Hello.

Some of you might be aware that there’s a Max Payne movie out. So in a topical(ish) update, I’ve taken a look at Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne.

I also went to see the film itself, so just in case you were waiting to see what we thought before you rushed out to see it, you can now make an informed decision.

Another update, another game getting a lukewarm review and score. Some games you know are going to be a bit turdy but when you expect something more and are disappointed, well – it’s rubbish, frankly.

Much as I enjoy squelching through games of all standards and writing about them, it’s nice to be able to eulogise enthusiastically about something once in a while.

The recent release of Fallout 3 has prompted a few retrospectives with gamers and journalists doing just that about the first two games in the series. By all accounts they’re the type of deep, rich and affecting games that prompt people to set up fansites and write retro reviews in the first place.

Unfortunately, my own progress through the first game has stalled. I might go back to it, but my experiences thus far make me fear I just don’t “get it”.

Now, where did I put my copy of Max Payne 2?

Hello.

Another review, and another sequel – the ridiculously-named No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.’s Way.

There will be more, not sure when.

Just to let you know that Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is going for $10 on Steam this weekend. It’s basically Deus Ex with vampires, which should be enough reason for anyone to snap it up. There are multiple ways to build your vampiric “hero”, some really well-developed characters to interact with and it still looks alright, being powered by the Source engine.

The only low note to the game is the buggy and unfinished state it was left in. Fortunately I’m told that the Fan Patches work with the Steam version. Some of these just fix bugs, others alter gameplay features so it’s up to you which way to go.

So they’ve made a Max Payne movie with Mark ‘Marky-Mark’ Wahlberg in it. Hmm.

Sometims laziness can work for you; in this case, having been dimly aware for some time that the film was going to be released, I was going to post something about how it looked like it might actually be alright (based on the trailer).

Inevitably, though, it’s been panned, and even allowing for some slight prejudice against movies based on games from the critics, something tells me they can’t all be wrong.

I think I’ll still go and see it though. At least it’s made some money so we might actually get it in cinemas over here, unlike the dreaded Wing Commander.

The game, in case you didn’t know, is pretty damned good. Come to think of it, the sequel may now be ancient enough to get a review of its own. Watch this space…

Good evening.

It’s been a while, but unfortunately all we can offer for now is one new review. I’ve taken a look at the third (and hopefully final) Carmageddon game, TDR 2000.

More later, perhaps soon (ish). Stay tuned.

Earlier this week Knyght performed a great service to the world of abandonware by adding the CD version of Dreamweb to Anarchy. It’s something I’ve been after for a while, having thoroughly enjoyed the disk version but also thinking (based on vague memories of a playable demo from around the time of the game’s initial release) that the CD version had some ‘quite good’ voice acting which made it worth seeking out.

Knyght actually describes the acting as “terrible” in his review, and having loaded up the game again and played through some of the early scenes, he could well have a point. Still, there’s something important about having the ‘talkie’ version, I think, if it exists. Even though I enjoyed the disk version, it always nagged me that perhaps I was missing out on something by not having the ‘deluxe’ edition with the voiceover.

Perhaps that’s why I wrote a fairly unenthusiastic review of a game that actually ranks among my favourite adventures. I did think that if I got my hands on the CD version I might be able to bump up the mark to 8/10 (or four full “blobs”, if you prefer) but I’ll reserve judgement on that one for now. I guess it’s a hard one to recommend too heartily because it has some fairly obvious flaws: it’s short, it’s linear, and the story lurches all-too-quickly to a pretty unsatisfying conclusion.

But it’s also a cracking game – tense, atmospheric and involving. Countless new releases attempt to position themselves as ‘dark’ and ‘grown-up’ but fall comically short of the mark. Dreamweb certainly delivers on this front, and I’m not just talking about the occasional swear word or the brief (but often-mentioned) shagging scene, either.

More than anything else, there’s just something about this game that draws you in and won’t let go until you finish it. It doesn’t last long, but while it does, it’s totally absorbing.

If you haven’t played it already, get on over to Anarchy and grab it now. If you have, feel free to share your thoughts below…

Hi all.

The nights are drawing in again, meaning we’re reaching the half of the year when you don’t have to feel so guilty about sitting in a dark room playing videogames again. Also with the credit crunch biting, what better time to enjoy the kind of game you can grab for $10 on Steam and play even on an outdated PC?

With that in mind, here’s a little review of the late 90s shooter, Unreal.

So I got my Good Old Games beta access code. Here’s a look at what’s currently (or soon to be) available.

1NSANE $9.99
COLIN MCRAE RALLY 2005 SOON
CONQUEST OF THE NEW WORLD $5.99
DESCENT + DESCENT 2 $5.99
DESCENT 3 + EXPANSION $5.99
DIE BY THE SWORD + EXPANSION $5.99
EARTHWORM JIM 3D $5.99
EVOLVA $5.99
F/A-18E SUPER HORNET $5.99
FALLOUT $5.99
FALLOUT 2 $5.99
FALLOUT TACTICS $5.99
FREESPACE + EXPANSION $5.99
FREESPACE 2 $5.99
GIANTS: CITIZEN KABUTO $5.99
HOSTILE WATERS: ANTAEUS RISING $5.99
INVICTUS: IN THE SHADOW OF OLYMPUS $5.99
JAGGED ALLIANCE 2: UNFINISHED BUSINESS $5.99
KINGPIN: LIFE OF CRIME $5.99
LIONHEART: LEGACY OF THE CRUSADER $5.99
M.A.X. + M.A.X. 2 $5.99
MDK $5.99
MDK 2 $5.99
MESSIAH $5.99
OPERATION FLASHPOINT GOTY SOON
ORIGINAL WAR $5.99
PERIMETER $9.99
REDNECK RAMPAGE COLLECTION SOON
SACRIFICE $5.99
SHATTERED STEEL $5.99
SHOGO: MOBILE ARMOR DIVISION $5.99
SOLDIERS: HEROES OF WORLD WAR II SOON
STONEKEEP SOON

Not a bad start I guess – and all at reasonable prices, similar to the oldies on Steam. However it’s all from two publishers: Codemasters and Interplay. Here’s hoping they get a few more to sign up – in a Q&A they stated “we had some very productive meetings with publishers” but no names have come up so far. Lucasarts would be the holy grail for many of us.

Of that list, I actually already own several of the one’s I’d wan to play. Am keen on Giants and Shogo, tho. Will almost certainly get Operation Flashpoint, even though I once owned the game and sold it cos it drove me up the wall. Yeah, I’m a sucker for punishment. Fallout tempts me, but I’m absolutely not touching another RPG (other than warcrack) until I’m done with Baldur’s Gate.

As a sidenote, I’d heard the Freespace games had gotten quite hard to find in recent years (I’m lucky enough to own original copies a friend gave me), so I’m especially glad to see it there.

My recent spell playing The Games: Summer Challenge confirmed something I already knew – in games, when people fall over, are thrown from something that’s moving, or just generally are involved in an accident, I find it very, very funny indeed.

Although I’ve always enjoyed the scripted humour of certain LucasArts adventures, for me, they haven’t provided me with too many laugh-out-loud moments. But get me on the Equestrian on Summer Challenge and I’ll be giggling childishly every time the horse refuses to jump and my rider ends up on the ground.

Epyx’s similarly-titled The Games: Summer Edition is also a bit of a laugh, especially the diving event, where you can send your blockily-rendered athlete flopping into the pool feet-first. I played it again recently and it sent me into a fit of giggles audible enough to prompt my girlfriend to come into the room to ask what was so funny. Imagine her dismay when she witnessed the jerky 16-colour spectacle lurching around on our new (relatively) expensively-acquired computer accompanied by an assortment of bleeps and squelches from the PC speaker.

Motorcycle games also provide some decent slapstick. The largely joyless experience of playing Road Rash was given a much-needed boost each and every time you decided to overtake on a hill and lost an argument with an oncoming taxi.

Recent trawling through bargain-bins saw me pay £1 for MotoGP 2 (which was apparently big-ish on XBox a few years ago) and that hasn’t disappointed in this regard – especially with me being quite crap at it.

Anyone else experience something similar? Any unscripted moments that have had you laughing out loud into a cold and empty room, or provoking housemates or family members to deride you as “a sad bastard”?