppity person insists on scattering a handful of peasants behind trees and in the corners of the map. There are ways to reveal the enemy's position very late in the game, but why Age of Empires III matches don't end at the destruction of an enemy colony, as opposed to with genocide, isn't particularly clear. It's also somewhat frustrating that your home cities gain experience separately online and offline. Presumably this is to prevent cheating, but it still makes you feel like you're wasting your time playing skirmish matches offline when you could be gaining "real" experience playing against opponents online. It's actually possible to gain experience online playing against the computer, but only if there's at least one other player in the match. Speaking of the computer opponents in Age of Empires III, they range from numbingly brain-dead at the "easy" setting to challenging at the "hard" and "expert" settings. In the Age of Empires tradition, the computer is incompetent in maps with a lot of naval warfare in them. However, on land-based maps, it can set up an economy very efficiently (at higher difficult settings), and it can harass you with greater numbers, both of which can more than compensate for the computer's lack of subtlety. Playing against the artificial intelligence is good for practice, but playing against real players definitely makes for a better experience. That applies to the game's campaign as well. Beginning with an adventure that takes you in search of the legendary Fountain of Youth, the fictitious campaign in Age of Empires III consists mainly of just the sort of missions you've come to expect, along with the less-than-stellar voice work and awkward cutscenes to move the story along. It would be unfair to dismiss the campaign outright, since it helps teach you the ropes and presents you with some unique situations, not to mention a high volume of different missions. But it's pretty standard for a real-time strategy game, and the swashbuckling high-adventure feel of the storyline seems better suited to Age of Mythology than to Age of Empires. Were it not for the awkward unit behavior and frame rate issues, Age of Empires III would look truly amazing. Maps with water on them are especially dramatic, as you can see waves gently rocking massive warships, whose cannons make them shudder from side to side. Ships, as well as buildings, break apart in chunks, with lots of fire and smoke all around, making for a spectacular sight. There are plenty of subtle animations to appreciate among the other military units in the game, and there's a good amount of variety to the environments, from the lush jungles of South America on up to the frigid Yukon. The combat has some thrilling moments, such as when a cannonball sends infantry careening every which way, but until the big guns come in to the picture, it all looks pretty tame. It's worth noting that Age of Empires III does a good job of autodetecting the best graphical settings for your system, and despite all the visual wizardry going on, it runs reasonably well--even on fairly modest systems. It owes a debt to its ancestors, but Age of Empires III stands tall on its own merits. The game sounds great, too, though in real-time strategy tradition, you'll hear the same unit acknowledgments over and over (at least they're mostly spoken in their native languages). Cannon fire is particularly dramatic, and when one force or another wins a skirmish, it's exciting to see all the men stand and cheer. The game's musical score flits between the different cultures' sounds while sticking well to the overall theme. Age of Empires III has some very big shoes to fill, and on top of that, the real-time strategy market has grown hugely competitive due in no small part to Ensemble Studios' previous accomplishments. This latest game offers a lot of what made Age II so great, and it's got plenty of depth and lasting appeal, despite how most matches tend to begin and ultimately pan out similarly. Age III does seem surprisingly rough around the edges in some respects, and those expecting the game to revolutionize or even refresh this style of gaming may come away disappointed that their high expectations weren't met. But those looking for a complex and interesting real-time strategy game with fantastic good looks and some historical flavor will find just what they want in Age of Empires III.
