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| The Viking lores are larger than life. |
PC GAMES ROUNDUP OF 2000
Date: 1/17/01
By Rice
Don't you just love all the year end lists? Everyone and their grandma's got one. Well, not to be left out of the party, the second part of this article counts down the top 10 PC games I've played this year. They've all been featured in my past reviews, so if you've been paying attention, you should have a pretty good idea how this list turns out. Without further ado:
#10
RUNE
Developer: Human Head Studios
Publisher: Gathering of Developers (G.o.D.)
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| The Viking lores are larger than life. |
The one thing that Rune's got going for it is the lavishing graphics that it sports, thanks to the Unreal Tournament engine. It is by far the purtiest UT powered game yet. Besides its pretty exterior, it's got some badass gameplay going for it as well. Utilizing pure melee weaponry, you hack and slash at enemies with blades ranging from tiny short swords to massive Dwarven Battle Axes. The animations for your character is smooth as silk as he effortlessly lops off heads of the undead. A number of shortcomings such as repetitive gameplay and a somewhat bland storyline pushes Rune off the top 5 list, but if you have the chance, don't hesitate to try this baby out.
#9
ALICE
Developer: Rogue Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
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| Enter Alice's Wonderland... with a mature theme. |
This is the only game in recent memory that graphics has carried its gameplay. At its heart, it's nothing more than a typical platform action game in the third person's perspective filled with jumping puzzles. However, American McGee and the crew at Rogue has developed pure eye candy in Alice with the venerable Quake 3 engine that drives the player to keep at it just to see what other twisted surprises are around the corner. Ranging from giant floating watches to two dimentional card guards to a breathtaking black & white world, you'll never be ceased to be amazed at the amount of creative polish put in by the entire development crew of Alice.
#8
MIDTOWN MADNESS 2
Developer: Angel Studios
Publisher: Microsoft
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| Sigh... The beautiful City by the Bay. |
After the ravishing success of the original Midtown Madness set in the Windy City Chicago, Microsoft and Angel Studios would've been mad if they didn't capitalize on it with a sequel. Midtown Madness 2 has been criticized by some as nothing but an addon pack to the original. However, I disagree. Along with two new cities and a ton of new cars come the crash course driving mode which puts you behind the wheel as either a London Cabbie or a San Francisco stunt driver. This is a pure arcade racer that lets you rip loose in two realistically modeled cities. Angel has also made graphical enhancements that make the game feel more polished than the original as well. In the end, this is a fine piece of work that shouldn't be missed by any casual gamer.