Quake II is the kind of sequel that arrives wearing a hard face and pretending not to care what anyone thought of the first one. The 1997 Windows 95 original, from id Software and published by Activision, is less a simple follow-up than a statement of technical intent: no MS-DOS, native OpenGL support, client/server multiplayer, […]
Quake II (PC, 1997) – Review Read Post »
Raiden II is what happens when a shoot ’em up looks at the original Raiden, nods politely, and then comes back with more enemies, more spectacle, and a much meaner grin. On paper, that sounds like the ideal sequel strategy: keep the core loop, turn up the heat, make the screen feel busier and more
Raiden II (1993) – Review – Bigger, Louder, and Still Happy to Blow You Up Read Post »
This is one of those games whose reputation gets mangled by loose recollection and later packaging. Strip away the myth fog and what remains is simpler, cleaner, and, mercifully, more interesting: a vertical shoot-em-up that understands it does not need a million systems if it has one very good idea and the nerve to keep
RayForce (1997) – Review – The Beautiful, Ruthless Geometry of Lock-On Doom Read Post »
Reader Rabbit’s Reading 2 is not trying to seduce the jaded adult in the room, which is frankly one of its virtues. This 1997 The Learning Company reading game, best supported here in its Windows PC form, is a no-nonsense piece of children’s software built for ages 5 to 8, the sort of thing that
Shadow Warrior, in its original 1997 PC form, is what happens when a studio looks at the post-Duke Nukem 3D landscape, grins like it has a fresh pack of fireworks in its jacket, and decides subtlety is for accountants. This is a Build engine first-person shooter from 3D Realms, the sort of game that arrives