 |
||||
 |
||||
 |
||||
 |
||||
 |
||||
 |
||||
 |
||||
 |
||||
|
Week Ending September 27, 1999
Editorial
on trends in the gaming
industry and
hot topics.
HERE
Interested in the process of game development? Sound, graphics, code, and design are all covered
in our game design section.
HERE
Back to Index
HERE
THE BIG 8: HOT FALL GAMES
CONTINUED...
3. Gabriel Knight 3
One of the biggest game series of the 90s welcomes its second sequel this fall, and truth be told, there seems to be little excitement about Gabriel Knight 3 outside of die-hard community. Although the gaming market has definitely moved away from long quest-driven adventures in favor of more savory nuggets of quick-paced action, there's no denying that the Gabriel Knight series has been at the top of its class in terms of storytelling ever since the first game was released back in the early 90s. This time out designer Jane Jensen has re-invented the technology wheel yet again and opted for a full-3D game engine which allows players to manipulate the camera. Based on an early beta I snuck a peak at, it appears that Sierra has put together an impressive adventure story. Still, I wonder if the 3D technology is going to be a barrier to entry into the rich and detailed world – After all, players don't necessarily want to pan and tilt a camera to their heart's desire in an adventure game.
View the Screenshots4. Unreal Tournament
Last week Epic Games released a 3DFX-only demo for Unreal Tournament. (Believe me, we will be talking about that one in next week's Gist List). For those of you that don't have the honor of owning a 3DFX card in all its 16-bit color glory, the early word on Unreal Tournament is very positive. Although it's hard to judge Epic's attempt to go head-to-head with Quake 3 just based on the demo, I have to admit to being very impressed with the level design (especially the large outdoor areas) and the weapons, such as a laser-like pulse riffle that is incredibly precise at ripping into enemies. Although I'm not fully sold that the single-player game is going to have lasting play value, there's no denying the multiplayer human-to-human aspect is already a clear winner. If anything, the demo shows great attention to detail, from the dual firing modes on weapons to a brilliant windows-like graphical user interface. Throw in NetGames' detailed ranking system for online play (which is currently offline), and it looks like Unreal Tournament will finally give Quake players a reason to at least take a second look at the Unreal multiplayer universe.
©
Copyright 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 GMK Studios
Feedback? Send us your comments: feedback@gameslice.com
GameSlice is a Member of the UGO Network