Jackson Hazard @J.Hazard
Reviews
Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Mysteries of the Sith (Windows)
Jedi Knight specialized for multi-player
The Good
Take the average JK review, and stick it in here. The levels are pretty much the same in ingenuity, playability, and engagement. The new weapons are nifty, but nothing really world-changing. That's probably why it's just an add-on and not a sequel. But what really stands out is the multiplayer capability of MotS. I played it extensively on the MSN Gaming Zone. There are so many different aspects and areas of the game which make multiplayer games continually engaging. Like using the force? Try playing a Full Force game, or just a simple Jedi Personality game. But first you have to choose what powers you want. Like big guns? Play Soldiers. Sniping? Then you have Scouts. It makes many great "arenas" of skill which players can aspire to. Sadly, the MotS heyday on the Zone has passed, and the sun is setting.
The Bad
It's Jedi Knight. The "Greatest Game of All Time". What's not to like?
The Bottom Line
More JK excellence.
By Jackson Hazard on May 18, 2001
Conquest of the New World: Deluxe Edition (DOS)
An extremely engaging strategy game.
The Good
Conquest of the New World begins with excitement and ends with it. It grabs the player's attention and refuses to let it go, offering in-depth exploration, management, combat, and diplomacy. The story line is simple: a re-creation of the exploration and settlement of the North American continent.
The turn-based gameplay fits very well with the overall flow of the game, and also gives a chance (on slower machines) to read very interesting tidbits from the mid-turn "newspaper" that is displayed while the computer calculates the other player's moves. The graphics are very well-done, and the sound is incredible (not only in quality, but in delivery - as you view different portions of the areas of the new world, the sound effects reflect the changes in scenery). There is a whole separate combat portion of the game in which battles are fought, with very specific rules and tactical advantages (this is fun to play on its own, just for a little excitement).
The game offers much re-play value, with a different "world" being generated every time, options to play as the europeans or native americans, and the Combat Demo. The game settings are very flexible, allowing for many different styles and methods of gameplay. It has network capability, but I never found anyone else who had the game!
The Bad
In the original version, there was one very obnoxious bug, which resulted in a complete inability to move units later on in the game. Whether or not this has been fixed, I don't know. Also, the diplomacy aspect of the original didn't operate as it should have, but it seemed impact the course of the game very little.
The Bottom Line
In general, this title is fantastic if you're into turn-based strategy and tactics. It's a real sleep-killer (I've done several all-nighters with this game).
By Jackson Hazard on May 18, 2001