 |
| Note
the dagger in his face. Soldier of Fortune is not for the feint of heart. |
PC GAMES ROUNDUP OF 2000
Date: 1/17/01
By Rice
#7
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE
Developer: Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
|
| Note
the dagger in his face. Soldier of Fortune is not for the feint of heart. |
Raven is one of the industry's most prolific premier developers. The reason? They're id software's #1 customer when it comes to licensing their engine. With a firm technology base, they can focus on the gameplay and not worry about making their own engine from scratch. The results are almost always entertaining titles that push the graphical envelope. Soldier of Fortune was the Quake 2 engine's last hurrah, and it really exited with a bang. Utilizing animation technology they call GHOUL, it allowed you to shoot off individual limbs in a grisly fashion. Along with real world locales such as the Middle East and the New York subways, SoF is undoubtly the purest action game of 2000.
#6
STAR TREK VOYAGER: ELITE FORCE
Developer: Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
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| Energize! |
Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force makes this back to back entries from Raven on the top list. As one of the first games to come out touting the Quake 3 engine, it combined clean, sharp Star Trek graphics along with entertaining gameplay. You control the leader of Voyager's Elite Force, the crew that is responsible for handling hazard situations, either it be gathering intelligence from alien Borg ships or rolling up your sleeves and play janitor to clean up toxic areas. Cleverly scripted events make the game flow incredibly smooth, and relatively smart AI make sidekicks less cumbersome and more helpful. The only true minus is that the single player aspect is way too short, but perhaps that can be attributed to the addictiveness of the storyline.
#5
MDK 2
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Interplay
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| Back in MDK2 is Kurt and his ribbon parachute. |
Bioware had a big shoe to fill in making the sequel to Shiny's original groundbreaking MDK. Then again, perhaps not. MDK 2 surpasses the original in everyway possible. Combining humorous storytelling with smooth OpenGL graphics and varying gameplay, Bioware hits a homerun with this title. In the game, you take control of three separate characters. When you play Kurt, stealth and sniping are your fortes. As Max, you put all 4 of your arms to good use... with guns! Lastly with Dr. Hawkins, you gotta use the cranium and combine inventory items to create not only weapons, but also utilities. Overall MDK 2 is a light hearted gaming title that's very polished in every aspect.
#4
NEED FOR SPEED - PORSCHE UNLEASHED
Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts
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| The closest I'll ever get to a Porsche is in a video game. |
People that know me personally know I'm a Porsche nut. If a miracle occurs sometime in the future and I win the lottery, I will promptly fill my garage to the brim with those babies. Until then, I'll have Need For Speed's Porsche Unleashed to keep my urges under control. Its perfect mix of realistic physics and arcade action, not to mention the featured vehicles, has kept it on my hard drive longer than any driving game with the exception of Midtown Madness. It features a crash course mode that puts you in the seat of a official Porsche test driver as well as a career mode a la Gran Turismo that spans over five decades of Porsche's ever created.