Time is short here - as I’m trying to get some holiday shopping done in between the endless holiday party parade that is December. With all the late nights and rum-soaked fruitcake, I haven’t even had the strength to play World of Warcraft in the last five days….and thats saying something (my alter ego ‘Hariseedz’ usually spends more time playing at night than i do).

So last night as I was searching for some room to free up on my harddrive I stumbled onto an old favorite - Sacrifice. After playing it for a few hours I remembered how fun and truly different it was. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this is the game that introduced me to RTS and RPG both.

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Today’s post was going to be a review of “Slapdash Racer” - its an exciting rts racing sim that pits you against dozens of competitors as you hastily cobble together a vehicle from parts found in a junkyard to race in a NASCAR/Demolition Derby hybrid league. The problem is - the game doesn’t exist. So in that respect, its much like Duke Nukem Forever, Xlll - part 2, and any other game that never made the jump from production to reality.

A moment of silence for those who remain in the purgatory that is “Near Completion”.
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“Lets get down to brass tacks here, how much for the ape?”

Imagine its the year 2000, and you find out that Peter Jackson is going to be directing a remake of “King Kong” AND that an exciting, well made video game will be made based on his remake.

Yeah…..my how things have changed in a few short years
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Power-leveling, is it a menace, annoyance, reasonable tool for busy people or just an inconsequential sidebar in the history of online RPGs? We can often can tell the people who have used it- but what about the ones DOING it? Who are these “master players” who churn out what some consider to be fraudulent characters by the dozens?

To begin with - this topic really encompasses two separate issues: People who purchase characters ready made, and Services that provide more simplified service like buying virtual currency/ items. True, most outfits that offer one offer the other - but its the power-leveling piece that I’m interested in. As far as people buying online currency, I see it as the lesser of two evils (with a similar, if less obvious, unfortunate end result of community members who have no idea what’s going on).

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This weeks review (and next week’s as well , I fear) is Evil Dead: Regeneration. Or, as I refer to it ” Evil Dead v. My Computer.”

It’ll go perfectly with your ‘Army of Darkness’ tv tray and Bruce Campbell pajamas

Few facts for those who are interested in a budget title solely because Bruce Campbell and Sam Rami are involved:

1) This game delivers exactly what you’d expect as a fan of the series. Campy fun, plenty gore, gallows humor, the actual voice work of Campbell & Rami. Low budget graphics.

2) The gameplay is a hybrid of previously successful models - but dumbed down

3) Be prepared for the possibility that the game will be a beast to get working porperly.

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Having finished playing Prince of Persia : Warrior Within (hereby referred to as PoP2, because I am runnning late) I can say that I’m glad I waited to buy this game.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of the both the first and this second installment of PoP; I just think this is one of those games that would have left me on the fence if it was worth the full price.

As I stated before, this game has an “edgey-er” feel that translates to a more complex story and character develpment, and made me get into the game fairly quickly.

Robert Smith was was actually the model for the cover shoot….
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Innovation, at least in terms of video game design, seems to be a topic many publishers love to discuss but few truly pursue. It might sound funny that I’d reference this topic, given I’m about to review what some have called a clone of one of the longest running franchises (Tomb Raider). However, Ubisoft’s first take on the side-scroller Prince of Persia was a rare treat.

I can only equate the success of their execution to that of the recent “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie in which the makers were able to take a popular, if somewhat 2 dimensional ride and turn it into a fast paced adventure with a fully fleshed out story to boot.

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