Amazon.com Review

Most role-playing games are set in a fantasy world, and if they're notdirectly related to Dungeons & Dragons, they at least follow the blueprint ofthe D&D rules. Not so with Arcanum. Set in the world of steampunk--agenre of fiction that puts forth the idea that computers and other advancedtechnology existed back in the late 1800s--Arcanum's world is fantasticand instantly recognizable at the same time. The game begins with the crash ofthe L.F.S. Zephyr, which you were aboard. Things go from bad to worse asassassins try to kill you. Meanwhile, you struggle to understand why peoplethink you are the reincarnation of "The Living One."

Developed by Troika Games--which is staffed by many of the people who createdthe excellent Fallout games--Arcanum takes the conventions of the RPGgenre and turns them on their head. Instead of binding players to a specificcharacter class, such as Paladin or Barbarian, Arcanum lets you create acompletely unique character. Experience points can be distributed in any area,so you can create a character that's a thief, magic user, and gunslinger all inone. In addition, you can specialize in either magic or technology, which willimpact how the other characters in the game deal with you.

The world of Arcanum is simply massive, and the story is extremelydetailed. The main plot will provide you with 30 to 40 hours of gameplay, andthe side quests will add another 10 to 20 hours to that figure. The quests runthe gambit from fetching items to finding a cure for lycanthropy, and they'reall well designed.

Arcanum is viewed from a third-person isometric view--similar toDiablo II and Baldur's Gate II--and the graphics easily comparewith any other RPG on the market. The characters are modeled nicely, and thebackgrounds and structures are very detailed and really add substance to thegame. Unfortunately, even on a high-end system such as an Athlon 1.33 GHz, thegame suffers from long loading times, and will occasionally slow down duringcombat.

Those minor problems aside, Arcanum is a sensational game. The open-endednature of the character-creation system guarantees replayability, and thesetting and story will offer relief for anyone tired of Diablo II'sdungeon crawls. --Kilmic Robbins

• Great story
• Numerous quests
• Ability to completely customize character

• Long loading times
• Interface can be overwhelming at times

Features

• Character Creation: No More Character Classes. Arcanum uses a classless, point-based system where players use points to "buy" attributes. You're only limited by your own creativity in guiding your character's development.
• Complex Stat-Driven System: Take charge or your own growth in the game environment. A deep and complex statistical system underlies every event that takes place within Arcanum. These include:
• 8 basic stats (including Strength and Charisma), and more than a dozen derived stat (such as Poison Resistance and Character Speed)
• 16 primary skills (such as Gambling, Healing, and Lock-Picking)
• 80 spells within 16 colleges

Reviews (122)

Sail On Software - Dishonest Company
We ordered a DVD through Amazon via Sail On Software. They sent us a used DVD (no packaging), which did not work. After stringing us along, we returned the DVD and were promised a replacement or refund. Needless to say, they have avoided our e-mails since. I would recommend NOT dealing with Sail On Software.

Involved Gaming - complex ? ... worth the learning curve !
I don't want to rehash what everyone else said. I agree with their reviews. This is a wonderful game. Can be a bit overwhelming, but with patience, you will "enjoy the ride".
I wanted to inform those looking to purchase this fine game, you can find the game/new at eBay, fifty% cheaper(...I paid twelve bucks) than what the new marketplace sellers are requesting. If you need a manual, you can download a .pdf version some 100+ pages long. Do due dilligence and you won't regret it.

A nice refreshing break from hack and slash RPG's.
First things first, I LOVED ARCANUM. Man it was so nice to have a decent RPG come out that was not centered around hack and slash. Not to bash Diablo or anything but the repetive hacking can get old and with a background story that does not care what you do leaves me wanting just a little bit more. Thats where Aracnum comes in. It basically takes the best of Fallout and puts it into a richly detailed and unique fantasy world. The beginning of the game was very good and had some nice hooks to draw me in. And then after that it didn't let up and I had to keep playing to figure out more of the cool story, complete all the cool quests and see the new areas. I absolutely loved the alternate situations throughout the game. I believe that is one of the biggest things that made the Arcanum game stand out from all its predecessors. And another cool thing was that if you beat the game with one character you could replay it with another character and have a brand new experience. The only drawback I had with the game was the level limit. I reached level 50 way before the end of the game and found myself running from almost every random encounter because I could not reach a higher level and it was getting real boring beating up every monster that came after you. And another drawback I found was the ease with which the end guy could be beaten. I expected a very tough enemy, but it only took me two tries to beat him down. The first so I could see what he was all about and the second to counteract all his moves and put the smackdown on him. But those are very minor details and the overall game was a satisfying RPG experience. I hope to see more types of these RPG's in the future and less action oriented RPG's. Sorry action fans, RPG does stand for Role Playing Game which means playing a role not clicking a mouse button as fast as you can. Maybe they should come out with a new genre Hack and Slash and keep it seperated from RPG.

Sleeper masterpiece, but missing a few touches
Arcanum is a good example of a sleeper hit on the PC RPG genre.Although many have forgotten, or have not even heard of it, it DID win 2001 RPG Year of the Award and other accolades from various sources.And at $9.99 (without shipping/handling), it's quite the bargain as well.

Arcanum's strong points lie in its original concepts, well crafted storyline and well scripted events.Betrayal abounds, and it's hard to know who to trust.

Arcanum was the first major game to offer two different sides in the form of technology and magic.Wield a nice automatic gun, or maybe a tranquilizer rifle.Or become a stuffy mage, carry a flaming sword, and send bolts of lightning out of your fingertips.Teleport yourself to distant lands, or ride the train.

The game is also very imaginative in terms of character interaction.If your mage becomes too powerful, the railroad conductor may eventually not even let you on the train, for fear that the warping of reality around you will damage the machine.The world is quite realistic- there are tailors, ordinary folk who just live in houses, blacksmiths, guards, etc.Some things will only happen at night.And unlike many other senseless RPGs, if you break into someone's house in plain view, it IS a crime.You want something valuable in that house?Sneak in through the shadows!

Arcanum is just an amazing game.The number of characters you can develop is startling, and the dialogue options available for each character are equally so.They range from the normal, to the cautious, to the sarcastic, to the outright absurd (i.e. "You're too nice.You have to die now.")

The spellcraft in Arcanum has been impleneted very originally.Casting a spell causes fatigue instead of mana, and spells actually will cost a certain amount of fatigue to upkeep, which allows for many interesting balances between technology and magic.Gun runners will never be afraid of suddenly getting too tired, and just running out of spells.On the other hand, they will be quite afraid of running out of bullets.

Of course, a game as ambitious as Arcanum also comes with several weaknesses as a result.Like any other pioneer in its field, Arcanum has a few pitfalls that kept it off the wish lists of some players.Arcanum has a steep learning curve unless you played a similarly styled interface (e.g. Diablo II).

Second, technological characters will find their time more difficult than the spellcasters because in the early game, they have to search everywhere- even garbage bins- for enough components to build decent weaponry.This perpetual scavenge hunt can quickly tire some less advanced players.

Third, some spells are simply too good.Disintegrate for instance, simply destroys the enemy monster.There is no equivalent for this on the tech side, and even if there was, it'd still be quite "broken" and unfair.There is no challenge in simply walking up to a boss monster and simply playing one spell that knocks it away into oblivion.

Another major complaint is that combat in Arcanum is too biased towards melee.Oftentimes the person who survives is neither the mage nor the techie, but the ogre who's got some good armor and a really, really big sword.Ranged weapons, as a general rule, are quite weak.The ones that aren't (i.e. explosive grenades are sort of good) are usually rare, even the components for them.

Last but not least, the controls in Arcanum are a bit clunky and the way the world map works is counter-intuitive.The game slows down periodically for little reason, even on fast systems, which suggests that the programmers may not have written entirely efficient code.Anyway, look at the advantages and disadvantages, and invent your own rating.

P.S. Arcanum does not support Windows XP officially.You have been warned.It may or may not work, depending on your specific PC.Also, some computers with older CPU's will have problems with their 3d acceleration.Try safe mode.Worked for me.

Load times aren't that bad
Ok let me start by saying this is a very good game, you have tons of quests and your charter is very customizable.

Ok ived read alot of reviews on this site and they all seem to say this game has long load time well it dosen't. It dose however have alot of stops in the game(while your battleing or try to cast alot of spells in a row) but if you have alot of ram you won't have that problem.(when i first got the game i had only 256 mb ram and had alot of stops while playing, but after i upgraded to a 1 gb of ram i didn't have the stoping problem anymore.)So if you computer is decent like mine you shouldn't have any major problems playing this game. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

A collection of seven games in the classic King's Quest PC game by Roberta Williams. Also includes several bonus games. ... Read more

Reviews (38)

you can get it cheaper
you canbuy kings quest 15th anniverary with games 1 through 6 much cheaper and then purchase kings quest 7 separately much cheaper

I need help playing my King's Quest on XP
I got the King's Quest Colection Series a while back, only paid 30 bucks for it so I see that I am lucky :-), anyways, I LOVE these games but I just got a new computer with XP and all that and now I can't play the games!! I read in a review below that it is possible to play them, I just have to turn my compatibilty back to Windows 95 but I looked and can not find that anywhere! Someone PLEASE help me with this because I absolutely LOVE these games and want to play them now... Please Email me at kel192004@yahoo.com with any information. Thanks everyone!

Getting Hard To Find
For those of you criticizing the prices here on Amazon for this amazing collection i find it kind of funny. Most of you (myself included) have no problem plopping down 50 bucks for a new game but when it comes to the greatest collection of games EVER released including the first 7 Kings quest games, and a remake of the first 1 - with better graphics only available in this collectionas well as a host of other classic adventure games and other bonuses to numerous to list 100 bucks or so starts to sound like a bargain - and believe me you probably wont save any money on ebay on this one - hard to find is a gross understatement. (Supply and demand)

I have my copy and i love it.

You can run games on XP
I won't bother repeating how wonderful ALL of the games are, because everyone has either said it or already knows it. I am writing this in response to the review that says you cannot run it on XP- you can. You must change the compatibility settings to windows 95. Right click, and go to properties. You will see the compatibility tab.Just change the settings to windows 95 and check all the boxes.

Great ride but not worth the price of admission
The Kings Quest collection is, in my opinion, the best adventure series ever but these prices that the people are selling them at are utterly and stupidly ridiculous! Now as far as the games are concerned, EVERY game in the series is great and awesome there really isn't a bad game in the whole series and the way each game connects from the last is done perfectly and brilliant. I think the best way to describe this series is like playing a awesome novel that always keeps ahold of your attention. Now as far as the price concerns obviously these greedy jackasses are asking for WAY too much. Mainly because these games are meant to be played on older systems, KQ 1-4 are DOS games and KQ 5-7 were designed for WIN 3.1. I have a Pentium II processor and run WIN98SE and I sometimes have problems running KQ 5-7 so I could imagine this collection wouldn't work too well if at all on more modern systems. Even if you do have an older computer and want to purchase this collection you could find it for alot cheaper on ebay (little hard to find but be patient there's usually someone selling it.) So to summarize, Awesome, kick ass, rocking games but overpriced by greedy jackasses so check Ebay. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great game
Trophy Bass 3D was the first fishing sim I bought. TB4 is much better and has several very cool features. I like the point-of-view camera view (angler view). It gives you a real "you are there" perspective. The fish graphics are a bit dated (remember this is a 2000 game). The lure selection is incredible, and so is the variety of lakes offered. Something for everyone. Do a google search and download the demo. You will end up buying the full game. I switch back between this game and Bass Fishing 2003.

Realism Is the Key
Trophy Bass 4 is the most realistic fishing simulation I have ever played.Every weather condition has a different effect on the fish as to where they are located on each individual lake.Also every type of weather condition calls for different lure techniques for those situations. This game will test your knowledge and skill.If you do not have this game already I strongly suggest picking it up.

Field & Stream: Trophy Bass 4 will get you 'hooked'!
In the UK, as it could be said around the world, fishing has been described as THE favourite outdoor pastime and 'Field & Stream: Trophy Bass 4' has brought the thrill of the catch to the confines of your lounge.

It features over 30 species of freshwater gamefish including Stripers, Walleyes, Catfish and Muskies.

On your boat, you will have 1000's of rod, reel and lure combinations available to you along with underwater sonar, map and compass and two kinds of motor propulsion.

You can play either single fishing trip, career mode or even online in the multiplayer link-ups, fishing on dozens of reknowned lakes throughout the USA.

There is so much to this game that I cannot begin to give it justice.I'm 'hooked' and I can't even fish for 'reel'! (almost a pun there).

If you love to fish...
I love to fish but I had an unfortunate injury some 20 years ago and I use a wheelchair to get around. This lets me fish whenever & places that I probably would not get a chance to go fishing at. I only wish it had a few more lakes in the northern part of the USA or even Canada. Even the great lakes would be cool. Overall I love the game and all the options that it gives you.

I can't fish worth a lick but I love this game!
I got this for my husband and I think I've played it as much as he has!I love it!I am no good at fishing, so I put it on "easiest," and it is so fun!I just do it to catch fish and have a little fun, so "easiest" is a good level of difficulty for me ha ha.When my husband asked for this for his birthday, I thought, "eeewwww.Well if that's what he wants..." and now I monopolize it!It's great fun, even for the non-fisherman/woman. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

A fantasy game of the dungeons-and-combat variety, Quest for Glory 5: Dragon Fire allows players to customize a hero and send him to Silmaria, a country whose king has been murdered. In order to flush out the perpetrator, you must enter the race for the throne, completing seven Rites of Rulership. First, of course, you must earn the required entry fee, either by slaughtering monsters or competing in arena combat.

Sound all too drearily familiar? A few intriguing features do separate this game from all of its fantasy role-playing siblings. The greatest of these is a sense of continuity with the previous Quest for Glory games. Not only do characters from older stories re-emerge--sometimes newly married, or better established in their careers--but you can import your old characters into Dragon Fire. Instead of starting anew, you can continue a long seamless adventure with a familiar hero. Other nice touches include a rarely seen haggling system, whereby you negotiate the prices of food, weapons, and spells with their various venders. The occasional treachery of seemingly trustworthy characters and a great sense of humor also add nice dimensions to the Quest for Glory universe.

Being tied to earlier games, though, gives this one less flexibility. You cannot play a nonhuman character--you cannot even play a female hero--and players are restricted to a few very broad character classes. Character statistics and customization options are also on the simple end of the spectrum, making the game seem older than it is. On the plus side, Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire has sharp graphics, some very tough dungeons, and a streamlined, easy-to-use interface. Most of all, it tells a good story and allows long-term players of this series to retire their hero in style. --Alyx Dellamonica ... Read more

Reviews (36)

Time heals all wounds
To be honest, I was quite disappointed with this game when it came out.How could you end such a great series like this?Having played through the Quest for Glory series again just now several years later, I have come to a somewhat different perspective.The game had some inescapable strikes against it from the get go, and all things considered, is a fine ending to the QfG series.

When you get right down to it, the Quest for Glory series peaked with "Trial by Fire", the second installment, and it was all downhill from there.Besides being a ridiculously large, fun, complex game, you saved a nation (if not the world) from an insane wizard trying to release an evil god, and became a Prince as well as a Paladin or Wizard if you chose that path.After that, there really wasn't any place for the series to go.The third game was basically just a remake of "Trial by Fire", and the fourth while basically "restarting" the series by stripping you of your inventory and throwing you into a town where you had no friends (in a way a remake of QfG 1), ended up using more or less the same plot as QfG 2.

Another important part of the game that died with QfG 2 was the hated text parser.Apparently everybody but me hated typing commands in, but this was incredibly important to the series.All of the games are really like mystery novels in that you have to figure out who the bad guy is and how to beat him/her by the end of the game.To do so, you had to be a good detective and ask the right people the right questions.In QfG 3 and beyond however, this challenge is removed as in each conversation you are provided a list of topics to discuss.So it is possible to "brute force" every conversation by asking every single question available in order to solve the puzzles.

Finally, the fourth game took a different angle with the series by developing closer relationships between the main character and the NPCs, developing two potential love interests.It worked great for the 4th game, but it created a big problem for the 5th game:how do you write a story accomodating a choice between several different love interests (among other things)?The answer is, you don't.This is a problem of trade-offs that plagues ALL RPGs:because the game only has so much development time available, it can be made so that you can be/do whatever you want, but nothing really matters (Baldur's Gate, Arcanum), OR you can play a specific character the authors had in mind, which can involve an extremely detailed plot that you are not allowed to deviate from (Final Fantasy).Trying to do both is like making 5-6 games at once and selling it for the same price.By going with the "multiple ending choice" route, Quest for Glory 5 would naturally be much lighter on the details than the earlier games.

So it was a bit much to have expected QfG 5 to be some sort of masterful conclusion to the series.Especially since there seemed to be some major issues with development of the game itself.All in all, it turned out pretty decent.The combat/magic system I thought was pretty awesome overall, allowing for epic battles against large numbers of enemies.The graphics were very nicely done.There were plenty of new abilities/spells for the paladin and wizard.The plot was interesting enough and had all the old crew back.

I would say QfG 5 is BYOD -- Bring Your Own Dialogue.You're the main character, you know the characters well from the previous games.Imagine the dialogue and story playing out as you like as you play the game.Don't expect the writers to have to basically write 5-6 games to accomodate the possible choices you take.Above all, enjoy the game for what it is, a fine chance to complete your character's quests, say goodbye to your friends and close out the series.

Glory
Quest For Glory 5: Dragon Fire is not merely the end of a great series, but the end of an era for the entertainment compant Yosemite Entertainment. As a great fan of the series, "Hero" has journeyed from the town of Spielburg to the fog-ridden lands of Mordavia, Raseir, Fricana (not in this order) - and finally the village of Silmaria.

In a game of this ilk, graphics plays second fiddle to storyline and gameplay, and it is in these two areas that Qfg5 excels. Transported to the island of Marete and its capital, Silmaria(modeled after ancient Greece), "Hero's" last adventure is fraught with peril and mystery. The music is professional orchestral, with sweeping tones unlike any other game I have encountered.

Now to the plot. Decades ago, the peaceful island of Marete was plagued by a dragon. Seven pillars were constructed with ancient spells, forcing the dragon into its lair. Lately, however, following the brutal assasination of the King of Silmaria, invaders from distant lands rampage across the country, pillaging mercilessly. Compounding the trouble is the prophecy that the blood of a murdered being will destroy the pillars, freeing the dragon from its enchantment...

An enthralling plot, filled with characteristic offbeat Lorey and Corey Cole humor, fantastic music and solid gameplay cement Qfg5's position as a good final instalment to the series and possibly the greatest of the Quest for Glory epics, sure to please fans of the series and provide a closure in "hero's" final adventure.

THE BEST RPG EVER!
This truly is it.There is no other game that effectivley combines the previous games and truly comes up with a greater and more exciting conclusion.There are so many subquests and mysteries while on your quest to beomce the King of Silmaria.There's action, adventure, romance, and gorgeous 3-D graphics!You can choose you own destiny while being any one of four characters.I am a total rpg fan and I loved it!This is a game that you will truly want to play over and over again.

My favorite RPG of all time
I have owned this game for a few years now, and still I've found nothing I enjoy more. I have noticed some reviewers saying that QFG5 is nothing but a big inside joke with a hard to follow plot. I disagree. In fact, I have never even played any of the previous releases in the QFG series, and this one still ranks as my favorite. Even though I am not familiar with the characters from the previous installments, their appearance in this one doesn't seem out of place. You become familiar with the hero's past and just enough backstory is added so that new players can enjoy it just as much as the old. As for criticisms that the plot is confusing, I also disagree. I never had any problems following the plot except that there was one puzzle I couldn't solve without eventually seeking help. I knew what I had to do, but a mental block kept me just out of reach from the solution. My sister played this and figured out the solution immediately, so I think it's a flaw in the gamer, not the developers, so to speak. Ah, but where was I? Oh yes. Wonderful, magical, atmospheric game that is second to none!

A great game in a great tradition
The editorial review above is a little misleading. In no way is Quest for Glory - whether it's game 1 or game 5 or anything in between - intended to be Dungeons & Dragons-like. Rather, it is a unique blend of RPG and adventure. This is a game which requires THINKING, and there are often a number of different ways in which to tackle the quests in the game.
To begin with, the player has four options re character: fighter, mage, thief, or paladin (imported). Naturally there will be different skills involved.
The hero finds himself yanked to Silmaria (based loosely on ancient Greek culture) to answer a call for help. Someone's assassinated King Justinian, and to find the assassin is the hero's major job. However, he must also compete in a Leadership challenge, consisting of seven rites to prove his fitness. He has the option of also competing for the position of Chief Thief if he is so inclined, and using his fighting techniques in the arena. Some interesting side-quests can also be filled - for full points, the side-quests ought to be followed.
The graphics are beautiful, the atmospere of the game both exciting and with an almost fairy-tale quality - and it's filled with cute little one-liners and funny responses in the great tradition of Sierra adventure games.
It's infinitely more rewarding to play this game without reading a walkthrough - but if you get stuck, there are some excellent sites online to give you either hints or "spoilers" (detailed instructions for a particular step). The only quibble I had was that I felt Sierra had rushed the ending of this game somewhat. Yet in terms of enjoyment, it's a gorgeous game that focuses more on great storyline than kill'em slash'em games made today. For a charming and challenging game in the style that alas is not often produced today (let's hope things change), I highly recommend QfG5: Dragon Fire. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

"Jumbolicious"--that's Jellyvision's entirely accurate and adequate one-word description of this uber-collection of You Don't Know JACK, their award-winning, cake-taking, mega-popular trivia game. JACK Jumbo is the natural evolutionary descendant of previous JACK packs (JACK Huge, The Irreverent Collection, etc.), but this one towers over its predecessors, boasting over 4200 questions in all. This super-size JACK comes equipped with five separate games: YDKJ volumes one through three (each weighing in at 800 questions), YDKJ: The Ride (800 questions), and YDKJ Offline (1000 questions).

The first three volumes are straightforward fare, certainly familiar to anyone who's seen or played YDKJ: you're convincingly immersed in a hip, TV-style game show, buzzing in (by yourself or with up to two other players) to answer questions for cash. As with all the JACK titles, it's not so much the idea of the game (trivia) as the incredible production values and the in-your-face, often laugh-out-loud delivery that makes the game such a kick in the pants.

YDKJ: The Ride makes a slight departure from the game show motif (no green room!), as contestants travel through different "floors" answering questions, but adds the nice touch of having hosts from all the previous installments come back to make guest appearances. YDKJ Offline--as you might have guessed--is the offline version of the popular JACK the netshow.

An excellent value, YDKJ Jumbo comes through with a heavy dose of JACK style, perfect for die-hard JACK fans or anyone looking for a lot of laughs and massive replay value. --Paul Hughes

Pros:

• All the fun and insanity of YDKJ in one neat package
• Tons of questions--game holds up well to repeat play
• Great for both JACK fans and those who don't know JACK

• Some players may be turned off by YDKJ's wit

Reviews (13)

Just get YDKJ 4 The Ride
I'm a big fan of you don't know jack, so i got this jumbo thing. I would highly recommend it. Great game, very witty, and fun for parties or grilling your friends to see who is "better" in general. My fav edition is 4 "The ride". IF you only buy one, get this one

buy it buy it
these are the five best ydkj games. they were the first that i bought.i like 3, the ride, and offline better than 1 or 2 but theyre good to have anyway.i;ve sat in front of m computer for hours playing and laughing at the hilarious questions.

JUMBO
You Don't Know Jack Jumbo contains V1 V2 V3 V4 and the all new offline V1 The game that started it all. V2 The sequel to the award winning party game. V3 New question types like impossible super audio etc. V4 The Ride the exciting JACK game Offline 1000 questions and ... about a question question. These games can (and will!) make you LOL. Warning. Rated T.

Excellent!
I love the 'You Don't Know Jack' games, and this has 5 of the best of them all together!The games are full of so much great sarcasm and they are a ton of fun! My friends and I love the questions and they build our uselessinfo knowledge! What could be better? These games are definately a bigplus!

One of the best party games ever!
the most fun I've had on the computer. The thing that gets to you is howits totally non-repetitive. The dialog is seamless unlike many sports games("forsberg SHOOTS! he SCORES what a great WRIST SHOT") Tons ofuseless information great for conversations. Dozens of play modesthroughout each version will definitally keep you playing. Another funaspect is the hidden stuff. New play modes, jokes and tricks pop up everyso often(Question: you know what would be really good right about now?Answers: A. Hot Dog B. Taco C. Pizza D. Nachos). I can reccomend this foranyone who wont mind simulated insults and the occasional adult themedquestion. Its also a great value. Buying all the games seperately(if youcan find them) would exceed this price by far. A nearly perfectcompillation! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Grand Prix Legends is a racing simulation based on the drivers, teams, tracks, and cars of the 1967 Grand Prix Season--a season known as the most dangerous in racing history. The game features fast unstable cars, historical racetracks, and some of the world's most famous drivers. ... Read more

Reviews (41)

Updateable to current standards in 2005
Although the out of box product may appear somewhat dated, please note that the Papyrus design team have released a "GPL 2004 demo" as freeware, and this is in effect a complete upgrade to this product, produced with the co-operation of many modders/designers.There are new car graphics, sounds and force-feedback effects.Combine this product with the freeware "demo" and you have a state of the art historic F1 simulation which is still a bear to drive.The out of pocket expense is ridiculously low, given the price of new sims, and I would recommend this (with the upgrade--find it yourself) without reservation.But be warned: this is an uncompromising simulation, and hardly suitable for a casual gamer.

Classic is best..!
Thank you..!

Which is precisely why I prefer an old classic road car such as my humble 1500cc, 1971 VW Beetle, as opposed to a modern day all bells ringing, singing and dancing, clinical, spiritless non-DIY friendly modern day high performance vehicle.

Creature comforts aside, you don't have to break the speed limit nor the bank to experience the physical limitations of such cars.

Need I say anymore?

Case rested. For those who don't know now. You'll never know. Your loss is my gain.

Of course if you're of adequate means the above isn't an issue. Simply pay your fee and enjoy your track day etc. :)

Well done Sierra for enlightening the previously unfamiliar..!

Sonicpixy

This simulation is not 6 years old .
I think there is unanimity about the quality of this simulation . I just want to highlight the fact that, as soon as you install it as a 1998 graphically obsolete software, you have just put the foot in the door. In the next hour(s), through free downloads from the web, you will polish it into what I think is still the best road circuit simulation in 2004 : photo quality graphics, hundreds of circuits sometimes better than the originals ( you'll find the old Monza with the oval, Ile of Man TT, Limerock Park, Oulton Park, Le Mans, Laguna Seca ....) . Someone provides force feedback, someone else a Nurburgring tutorial ... it never stops. There are online leagues everywhere from Brazil to Sweden and you get all that stuff, legally, for less than $10 . Come on in !

A classic
Fond memories of this one.This game was way ahead of its time.I think it came out around 1997, and plenty of people still play it as of late 2003 from what I hear.It had/has very good graphics, outstanding engine sounds, and an excellent physics model.These '60's Gran Prix F1 cars are very difficult to keep on the track.And rightly so, because like their real world counterparts, they have very skinny tires and no wings for downforce.A must have for racing enthusiasts.

Grand PrixLegends
This game must be experienced to understand, very simply it is the best. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Larry Laffer is one wild and crazy guy, especially around the ladies. For more than a decade, Sierra has published Leisure Suit Larry titles, selling upwards of 3 million copies of the lowbrow adventure games. Now all the gorgeous gals and hilarious hijinks are available in one CD-ROM with Leisure Suit Larry's Ultimate Pleasure Pack. It includes both the CGA and VGA versions of the title that got the party started: Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards and Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places). Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals lets the player experience life as both Larry and Patti, making it the first computer adventure that offers a sex change. Al Lowe, Larry's creator, promised after volume three that there wouldn't be a volume four, which takes us to Leisure Suit Larry 5: Passionate Patti Does a Little Undercover Work, with the innovative Grope-'n'-Click interface and the now famous Bodily Function Keys. Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! contains all the pathetic pickup lines, scathing comebacks, and '70s mood music Leisure Suit Larry connoisseurs have come to expect. Lastly, there is Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail!, which includes scratch-'n'-sniff smells and a feature that allows you to include your voice and face in the game (don't ask). As an added bonus, play five Vegas-style games while chatting over the Internet in Leisure Suit Larry's Casino.

Warning: the Leisure Suit Larry games are for mature audiences; they contain adult humor, sexual innuendo, risqué implications, and mature situations. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

These games are great
I grew up playing these games, and personally, I think that Leisure Suit Larry 1 the remake, 6, and 7 are the best, I just wish they wouldn't have scrapped the project on Larry 8.Al Lowe is great when it comes to these games!

Years of fun
I have owned these games for a long time and it is probably the only series that I replay again and again every few years (OK I do the same with the King's Quest series).Lots of laughs.

Entertaining
I recommend this collection of Larry games. They are very addicting and really fun to play.I only wish that they continued making these games.Anyways, this is a sure hit.

larry laffer the swinger of all swingers
ok if you liked the first leisure suit larry in the land of the lounge lizards then youll love this i meen its all of them xcept #4 since al lowe couldnt come up with an idea for the game after #3 cuz he pretty much tied a bow around it after larry and patti live happily ever after and what not but anywayz now that i bought this i have doubles of a couple of them but thats ok cuz leisure suit larry was the first game and best game i ever played on a pc and for only 39.99 come on now you cant beat it its a great deal for really good games.

A Great Classic
Well if you have ever played any of the Leisure Suit Larry games you know what to expect. Includes all the games except the 4th because for some reason they had to take it off the shelfs. Includes the original game which is just text, no pics, and the remake of the first one. A great game for larry fans and anyone that likes a more mature stratage game. Hours of fun. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The fourth volume of the award-winning party game tests your trivia knowledge through an onscreen game show. You Don't Know Jack allows one, two, or three players to battle wits, and Volume 4: The Ride includes 800 new questions and four new question types. (Ages 13 and older) ... Read more

Reviews (16)

dont buy this game
This game was so vulgar.Very inappropriate.I thought it was a trivia game but all they do is call you names and say bad words.Don't waste your money.

YDKJ, Revemped.
Some people thought that this would be the same Jack Game as all the others, one host and categories.But they were dead wrong.This YDKJ changed the entire universe of the game forever.New Question types include Roadkill, Jack Bingo, and a new way to screw your neighbor called FlakJack.Nate, Guy, Cookie, and Schmitty all host it at some point.Buzz is limited to being sent to the bottom countless times.Every game starts off with a Moral Dilemma question that whisked you to different episode "floors" in some Jack-topian high-rise.It's about as tall as the Empire State Building.The Jack Trivia Buiding, who ever thought of that?

Instead of just choosing a category, you now choose the VALUE, that's right, you heard correctly, of the question.It's the best jack ever!Ever!

I wish I could give this six stars
Man, this is the best YDKJ game ever!I own vols. 1-3, YDKJ TV, Movies, and YDKJ Netshow and needless to say, The Ride beats em' all!I love the new features such as "Roadkill" and "Bingo."Hosts Cookie and Schmitty are my faves!The game's hilarity ensues further when Buzz (host of YDKJ vol.2) tries to make his way to the top to host the show.I'm looking forward to more YDKJ products in the future.

Fast-Paced Awesome Game!
This Game Is GREAT! This Fast-Paced Game Has New Features Like B-I-N-G-O, Road Kill And More. Has Hosts The Can Take Over The Game In The Beginning (Every Like 16 Games). You've Gotta Play This Game!

Fast-Paced Awesome Game!
This Game Is GREAT! This Fast-Paced Game Has New Features Like B-I-N-G-O, Road Kill And More. Has Hosts The Can Take Over The Game In The Beginning (Every Like 16 Games). You've Gotta Play This Game! ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Despite the Red Baron, the Sopwith Camel, zeppelins, and otherfamous reminders of the oft romanticized aerial battles of World War I,the conflict has been grossly underrepresented in the gaming world.That's a shame, because when a game as fun as Red Baron 3-Dcomes along it only leaves us wanting more. This upgraded version ofRed Baron 2 is vastly better than the game that preceded it,from the improved 3-D graphics (if you have a 3-D accelerator thatsupports the Glide API) to the new flight models.

Flight simulator fans used to screaming around the sky at mach 2 willbe in for a bit of a shock. Few of the planes exceed 150 mph, and mostof your time will be spent at double-digit speeds. However, the slowspeeds do not make for a boring game. Thanks to a handy timecompression feature, climbing to a reasonable altitude doesn't take toolong, and the inherent instability of these crates means activehandling is required at all times.

Many of the 22 flyable planes in the game are extremely fragile. Youcan actually hear the wing spars creak and groan as you pull tightturns, often followed by a sickening "snap!" when novices are at thecontrols. Players can fly a variety of single scenarios or participatein complete campaigns, but the real fun of Red Baron 3-D is theonline play. No matter how good you are at the single-player game, anexperienced human player will pull off moves that make your head spin.Fortunately this is one of those games where practicing is actuallyfun, and the game's low price (and free multiplayer component) onlyadds to the appeal. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Much improved flight model
• Graphics look great (if you have a Glide-compatible 3-D videoaccelerator)
• Online multiplayer battles are a blast

• Players without a Glide-compatible video card will have to make dowith older graphics
• Fragility of aircraft and lack of radar and advanced weapons makethe game difficult for beginners

Reviews (26)

Best All Around WW1 Combat Flight Sim
Yes it is true! Dispite being released way back in, what was it, 1998? Red Baron 3D remains among the top of tier of combat flight sims.

If you are looking for this classic sim the bad news is that all origional published copies are sold out. The good news is that used copies are not hard to find. Shop around and try to get the actual Red Baron 3D game and not the upgradable Red Baron 2. Also, try and find a copy that includes the Red Baron 3D manual. This manual is chock full of everything you need to know about every aspect of the sim. There is a large section devoted to the pilots and aircraft of the period covered in the sim and lots of period photos. It resembles a paperback novel more than manuals found with PC games these days.

Other good news is that although the game/sim is old it has been lovingly modded and kept up to date by a large community of artists and programers. The game in its current state of modification hardly resembles the game as it was origionally shipped.

The Campaign in RB3D remains to this day the standard to which all others are held. Really, there is nothing else in the world of 3D flight sims that can compare to it. It is the key reason why so many have been flying and modding this sim over the years. Very little about the campaign is scripted. Once you take off from your aerodome how events unfold from then on depends largely on the decisions you make while in the air. While flying a mission there is a real sense of a war going on all around you. Looking off into the distance dogfights and ground fire that have nothing to do with your mission can be seen unfolding. I have seen planes little more than spects in the distance spinning out of control towards theearth shot down out of the sky, trailing smoke.

The game was programed to run on the now extinct 3dfx Voodoocards and Glide graphics. The game can be run in Direct Draw with modern video cards but it looks [...]. In order to run the game in Glide with a Nvidia or ATI card a Glide wrapper or simulator is used. The latest is called dgVoodoo and works great!

Anyway, I wanted to write up this review because the sim is still in use and message boards with enthuiastic modders and simmers from all over the world are currently active and they are a great place to getstarted and ask Qs about anything having to do withRed Baron 3D or any of its many mods and patches.

Here is a good place to start if you are ready to take the plunge!http://forums.delphiforums.com/swwisa/start

Huge five stars for this awsome game!
A huge five stars: Still my favorite game after five years and three upgrades, Red Baron 3D continues to be addictive in 2004. Unfortunately, the company that made the game is defunct, but there is a huge online community keeping the game alive with lots of awesome upgrades and options.I hope some rich guy, or perhaps a savvy game company resurrects this awesome game someday. I'm a huge fan of combat flight simulators, so I routinely buy all the new games. Nothing comes close to Red Baron for the sheer joy of dog fighting, the thrill of the hunt, and the fear of flaming death. The campaigns are virtually unlimited in their variety. The missions vary from routine to absolutely terrifying, requiring you to `bug out' or die plummeting in a flaming wreck. Even at the height of your skill, the lifespan of your pilots can be very short, or perhaps you will survive the war captured in a POW camp, maimed in a hospital, or victorious with a chest full of medals. A player has to be cunning and skilled to play this game and survive, but with some training, a bit of practice and some luck, you can become a canvas falcon and rule the skies as the Ace of Aces!

Red Baron 3D, More Than Just a Flight Simulator
Red Baron 3D is not your ordinary flight simulator program.Red Baron 3D is a highly interactive WWI flight simulation where you can immerse yourself in honorable combat in the skies above France.Red Baron 3D can be played in a wide variety of ways.You can choose your aircraft and fly against any one of many enemy aircraft flown by an AI pilot in whats called the "Fly Now" mode.You can create a pilot and fly from the beginning of WWI, flying realistic computer generated missions in the "Campain Mode".As your pilot gains experience and as the War progresses, your pilot will advance in rank and responsibility. In "Single Mission" mode, you can fly your choice of a number of missions that will test your skills as a WWI fighter ace.You can even generate your own missions to fly, such asbomber escort or intercept, offensive patrols, even balloon busting.You can also play via the internet and pit your skills against other players in real time from all over the world.To play via the internet, you will need to download and install an official Sierra patch called RB3D1078.EXE.This patch will allow you to see and play in the many game servers devoted to Red Baron 3D since WON.NET no longer supports internet play.There are numerous Web Sites devoted to Red Baron 3D where you can get information on how to play the game.

Regards;
JGS4SparksJ79bCO
Commanding Officer JGS4 Jasta79b, Red Baron 3D On-line squadron

Red Baron 3-D
I purchased this game via Amazon.com after playing Red Baron-2. Installed it and had nothing but problems. My system met the requirements to run it but the Campaign portion of the game refused to work. I contacted Sold Out for tech assistance but they were unable to solve the problem. They requested I return the game so they could check it for flaws. I plan to return the game to them(at my cost)and see what they come up with.
I was able to play Red Baron-2,by Sierra, and really liked it. This version is less than I expected and unless the flaws can be addressed, I wont purchase another game via Sold Out.

3-D not much improvement to an already great game.
Red Baron is easily the most challenging game i've ever played. It continues to confound me after years of play. I've never been able to get the online version to work, but that's OK because the "campaign" level is great. You must master the controls and be able to look off into one direction, while flying in another. You will build your pilot up while fighting in the Great War. If you see a red Fokker triplane come after you and you're flying for the French or British, get outta there! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

For Lords of the Realm II fans, Sierra announces more excitement, new combat, plus head-to-head combat on the Internet with other Lords of the Realm II fans. The Lords of the Realm: Royal Collection offers you everything you need. Get the original Lords of the Realm together with Lords of the Realm II and the Internet-ready Lords of the Realm II Siege Pack in the Royal Collection. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Bad.Bad,Bad.
the new lords of the realm 3 is Bad it is not as good as the original.please save your money go and buy yourself the original game you will be a much happier perso!Bad Bad!all they had to do was alow the original to be able to be played on EAther xp or windows 2000 etc ,just up date the game and everyone would be happy IT WAS A GREAT GAME ,this new game is BAD

bad
the new lords of the realm 3 is bad it is not as good as the original.please save your money go and buy yourself the original game you will be a much happier person!bad bad !

A classic
Lords of the Realm 2 was the first strategy game I played.A friend brought it over in 7th grade, and in the past 7 years it's been the one game I've gone back to repeatedly.I have yet to grow tired of this game.

First, I love the game's soundtrack.I've actually put all the music WAV files in a playlist...and while I'm on the subject of the audio, if you haven't listened to setup2.wav, DO IT!

As for gameplay, it isn't exactly the most complicated of strategy games, but I think that's part of what makes it fun.If you're going to create an army, wait for one of the merchants to come through so you can buy ale.It's much easier to feed people on grain than cows, and it doesn't hurt happiness.The Knight is a spoiled brat.It is music to my ears to hear "The county is yours, my lord..."After countless hours playing this game, things like these are what you will discover.Oh, and defending your first siege without losing a guy (and no auto-calc either)...now there's a feeling of intense pride.

If you can manage to get the (now flaky) multiplayer system to work anymore (it sure as heck wasn't designed for XP!), you're in for quite a treat.The Siege Pack adds in a new gameplay form, the Skirmish.This is the real-time battles of the game played separate from the game itself.These are great for when you don't have time to sit through the typical hours for an RTS, but have a taste for medieval battle.

Simple mathematics give you a winner
Although i have this game already for over 5 years, i still enjoy playing it. Sound, graphics and gameplay are great, considering the age of the game. The only sad thing perhaps is that you can perfectly calculate what to do in order to win the game: 1 cow feeds 10 people, next season i will have exactly produced 124 bows etc... The only random factors, which you can't influence at all, are events like the plague. If calculated well, you can defend one county against an invasion of all other counties together. So don't set the difficulty too easy. For the rest it is a recommender although its age.

lords2
it not working on lords play....and the cd is broken? ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Solitaire and mahjong tiles are two classic card games now available on your computer with spectacular graphics, fun animation, and great sound effects. Play 30 variations of solitaire and mahjong tiles, featuring large numbers on the cards to make them easy to read. Play by yourself, or with a friend or family member on the same PC. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Beware this outdated software
This software is designed to run on a monitor at 640x480 resolution.This means that if you are using a relatively new computer (less than 5-6 years old) your resolution is probably greater than 640x480.If so, the game area will not fill your screen, rather it will shrink depending on how high your resolution is.The window you are running in will fill the screen, but Sierra fills the space not used by the shrinking game area with black.My monitor is a couple of years old, but was designed to run at 1280x1024.The actual game area uses about the center 1/3 of the screen.The card backs on the Solitaire are so small I have to strain to read them.I guess you could change your screen resolution before you play and then change it back afterwards, but that makes the game too much trouble for me.It is a shame too, because the games are quite good (probably 4 stars) if you can see them.

Not very Mac OSX-friendly . . .
Not sure how this package of games works on a PC, but is is not very Mac OSX-friendly, from what I can tell.(It is listed as Mac friendly, but I suspect it is probably more PC-oriented.)There are no drop-down menus, and finding instructions for the numerous games - - when there are some - - is not easy, either.The printed materials are virtually useless for this purpose, also.Finally, it seems to be fickle about whether it will let you add players.In short:the CD has dozens of games you can play; but if you are unfamiliar with the game's rules or objects, you wind-up having to try to figure it out for yourself.All-in-all, this CD is a letdown and not what one would expect from Hoyle.

There IS an Undo Feature
I almost didn't buy it because other reveiws said the game lacked an undo feature.Perhaps in older editions, but the one I bout last week has an undo for every game I've tried so far.

This game is tremendously varied.It will take months of steady play to go through every game once.The MaJong tiles even have an option where you can design your own layouts, if you ever get tired of the ones they have.

And you can decide to play with someone elso, too!I'm glad I've got it (although it may take more of my time than it should!)

Don't Make The Same Mistake I Did...
When we switched from a Mac system to a PC system,I needed to replace the Eric's Ultimate Solitaire that I had enjoyed on the former system.Because Eric's isn't available, I replaced it with Sierra's Hoyle Solitaire and Mahjong Tiles, the best I thought available. Boy was I wrong!Sierra's Hoyle Solitaire DOES NOT HAVE FEATURES/OPTIONS that are available on other software (not only Eric's Ultimate):

NO "AUTOPLAY", so every card must be clicked and dragged even when winning is definite;
NO "RETRY GAME" - you get one chance and that's it;
NO "HINTS";
"UNDO" is good for only one play;
NO "FLYING CARDS" option.

Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere for a solitaire game and don't make the same mistake I did.

It's great
Hello... my name is Kelly... I would just like to say that i think this software is excellent and extrememly good... the only thing that i wish was that there were even more games for everyone to enjoy the fun of!!! haahaa! ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Jane Jensen's spooky private eye is back for another round of supernatural mystery in Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned. This installment offers greater challenge and interactivity, with a fantastic 3-D engine designed specifically for the game. Each scene offers multiple vantage points and may or may not bring you another step closer to solving the game's ultimate mystery.

Play as Gabriel or his assistant, Grace, as they race against time to locate the young kidnapped son of a dethroned prince in the small French town of Rennes-le-Chateau. The backdrop is used to heighten the tension and add detail to the story, for just over 100 years ago bizarre real-world happenings enriched the parish church and may have led to the local priest's untimely demise.

The game offers a great balance of puzzles and investigative problem solving, often shifting from one to the other between scenes. Only rarely are hints offered, so if you get stuck, you may have to do some real-life investigation to track down other players who have published online help, but you shouldn't have to be an enlightened master to make it through the game. For the most part, persistence pays off, and the lush visuals and outstanding voice talent should help ease the sting of frustration enough to keep you going through the rough spots. Gabriel Knight 3 appeals to the eye, ear, and mind as well as the sense of the macabre--pick it up before the conspiracy hears about it!--Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (99)

Wonderful story and characters
I was sorry to end the game -- you get very attached to the characters, and the historical background is fascinating.I liked the video in GK2 and would have to say that the villain there doesn't have an emotional equivalent here, but Grace gets to play an even more important role.Music is great, and there are lots of Easter eggs and humor as well.

If you are a religious Christian, you may not want to buy the game; the ending has the potential to offend.

I am truly sorry that GK4 appears to be unlikely, I would by it in a heartbeat.

Bloody Good Game
Gabriel Knight has been a highlight of the Sierra titles since the first game came out years ago.BotS, BotD continues that tradition in a fully rendered 3-D environment that lets the player become immersed in the scenes of the crimes that truly adds to the fun of being an investigator of the paranormal, like a mix between CSI and The X-Files.Though the puzzles can be weird at times (getting cat hair with scotch tape to make a fake moustache), and the locals French accents get annoying, you'll love the story, adore the characters, and start to hope that Gabriel Knight 4 comes out very soon.

A fantastic game
While the third installment of the Gabriel Knigh series takes third place in the series(in my opinion, mainly due to the ending where I think Jane Jensen overstep a few boundries she shouldn't have), it is still a fantastic gaming experience that is EXTREMELY rare today and when the game was release. Part of what makes this game great is that it is a TRUE Adventure. Since the game industry which had once spurred with creativity had changed direction for the worst when greedy capitalists took absolute control and decided their new customers won't want to bother trying something new or understanding games and genres the selection of games and quality have declined to a unprecedented low. This genre, Adventure, as it is presented in this game and the entire series embodies what games used and are SUPPOSED to be like! Normally I never write review but one review I spotted for this game was so very ignorant and misleading that somebody needs to point out the numerous errors. It seems that Mr. Jason Moore does not want to put effort into learning anything about the series that he purchased a game from. First of all, NO game from the Gabriel Knight series is based on ANY book! Jane Jensen wrote the Gabriel Knight series as GAMES and afterwards wrote the books which are based on the games. You cannot get a very good understanding of the characters from the books as much as you can from the games. The main character is of higher quality to a person who played the earlier games from the series but still well crafted and has an interesting personality(And yeah, Jason Moore, he IS southern! He's from New Orleans!). The graphics engine displays very good graphics which would be pleasing to anyone but it is very heavy on the CPU and would seem buggy on a slow machine. Calling graphics outdate is a clear sign of ignorance of games. Graphics can NEVER be outdated, just poor. And GK3's graphics are neither. Graphics must fit the presentation of the game.Calling graphics outdated would be like calling using paragraphs in a book outdated. As far as Jason Moore's comment on story: This is an adventure game! It's all about the story! The story is the single most important part of an adventure game! The story in every Gabriel Knight are incredibly well written and intriguing. Jane Jensen is a fantastic writer who is few can come even dare to match both in game design and in books. You never have to read the books to play the game. In fact it is impossible to read the book to understand the game because the books are written after the games and the GK3 book has never even been written as far as I know. Gamers like the one previously mentioned are exactly the kind who caused the game industry to rot. Most game players do not even know what an adventure game is any more(RPGs and Adventure games are very different genres, contrary to miscategorization on many sites, including Amazon.com).

How can you give this less then 4 stars?
Truly a great adventure game. Now I was an "old-school" fan of adventure games back when developers cared about that genre. now adventure gaming is a dying breed, with only about one or two new adventure games coming out a year and most of those slipping through the cracks where only devoted fans hear about them. True fans are forced to the classics. Now this game in my mind is one of the true great adventure games along with the monkey island series, space quest series, and heros quest series. The game itself may confuse some non-adventure gamers, who don't understand the point of adventure games, but it will leave a great taste in your mouth when you finish it. Regardless if you played the past two Gabriel Knight games you can pick up the plot pretty easily and it draws you in and never lets go. Sneaking around churches and cellars hearing screams and seeing claw marks help set the mood of terror and suspense throught the whole game. This game is similar to one of the movies where the movie dosen't become great until the end when it all wraps up. A must buy for adventure fans, and for those gamers sick of shooting the same space aliens!

The Best Tale In Years
A scary intense story with deep felt characters and a world of mystery. It is truly a game that will make you care and wonder about the exciting conclusion of the adventure game that ends the story Beautifuly. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Homeworld took real-time strategy into the third dimension, andthe latest installment takes the series to exciting new levels. Set 15 yearsafter the events in the original, Homeworld: Cataclysm comes with newships (some of which are upgradeable), enhanced gameplay, and a load of newtactical challenges. Once again, it's your job to lead a fleet of spacecraftthrough a campaign that involves past threats, a civil war, and eventually afrighteningly powerful menace that eclipses everything that came before it.

The basics are still the same, but now players can't see anything outside of therange of their ships' sensors. This makes defense tougher, because it's hard topredict where attacks will materialize; also, it requires the effective use of asmall screening force to avoid nasty ambushes. Your new mothership is a lowlymining scow, so it isn't possible to build anything but the most basic shipuntil a captured vessel is towed in and researched. There's also a new limit onthe number of ships that you can have in your fleet at any time, which meansthat it's important to build the right ship and make it count. There are a lotof new things to learn in Cataclysm, and all of them add to the game'sfun.

One of the best things about Cataclysm is that you don't need a copy ofHomeworld to run it, and the story line is completely self-contained. Anexcellent tutorial is included that will help players come to grips with movingtheir ships in a fully 3-D environment. The graphics haven't been upgraded much(but they didn't need to be), and the game runs smoothly on even low-end PCs, aslong as you have a capable video card. This is a must-buy for fans of theoriginal, although newcomers might want to start with the original (or wait forthe inevitable Homeworld/Cataclysm combo pack), so that they canfeel the full effect of this polished series. Then again, no real-time strategyfan will want to miss the multiplayer mode. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• More challenging and deep than the original game
• Doesn't require Homeworld
• Absolutely beautiful, especially at high resolutions

• Missions are large, but you only get 17
• The cutscenes can be somewhat lame, but this doesn't affect gameplay

Reviews (146)

Very good game
This was one of if not the most fun strategy game i have played. It has an amazing story, unbelievable graphics, and an interface that once you learn it is relatively easy to use.
Tbe only reason i didnt give it a 5 is because it is so hard as to exclude this game from some of the less hardcore stategy gamers. The game does take a hit as well from not being able to order your ships into formations (an important part of any space strategy game) but it is more than compensated by just generally being alot of fun. Now i am a fan of space stategy games and i thought that the toughness of the game was an asset because insted of just building a huge fleet and crushing your enemys (satisfing but doesnt take much brain power) you could manipulate the battlefield leaving your enemy crippled and unable to fight back (buy controlling recource spots ect.) I do have to admit i went through a few mouses because i broke a few in sheer frustration. So in conclusion i highly recomend this game to you if u enjoy a tough but satisfing game and your not one of the "gamers" who like to boot up warcraft and put in all the instant build cheet codes. This game is well worth $20 and it was worth it to me when i pre ordered it in 03 for $60. BUY IT PEOPLE!!!

Fun?
I just have one thing to say: this game is as fun as you can throw it underwater with your wrists chained to some wall.Also, the interface and mere gameplay feels like an act of congress (looking up how to do things in the manual!)To be frank, don't by this game even if they would give you money in return!

Loss of The Real Concept!
Look, I've been a Homeworld fan ever since I bought it when it FIRST came out, it was beautiful, the graphics were just delightful, and the stradegy was complex to a portion where I can sit in a room, for 20 hours of non-stop harvesting and planning of an attack with a lil' math and algebra on the side.

When I started to play Homeworld 2, I was hyped, and ready to complete the saga in my world of stradegy gaming other than StarCraft, WarCraft, Age of Empires, and all those other fun stuff.

I began by downloading the Demo from Sierra, and I was full blown by the new graphics it had, though my video card was really acting kinda messy since it was the summer time. (Yeah seasonal changes make items work slower or faster.) Anyways, when I started to play the demo, I used the mechanism of the keyboard and controls of what Homeworld 1 had, lemmie tell you this, TOTALLY DIFFERENT! I can't believe my eyes of what I felt and seen! Everything; the whole concept has changed, the keys and etc. Then I saw that the stradegies have changed, and there were only 3 formation patterns I could only choose for my fithers, I'm like, WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE THEY THINKING!? I really wanted to bust a few chops with my strategic mind... so then I thought to myself, eh, not bad, lemmie get the whole game and see what it's really worth...

Bought it, it's totally the same concept, doesn't relate to Homeworld 1, doesn't relate to ANYTHING LIKE HOMEWORLD AT ALL! I thought that they would stick to their story, but the whole thing changed... I was really mad about it.

The game-play suddenly became boring, just traveling with no real dog-fight, "Some destiny this is..." ok, maybe a few dog-fights, but the game just gets harder and harder *like any other game* But I'm looking at it, I swear to you, I would've beaten all these fools if I had all those formation patterns. This game has less stradegy in mind, and the shipmaking, is just build in bulk, something that a gamer would NEVER LIKE. Listen, usually, it's always great to build ONE AT A TIME... WHY!? BECAUSE HAVING THAT FEELING TO SIT ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT WAITING FOR THAT SPECIAL OBJECT TO BE BUILT REALLY SHOWS THAT IT'S A GREAT GAME. This however, was truly dissappointing... No wonder it was 20 bux. Not many people like it! For God's sake even Diablo 2 is 20 times better than this and the graphics can be as horrible as they want, but their game play is just completely mind blowing as well as the story line.

For all kids that love graphics, I suggest this game as a STARTER, but for gaming stradegy and story lines, I suggest that you should TURN BACK, THERE'S NOTHING TO SEE BUT A GAME THAT TAKES 20 HOURS OF YOUR LIFE JUST SITTING AND WAITING FOR NOTHING, BUT RUNNING AWAY FROM YOUR ENEMIES.

Even Homeworld Cataclysm is better than this. I wouldn't call this game trash though, but would've worth a lot of money if they knew how to bring back the story line as what they were before, but spiced up, with more allies and enemies, and probably if Sierra was lucky, deception.

Wonderful Game
Before I start, I would suggest anyone who gets this game be sure to download the patch that has been made available.This balances out units a little better (not too much, but a little) and also decreases the difficulty of several of the missions (they are possible to beat without the patch, but they are hard).

This game builds wonderfully over the orrignal Homeworld.It has made several improvements in how things are handled and also polishes up things in general.In addition, unlike the orrignal Homeworld the different sides have very different strengths and weaknesses that are readily apparent when playing them.

Some nice additions:

You no longer build single fighters, but rather build fighters in wings.So long as a single fighter in the wing survives you can send the fighter group back to a carrier or mothership or shipyard and have the unit returned to full strength.This makes fighter units much more useful and practical then the frail things they were in Homeworld.

Resource collection at the end of missions has been automized.You will no longer have to sit around for hours after missions sending harvisters out to collect resources for you.Once all enemy units have been defeated all resources in the map are automatically collected and added to your resource pool.

Subsystems.You can now build subsystems that give your ships interesting capabilities as well as target enemy subsystems.Large ships (such as battle crusers, carriers, motherships) come with some standard subsystems that cannot be completely destroyed but can be dammaged to the point that they no longer function.This makes hit and run type attacks much more useful then they were previously since you can use them to dammage enemy capabilities or cripple enemy ships, while allowing access to some nice abilities should you chose to build some of the more unique subsystems.

The ability to capture any ship in the game has also been added.That is right, capture ANY ship in the game.Including motherships.In addition, the units which capture enemies are much less flimsy so while they do still need an escourt they can be counted on to not die immediately.

Fleet formations have also been added.While there are really only 3 choises for fleet formations, they really do make it easy to use ships of different classes together.When used properly these formations are extreamly powerful, however you need to learn when to use a formation and when to break it up.

There are a few things I am less than satisfied with however.It is for these reasons that I am only giving it a rating of 4 out of 5.

The first major thing I was disapointed with was the reduction on the number of formations.I remember that with the orrignal Homeworld there was a large number of fomrations to chose from.I kept wishing I had access to some of those, particularly the claw and the sphere.While it may be argued that the addition of fleet formations makes up for this change, I couldn't help but wish that I had access to many of the old formations.

The interface is something I am not 100% satisfied with as well.While I will agree that it is definately a step up from what was used with Homeworld, it does feel somehow cumbersome.I guess it is a function of too many menues when it comes to building units and researching.Even in this respect it isn't too bad though.

Also, the 3D nature of space has largely been ignored.This problem still existed in Homeworld, though it was a little less noticable there since they did fairly often launch surprise attacks from above or below.Homeworld 2 largely just uses the horozontal plane when it comes to combat.Units controled by the AI simply will not try coming from strange directions, but rather take a head on approach.Thankfully I was able to find a group of people to play with online who were not burdened with this problem.

My final real problem with Homeworld comes with the addition of a new unit: the shipyard.The reason for this has to do with multiplayer where its importaince overshadows even that of the mothership once it has been built.It has more subsystem slots than the mothership.It is the only unit which can build battlecruisers.It has all the capabilities that the mothership has and more.From a stand point of game ballance I can see why this may have happened (the game designers didn't want players skipping ahead in the research tree right to battlecruisers), however I cannot help but feel that if anything the shipyard should be more of a smaller mothership with more limited capabilities.Somewhere between a carrier and the mothership.

All that said, the game is still a wonderful game.It contains almost all of the orrignal Homeworld's good points, and gets rid of many of its bad ones with the introduction of few flaws.If you like the idea of controling an intergalatic battle fleet then I would definately suggest that you pick up this game.The campaign alone would be worth it, but multiplayer is where this game really shines since that is where you will see interesting tatics that can be used once the pesky notion of 2D is forgotten.

Visually stunning but shocking game play
In light of completing Homeworld 2 twice, the review is a brutal truth of what the game is---a game so challenging, so hard, it just simply isn't worth your bother. Ordinary gamers will derive no enjoyment from this. In a manner of words: this is a game with spectacular graphics, breathtaking naval fleet warfare, all hampered by arduous game play.

Fifteen missions long, the average player will find themselves struggling by just the fourth, if you finished the third by the skin of your teeth. Rapidly changing mid-mission objectives, wave after wave of enemy forces, you'd better be up to the challenge of preventing your shipyard from hostile takeover to graduate to the real fun.

Then mission 4 hits you, hard and heavy.

Players are simply not prepared so early in the game, after such breezy missions, for one of such difficulty. Continual enemy attacks never leave you alone, never giving you a breather, to collect resources, to replenish your ragtag fleet. Don't grin that smile yet, that massive frigate assault will wash it away. There's no time to get a feel for ship classes, what works best against which enemy unit, to experiment on new technologies. Took a stunning number of weeks to beat that mission alone. Just concentrate on bombers and pulsar corvettes and she'll be right mate. Homeworld 2, it seems, is one heavy mission after another, broken up by occasional missions so quiet you could sleep through them. Those restful missions would be ideal to build your fleet to full strength and maximum unit numbers.

A detrimental mistake!

An unbelievable attribute of the game---the stronger you are, the heavier the next mission's enemy forces will be. The astounding stupidity of this is simply shocking. Try full unit limits from the tenth mission onwards, when enemy forces are already considerable, you'll see. This isn't so bad, really, but it makes hill into mountain.

Homeworld 2 is a RTS game of its own, nothing like Starcraft-type games. Even the hardest Starcraft mission gave you time to rebuild a weakened army, fix your base up. You could explore the darkened map, tease the enemy from different sides. H2 won't let you do that. This game demands strict obedience to the mission objectives. You play to fulfil them, not your own agenda.

Even more absurd, whatever forces you have left you begin with next mission. Scrape a mission too finely, and what are your chances of survival, really, when come the enemy hordes, and come in numbers they will.

What H2 steals from you is enjoyment. This is for the determined player. Who doesn't want a challenge in a game? But it's not fun. Move! You can't sit idle at any time; you can't split your fleet up, to feint at an enemy base from different angles. You want to live, keep all eggs in one fleet.

The menu controls are shocking. Mouse scrolling doesn't work in H2. It takes valuable time to position and drag the tab down the page. You can't even press ENTER or ESCAPE keys, only mouse commands. Such is the Idiotic Intelligence of the developers, that you can't authorise commands with an ENTER tap. The screen panels where you click to load or save games are so slim you really have to position your mouse precisely over them.

The method of saving is a joke. Strict alphanumerical order, the starting letter or number determines its placement in the list. It's better to save games chronologically, like Starcraft and Jedi Outcast. In-game auto-saving works against you; replay a mission, and you might re-save over it.

Where in the game booklet does it say docked strike craft automatically repair? A tiny offhand mention in the Vaygr Battlecruiser. How would you think to dock your fighters when you need them active at all times?

Absurd to target warship subsystems (engines, weapons, etc) when destroying the ship takes just as long. Absurd to capture an enemy ship, not only from your strict unit numbers, but the ship will always target your marine frigate. Played game twice, still can't get cloaking technology.

Like viewing a sphere of blinking red and green dots all game long? You'll spend considerable time looking at your radar screen; it's the only way to see enemy units and positions, and easier to select targets.

Graphics are awesome, ship details commendable. Mouse-wheel scrolling permits easy panning and rotation of the camera angle. Fun to follow a bomber group on their attack runs, or zoom right in at besieged warships about to be missile volleyed. High comp system will avert the occasional slowdown when camera-close to a ship going nova; exploding capital ships are cool.

Mid- and inter-mission cutscenes are simple but satisfactory. Fleet Command voices sounds too similar; Makaan is chilling as the Vaygr warlord, smooth and polite.

Game music will become repetitive. Only two tracks stand out: the oriental Hindu-like music of the Keeper missions, and that brief heavy battle track in missions 9 and 12. Hammered by endless Vaygr fleets, your heart pounding as you brawl for survival, why the damn hell did they finish after two minutes? Superb and haunting, they rapidly faded back to that mundane battle music.

There is nothing special about mysterious Sajuuk, the one hope of your homeworld. Can't spoil you here, but the game designers are criminal fools to make the guy just that. And if that doesn't inspire your outrage, behold the short, simplistic final cutscene of the game.

This is Homeworld 2. Visually stunning, rigid game play design. You'd do well to think long and hard before sampling this farce of fun. All fine and fancy to spout rave reviews and the shine the five-star flag, but honest and informative feedback goes a long way to whisper the truth. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

With 3-D Ultra Lionel Traintown Deluxe, you can build theultimate railroad system without cluttering up the entire basement. Constructa maze of rail lines for freight and passenger trains to ship goods and peoplefrom place to place, become the engineer of a steam engine, or even manage severaltrains at once as they pick up and deliver needed goods to the factories near the track.

The game begins with a series of tutorials that outline the basic functions ofplay--driving trains, moving from track to track, and managing loads--beforepresenting a series of timed puzzle scenarios. Younger players may find even thesimplest of these scenarios too challenging, and may prefer the options that allow them(or their parents) to lay out train routes on their own. The electronic element alsoallows for some creative settings, such as scenarios set on the moon or the North Pole,or ones that include dinosaur farms.

Despite these fictional elements, the program's best feature is the level of realisticdetail it provides on the nuts and bolts of train systems. Each train car has a specificfunction, prohibiting players from loading inappropriate cargo. Track repairs, coupling anddecoupling cars, refueling, track switching--all of the basic concepts that rule the railroadsare covered in 3-D Ultra Lionel Traintown Deluxe.

Though its approach is low-key, it's also very educational, developing in young players anappreciation for how trains and railroads work--not to mention how food gets from the farmto the local grocery store. 3-D Ultra Lionel Traintown Deluxe may well be everythingboth a parent and a child could want. It's engaging, well designed, and informative. Best ofall, playing it is a lot of fun. (Ages 7 and older) --Alyx Dellamonica ... Read more

Reviews (6)

My 4 year old loves this game!
My little boy loves trains.When I came upon the Traintown Deluxe CD I thought I'd give it a try.He loved it.And now at 5 he still plays the CD and has truly excelled at the different levels. I reccommend this CD for any train enthusiast at any age. Its the best money I've spent on a CD game in a long time.

Want A Real Train Game Try Trainz!
Don't touch it. This is the most horrible excuse i've ever seen for a train game ew! This a bad game for kids to get into trains oh i love Lionel but they are not so good at games stick to the O gauge stuff.But seriously folks don't waist your money on this game.How about Trainz very good game awsome! well fell free to SEE MORE ABOUT ME Bye!

You Should LOVE This Too!
I've played with trains, train sims, and even fixed Lionel trains once or twice, and I can say how wonderful this game is to me! It has wonderful train music, and 3D sound, 10 worlds from a regular living room to a fantasy land, and the models in this game look just like the real ones! There are over 80+ puzzles from super-duper easy to brain-twisting hard! There are EVEN cheat codes if you just can't solve the puzzle. I surely reccommend this game to everyone! I LOVE it and you should too!

Excellent!
This is an awesome game for train lovers of all ages.It starts of with simple tasks, memory games, and thinking puzzles.The difficulty increases and becomes more challenging, even for adults.There are jobs to build your own train yard, deliver freight to their destinations, or to keep the train from crashing.There's math puzzles, sorting skills, and even some alien invaders.This is MUCH better than Lego's Loco.

Perfect
I haven't seen a program that's more fun for a train buff than this one. I haven't hit the big time with it yet, but I can't get over the simplicity of use and the graphics it has.I'm amazed at how complete it is and find new things to enjoy each time I start it up. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

The moderator of You Don't Know Jack might be the only game show host in the history of celebrity judges, buzzers, and door-number-fours to consistently insult the contestants. (Well, maybe Bob Eubanks on a really bad day.) But Jack gets away with it--plus a whole lot of stuff that Bob Barker has only dreamed of--in a Gen-X answer to the typical trivia game format.

There's a lot to be said for earlier incarnations of Jack, including the original moderator (newer voices seem to be doing a derivative imitation) and sparse graphics that seemed retrocool in a You Bet Your Life 1950's fashion. But You Don't Know Jack--Offline offers Internet connectivity as well as Wired Magazine/Matrix-influenced screen decor.

Aesthetics aside, the brilliance of the game is its intersection of pop-culture history--movie and television characters, primarily--with textbook knowledge. Questions are put through the Jack blender until a quiz emerges that includes particle physics and Starsky & Hutch. Because of the clever (and prevalent) double entendres, You Don't Know Jack--Offline isn't appropriate family fare. Instead, pick up a copy for your favorite procrastinating graduate school student. They might not finish their doctoral thesis, but their life will never be the same. --Jennifer Buckendorff ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Recycled Jack, Needs a little work
YDKJOL isn't a bad game. It has more questions then the previous games in the durable PC series, The best host in the game-Cookie-is again at the helm making sure that your quest for game dollars is a sarcastic and smartallecky one, and those phoney commercials at the end of the game as alwaysare gold.So why not 5 stars?Well this game has got some flaws, but theyall mostly fall in the same catagory.One is that it takes away from game4, THE RIDE format, which in my opinion was the best.THE RIDE helped withthe looping question problem as well as the possiblity that anyone can winnear the end, unlike others where it is sometimes pretty obvious.Butsince this game supposed to be best of the netshow game, it wasunavoidable.The biggest flaw is the extreme re-use fo older jokes, musicand sound bites from previous games, particularly game 3.Offline was theframe to hold the new questions on, for those who do not get the netshow,but I guess the jokes and sound slipped off the side.Regardless, Offlineis not a bad game, it is YDKJ, it is still a blast, and if you haven'tplayed any of the games, it's a good place to start, and veterans will morethen likely want it too.Those veterans however aren't going to findanything exciting or new, with the exception of the new Pissed About aQuestion feature, a slightly new question type in which angry players whovented to the company with their frustrations get well, vented back.Overall, a good game, but it could have been better. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Nile calls once again as the Queen of Kings takes center stage in Pharaoh Official Expansion: Cleopatra, with four new campaigns for Pharaoh. Offering a completely new story line, starting with the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, this expansion pack includes the mysterious and exotic time of Cleopatra VII. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Addicting, very addicting...
I can spend five hours playing this game and not get bored. That's how I feel about most of these city-building games like Zeus: Master of Olympus and Caesar 3. The only thing I didn't like about this game was that you always had to put the industrial buildings very close to the homes or else there'd be no workers. Unfortunately that brings down the neighborhood appeal, and then your houses devolve. Also the gods can be somewhat hard to please. Of course, since the mission editor comes with this game, you could always edit a custom mission and limit the gods to 3 or so. Overall, this is a great add-on to an already fantastic game.

CleopatraOfficial Expansion
I enjoyed this game.Of all the sim games I prefere the ones like Pharoah, Cleopatra, Zues and Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom.

Shameless Cleopatra plug
I play many city building games but I always come back to this one.

Its pretty good
First of all you need egyptian background. you love the game for the first 2 months but after that youll have no intrest. It is a great game though its so real you trade with other cities and built monuments and basically build an egyptian city. 1 word of advice always keep seth happy

Great Game!
Addictive, fun, great lesson in foreign AND domestic economics, ancient Egyptian history.I absolutely love this game, and never get sick of it!Lots of different choices, and ability levels. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

The best ever!
I have quite a few modern games (Empire Earth, Age of Mithology, Rise of Nations, you name it!) but the aging Caesar3 is still my favorite, it is relaxing, fun, enjoyable. It is true you won't find zoom capabilities or fancy graphics or complicate interface, it is just the best! By the way, Sierra, where is Caesar4?

good city sims
cleopatra and pharo are some of my favorite city sims.I found ceaser 3 chunky and hard to play.But getting 3 games in one is a great value.Get ready to lose some major time here!!A good value.

Time-travel the easy way.....
I've played both Caesar III, and Pharoah, and enjoyed them very much. The graphics and sound are quite satisfactory, and the gameplay is very absorbing. The key to playing successfully is managing your resources efficiently.
If you fail to do so, you will have difficulty meeting your objectives. In one early mission, I made the emperor so angry that he sent legions to arrest me and destroy my town. I was given a different assignment.....pulling an oar in the hold of a galley : ( Challenges with the potential for glorious success or miserable failure is what makes the game interesting. If the game were too easy to win, then it wouldn't be interesting. The degree of difficulty is easily adjusted on a menu in the 'Options' if you wish to reduce the challenge.
So, build what you need in order to meet your goals, i.e. usually producing goods either to export profitably, or meet your own needs, and thus allow construction of facilities which raise the quality of life in your city. Just don't build too fast before you have a solid financial base.
I find that I tend to become very involved with the welfare of 'my' citizens. I love being able to do things which make my cities prosper, enhancing the quality of their housing, and providing a higher standard of living, etc, and likewise feeling badly for them when I forget to provide something, and they suffer as a result. The audio contributes greatly to this, when the population is happy, you hear them laughing and cheering, but when a plague strikes the city, they cough and moan piteously. Also, the sounds vary depending on what you are looking at, if your view is centered on a gladiator school, you will hear swords clanging against armor and lions roaring. If you are looking at a fountain, you may hear water trickling, etc.
Generally, detail on the buildings, and the animations for the various activities taking place are good. There are many different characters, each with distinctive costume, from the little kid happily skipping around the neighborhood of the school, to the long-bearded priest associated with the various temples.
Each mission in each game takes place in a different city. In Pharoah they also take place in a slightly different time, beginning around 3000 B.C.E, and moving forward through time.
When I play, I become very immersed in the games, feeling transported back to these eras, which to me indicates that Sierra did a great job in the overall design and implementation of the games. These are very worthy games by themselves, and expect to be spending a lot of time with them. I also look forward to playing Sierra's other games, Zeus and Poseidon.

Ron

Very good
The great Empires Collection is over-all a good buy.I would have rated this game four & 1/2 stars, but this was not an option.

The Games are a good mix, but all three games are basically the same.

Caesar III is difficult to an extent, and may get boring.The combat system is good, but it is hard to keep your houses from de-moting.

It takes a week or so, but Caesar III is easily to pick up.

Pharaoh is the same with the exemption of flood plains, roadblocks, and archers, chariots, and inpenterey instead of leagens, spearman, and mounted spearman; also you could build things like pyramids.

Cleopatra is the same as Pharaoh, but there are zoos, some new industries and pyramids building speed-up.

S.S.M.

These are the best challenging scenario games - They rock!!
I bought the Empire Collection just about a week ago now, and so far I have only played CaesarIII, but let me tell you, this game is exactly what one wants in a game: Great graphics, challenging scenarios, smooth running with your computer. CaesarIII is very addictive, as I realised one day when I woke up and spent from 9:30am till 4:00pm playing it. I was not even conscience of the time but even after all that time I still hadn't got bored. Personally, one thing I like is that it doesn't cause your computer to "stick up" even after playing it for hours on end. The graphics and sounds are like real life and it is really amazing how a game with such good graphics and sounds doesn't cause your computer to freeze after extended play. The only "con" I see in this game is that it is very time consuming and in many scenarios Caesar's demands seem impossible to met. You either have runned out of space or don't have enough money.
However, if you think you're a pro when it comes to strategy games, then I highly recommend you to buy "The Empires Collection". ... Read more

Reviews (10)

The Best
This is the best game i ever played in my life

Where in Europe can I order this?
I'm a big fan of all the Police Quests series, and I'd love to have it. On this site, it can only be shipped within the US. Since I live in the Netherlands (Europe), I'm most unfortunate (what this is concerned) Has anybody got tips for me, where I can buy it in Europe??

All the cop action you can handle
From where it all began until Swat came out, this is the ultimate collection.Police Quest 1 (vga and svga) I liked the old version since the day i played it, it was much more fun, but both are great. Plice Quest 2 (vga) lots of fun, this was the first time i played it. Police Quest 3,4 (svga) both were great, 3 was better then 4, and 4 was... to put it nicely weird Swat. simply put fun for everyone who ever wanted to be part of the team. if you have or haven't played any of these games, get this you will enjoy it for hours on end.

Help Please Read!
In the pack that has PQ1,234&5 is the remade version of PQ1 in it? E-mail me at DBZ31689@aol.com, THANKYOU IF YOU HELP!

need help
I am in need for the hints manual for the first version of Police Quest. Please help me. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Unlike Age of Empires, which takes on a single slice of history,Empire Earth offers you the whole darn pie! You'll start a civilization,directing your cavemen to gather resources such as food, wood, gold, iron, andstone. Eventually you'll advance through every era of history, all the way tothe far-flung future where giant robots armed with lasers dominate thebattlefield.

Empire Earth is the first game from Stainless Steel Studios and Age ofEmpires co-creator Rick Goodman, and is everything that hard-core fans whoconquered the Age of Empires games could want. Stainless Steel Studiosmanaged to pack more sheer gameplay, units, options, and replayability intoEmpire Earth than any other real-time strategy game had before it. Bestof all, the game is very much based on the interface and gameplay concepts thatmade Age of Empires and its sequel so much fun, so players of the earliergames can jump right in.

The core concept should be familiar to any real-time-strategy fan. EmpireEarth has your citizens (called peasants in Age of Empires) gatherresources so you can build various buildings and units. You have to gather wood,gold, stone, and food, as in the earlier game, but Empire Earth adds ironto the mix. Food is gathered from various colorful animals dotting the map, woodfrom forests, and the minerals from deposits scattered around. Gather enoughstuff and you can advance through the ages; there are 16 of them here, fromhumankind's prehistoric past all the way to the future some 200 years hence. Atthe beginning, you'll be fielding club warriors, and at the end, massive robottanks. In the middle you'll build archers, knights, infantry, tanks, etc. Alltold, the game features 20 buildings and some 200 units.

One major innovation is the full 3-D graphics engine. The engine lets you rotateand zoom in anywhere, which yields some impressive visuals. More strikingly, thegame engine can showcase huge numbers of units in full conflict, and you willsee massive battles throughout the ages. The game offers full multiplayer,several historical scenarios, a campaign mode, and a random map generator thatcan be tweaked to play in any age against any number of opponents, which is agreat option.

There are other key differences that set Empire Earth apart from thepack. You can build prophets, who can then summon mighty calamities on yourenemy. Think of them as divine spells. You can start a plague, call a rain offire, or summon a massive earthquake, for example. Artillery, aircraft, andnaval powers are also represented. You can staff your outposts with citizens tomake them grow into more efficient town centers, thus increasing your power overthe map and control of resources.

This complexity is the game's greatest strength, but also its biggest weakness.This isn't a game for the timid, the new, or the slow. If you thought Age ofEmpires was complicated when compared to other real-time fare such asWarCraft, you haven't seen anything yet. This sophistication can be a badthing for new gamers, but Age of Empires players looking for a newchallenge are in for a treat. --Bob Andrews

Pros:

• Plenty of units and ages to explore
• Impressive new 3-D graphics

• Too complex for casual gamers
• High difficulty

Reviews (248)

Crushing Good Fun, yes, yet somehow troubling
Empire Earth is an extraordinarily well put together game from almost any objective, "within the genre" perspective, as other reviews have mentioned the unit balance and combined arms aspect is excellent.The challenge factor is very high, and it's difficult to get much ahead of the AI in the normal game mode.You can have a LOT of units in exsistence all at once, and I often found myself wishing I could deputize other players, for example, to command my navy or helicopter fleet while I led the army or managed the economy.The game is a ton of fun, addictive, and will get inside your head.

And yet.There's no real way to negotiate with the computer players, and the goal of the game is either wonder construction or utter conquest.I almost always chose wonder construction, and the computer attacked my wonders with godawful savagery.When you're able to defend the wonders or crush all the other non-allied players, you win, and that's that.The creators of the game are either just looking to make a game and not a world sim, or are Machiavellian, zero-sum worldview security nuts of the Cleonic stripe.I eventually stopped playing the game altogether, because I couldn't deal with the endless war and the fact that the game gives you no way to make a lasting peace with your enemy.I feel this limited the game's replay value, and I wonder what the implications are, if such games are influencing a large number of people's worldview.We live in a troubled world ourselves, and we need to believe that peace between many nations is possible.Sadly, in Empire Earth, it is not.

coooooooooooooooooooool$$$$$
this game is the best game i played.don't believe those layers this game is fantastic with cool grabics you can't stop playing it.if you want to buy it buy it dude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its the best!
This game is the best! You get to build walls (unlike any other stretagy games) which has high hit points (HP) to protect you from most enemies and it can help your team mates!Building walls is fun! you can even put gates! Heck why am I saying this to you? You should play the game yourself and see if you like it!

No Title
Even though it's not really fair, I tend to compare Empire Earth to Age of Empires II in my mind because they're so similar.Also since I'm a huge fan of Age of Empires II.

Empire Earth is a really nice game.The grapics are nice, it's nice to be able to select more than 40 units at once, it's great to be able to play from prehistoric times to the future and I like how modern prophets are basically bums wearing doomsday cardboard signs.It's really fun.It's amusing to create scenarios where you can have panzers fighting against hordes of swordsmen or rock throwers.The vast ammount of time it covers allows a lot of flexibility in creating your own scenarios.

My biggest complaints (that aren't significant enough to actually dent my opinion of the game) are the lack of Age of Empires II features.Maybe this is unfair because they're different games, but I miss being able to trade surplus resources in the market for resources I really need.I also don't like not being able to create trade cogs or trade carts.

However this is a fantastic game that every strategy gamer should at least try.

Much better than Age of Empires
While Age of Empires only lets you control the far past, Empire Earth includes the past, the present, and even the future.There are a lot of great units which evolve as you progress through ages.The graphics are also much better than those in AOE.It is also full 3D.Also, the different scenarios, units, and structures are historically accurate.This includes the ancient Greeks and Romans, WWI, WWII, and much more.If you liked Age of Empires, you'll love Empire Earth.I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The fast action and graphics of Professional Bull Rider put you in the arena.Features such as running color commentary, support for Force Feedback joysticks, and lifelike arcade play help make the rides some of the most exhilarating eight seconds you can experience at your computer. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Good game
If you dont like rodeo then dont bother. If you like bullriding or if you are a bullrider like me, buy it. Don't listen to these other guys, who's only experience in bullriding is a 5 minute cruise on this game. I loved it and if you even just watch the PBR on TNN every saterday night I think you will like it, but if you hate bullriding, have never even watched it and are extremly close minded, then you are not going to like it.

Play the game before you review it, please
Okay, so it's not the most spectacular game concept around. It isdefinitely a "bubba game" catering to the mass market. Hard coregamers mock it.

But, have any of those gamers actually played thisgame?

I have. It's not my type of game, but I can see how it would befun. Check out the screenshots: it's pretty funny watching a bull kick acowboy sky high. The graphics are actually decent. It's not like this issome Wizardworks piece of garbage; it's Sierra, and Sierra makes qualitygames.

So, yes, it's not a sophisticated work of art like Deus Ex orSystem Shock 2. It won't keep you playing for hours and hours like Diablo2. But it's a fun little diversion, it's fun, and it does a great jobsatisfying a niche. Those who are into bull riding and rodeos will reallylike this game.

My question is, are people who are really into rodeos andbull riding also computer owners? Apparently so, because Sierra madeProfessional Bull Rider 2...

Oh joy, another bad game....
Have you ever watched water boil? It's a lot funner than this game. You'resupposed to stay on the bull for about 9 seconds, that's a lot longer thanyou should play this game.

Fool's Gambit
Alright, this game is the biggest joke in the computer gaming world. Thethought that Sierra could stab the backs of every gamer in an attempt tomake the 'big-audience sell-out' game is sickening and sad. This game hasbeen renounced by EVERY major computer game reporting agency and has beenliterally laughed off the shelves. But hell, if you always wanted to be abull-rider, or even a bull, and you like poorly designed slip-shod games,buy it, quick. Or take your money and give it to the homeless guy down thestreet. His little dance of joy should be 10x's more entertaining than the2.1 seconds of joy you'll get from this game. And that's from the titlescreen... Remember folks a feature is PLAYING AS THE BULL!!!

---silentlyweeps---

WOW:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)
This game is very exciting and action packed. It is great for all ages. This game is great! ... Read more