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 By: Geoff Keighley |
August 21, 2000 |
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Back to Index
HERE
Electronic
Arts: PC Fall Lineup
Last week, Electronic Arts summoned online game journalists to
its San Francisco, California offices in order to preview its upcoming
lineup of PC titles for the holiday season.
EA chose to focus on three key titles: Westwood’s Red Alert 2
(October), Alice (Fall), and The Sims expansion pack, Livin’ Large (end
of August). Noticeably absent
were Black and White (November), James Bond: The World is Not Enough (now
a 2001 game) and other prominent E3 titles such as Clive Barker’s
Undying and Need for Speed: Motor City, presumably pushed back into the
new year.
That being said, all
three of the PC games shown in extensive demos look to be triple-A
blockbuster releases. Here’s
a brief overview:
The Sims: Livin’
Large
Livin’ Large is a
fantastic addition to the Sims family and it’s amazing what Maxis has
been able to cram into an expansion pack that only started development in
March. In addition to a ton
of new objects and themes (from castles to Austin Powers-ish 60s retro),
notable new features include a genie (make a wish and see how it changes
the game environment…for good or bad) and an expensive robot that can
take care of keeping the house clean once purchased.
Red Alert 2
Westwood’s Red Alert 2 is easily shaping up to be one of the biggest
surprises of 2000. The
company learned its lesson after hyping Tiberian Sun to no end, and as a
result, Red Alert 2 is actually coming out amid a noticeable lack of buzz
– probably a good thing. But
after spending a good deal of time with the game, I’m confident in
saying it should please Command and Conquer fans.
Whereas Tiberian Sun lacked some of the panache that made the
original Red Alert so popular, Red Alert 2 has a ton of interesting
strategic units (giant squids and tesla troopers that can power a telsa
coil themselves when the base power is down), along with unique gameplay
tactics (garrisoning buildings and a chronosphere that can be used to
engulf six enemy units, allowing you to drop them into the water).
Westwood has even
upped the ante when it comes to the game’s full motion video cut-scenes.
Now these videos almost play out as a self-parody, with
over-the-top antics on both the Russian and Allied side.
If anything, the video sequences are certainly memorable.
While it remains to
be seen whether Westwood can effectively balance all these unique units,
there’s little doubt that Red Alert 2 picks up right where Red Alert
left off, promising unique strategies and high-stakes action.
American
McGee's Alice Next Week: The Gist
List Ad Review
Finally,
the surprise of EA’s event was Alice, the 3D action game loosely based
on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland universe.
While I wasn’t particularly sold on this game at E3, what the
developers were showing at EA was much improved and looks to be on target
for a fall release. It’s
nice to see the Quake 3 engine being used for something more than a sci-fi
action title with lasers and cold metallic corridors, and if the inherent
risk in doing a title like this pays off, expect just about every fairy
tale in your local library to be given the “3d action game” treatment.
It’s a great concept.
Copyright 2000, Ola Balola LLC.
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