William Shawn McDonie
Reviews
History of the World (Windows 3.x)
By William Shawn McDonie on March 14, 2002
Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure (Windows)
I wanted to like this game.... I really did...
The Good
The whole concept of searching through the sphinx and the ruins of ancient Egypt is fantastic! This game had a great storyline and the potential to be a great game!
I would rate the intro movie as one of the best intro's of all TIME!
The Bad
As a Mobygames reviewer I had approved the other review of this game. When reading the review I became very excited because I saw a chance to have another great adventure experience. However my experience was a little different.
First and foremost the controls are some of the worst controls on any game that I have ever seen. Its clunky, hard to understand and very difficult. You control movement by placing your cursor at the right or left of the screen and clicking. Sound easy? It should be, but actually getting the game to recognize the command can be difficult. Often times it took several clicks to move. And more often than not I didn’t go where I wanted to!
The way the game uses objects (inventory) is horrible. Instead of the tried and true pocket where you can pull things out where you need them, you can only use what’s in your hand! In the professors tent there are several objects and things that you need to look\fiddle\move. Unfortunately because of the dreadful movement system it’s a chore to try to.
The game may contain some eye candy (ala myst) but that’s about the only saving grace the game has. They might as well just did a slide show and called it a educational game.
The Bottom Line
Whoever did the intro movie must have died, quit or been fired because the rest of the game looked like it was made by fifth graders.
Stay far away from this steaming pile of dung.
By William Shawn McDonie on February 19, 2002
Crimson Skies (Windows)
These guys almost had it perfect!
The Good
(1) Graphics
Crimson has some of the nicest graphics that I have seen. Unlike many other flight games the landscapes and environment feel REAL. Lighting and in flight music is excellent throughout the game.
(2) Storyline
But the best and probably the biggest reason why I like this game is the story line. In Crimson Skies the US has split into 20 or more different nations. Because of this air travel has become the primary means of transporting people and cargo. Thus air piracy has become a viable and lucrative business. Oh did I mention this all takes place back in the 1940's? Granted at first I didn't buy this product when it came out because I thought that the premise was rather strange. However I recently picked up this gem for 10 bucks and boy was I surprised. They lovingly styled the graphics and sounds. The effect of this effort was to make a story line as rich as it was new. I would compare this to what Interplay did with fallout and they way they styled the game to feel 1950s. My hats off to Microsoft and Zipper interactive.
(3) gameplay
While no one would mistake crimson as a "realistic flight sim" the gameplay is fund and enjoyable. One of the nice touches of the game can be seen when you shoot one of your opponents down. Often times the plane will start to smoke and slowly fall to earth. At the same time the pilot will bail out. The missions are varied and the scrapbook that is kept is excellent.
The Bad
Well first of all some of the missions (like the race in Hollywood) can be difficult to the extreme. Fortunately you can skip a mission after 3 tries. Also it seems that the Zipper did not completely test or fix the game. Often times the music will skip and lag in between missions. Also until the patch the load time for missions could be long.
The Bottom Line
Overall the game has little to be upset about and much to enjoy.
Unlike many gamers today I enjoy a good story, and boy does Crimson provide!
By William Shawn McDonie on December 21, 2001
Sid Meier's Civilization III (Limited Edition) (Windows)
good but Disappointing
The Good
Civilization is one of those line of games that many like, some love, and a few lose their jobs-wife-friends because of it. Luckily for me I have managed not to lose any of those things but it has been close.....
Civ III like 1 & 2, has wonderful options. I can choose to be American, I can choose to conquer the world, I can choose to win by building a spaceship. The choices almost never end. I LOVE the way the graphics (not sound) in unit fighting, excellent! War weariness is cool as is the "new culture". You can tell a lot of love and thought has gone into parts of civ 3...........
The Bad
That's why its so hard for me to get to this next part.....
There were several things that really prevent Civ 3 from being a Great game. Here they are....
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Horrible sound effects. On the nice movie cd that I received with the Limited Edition, one of the speakers said "there is tons and tons of sound in this game, it has been timed so that when you see a unit swing a axe you hear the sound at the same time" (not exactly word for word) Only if that was true..... Most of the time the sounds drag and are louder than other sounds. A ship can move 3 times and have 3 different sound levels each time! That means that I can never have my sound settings where I want them. (Sometimes I barely hear a unit; sometimes it blasts me out of my chair)
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SERIOUS-SERIOUS-SERIOUS-SERIOUS bugs I can’t play my version of Civ for more than 30 minutes! After that the game crashes hard. I have to back out every 20-30 minutes and then get back in. I have called customer support 4 times and they still can’t get it fixed. (Drivers are new and computer is a dell not a home build)
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Limited Edition - why did I pay the extra 10 bucks again? When I pre-ordered the game the guy at EB told me it should include a Hint manual. Now I have been playing civ since it came out in 91. I don't need a hint manual but I do collect civ game boxes and material, so I didn’t mind getting one. When I opened my new tin I was a little surprised that I only got the tin, movie cd and a letter from Sid for my 10 bucks. Come On! You could have at least given me a nicer tech map or something?
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Yeah! The Tech map! Very small and totally useless. The other tech maps from other versions where much better.
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Rushed feeling You just get the feeling that some of the issues of this game were just rushed into production. Which is glaring, considering other parts are very clean and professional.
The Bottom Line
What disappointment!
I tried so hard to give this one a chance. I spent my whole first day of owning the game trying to get it to work. After all that I can only play for a hour or two before I get tired of the spotty sound effects and lockups. That just makes the extra money I spend on the Limited Edition more painful. My recommendation is wait till it gets patched. Then buy it for the reduced cost.
This is one of the most painful reviews I have ever written.....
By William Shawn McDonie on November 19, 2001
Sid Meier's Civilization II Scenarios: Conflicts in Civilization (Windows 3.x)
By William Shawn McDonie on October 29, 2001
The Pandora Directive (DOS)
The Tex Murphy series is hands down the best drama on PC
The Good
Unlike many other adventure games the plot and script of the game are VERY polished. The Tex series of games if one of the few adventures that focus on storyline rather than graphics or something else. From and adults point of view this could easily be transported to book form (and it was) or TV or even feature film. The story is that strong.
While this game did not progress much in terms of method or interface the game did improve in many categories.
1. <u>Longer more in-depth storyline.</u>
I would have thought after playing Under a Killing Moon that this would not be possible but it is! Pandora just pulls you in and touches more on your heart and emotions than UAKM.
2.<u>Multiple Paths</u>
I think that there were 3 different paths that you could take resulting in 12 different endings! You could choose to be the "good" Tex and follow the straight and narrow. You could be the "bad" Tex and be totally self-centered and throw friendships and love to fire. Or you could just choose the middle path. Part bad Tex part good Tex.
3.<u>Hint Files</u>
I have said this time and time again. How unselfish and cool of Chris Jones and the foks at Access to not charge me for hints. But not just that, the game also keeps track of where and what I have done. So If I have completed all there is to know about a place or person it reflects that in the hint system. Thus I dont have to waste time looking for the right tip, and can limit my exposure to other info.
4.<u>Excellent Acting</u>
As with all Tex games the acting talent is first rate. No doubt about it NO ONE DOES IT BETTER!
The Bad
Part of the problem with multiple paths is that sometimes it can be hard to find where you went wrong. For instance if you want the really good ending you have to be careful in your dealings. (but I can handle that) Also the game engine didnt change between UAKM and Pandora. Overall though that really isnt that bad of a thing.
The Bottom Line
Please if you are looking for something of substance just give Tex a try. Its hands down the best drama you can find on a PC!
By William Shawn McDonie on August 2, 2001
Doom (DOS)
By William Shawn McDonie on July 20, 2001