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 Review

SimCity 3000 is back, and it's bigger than ever! Maxis pulled out all the stops for this new version of the bestselling game, adding enough new customized graphics to re-create cities from around the world. The new European and Asian building sets serve up hundreds of new buildings that match the architecture of these diverse environments. From the Great Wall to the Berlin Wall, it's in there. Of course, you can still mix and match--freedom to run a city as you choose has always been the name of this game.

No addition to the SimCity family would be complete without some new methods for destroying your creations, and SimCity 3000 Unlimited has four more devastating disasters than the old version. You can re-create the movie Armageddon by unleashing large chunks of flaming space debris, smite your populace with a buzzing swarm of locusts, destroy seaports and coastal developments with a whirlpool, or uncork some toxic clouds.

The Building Architect, formerly available as a free download, is now packed on the CD-ROM. This 3-D architectural program lets users create the buildings of their dreams, from dilapidated outhouses to towering skyscrapers to works of modern art that are intended for pure decoration. Don't worry if you don't feel like using this powerful tool to create things yourself--the game comes with dozens of new ways to make your cities unique, and you can always head to the SimCity Exchange to download imaginative add-ons created by other users. The infinite expandability and infinite replayability of this game should keep would-be mayors completely occupied until they move to the suburbs of The Sims. ... Read more

Features

• All-new Asian and European building sets with hundreds of new buildings to choose from
• 13 challenging scenarios or create your own custom, goal-based adventure
• 4 new disasters to inflict: plague of locusts, toxic cloud, space junk, and a whirlpool
• 23 new landmarks: Helsinki Cathedral, Japan's Himeji Castle, and more
• Customizable terrain with scores of new options, such as snow, rolling hills, and a desert

Reviews (124)

Very Addictive
I find this game very addictive, and considerably better than 2000. I really like the News Ticker, which gives you great advice on how to run your city. It does take up a lot of memory, though, so it's a good thing my computer has so much. I've heard that it tends to destroy your computer, so if you don't want that to happen, here's my advice: Don't take out the CD until the program is done being exited, don't install it if your computer can't handle it, and when you do take out the CD, be sure to press Ctrl, alt, and Delete and close all tasks that sound anything like "SimCity."

My only complaints are this: it makes your computer run slowly, and when locusts hit your town, the sound effects don't ever go away.

Happy playing!

Great game in its day; rather old now.
This was a great game back in its day. However, it is old and dated now. It was a vast improvement over SimCity 2000 and the original SimCity, offering larger cities and maps and improved graphics and other details.

For all the reviewers who are being so negative, look at the system requirements. This game was designed for Windows 95 and 98, not 2000 or XP. Most games like that will not run properly under 2000 or XP (if at all). For those of you with 2000 or XP, I recommend SimCity 4 (Rush Hour or Deluxe Edition) instead.

Technology marches on, and it is critical to verify that your system meets the requirements of the software programs (and understanding that old programs may no longer work on newer PCs and operating systems).

4 stars for win 98, 0 for others
Like other reviewers, I've had problems with this game on both Win 2k and Windows XP. On 2k, the game installs and loads, but stalls on the first screen. On XP, the game installs but does not load.
I originally bought this in China (legally) and thought that this may be the reason. I used to play it on a Windows 98 machine until that machine crashed, and I had to upgrade to 2k, and have not played it since.
I also contacted EA Tech Support who insisted that this game is/was designed for Windows 98. They suggested I run the compatibility wizard but this was a failure.
Why they're still selling this game escapes me. Maybe they've corrected things on later versions though.
If you can get it to run, this really is a fun game. There are plenty of improvements from Sim City 2000 that I enjoyed, especially the more logical traffic and crime patterns, and the huge increase in map size.
All in all though, don't buy this.

simy 3000
this game is a city.you build roads etc.How is it that no one likes this game anymore?duh!the next one.It is sad that this game is not enough for people anymore.it should be.

Computer Problems
Do not buy this game. I was really, really excited when I bought it, but when my dad and I tried to install it, it didn't work. It just, instead, sort-of-ruined our computer. That made me and my sister not able to buy any more Sims games, which really stinks. Do not buy this computer-breaking game! I'm hoping that this reveiw will save your computer from Sim City 3000 Unlimited's horrible software (when I say horrible software, I mean horrible software). ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Myst arrived just in time to take advantage of brand-newCD-ROM technology, and quickly became the number-one reason to buy anew computer. Myst and its sequel, Riven, featuredbeautiful and lonely landscapes, a strong and fascinating sense ofpervading mystery, and puzzles both fiendish and clever. Playersnavigated through the games by clicking on points of interest, andsolved puzzles by paying careful attention to the lush graphics andhaunting sounds of the environment. Myst III: Exile proudlycontinues and even advances that tradition.

Myst's ongoing story line is as convoluted as it is fantastic.Central to the story is the mysterious civilization of the D'ni, whichcreates entire worlds by writing books. Other books are used to linkthe D'ni worlds together. Myst trapped the player in a series ofinterconnected worlds, and challenged the player to puzzle through theramblings of two mad brothers in order to free Atrus, their imprisonedfather. Riven revealed more of the history of the D'ni, and sentthe player to the unstable world of Riven in order to rescue Atrus'swife.

Myst III: Exile concerns Atrus's earnest attempt at creating anew world. He hopes this world will mark the rebirth of the D'ni, butbefore he finishes his book, a thief (portrayed in the game by actorBrad Dourif) breaks into his laboratory and mucks things up. You haveto track this thief through worlds written by Atrus in his earlieryears. Within each world you must right the wrongs the thief hascreated, all the while uncovering a deeper mystery surrounding hisrelationship to Atrus and his troublesome children. Prior experiencewith Myst and Riven isn't necessary for this thirdexcursion, but familiarity with Myst's point-and-click gameplayand its often infuriating puzzle logic helps.

New to the game is a full 3-D landscape, which replaces the staticprerendered artwork of the previous games. The gorgeous new graphicsallow you to quickly pan and scan your way through an area, looking forpuzzles and action spots with the hand cursor. The puzzles have beenimproved so that you can now see changes to the environment immediatelyafter you solve one, rather than simply moving on to the next picture.Still, the puzzles are often wickedly difficult and may provefrustrating to new players.

The environment is the true star of the game, and is sure to enchantplayers of all stripes. As before, the music and artwork are topnotchand immersing, and the experience is not easily forgotten. Mystfans of old will be delighted with this new installment, and those newto the series will be enchanted, provided they are willing to spendtime on the puzzles, enjoy the scenery, and let the game carry themaway. --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• A strong continuation of the series
• Brilliant new artwork and music

• Puzzles can be confusing
• Not for impatient gamers

Features

• Free-look movement system allows players to pan a full 360 at any location, fully immersing them in the world.
• 5 entirely new ages to explore.
• Dramatic storyline extends the Myst mythology by focusing on a pivotal new character.
• Puzzle solving, revealing mystery & intrigue.
• Original soundtrack.

Reviews (336)

Visions of this will follow you while youfall asleep...
I leave it to the other posters for the specifics. Just an emotional response here.
A must for anyone who can use a computer and find a walkthrough or 4 to finish this game. It isn't the easiest game but one of the most beautiful and memorable!
It has such beauty, you'd regret not having played it.
Schizm I, and the Beyond Atlantis series also show such beauty.
All can be found here.
Please, please, play this game! The visions you will encounter will fill your mind and blot away life's problems as you fall asleep. Hey! This is a series. There's more! Yep!
Check them out!

Wonderful and challanging third installment in the MYST saga
If I was able to be personally with Catherine, I'd probably be spending much more time complimenting her hair (because it's so long, almost as long as Crystal Gayle's), than talking of the Releeshan.

OK, so Catherine is just a fictitional character, but of course I'm sure they needed a real person to do the acting.

I am new to Myst, already trying the Masterpiece Edition (which was basically the original MYST with some improvements), and Riven. With Myst III, one huge improvement found here you can't find on the previous two is you can look around 360 degrees so you can see if there's anything missing on your journey. The drawback is, if you're not familiar with the game, you can easily get dizzy.

In this game, you're supposed to retrieve a book called the Releeshan, which was stolen. On the way, you get to solve lots of puzzles, collect pages, and visit different worlds. There is lot of trippy music, some of it sounding pretty sinister sounding, as you go through some very dreamy landscapes. Admittedly this isn't an easy game to win, but like on the previous MYST installments, you must be sure to write things on paper to solve the puzzles. Many of these puzzles give you access to new passages you need to make to reach the end of each world. The animation is great as well. I can't believe how advanced in graphics games have became, I've been playing games since the old days of Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, and it never fails me how newer games have stunningly realistic graphics, as demonstrated on MYST III.

A truly wonderful game for those enjoy adventure games!

The Very Best Myst of All!!!
I wasn't so sure about buying this game, because i was so disappointed by Riven, but i was amazed by the new 360° freelook interface in Exile, the quality of the video and rendering of the worlds is incredible, even the storyline is very exciting.

A must have for every Myst fan out there!

The best Myst
Myst III: Exile isn't as dark as Myst or Riven. I think it's better that way, actually. This game has some of the best visuals and scenery in the series so far. The new 360 degree free-look is awesome. The story is the deepest I've seen in the series so far. The puzzles are a little silly and out of place, but they are still fun and challenging. Myst III: Exile is certainly, so far the best in the series.

Beautiful, immersive, scary, and even a little moving...
I loved Myst, but found Riven a little flat despite the beauty of its environments.

I was therefore pleasantly surprised to love Myst 3: Exile best of all.The game is a perfect combination of the dreamlike world of Myst, with the attention to detail offered by Riven, and with a really exciting storyline, gorgeously rendered environments, and a lush immersive world to boot.

Add to all this some superb acting from Brad Dourif as a villain who's as sympathetic as he is frightening, and you have the makings of a great game. While I'd always liked him as a character actor, Dourif really impressed me here -- the drama of the game really lives or dies on his shoulders, and he brings terror and poignance to the game in equal measure.

I reveled in almost all the worlds Myst 3 presented (the first and last best of all), and the puzzles are seamless and beautifully integrated into the game. (Like some others, I did find the plant world to be a bit tedious and confusing to navigate through, but it was also a lot of fun to conquer in the end.)

I recommend Myst 3 for Myst and Riven lovers both -- but it's also just as much fun for gamers new to the Myst worlds, and may be the perfect introduction.The game even offers the possibility of several different endings, depending on how you solve the final quandaries of the game.A superb game -- one of the best I've ever played.

Note: I'm running on the XP platform and after updating with the latest patch, the game performed flawlessly for me. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The complete, bestselling, award-winning Heroes of Might and Magic series in one great package! Explore and conquer over 100 different exquisitely designed maps and scenarios. Play on your own, or take part in gripping multiplayer action. The unique turn-based game play allows everyone to play at his/her own pace. Perfect for novices and experts alike! ... Read more

Reviews (12)

3DO made a failure and a waste of money by making this game
Why did I buy this game? I need to find a good game,but when I turn to 3DO, I get a game which is ultimately boring, and is hardly understandable. This is why I would rate this stupid, dumb, game as a 1 (if I could I would make it a 0) out of 5.

The best game ever!!!
HOMM is awsome!A great strategy game.If you like Starcraft you will likely like this game.The game also has good graphics.The battles are very fun because you can't always move far enough to attack your enemies.I liked the turn part too.It makes it so you can't build a lot of troops to rush or something because you only can build one building per turn and you can't build unlimited troops because you can only build so many each week.Overall: A great game!

A fantasy on your computer.
This is a very cool set. I tried the first one, but it's not very good when you look at HOMM2 & HOMM3. The graphics, gameplay, and units that are available are much better than the first one. The gameplay is very challenging and if you sit back and try to build up your forces, they are doing the same thing, and since they always have a head start on you, you are just settign yourself up for disaster. There are many scenarios to play and you can also just play a map against the computer if you want. Has map editor so you can make your own maps to play. This game can be replayed time after time.

Be careful, time really flies while you play this GREAT game
I have played many games with my kids and on my own in the past -- including the great Zelda series.This is by far the BEST of any role playing game!My son and I started out with the first HOMM game and we purchased every single installment upon release!

Fantasy lovers will especially love this role playing/strategy game!The graphics are fabulous!The scenarios and campaigns are fascinating.My favorite games are the campaign senarious where one successful, hard-won conquest builds upon another. You have to really think and plan to build up your heroes' abilities as well as their kingdoms.

One caution, this game can be hazardous to your time -- you become so absorbed in it that hours pass in a flash!

One of best strategy games
Besides HOMM 1, 2, 3, and Expansion Pack for HOMM 2, the Millennium Edition also includes "King's Bounty", an early DOS game from the same designer that bears great resemblance to HOMM.This package is worth more than it costs considering the older games have become hard to find.

Much of HOMM's success I think is due to its ingenious combat system.Combats in many turn-based games are often dull and repetitive (a major reason why real-time strategy games have become so successful).But combats in HOMM offer *endless* possibilities.Your every attack depends on a large number of factors, from little things like the order of your troops' alignment to big things like your hero's morale, luck, strength, etc, to the intangible factors like the roughness of the terrain, and the timing of your and your opponent's spellcasting.If game design could be called an art form, then the design of this combat system would be a great example.

If I have to carp, the computer AI for HOMM 1 and 2 could be better.Computer opponents would stubbornly go after ranged attackers during combat (something you could use to your advantage).And sometimes computer opponents would build the most advanced castle, and then just walk away with you nearby.Thankfully, all 3 HOMM games offer multi-player options. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

The Forgotten Realms campaign setting for Advanced Dungeons& Dragons has inspired more computer games than any other. You canget 13 of them in one package with the Forgotten Realms Archives:Silver Edition. Like most collections of this size it has its shareof hits and misses, but if you don't require cutting-edge graphics andmodern interfaces to have fun, you'll find many hours of enjoyment inthis vault of role-playing game history.

All the famous Gold Box games are included, from Pool ofRadiance, the game that started it all, to the high-level adventurePools of Darkness. It takes some doing to get them runningproperly, but the rewards are worth it for old-school role-playing fansthat never had the chance to complete these great games. The ground-breaking Eye of the Beholder series--three terrific games--isalso included. "Newer" games include the acclaimed Underdark adventureMenzoberranzan and Blood & Magic, a poor real-timestrategy game that is by far the most disappointing title in thispackage. Even hardcore players likely won't get much satisfaction fromthe boring Dungeon Hack or Hillsfar, which has too muchcombat and too little depth.

Don't expect too much from the graphics in these games. Some are morethan 10 years old, and they can be cranky on newer, faster machinesrunning Windows 95 or 98. If you have the patience to get them running,however, this collection is one rewarding time machine. --T. ByrlBaker

Pros:

• Plenty of classic role-playing games
• All titles are set in the popular Forgotten Realms

• The uninitiated will balk at the poor graphics and outdatedinterfaces
• Can be difficult to get these older games running properly on amodern system

Reviews (8)

Excited but confounded
I somehow installed the oldest game of this collection (Pool Of Radiance) yet can not figure out how to install the rest of the games. Judging from some of the other reviews I've read I'm not the only one who has had this problem. I can't believe that the oldest one would work but not the 11 more recent games. Can't anybody provide some advice? I'm on Windows XP.

price??!!!!??
ok... i have this game pack, and i bought it at a gaming boutique in the mall for 14.99, so why is it so much??? it really shouldn't cost this much!! it doesn't even include the book with all of the journal entries and passwords and such..... which still wouldn't cost you more than twenty some dollars...... just thought i'd put my 2 cents in......... cause i saved much more than that at the mall for this game!

These are the best of the best of the old RPGs
When I was younger, first getting into RPGs, my mom got me Might and Magic: Darkside of Xeen and a set of AD&D games with Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, and Secret of the Silver Blades (3 of the 13 games in this set).Unfortunately I was too young to understand the complexities of all of the games, and never ended up getting very far, except in Might and Magic.A few years later I rented Eye of the Beholder (it and its two sequals are in this set) for SNES.I instantly became immersed in the enourmous environment provided, the Sewers of the city of Waterdeep provided great entertainment, and frustration, since there were no people to sell me potions, rations, or weapons.Once again I didn't make it very far, and always had to return the game before I got to the last battle.

Then, about a year ago I was in a certain store when I spoted a shelf of $10, two for one games.I looked through them while waiting for my mom to come from shopping and spotted this set in a smaller box, no instructions, only the decoder for entering some of the games included.But I instantly grabbed it, eagerly anticipating my mom's return so that I could purchase it.I bought it, brought it home, set it up on my older PC, and got right to Eye of the Beholder.

It is now one year later and I have gone through the entire Eye of the Beholder Series, completed Pool of Radiance and Curse of the Azure bonds, and am now working on Secret of the Silver blades.These are great games if you have an older computer (these may be the best games you can buy AND run on it), or even if you don't.

I have to admit, I wasn't happy with Blood and Magic and Hillsfar, but those are only two out of thirteen games (actually, Menzobaranzan doesn't seem to work with my computer, so that brings the total games I won't play to three out of thirteen).These games represent a wonderful range of styles.Eye of the Beholder is mostly like Baldur's gate, except first person (like the old Shadowgate games, or, I suppose, Myst) and with no shops, everything you use is found.Secret of the Silver blades is first person in the same way, untill you get into a battle.Then it goes to an overhead view with true turnbased combat.Blood and Magic is mostly like a strategy game.

If you like modern AD&D games, then this is probably a nice set of games for you.However, if you are new to the series, you should try some of the newer games, such as Baulder's gate and Icewind Dale.

This would be better if I could get 3 quarters of the games
to work.Okay I have four computers the first one I ever know with windows 3.5 a pentium 1 with 95 and a laptop with 98 then pentium 3 with Me the first one since it did not have 95 it would have not been the first to try though it had the correct speed.I tried the second computer with this I could not get most of the games to work.

Old school baby!
I remember playing Pool of Radiance on my Tandy 1000 HX.I love these games even more than some of the new high power games of today! If you are a true RPG fan than these games are for you. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Battlezone places you in the midst of the cold war--as it's being fought in outer space. Play either the Soviet or American side; command and create over 30 units, such as antigravity tanks, walkers, guntowers, barracks, and recyclers--all while fighting from inside your own vehicle in single-player or multiplayer skirmishes. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Battlezone "First Edition"
Battlezone is one of the first and most outstanding online multiplayer games ever developed.Released in 1998 on the ANET server platform for PC Windows with over 90% of players accessing the game through 56k modems, Battlezone supported instant action, strategy and deathmatch games.In 1998, only a few Activision, Inc., a few visionaries understood the coming importance of online multiplayer gaming for the genre, deathmatch, strategy and team play. This online game, developed in 1998, is it still actively played and supported by a group called the Battlezone Club (http://www.battlezoneclub.org).This game incorporates the longest development for online battle design and action as well as strategy of any game ever developed, which includes, in my humble opinion, "Full Spectrum Warrior" and many other "followers."The original is still in being developed by this non-profit organization for its community of players.

Maybe one day...
There is only one game out there older than 5 years that I still feel the obsession to play to this day.The single player mode is enthralling, but the multiplayer is where this game shines.The factor that you had the ability to build your own maps to battle on was such a dominating factor.Now that the game is slowly dying, I am afraid that there will no longer be a game that has the amount of creativity at this level.

A game to be remembered
A fine-tuned mix of action/strategy.
After it snapped up the rights to Atari�s classic coin-op Battlezone, there was a concern by some gamers that Activision would take the quick-and-easy route by dressing up an old favorite and shoveling it out the door in the hope that nostalgic name recognition would see it through. Activision had much bigger plans in store. Mixing elements of action and strategy along with sharp graphics and an entertaining story line, this new Battlezone emerges as the most addictive, ingenious and approachable game to appear in a long while.

While there is a nice tie-in to the original -- you still drive a tank (a hover tank to be exact) -- this is not the Battlezone you remember from the arcades. Set during the space-race of the late sixties, Battlezone kicks off with a good old fashioned "Us versus Them" conspiracy tale that pits the USA against the Soviet Union in the dark reaches of space.

It seems that during the early days of the space program an alien alloy (referred to as bio-metal) was discovered on the moon that allowed researchers to make amazing advances in technology. Unfortunately, competition for this mysterious metal became fierce as both superpowers (U.S. and USSR) began amassing forces on the surface of the moon. The Soviets launched covert operations under the guise of its space program; while NASA�s highly-publicized lunar mission became the cover story for the USA�s secret military build-up on the moon.

While the story is a bit far-fetched, it�s extremely well done and very entertaining. More importantly, the story translates into a solid premise for both the action and strategy portions of the game. The single-player mode can be played from either the U.S. or Soviet sides, but the game is designed to be played from the U.S. side first. During the first few missions on the U.S. side, players are gradually eased into Battlezone�s seamless mix of real-time strategy and action, and from there, chances are you�ll be hooked.

Starting with a bio-metal recycler (the most basic construction unit), you�ll construct vehicles to scavenge scraps of bio-metal, build base defenses, and construct new base vehicles capable of building more advanced structures and vehicles. You command all the action from the cockpit of your hover tank, one of several specially-designed attack craft capable of negotiating the harsh environments of alien worlds.

Controlling the action should be second nature to most action fans, with a combination of mouse and keyboard controls (joysticks are also supported) similar to those in Quake. But unlike the easy key re-mapping of Quake and its ilk, customizing the controls to your liking in Battlezone can tricky, and occasionally impossible. My preferred mouse/keyboard configuration -- A for forward, Z for back, Left shift for left strafe, and X for right strafe -- can�t be duplicated in Battlezone simply because the Left shift key can�t be remapped. Additionally, getting a customized setup in place is a pain if you want to re-map a key that�s already in use, since you�ll have to change that key first, then re-map the desired key.

The rest of the interface however, is a textbook example in efficiency. By using just a few number keys on the keyboard, you can easily manage all aspects of command; whether it�s building tanks, defenses, or ordering an attack, you�ll hardly ever need to take your eyes off the action. About the only time you need to divide your attention between action and management is when you have to designate construction areas for your constructor, or specify locations for turrets and howitzers. Other than these few instances, you�re free to be a mobile and active part of the fight while still commanding the bigger picture.

Under your command is a range of offensive vehicles made up of fast scout craft, well-armored tanks, deadly bombers, and mobile artillery; the opposition has the same. Using the same simple control interface used to build your base, you�ll order your forces to defend a building, attack a target, hunt for enemies, or follow you. But unlike most games, where you send wave after wave of expendable units at an enemy�s defenses, the catch is that you�ll only be able to have ten offensive and defensive vehicles at any one time -- and every vehicle needs a pilot. When a tank or vehicle is destroyed, these pilots are ejected and must make their way back to the base on foot. Unfortunately they also make tempting targets for passing vehicles. Even if you�ve got enough resources on hand, you won�t be able to build a new tank until there is a pilot to take the wheel.

This last bit plays a large part in how you�ll fight in Battlezone. You�ve got to pick your fights with care, hitting vulnerable targets in swift aggressive strikes to avoid taking losses, and you�ve also got to know when to retreat behind your defenses.

This continuing process of fast attack and constant defense gives the battles in Battlezone a constantly evolving and dynamic feel and throughout each of the single-player missions, chances are you�ll learn something new. And when the single-player game is exhausted, Battlezone�s support for up to eight players is certain to extend its life for some time to come. Standard deathmatching is available, as is the full strategic game. While the deathmatch option is a fun no-brainer, most players will gravitate to the chaos and conflict of the multi-player strategy games. This is some of the most intense multi-player action you�ll find as fierce battles erupt for control of sparse scrap fields, friendly pilots get squashed, and defenses are laid to waste. It�s fast, furious, and incredible amounts of fun.

With its raucous multi-player action, flawless presentation, and effortless interface, it�s hard to find much to complain about in Battlezone. If you ever thought that action and strategy was an unholy alliance, sit back and let Battlezone re-write the rule book for you.

Action-Strategy that keeps you coming back for more!!
Battlezone is by far the most fun and entertaining game of all time. It excels in every aspect!

The story is based on the (fictional) discovery of an alien "bio-metal" that has landed on Earth in a meteor showing in the Berring Straight. This bio-metal can be shaped and trasformed into powerful fighting machines. The Americans feel this is the key to controlling space. But they have miscalculated one possibility: the Red Soviets have found the metal too, and the countries are then pitted against each other in a war to end all wars...

As far as gameplay goes, Battlezone brings a new perspective to gaming; the action/strategy combo. While you still control vehicles and resources, you are also a formidable combat unit, capable handling things like enemy attacks and mission objectives all by yourself. The AI for units in this game sadly falls short of spectacular. They have trouble navigating tough terrain and do not take full advantage of their fighting abilities during combat. However, they do make powerful wingmen to have on attacks or for defending targets such as your base.

Battlezone provides endless hours of intense excitement for experienced or novice gamers. It is most assuredly a must-have!

A LOST GEM IN A SEA OF GAMES
This game is truly a Masterpiece of Stategy mixed with a First Person shooter.A lost gem and one worth finding. The ONLY drawbacks were you must keep video and sound card drivers up to date!It had some minor glitches with some drivers I had.I am running Battlezone on an AMD Thunderbird 1.2GHz with 512mb ram and a 3Dfx Voodoo5 video card and it looks AWESOME!! So for a game that is over 2-3 years old it still shines with the BIG boys!! ... Read more

Features

• vices.

Reviews (37)

It knows what you have in your hand!
This game is OK for the basics, but don't expect anywhere near a real experience here. I can't tell you how many times I get beat on the last card, with just one higher card, say a 9 high to my 8 high. Always with only one card higher! That's not real. Plus, too many of the players are idiots, while a few are otherworldly lucky. It's nothing close to a random draw, and that's what you need for a real experience.

This toy is so fun!
I first played this toy at my friends house and thought, "How fun!"Of course then I wanted the game for myself.When I bought it, I played every game and loved it right away.This game rocks!

Card Games is Great !It's from the experts.
Hoyle Card Games is a great way to learn the finer points or learn a new game all together.This CD is free of bugs; the graphics and audio are very good.Hoyle are well-known rules experts.

have to learn all over again
It takes some time to get used to the fact that you have to play it with the CD in.

Puzzle Game
I read the reviews and was thrown for a loop because 99% of the complaints were talking about card games.I was looking for review of the puzzle games and I found only a few.Puzzle is outstanding, addictive, fun, relaxing and frustrating.What more can you want? ... 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

Features

• Over 750 authentic Rapala lures and you actually controls the rod for increased realism
• 11 species of highly detailed fish with realistic AI
• 2 gameplay modes: Freedom Fishing and Tournament
• 20 unique tournaments to enter in Tournament mode for realistic trophy fish action
• Tournaments include unlockable Amazon and Danube Delta levels

Reviews (3)

Disapointed!!!
I had the same trouble as Budster. It locked up on both my computers. I have the same complaint, it only has Rapala lures. Nothing against Rapala, they have been very good to me over the years. This game needs very serious updates.

Worked GREAT for me!
Can't explain why Budster had problems.I tried Pro Fishing on my homebrew 3 GHz / 2 GB RAM box using an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro at 1280 X 11024 BPI. It looks perfect and played like a dream.

Rapala Pro Fishing is far, far ahead of Bass Pro (at least in its trial version).The near photo quality of underwater scenes is something to behold, and topside for us air breathers is great as well. Just wait until you see the big fish swimming up out of the weeds to hit your bait.AWE-SOME!

The only small distraction I have is that this program, of course, only has Rapala lures.If we could only create a user editor to add Gary Yamamoto's Senkos and other great plastics, plus a few buzz-baits, spinners, etc. it would be almost as good as being there.

FYI, I loaded it briefly on my wife's 800 MHz Dell that has an ATI 9700 card and it worked OK at 640 X 480 BPI with shading set to 16-bit, but a bit jerky due to the slow speed and only 256 MB of RAM.

If you like to fish, get this one!I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Wish it worked
This is a fun game but it locks up my pc.I have a p4 2.8 with an ati 9700 pro card.It also locked up my other pc-- I hope thay can get the bugs out of game or an update to graphic drivers.Seems like they might have beta tested this or something.At least i got a free rapala lure with it. ... Read more

Features

• Gather armies, raise fortifications and lead the charge against false priests and prophets
• Use combat tactics and incredible magic together, to conquer new territories and hold them against reprisals
• Create prophets to spread your gospel to new lands -- and empower them to work miracles in your name
• Develop castles and forts to defend new conquests, and craft powerful magic items to give your strongest defenders
• Beware of your rivals -Other gods will create strange beasts and mighty heroes to stop you - the more they beat you, the stronger they get

Reviews (8)

The most addictive game since Civilization
This is truly an amazing game, especially considering it's made by a small independent developer. There's a virtually infinite number of different unit types, spells and magic items so the game never gets repetitive (and this is possible *because* it doesn't rely on massive amounts of graphics). The different nations each have their own style of play. The AI is challenging even when set to "easy". You can download new maps and other modifications from the internet.

I only reduced the rating to 4 because of problems with the interface. It has a sort of unfinished feel to it. For example when the game ends, it always exits to windows rather than the main menu. Also, running a multiplayer game is very difficult and requires executing two instances of the game simultaneously.

An playable multiplayer turn based strategy game
Difficult to learn and an awkward user interface - besides that, this is the best turn-based strategy game I ever played!

It is ideal for Offline-Multiplayer (Serverbased or via PBEM), since all players take their turns simultaneously, which allows PBEM games to be finished within reasonable time. Highly customizable. OS independent.

Disappointed by WalordsIV, I am now very happy to finally have found a cute, playable, turn-based fantasy strategy game.

If you're a fan of the old classics...
If you aren't daunted by a little detail in a turn-based strategy game, and you don't mind graphics that fall short of the "latest eye candy test", and you're willing to spend some time bringing yourself up the learning curve, you'll LOVE this game.

If you find any of the above 3 make you doubt, you probably shouldn't get it. But for me, a turn-based strategy junky to the core, this game is an absolute gem. Probably the best I've bought in the last 5 years. For a specific niche of gamer out there, this one is extraordinary.

Try for yourself.
Dominions 2 is a fantastic leap into TBS on an Epic scale. Huge Gods battling for supremacy by any means possible. Genocide, reckless magic, and disregard for humanity to be the last god of the panthenon.

A steep learning curve, especially for perfectionists it provides you with a simulation of fantasty combat as opposed to actual historical combat.

Low end graphics are balanced with the fact there are so many of them along with additional abilities.

A must for those who love 4X and TBS games. Not for everyone and documentation that does not do the game justice, it is hard to get into, but if you can get past the "I'm LOSING and I don't know why!" feeling, you will be well worth it.

this is a STRATEGY game!
I emphasize strategy. What you will not find are fancy graphics, studio sound, arcade action, cheats, or a killer strategy that will win every time. This game is wonderfully balanced with 17 nations (another in the works), 1100 units, 400 spells, 400 magic sites, 250 magic items, and much more. But the neat thing is that they give you what you need to play in YOUR style. Berserker, defensive, researcher, swarmer, sneak, diplomatic, whatever. Instead of feeling like you are learning the strategies that the developer had in mind for you to learn, you can actually develop your OWN tactics and surprises. There are people who have played it over a year and still come up with new things to try. (and yes, its one of those games which will ACTUALLY survive on your machine for a year) ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Politics, economics, standard warfare, trade, diplomacy, religion--these are just a few of the issues brought up in Civilization 2, a turn-based strategy game created by Sid Meier. Become one of many legendary leaders and re-create history to your own preferences. With more than 100 technological and political advances, 28 Wonders of the World, and a variety of rival countries and tribes to interact with, Civilization 2 is as enthralling as it is addictive.

Begin the game in 4000 BC, and choose your country's fate. Will you be aggressive in your technology or in your military tactics? Will you concentrate on trade or focus on exploring new worlds? Whatever your decision, you must take over the world or colonize Alpha Centauri by the year 2040 AD. Choose your first settlement and you are off! Explore new civilizations or destroy them, plan spy attacks to steal their information, and advance through four different architectural eras. This game prompts you to develop your nation with intelligence and ingenuity--whatever your political tactics may be.

There is only one glitch in the game play: If you let the video for the discovery of Oracle run to the end, the game crashes. We recommend that you do watch the video portion of Wonders of the World--it is a fascinating part of the game. However, if you prefer to avoid the videos, you can click your mouse to bypass them. Besides the minor technical flaw, Civilization 2 is an excellent strategy game that appeals to the tyrant or the pacifist in all of us. --Madeleine Miller ... Read more

Reviews (48)

Still in the top 3 of all time games -- nothing like it
This is one of my favorite games in the world, i am in my 20s and still play this game.it is so time consuming and fun that i go to sleep thinking of it after playing for hours.Sid Meier is a genius.i have a ps2 and play that as well but Alpha Centauri and Civilization are still the most fun.

Absolutely addicting and lots of fun!
This second Sid Meyer's game is absolutely one of the best computer games that has ever been made. I at first was completely dumbfounded by the whole nature of the game but gradually learned how it was done and now I absolutely love this game.

You start in the year 6000 B.C. as a single settler and found your capital city and then as you start building warriors (At the beginning of the game, your civilization is primitive and tribal), explore the continent and found new cities to expand your civilization's borders.

As the game goes on, settlers, military units will inevidently encounter individuals from other civilizations. Be very careful though because you may have no idea of the other civilizations are friendly, neutral, or hostile so be prepared for anything. After that, there are many options for forging alliances between civilizations and playing the game by dove politics or world domination and conquering the entire planet!! I once in fact did just that, conquer the entire planet on this game!

This game comes with 28 Wonder of The WOrld some of which aren't really all that much to write home about except to raise your city (cities) to the Top 5 list but others however will benifit your civilization for the rest of the game. Three architectural styles also are in this game as well. My favorite style is the old fashioned Medievel castles(Pre-industrialization) styles especially when playing the VIkings, English, Spanish, or the Germans. I do love though the big cities by the end and are amazing to look at.

The graphics even if a bit crude by todays standards are really amazing even by 1996 standards. The music is mostly ho-hum in my opinion but at least you can run the game without the CD-ROM which is a big plus if you want to listen to a music CD while playing! The game runs quite well on my computer even if the computer is of an older model and I've never experienced any bugs while playing.

Watch your civilization evolve from a one-village tribe to a gargantuan military empire over the 'years' and have a swell time! For all we know, it would be useful if there was a magic trick that could transfigure one into a pocketwatch because once you start playing, you just might end up losing track of time and will be playing for hours on end.

Sid Meyers truly created a timeless game for all ages. A pity the third installment came nowhere close to this.

Highly addictive
I found this game a few years ago, and my seminary career almost suffered a mortal attack of neglect due to the addictive nature of this game.

I am on a Mac G3 at home, which is fairly fast, perfectly adequate for this game. The game itself is a fascinating look at and convolution of history. This game has an element of learning in it (which shouldn't discourage you from trying it -- it is pure fun despite the educational element!), in that one must become acquainted with a general stream of history, and in particular, the progress of human history charted through technological acquisition; this takes two peripherally related tracks, that of military technology acquisition, and of civilian or societal technology acquisition. One must keep a careful balance of these two in development to be able to grow as a civilisation and be able to defend oneself against competing civilisations.

The various civilisation types (Egyptian, Babylonian, Russian, Chinese, American, etc.) have particular outlooks (some are militarily aggressive, some are not so; some can be trusted in diplomacy, other cannot be), and particular aims. To grow as a civilisation, one must either take over other civilisations or maintain reasonable relationships with them to avoid conflict. However, like most of history up to this point, sooner or later there will be conflict.

As history develops, too, one gets more options in the way a government can be run. Choices run between anarchy and despotism, monarchy, republic, communist, democracy, or religious fundamentalism. Each of these governmental types have advantages and disadvantages (for instance, who can do dastardly deeds toward other nations, even allies, as a fundamentalist regime, with impunity because it is expected).

The real action consists in the military conflicts, which can be as simple as two chariots clashing in the desert to full air/sea/land invasions complete with nuclear weapons and stealth fighters. Defensive technologies develop at a somewhat slower pace than offensive technology, so it is important from a defensive standpoint to be well-funded in research. Technology becomes critically important here -- one tank could overrun an entire horse-centred city, and a few stealth fighters can wipe out an entire early-technology civilisation.

Civilisation also includes the opportunity to construct Wonders of the World, which include ancient, medieval, industrial, and modern wonders. These wonders add special aspects to the civilisation that holds them (for instance, the builders of the Pyramids can forego building granaries in their cities). The effects of the Wonders lessen over time, and if the cities in which the Wonders are built are captured, their benefits accrue to the conquering army. A Wonder destroyed is lost forever, much like the real Wonders of the World.

Exploration is important in the beginning phases of the game -- the player can opt for a known world (in the form or Europe, or the Pacific, or the entire Earth) or for a unknown world -- these are more fun, for one has to discover the contours of the land and navigate the seas much as early civilisations had to.

The two ways to win the game are to create technology to build a spaceship to take settlers to a planet near Alpha Centauri Prime (which then can yield scenarios in the next Civilisation-based game), or to take over the entire world by being the only remaining civilisation.

With the CD-ROM enhancement, sound effects and video clips that accompany major developments, this is a real treat, and very addictive. Beware, and be brave!

A nice idea but a horrible implementation
One of many branches of Civilization, this series is made by the company that bought the board game rights to the original Civilization.

Some added/new features to Civilization are sea and space development, separation of infrastructure and unit builds, expanded trade and trade routes and a much greater variety of items to build.

The addition of sea and space environments are a great idea.The original Civilization series sufferd from a "Y2K" problem in that once you reached present-day technology the game play sputtered to a halt.New environments greatly extend gameplay.

The different trade rules are a nice addition.Showing trade routes (and allowing piracy) make ocean forces more necessary.In the original Civilization you could pretty much ignore naval unit development.Not so in Call to Power.Piracy can shut down an empire.

However, the game has a couple of fatal flaws.First and most damaging is a bad AI implementation.It is ridiculously easy to win this game, even at more difficult settings.Secondly, there is no provision for obsoleting military units.I've had enemy musketmen "shoot down" my stealth bombers. (!)These flaws make the game unplayable.

My advice: don't waste your time with this series unless/until they correct the AI and obsolete military unit problems.

Civ 2 for the Mac is great!
This is a great strategy game.The graphics are sparse - more like an old-style board game where you move pieces rather than the snazzy 3d graphics we have come to expect (and that slow a game down).Civ 2 is an open-style game - there is no set path the game will take.You can try to peacefully build a society based upon trade, democracy, and commerce or you can devote your efforts towards military conquest.The choice is yours.

The AI is pretty good and game speed is fine.Try it! ... Read more

Product Description

Battle your way through the strategy card game environment in the classic Magic: the Gathering Duels of the Planeswalker. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Duels of the Planeswalkers on Windows2000 and XP.
For those who have stumbled across these older reviews of the game where the incompatibility with Win2K and XP was listed as a downside, note that there is an unofficial patch that was released some time ago that let it run under NT based versions of windows, and slowed the 'shandalar' campaign down to normal levels on modern machines. It also replaces the serial networking option with a TCP/IP LAN/Internet direct connection for multiplayer(so it can still be used online), and has tons of tweaks and bugfixes to the game. Just search for 'Unofficial manalink patch 1.3.2' to find it and once again enjoy this wonderful game.

I never played much of the 'shandalar' campaign style game, but I must say that the actual card game within the engine is a top notch representation of the physical card game, and I really prefer it to the more modern and free options such as Magic Workshop, which to me was more of an interactive Magic-themed shared whiteboard, where anyone can do anything, wether it be an actual legal action or not.

top of my list
I began playing the card game several years ago, and when the PC software came out, I knew I had to have it. I have just about worn mine out playing it over and over again. I would say it is a must have game, but since the online version was released they have shown no interest in upgrading this version. Therefore, if you are running Windows 2000 or XP, or plan to upgrade soon then you are out of luck as far as enjoying this marvelous game. I recently upgraded to XP and now I wish I hadn't. Only the oline version works on a newer OS, but you have to buy electronic cards. This really ..., especially for those of us who started out playing the original game and spent hundreds of dollars on the cards already.

In closing, the game is awesome and if you have Windows 95/98 and plan to stick with that OS for a while then definitely add this to your gaming collection. Windows 2000 & XP users, on the other hand, are just out of luck!

Pick a card...any card--no, not that one!
Magic: The Gathering is a fantasy-themed card game--as I like to joke, the world's most elaborate form of "Go Fish"--which is, of course, more fun to play against a human than a program. But this game turns out to be a lot of fun and a great way to learn the game, which has its share of subtleties and nuances. Although it will take a while, you'll learn the game well enough from the program that you eventually spot the flaws in the computer's playing as well as the numerous bugs in interpreting cards.

Around the solid mechanics of the card game, Microprose built a spare but interesting gaming premise. Your avataar wanders around the mythical land of Shandalar running errands and fighting monsters. (Said fighting occurs, of course, as MtG duels.) What makes it interesting is the tweaks of the MtG rules that occur in Shandalar. In a "straight" duel, which this game allows you to play outside of Shandalar, you and your opponent have exactly 20 life points and the deck of your choice. In Shandalar, you start with a weak deck, fewer life points, and (by doing specific errands) you can build up to 20 points (and somewhat beyond). Other errands allow you to collect cards. Special "dungeons" themed around the game's five magic types allow you to fight certain creatures "in their element" for a chance to collect rare cards. (Not required, but fun.) Some of the creatures of Shandalar have "meta-powers", and can go into a game with certain advantages, like a card already in play. One kind can actually swap your deck for another (decent) deck. You can obtain similar bonuses by defeating these monsters, or through various "world magics" as they're called.

You're in a race against the five wizards of Shandalar, whose job it is to take over X number of cities, at which point they'll have the power to cast the Ultimate Magic Spell. In other words, game over. As they capture more cities, they get stronger. As you defeat their minions, they get weaker. In the final analysis, this game is rife with good ideas and a still too buggy implementation.

To make matters worse, retro-PC-gaming is a difficult and often unrewarding thing. Microsoft has never been much for backward compatibility and you'll have trouble running this on Windows 2000, though it can run on XP with some tweaking, I'm told. It'll run on your Windows 95/98/ME machine, but for a near fatal flaw: It'll run WAY too fast even on a 400mhz machine. (Note the 100mhz Pentium "minimum".) Shandalar, grievously, was made into a "real time" game, and your quests have time-limits. You can use a utility (MoSlo, Throttle, CPUKiller) to slow your entire computer down and make Shandalar go faster--but the kicker is during the duels, your computer opponents will take proportionally longer to decide their moves.

The "real time" aspects of the program were an unfortunate design decision ironically and irritatingly out of pace with the rest of the game. Shandalar could've just as well been set up like a board game.

With all its warts, though, this is a fine game. The real tragedy is that it wasn't maintained and updated. I'm not big on on-line games, and I don't like the MtG Online pricing scheme even if I did, but I'd shell out three Hamiltons yearly for a new version of this game, with new cards, new world "tweaks" and increasingly improved AI. It's a shame we'll never see it.

Finally, the timeline for these games, courtesy GameSpot: The original was released in February of 1997, followed in September of '97 with "Spells of the Ancients", followed at last by this version, "Duels of the Planeswalkers", which has all the new cards, bug fixes, and multiplayer. This is the last version, the version you want if you're going to play it at all.

The new Online, pay-per-pack version is not related to this game, nor is the older 1997 "BattleMage". (The latter only takes place in the MtG world, with no resemblance to the card game, so beware!)

A grand game.. that STILL holds my attention...
"Duel of the Planeswalkers" is a GREAT game.It was released in 1998 AFTER the initial release of "Magic the Gathering" (for PC) and the expansion pack "Spells of the Ancients"."Duel of the Planeswalkers" includes BOTH of the initial releases and also allows you to play online or via LAN.There are even a few "cards" that were designed specifially for playing on the PC... you will never find this in an actual MTG deck, they have random effects assigned by the computer when you play them!

My biggest complaint about MTG the CARD game was that it was impossible to keep up with all the rules... banned cards... and if I use this card with that card in this particular circumstance this will happen... MIND boggling problems.Its true MTG was the "father" of all other card games since 1992, and most are a far cry from MTG... but trying to seriously play and keep up on every expansion set was insane!!THUS MTG Duel of the Planeswalkers was born and is the answer to every "causal" MTG player's Prayers.

My 2 complaints about this game are as follows:
1) On today's 1.5+ Gigahertz machines this game needs to be slowed down if you play the "single player" theme game.Not a problem at all during actual DUELS, but in the "Shandalar" world everything moves WAY too fast. No big deal, just find a CPU reducer utility on the internet.Older machines might not have a problem in the "Shandalar" area, but might bog down in the middle of a duel where over 20 cards are on the "table".The CPU really has to do some massive computing to figure out it's next move....(newer machines DON'T have this problem!)

2) This game hasn't been updated/added on to since 1998... great game... an expansion would be exquisite!

I have yet to take advantage of the online/lan playability... and I wonder if anyone is STILL playing this online... I'm not sure.

It's 2003 and I still find myself going back to this game... fun to play, easy to walk away from when necessary, no long term monatary investment.

If you are a casual player or fan of Magic the Gathering, this game is an excellent purchase.Serious players might find the game slightly old and outdated... but may yet enjoy it.

Keep the gam listed
This is a great game. It is good to have this game listed.I pre-ordered this game back in Oct/Nov.Two weeks ago, someone in CA had an UNOPENED copy of the game to sell thru the Marketplace for 24.95.Since I we listed as a pre-order, the game was automaticly sent to me!It was truly an unopened copy! ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

On the heels of their successful Shogun: Total War Creative Assembly moves back in time and westward on the map to shed some light on the Dark Ages. Medieval: Total War concerns the power struggles of pre-Renaissance European kings and Middle Eastern powers, as well as the conflict between the last vestiges of paganism and the growing influences of Islam, the Orthodox (Eastern) Church, and the Roman Catholic Church. These were violent and passionate times to be sure, perfect for a historical strategy game that thrives on brutality, dynasty, and war.

There are three time periods to choose from, the earliest of which features more fragmented factions and primitive weaponry, the last represents a more unified period where most power struggles have been decided and gunpowder has entered the scene. With three time periods and 12 factions representing three different religions, there's a lot of replay value in the strategic game alone.

Like Shogun, the game is divided into two parts: strategic and tactical. The strategic part features a map of Europe, some of Asia, and some of Africa. It's divided into territories à la Risk or Axis & Allies, and each territory represents a kingdom. Each faction begins with its own holdings and must quickly begin to out produce and conquer its neighbors. Each kingdom has its own population, loyalty rating, economy, and religious affiliations. Installing a feared or loved general as governor can enhance the kingdom, but giving an unscrupulous general the job could lead to revolt. Building structures can enhance the kingdom as well; a dock or a salt or silver mine can lead to riches while a castle protects. A bowyer or spear maker can outfit new troops. As time progresses, your king will grow old, have children, and die. If he dies without a male heir a revolution can occur. Daughters are used primarily to reward your governors and generals or offered to allies as wives.

The tactical portion of the game is the 3-D battlefield, complete with deserts, rivers, rolling hills, forests, mountains, and the vast rainy plains of England. It is here that you will decide the fate of your empire. You have to use terrain effectively to win, managing your varied troops with efficiency and skill: pikemen against mounted troops, mounted troops against archers, archers against pikemen. The specialized troop types of the Turkish, Byzantine, French, and other cultures offer unique abilities and open up combat options to wily generals. Guiding the actions of thousands of meticulously researched troops and watching them execute historical military maneuvers on a giant battlefield is a joy, but if deep tactical combat is not to your liking, you can skip individual battles or have the computer control them for you. Creative Assembly added sieges to the game as well, and those can be spectacular undertakings--complete with castle walls, sorties, and machines of war. A multiplayer option is offered, but only using the tactical battle engine. There are also a few warfare only historical battles and scenarios.

The two halves of the game make a rich whole. The AI is sharp, and a sense of history permeates the game. From the eerie medieval chanting that underscores playing as a Western power to the lively Islamic music that you'll hear if you play as a Middle Eastern power. The game recreates history well, but more importantly it's also fantastic to play. --Bob Andrews

Pros:

• Excellent gameplay; strong AI
• Two perfect game engines working together

• Deep, intellectual subject matter might be too dense for some
• Multiplayer only exists in battle mode

Features

• 400 Years of Medieval Warfare - From the preaching of the first crusade in 1095 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Guide your kingdom's fortunes through the early dominance of the feudal knights and longbowmen to the emergence of gunpowder and the advent of heavy siege cannons and handguns.
• Turn-Based - An in-depth turn based game, where players must manage the affairs of their kingdom by forging strategic alliances and marriage treaties, creating trade routes, constructing castles, deploying naval power, training warriors and more.
• Real Time Strategy - Spectacular battles featuring over 10,000 troops in real-time 3D terrain over hundreds of distinct battlefields from the lush farmlands of Western Europe to the arid deserts of North Africa.
• 12 Playable Factions - Each with distinct playing styles and unique units, including the English, German, Byzantine, French and Turkish Empires.

Reviews (195)

??????
does your computer need a 3d acellerator card???? to play shogun total war
??????

Look at All of the Wonderful Things to Eat!
The download and install were uneventful, if rather long. The mod is available in two sizes: small (28MB) and large (140MB). I chose the large version and downloaded from the mirrors available in this forum post. The mod itself will automatically install itself into the Medieval: Total War directory on the player's hard drive, so the process is as hassle-free as they come. Once done, simply fire up the game as always.

Immediately noticeable upon starting a campaign is that the game is now running in version 2.0 (without any other patches applied), some basic screen art additions, alterations, and a big, sloppy smorgasbord of new features. If the player truly loves medieval European history, Medieval: Total War XL may be the only game played for months, if not years to come.

Choosing a faction and era to play in almost made my head explode, in the best way. Besides the additional factions added by the Viking Invasion pack (Hungarians, Sicilians, and the Aragonese), the XL pack doubles the amount of playable factions to include Armenians, Bulgarians, the Crusader States, the Knights Hospitaller, Lithuanians, Norwegians, Portuguese, Scots, Serbs, and the Teutonic Knights. Older factions like Italy are broken up between two new factions: the Genoese and the Venetians, and formerly unplayable factions like the Golden Horde and the Papacy are now playable. All of the old factions (English, French, Spanish, Holy Roman Empire, etc.) are still all playable as well, of course. In addition to doubling the amount of playable factions, the Medieval: Total War XL mod also adds a number of faction specific units: every faction now has at least two or three unique units. Some are modeled on older unit models, but some are all new creations added by VikingHorde himself.

Many of the newer units are ethnically and geographically based, such as Slav Javelin men, found in Balkan provinces, and some very exotic Eastern European and Islamic units. As I applied both the Viking Invasion pack and the Medieval: Total War XL mod back to back, it was difficult for me to be able discern which were added by the modder and which were "officially added" by Creative Assembly. It can only be to the modder's credit that determining the difference was no easy task.

Besides new units and factions, the map has been further broken into additional, historically accurate provinces. They are scattered across the entire original map, throughout every region, and are subtle and not noticeable until the player really gets a chance to study the map by investing some game time. Other more subtle changes to the programming of Medieval: Total War are tweaks to the economics of the game, specifically trade balances and farming income.


The Medieval: Total War XL patch is a little slice of gaming heaven, but alas, it's not absolutely perfect. There are scattered little typos in some of the added in-game text. Nobody is perfect, and I know this may not bother some, but as an editor and writer I couldn't help but notice them. More importantly, the load time between turns on the strategic map has become absolutely spirit-crushing. On some occasions it took the AI up to three or four minutes to complete its moves, much greater than the time it took for the same turns in the old Medieval: Total War. The game never actually crashed, but it appeared to be hung up. It only occurred on the strategic map, and there was no slow-down in any other parts of the game. The turn was always [eventually] completed, but I was able to leave the room, do the laundry, and let out the dog on some occasions between moves. Hopefully this is addressable in an available patch somewhere, because the Medieval: Total War XL mod is terrific and absolutely immersive. The replay value evident with Medieval: Total War XL goes beyond any other game I can recall, with such a variety of factions, units, and provinces to explore that any Medieval: Total War fan will be entertained for a very long time. Despite the problems, Medieval: Total War XL is a great demonstration of what PC wargaming can be: engaging, expandable, entertaining, and even [gasp!] educational. Wargamers with a taste for a more distant, darker history owe it to themselves to check out the Medieval: Total War XL mod.

The best strategy game i've ever played
This game was great. The battles were amazing, and it what they use on History Channel's Descisive Battles. Wonderful graphics, it was like a Lord of the Rings movie. The only part I wasn't thrilled about was the board game-like map. It could have been a little more interactive. Anyway, if you buy this game, you will not be wasting your money.

Battle Axes, Brew & Plunder!
You sit hunched near the prow of the Longboat, listening to the oarsmen gasp as they heave against their burden and shove the boat bearing steely death through the North Sea.There is a close, deadly chill, but the sea is cloaked with a thick and heavy fog that roils up off the whitecaps like steam, as if the furnaces of Hell churned beneath the waves.The Huskarls were blessed by the Jarl's priest hours ago; they clutch their battle-axes and snarl through their teeth, their faces streaked with a cow's blood, the berserker rage upon them.

Soon the dragon's prow will gouge into the Saxon shore; soon your berserker-band will leap across the side and crush skulls, spill blood, scatter the feeble enemy, rape and pillage and burn and plunder.You will drink the enemy's blood in a cup forged of his feeble skull and sing of Valhalla.You will not sully the honor of your ancestors.You will stare up to heaven and cry out in victory under the eternal one-eyed glare of Odin the All-Father.

********

The Omens warn of Death and Destruction.Just a fortnight ago, you watched as the heavens were filled with fire.The earth itself has turned against your people; the fields lie fallow, the crops barren, the yields puny.The people starve.Dogs run feral in the woods, even in the streets.

Your Saxon grandfather's grandfather hacked his way into this unforgiving wilderness, pushed the barbarian Celts back into the western hills, forged a life and a kingdom.You wear that uneasy crown even now, but God---how that cold iron crown digs down into your skull.The Christian priest speaks of the armor of the Lord, but how much more would you give for stronger steel and more men against the coming of this new scourge: orange-haired giants stealing throught the fog in their dragon ships, wielding steely scythes of death, slaying your men and defiling your women.They wear horned helms like the Demons the priests preach against.They are barbarians, savages, bloodthirsty monsters.They are thescourge of an uncaring God: they are the Vikings.

*******

A year ago I picked up "Medieval: Total War" (the original, without the Viking Invasion expansion).Several beer barrels of coffee and three sleepless nights later, I decided Medieval was the single most addictive videogame I had ever played.I picked up the full Battle Collection last week, armed only with the modest expectation of a minor tweak to the basic game that would enable me to send hordes of screeching, beer-guzzling horn-helmed warriors roaring across Anglo-Saxon England.

Boy was I wrong.

Here's what you need to do: if you just got Medieval Total War: Battle Chest, you absolutely must load up Viking Invasion.It's not just an expansion: it's a massive overhaul to the MTW game engine that boosts immeasurably the original's playability, and (sigh) addictiveness.The flaws that hampered the original---and occasionally brought the game to a screeching halt or aborted it altogether---have been fixed.

Now there are four ages to choose from: the original three and the Viking Age (from 793 A.D. through the Norman Conquest in 1066).Apart from the Viking-era powers circa 793 A.D., you can now play an additional three factions: Hungary, the Kingdom of Sicily, and Aragon.The expansion includes a horde of new units to further your ambitions and smash those who oppose your imperial will: Slavic footmen, Hungarian Jobbagy, Russian Druhzina cavalry, Arab infantry, ferocious Heavy Steppe Infantry, the brutal Organ Gun, and of course the Viking units: miserable Viking thralls, doughty Viking landsmen, Saxon Fyrdmen, and fierce Viking huskarls.

Best of all, the design flaws that made the original Medieval: Total War nearly unplayable as the game progressed past 1300 have been fixed or eliminated:

1) Rebellions: In the old game, I would curse as constant rebellions turned my imperial map into a bloodbath of red, leaving islands of rebel armies knotted across my kingdom.Invading?You could count on a massive "rebel" or loyalist army left in your wake---piles of chivalric knights and feudal footmen boasting technology not available to the most advanced power on the gameboard!

Rebellions will still break out, and if you leave a region undermanned or overtaxed for years there's always a chance some long-vanquished pretender to a throne will resurface to unite the disaffected---but overnight rebel super-armies are long gone.

2) Ragnarok Abort Bug!Happily done away with.The original MTW used to be nasty to abort in mid-game, or when you went to save, or when you looked at the computer crosswise.Since loading up the Viking expansion I haven't had the game abort once.

New Stuff:Using archers against an enemy building?Light `em up with flaming arrows!Digging in against an enemy siege? Laugh it up as the gatecrashers scream in agony as you dump boiling oil on them.

The sleek new Battle Summary screen is also nice: now you get a full-screen display with a 360-degree view of the countryside, pictures of both unit leaders, details on both sides (if you've got spies or watchtowers), and an option to tailor your units before you get them on the battlefield.

A quick word about the Viking era itself: ever wanted to dispense with all the careful maneuvering, throw the battle-axes and ale kegs into the dragon-prowed longboats and just sail off to raid and plunder the British isles, and generally kill people and break things?Play the Vikings.

Enough talk!Open up the doors to the Temple of Odin!Raise your tankards to Loki in the drinking hall!Let the raids commence!

JSG

Great game, except.......
Total War: Medieval is very enjoyable, but it has an unendurable glitch -- the program occasionally aborts and returns to the operating system, without saving the game. This happens usually during battles.

My computer exceeds all system requirements, and this is simply unacceptable. It ruins an otherwise fine game.

After the 4th or 5th "abort", I broke the CD to spare myself further frustration. No more Activision for me. It is unbelievable (in 2004) that a company can market a product with this kind of glitch. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

SimCity Classic: The original city simulator. A true classic in computer entertainment, SimCity dares you to design and build the city of your dreams. SimCity took the computer world by storm (well, by earthquake anyway), stretched the bounds of entertainment software, and tore down the wall between fun and learning. With its simple interface and the ability to run on almost any computer, SimCity Classic is the best introduction to both simulation games and city planning on this or any other planet.

SimTower: The vertical empire. Start by building a small office complex: a lobby, a few offices, and a café. Expand by adding more floors, more offices, and elevators. Then diversify to hotel rooms, shops, theaters, restaurants, condos, and more as you build your way to the top. Success in SimTower requires design talent, management skills, business acumen, and the ability to keep your customers happy. Be on the lookout for fires, insect infestations, terrorists, and--you'll find out soon enough.

Streets of SimCity: It's your city to cruise through or bruise through. Check out one of over 50 built-in cities, or take on opponents in an urban free-for-all while skidding, bootlegging, and blasting away. Speed through a sprawling metropolis or tackle one of Streets's rim-rattling missions. On the Streets of SimCity, you set the road rules. Combat up to seven other players in network mode over LAN, Internet, or modem.

SimCopter: Fly missions in the metropolis. Attention SimCopter pilot: you're cleared for a rooftop landing, where the local temperature is a balmy 678. That's because there's a five-alarm fire in progress, not to mention rampant riots and SimCitizens running for their SimLives. So soar through 30 built-in cities in hyper-realistic 3-D and perform death-defying missions. Complete your heroics and receive your rewards: a snazzier copter, a tougher mission, and more near-death experiences.

SimIsle: Missions in the rain forest. OK, so you're the king of the forest--make that rain forest. Now what are you going to do? You'd better decide fast because there are miners, poachers, petrochemical companies, endangered species, tourists, polluters, ecologists, natural disasters, and even UFOs, all vying for your attention--and for your resources. With teams of agents at your command, you'll embark on missions to determine the fate of a series of island rain forests.

SimSafari: Create and explore your own African safari park and camp. SimSafari brings Africa to you! Imagine yourself in rugged bush country, peering through binoculars at vast herds of elephants, zebras, and lions. Choose from exotic plants and wildlife to create your own safari park. Team with a neighboring village and build a flourishing safari camp. ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Good Pack, but SimIsle sux
Okay, first warning: like other people said, these games were made from 1989-1997, so some of them are REALLY old. If you want moderately modern games for the price, I reccomend the SimMania 2 pack. Anyway, my uncle bought this as a gift for me 3 yrs. ago. I'll rate the games individually:

- SimCity Classic (1989, Maxis)
Yep, folks, it's the first SimCity ever. While it certainly was a great game for it's time (it must've been good then if Maxis got daily calls from the CIA), it is preceded by the sequels (Sim City 3000 and 4), with even more options, so if you're planning on buying the entire set just for this, don't.
If you want a taste of the game right now, you can check out SimCity's website at www.simcity.com because they have an online version of it on their website. Only problem: you have to have a username.

- SimTower (1994, Maxis/Yoot Saito)
SimTower, as the name describes, allows you to build your own 100-story tower with condos, restaraunts, offices, shops, all that good stuff. Even though I haven't played it in a long time (too much time playing Sims) it's pretty fun. I will warn you about this: it is a bit hard to get past 3 stars, because the people in the suite will never like you. Good for it's time, and I'd really like a SimTower 2.

- Streets of SimCity (1997, Maxis)
Like some people said, this really isn't a Sim game. Though you can customize your own cities with the help of the SimCity 2000 Urban Renewal Kit, and make the gameplay feel a lot like the U-Drive-It missions from SimCity 4. Though nevertheless, it's a good game when you really aren't focusing on a game and you're just looking through your CD collection.

- SimCopter (1996, Maxis)
I have a feeling this is an updated version of Raid on Bungling Bay (NES), Will Wright's first game before creating SimCity. I've barely played this game, though I personally think it's sorta hard to control your helicopter.

- SimIsle (1995, Maxis)
Most disposable game: ever. In SimIsle, I don't get the very concept of what you're supposed to do. I "build" something, and hire architects and construction workers, and nothing happens...nothing. Recommended only if you're on a quest for every Sim game ever made.

- SimSafari (1998, EA/Maxis)
SimSafari is a nice novelty to pass the time. I personally remember renting SimSafari from the video store when I was little. Oh, how much fun I had... though anyway, being the sequel to SimPark (the game with the annoying frog, thank god for the Rizzo Off option) it is set in the African Savannah plains. Your objective is to attract people to your safari camp and get 5 stars, and meanwhile help the village get essentials like a granary, a schoolhouse, etc. via hiring the villagers. Though it certainly isn't the best game in the world, it is pretty fun if you're trying to pass the time.

That is my review.

Keep Sim Copter & trash the rest
Sim City- eh, an ok game,, pretty boring though, same thing happens every time.. you build your city, citizens demand that taxes should be lowered, a big fire, etc... zzz....

Sim Tower- this game is KINDA fun but again, just kind of monotnous. This is kind of the reason why I don't like a lot of "Sim" games

Sim Isle- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........

Sim Safari: a boring, stupid, corny, fruity, kiddie game

Streets of Sim City- zzzz,, I get bored with racing games very quickly

Sim Copter- Now THIS game is FUN!!!!! Look for my seperate review on this first.

Bottom line: dont waste the $, just buy Sim Copter seperate- it's the only fun Sim game (with the slight exception of Sim City 2000, and Sim Tower is midly allright)

Cheap Fun
Retro gamming is not for everyone. I like to play old games, well, because I just have a problem with nostalgia. If you your not worried about graphics and you want to explore the early years of the "SIMS" universe, then it would not hurt to drop a couple of bucks for this pack of games.

Be warned, I could not get all of the games to run on my system, which is still 6 months away from not being modern anymore. But since the price was reasonable I still felt it was worth the three games I was able to run.

The original Sim City is just stupid fun. It's so easy to build a quick city and it's still easy to fail. This is a no frills, time killing game.

Sim Copter was by far my favorite. Talk about a game that had so much potential, but it still turned out to be fun to play. Maxis should have gone out of house on this one, like to MICROPROSE (while they lasted). The people inhabiting the cities are like the original "Sims" and funny to hear where I think the simesse language came from considering what's it's evolved to today.

Sim Tower was a dirty little pleasure. Who thought that building and office tower with apartments, restaurants, movie theaters, etc. could be soo much fun?!

Sim Island, just throw it away when you open the box.

Like I said, the game only costs a few bucks so why not give it a try. Worst case is you loose a few dollars from what you paid when you sell to the pawn shop.

A review of the games in Sim Mania
Sim Mania is an excellent game pack from the creators of the original Sim City.This pack includes six fantastic simulation games from Maxis and Electronic Arts incorporated.Games include the original Sim City, Sim Tower, Sim Isle, Sim Safari, Sim Copter, and Streets Of Sim City.Most of the games in this pack are simple to figure out but Sim Isle takes a little more time and effort.The original Sim City is the beginning of the Maxis Sim game series.In Sim Tower, you are a building owner and a construction worker to create the building.You have the choice of making it an office building, hotel suite, condo complex, and a restaraunt facility.In Sim Isle, you are in charge of creating an island and hiring people to maintain the island. In Sim Safari, you are in charge of creating a Safari park in Africa.You get to place the animals that you desire in the park and designing the camp site.This game is especially good for those who enjoy animals and the wildlife.Sim Copter is an exciting game where you are the pilot of a rescue helicopter.You are responsible for clearing traffic jams, fighting fires, reporting crimes, transporting people from one area of the town to another, rescuing people from rooftops and turned over boats, and getting injured people to the hospital.Streets of Sim City is a great game for those who enjoy high speed auto games as well as a little bit of shoot'em up and bang'em up action.If you do decide to purchase this product, you will have hours of computer entertainment.

Some of the games didn't work.... Disappointing
Sim Safari and The Streets Of Sim City didn't work on my computer much like i_love_ritchie_forever... I feel your pain!
Anyway, the games that do work are cool.

Sim City is the classic, very first version of the now famous Sim City. The graphics are terrible... but the game itself is pretty cool. It has cool scenarios and I like playing around with the options on the menus.

Sim Isle is alright... I suppose. It's pretty boring, I don't know why some people think it's brilliant. I played it, but I didn't really understand it.

Sim Copter is cool. I love flying the helicopter around and crashing into things. I also love using the megaphone. I'll play it again.

I have played Streets of Simcity. It's pretty boring. You just drive around Simcity and blow yourself up.

My favourite game was Sim Tower. I LOVE IT! I love building the tower and renaming all the people and the shops. I like the events and the cool sounds

This gets 3 stars because of Sim Tower. If Sim Tower wasn't on it, it would get only 2 stars. Considering some of the games didn't work on my computer, I probably have a right to be disappointed. ... Read more

Product Description

Forget the hassle of spreading a large jigsaw over the kitchen table!This computer presentation takes all the inconvenience away, while still providing the satisfaction and diversion of the traditional game.

Features

• Hours of fun.
• 111 puzzles made from beautiful photographs.
• Suitable for all ageschoose the difficulty level from large, medium or small pieces.
• Rotating pieces simulate both the frustration and the pleasure of matching orientationjust like a conventional jigsaw.
• Auto-Complete for those times when you just can't find THAT piece

Features

• Over 100 all-ages puzzles for hours of fun
• Choose the puzzle size that suits you -- from 49-piece puzzles to massive 1000-piece challenges
• Pieces can be rotated to see where they fit in the puzzle

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

WarCraft II isn't exactly the freshest real-time strategygame on the market, but that doesn't mean it's any less fun than it usedto be. For those of you who missed it the first time around, WarCraftII is set in a fantasy realm where knights hack at trolls withswords, deadly spells crisscross the battlefield, and powerfulfortresses dot the landscape. The game pits the evil orcs against thehumans, letting players choose whichever side they want in a series ofbattles over the world.With the WarCraft II: Battle Chest, players can experience themagic of the original game along with the added enhancements of theBeyond the Dark Portal expansion pack. Rounding out the BattleChest is a complete strategy guide that will walk beginners throughthe basics and provide more experienced players with advanced tactics sothey can master the game. That's good, because players will need all thehelp they can get challenging other WarCraft II fans online. It'spossible to challenge one to eight other players on the developer's freeBattle.net servers, while more solitary gamers can immerse themselves inone of the fun single-player campaigns or stand-alone missions.WarCraft II's finely balanced gameplay has lost none of itscharm, even if the graphics are aging. In most missions you start with asmall force and must gather enough resources to build a strong base ofoperations that can field a formidable army. We had the most fun withthe set-piece battles, where we had to shepherd a few beleaguered troopsacross an enemy-infested map to either link up with a larger force onthe other side or protect a hero on his way to some goal. Blizzard isfamous for delivering games with terrific production values, timelessgameplay, and lots of extras, and the WarCraft II: Battle Chest isan inexpensive reminder of why the company has such a terrificreputation. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• A true classic with timeless gameplay
• Multiplayer mode is a lot of fun
• Plenty of campaigns and scenarios to satisfy the single-player set

• Graphics are showing their age

Features

• Support for Win95/98/NT and Macintosh
• Multi-player support for as many as 8 players via Battle.Net or IPX network
• Battle.net. play features Unique User IDs and a ranking system for worldwide challenge ladders
• Play as both Human and Orc in over 70 explosive missions across 4 epic campaigns
• Over 100 Blizzard signed and approved maps, newly built or redesigned and specifically balanced for multi-player games.

Reviews (68)

One of my all time favorite RTS games ever
Although Warcraft 3 and its expansion have come out within the last few years, I still prefer Warcraft 2 a bit more. Yes the game looks kinda dated now, but it is still a blast to play. The game was fun in that it never got too complicated or anything so that newcomers could always have a good time. The map editor was easy to use and the online play in the Battle.net edition will keep you busy for a while. Anyways, if you've only played Warcraft 3 then it might be difficult for you to enjoy this game since it is so old, but if your willing to look past the graphics then you'll find a real gem.

Oops
Great game.It looks like amazon actually posted a screenshot of warcraft I: Orcs and Humans, instead of a picture from this game.

Aging but still good
This game has definitely been around for awhile, but there's a reason it's still played.It's fun!The interface is easy to use, and the 'tech tree' aspect is fairly simple so that even people who haven't played other rts games should have to trouble learning it.

There are a couple of downsides to this game, though in my opinion they aren't much of an issue.One is of course that the graphics are definitely aging and nothing spectacular.It's nice to be able to quickly recognize your units so that you can make the best use of them (high detail can get in the way of that) but don't expect the graphics to wow you.Also, this game runs on a 2D engine, rather than the 3D engine that more recent games are using.

Secondly is that I wasn't incredibly impressed by the campaigns.They tend to get a little repetitive, so most of the time I find myself just playing a custom game.

Another similar game I might recommend instead of this one would be Starcraft.The graphics are slightly better, and the game is just as interesting.Then of course there is Warcraft III out now, which has a 3D engine and a couple of additional races besides human and orc.Aside from the things I mentioned, this game really is very good.I've been playing it for years and haven't gotten tired of it yet!

Best Game Ever- period!
Warcraft2 is an awesome game that has been around a lomg time...a classic. While some say that its graphics are aging, I love the undetailed, squat Orcs, among other things. Welcme to the World of Warcraft!!!

RTS legend.
This game is the first RTS game that I have played along with Starcraft and Lords of the Realm 2. But Lords of the Realm 2 (Starcraft is a whole diffrent stoty) didn't have what Warcraft had. The easy to get used to gameplay with great graphics in terms of running smooth, the very low system requirement, and the satisfaction of the Battle.net. I have not played this game since 2000 (Because my dad broke my CD. Read my Starcraft Battle Chest review.) so I don't know if anyone plays online now but all I know is that I had the most fun playing this game back in 2000. I remember the satisfaction that I had with my friends after beating the opponent with my ogres and the dragons. This game ran fine when I used to have Intel Celeron 400MHZ, 64mb ram, and 56k modem. So if you get this game right now, you shouldn't have any technical problems. Also this game is very easy to get used to with easy gameplay and great graphics for an outdated game. This game is definitly a must have if you are a RTS fan. You should know that Warcraft started it all. It started the great RTS gaming genre. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Quick--name a fabulous party game starting with the letter S! Super Scattergories from Hasbro Interactive turns your computer into a wise-cracking game-show host that will have even the designated drivers screaming at the tops of their lungs.

Based on the familiar pencil-and-paper game, the object of the game remains to find members of particular categories; each answer must start with the same letter. The computer version adds some complexity--there's now five different games, including picture identification, category matching, and simple word listing.

The answer interface simplifies the game a bit and speeds it up greatly--only the first three letters of a correct answer are required. Without worrying about misspellings or long guesses, the pace picks up dramatically. The look, sound, and feel of Super Scattergories is reminiscent of You Don't Know Jack, and play is just as fun solo or with teams of any size.

While some of the animations might be poky if you have other programs running or a slower machine, the game clock seems to work fine even under the worst of conditions. If you want something new to distract your guests or just want to work on those language skills, Super Scattergories is just the thing. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Lot's of fun, but problems with the last round
This game is a lot of fun, but I am having problems with the last round of the game. It just does not respond. I have only had the game for 1 month. This is the third time buying the game and every single CD that I have bought has been defective.

Great fun to play
I have played this game night after night....I actually bought it in a package of 2 boxes of Old El Paso taco kits.

This has to be one of the most entertaining games I have had.As far as gameplay.The only sad thing is...I emailed them and they have no updates for the word lists and will not make any (according to my email).

Nonetheless it is great fun....if you see this CD between to boxes of Old El Paso taco kits, grab it....it is well worth it, since there is no cost for the game in that package. =)

Awesome
Super Scattregories is a "awesome" PC Game. Anyone who plays this game I guarentee they will love it.I wish it was a little easier to purchase. Thank you for your assistance .

Sincerely,
C Goodwin

Last Section doesn't work
We have had problems with the last section on
the Scattergories that we bought not working
It just quits responding.We love the game but
hate to miss the total.Any ideas?

Problems make it impossible to play
I stumbled upon this game after buying "Scrabble" by the samecompany. After reading the reviews posted, I thought it'd be a great gameto play. Unfortunately, I really can't answer that question as I nevermanage to even get started playing the game; the game will just shut downon me just as a round begins to start. This happens repeatedly and invarious degrees at startup.I don't know if it is my computer as I've doneeverything I can to remedy the situation -- without success, but there'sobviously some kind of glitch in the game and I think people need to beaware of that before they buy it. It may be among the best games out there,but for some of us, that will make no difference if you can't play it. ... Read more

Features

• Advanced 3d engine
• Tropical Map Editor
• Solo or Multiplayer Modes
• Meticulous Attention to Detail

Reviews (6)

I played it twice, then got board
I bought this game because I loved virtual skipper 1.I have not taken anywhere near the enjoyment out of this game.I have a fast computer with a gig of ram and still have performance issues with the graphics.

The thing that makes me the angriest about this game is the disk copy protection.It starts up and goes into a disk protection check.This security feature means it takes the game 5 min+ to start up.By the time that it finally starts up I have normally found something more interesting to do with my time.

Finally, I question the rules they use and the very little feedback I have gotten from penalties.I have been involved in collisions when the starboard tack boat has gotten a penalty.I don't know what is up with that.

Anyhow, I don't play this game much.I still do play virtual skipper 1.I hope this helps someone else not to feel ripped off.

Graphics are misleading, simulation is so so
This wasn't as great as the reviews lead you to believe. The games graphics bog down my 2.8Ghz processor with 512Mb, so I have to run it on low graphics settings to get a smooth game. I have played virtual sailor 2 for over a year now and it is better.

I think that this software has potentials, but wait until they clean up the main menu. Download the demo and you'll see what I mean.

Until then just stick with virtual sailor 2.
Version 3 is no big upgrade.

Even if the Demo Works on your system the program may not
Ignore the stated requirements.Ignore the fact that the demo runs fine on your computer.The program will not run if you have and intel chipset on the VC or MB.That's the story from Enlight tech support.So save your money and buy Virtual Sailor on line.

Satisfy your sailing jones year round
There is absolutely no reason for anyone that loves sailing and has a computer not to own this game. Awesome is an understatement. 4 different boats and they all have completely different sailing characteristics. The simulation of the water and waves is phenomenal. As you pick up speed, the wake gets longer. As you go up a roller, the boat slows down, down the other side and you speed up. Winds shift, current, storms it is all there. The night I downloaded the free demo I was up until 2:00 AM sailing against the machine.

When you reach the windward mark and want to raise the chute, make sure you give the crew enough time to do what needs to be done before they raise it. Similarly, at the leeward mark, if you don't call for the chute drop early enough, you won't round the mark. Sail in an opponent's lee and you will get gassed. Pinch a little, you loose a little speed, pinch a lot and you will stop.

The best part is that you can do it on the internet or on a LAN. A good friend and racing bud has a wireless network in his house. Three of us on lap tops drank beer and sailed in front of the fire yelling "STARBOARD!!!!!" All we needed was someone to throw buckets of salt water on us.

Yes the computer simulation has its faults but they are laughable. If an IACC boat hits a rock, there is a thunk and the boat stops. If the IACC boat hits one of the inflatable marks.... Same thunk and the boat stops. Sail right up to the sandy beach and you don't hit bottom with the 12 foot keel, the hull hits the sand with the same thunk and stops.

There is also a little room for improvement. The camera keys are F1 through F8 and raising headsails is 1 through 4 with 4 being the spinnaker. When you are sailing upwind, and you want to see an alternate angle, make sure you hit f4 and not 4. If you hit 4, you are raising the spinnaker and there is no cancellation or abort key. After the spinnaker, or should I say "drag chute" is up, you then hit 2 to raise the Genoa and drop the chute. Remember earlier I said you had to wait for everyone to do what they need to do, as in real life, this seems to take forever.

My wife bought this for me for Christmas and now has realized that she will be a Wednesday Night Racing widow in the winter too.

Dennis Doherty
A drinker with a sailing habit

For a land lubber and skipper alike!
I am new to the world of sailing having played games such as Sea Dogs, Pirates of the Carib. ect. that really lack the reality of really being on the open sea and focus more on combat which is slow, boring and bad for the most part but when I tried the DEMO out of this game I couldn't believe the detail and the graphics to boot!

First of all the graphics rival those of Far Cry and DOOM 3. Excellent!

The water looks real and the waves splash against your sail boat as if you are really there. You can almost feel the wind as it swings your sail back and forth!

Next, unlike PC Gamers review on this game it's not that hard to learn, really! I figured it out in about ten or so minutes and I'm pretty dense when it comes to PC games.

Al you have to do is figure out what task you want your crew of AI to do and they will get the job done. Focus on the navigational meter on the bottom because that help a great deal with direction and steering your boat to the finnish line correctly. Choosing the sail is a little harder especially if you are not learner with sailing but by experimenting with this in a few mintues you'll have it down.

PC Gamer said because of lack of a trainer the game really lacks but I think you would have to be pretty dense not to accomplish this by yourself. Sorry PC Gamer I think this game is awsome! ... Read more

Product Description

The best courses, the finest equipment and the coolest players as well as the ability to play as yourself make this golf-simulator a hole in one. ... Read more

Features

• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Genre: Sports
• Mission: Play as or against the Tiger himself in this high-stakes battle for the championship title
• Platform: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP

Reviews (15)

Good interface, if you pick the right one
When picking whether to go with this title or its rival (I'll omit the name), one big factor was the courses being featured and the overall deisgn. I liked the idea that a person had to develop their character, and build him into a champion, rather than simply setting stats and running.

The one thing a person needs to look out for is in regards to which difficulty level is selected. On either the novice or expert settings, making a good swing with the mouse (pulling it back and pushing it through along the same line) is important, but novice only lets you hit the ball strait. There is little challenge, and little chance of the occasional whoopsie that accompanies a real round of golf. I played the game on novice close to the end, but it got completely boring when my golfer could hit the ball 330 yards in a strait line every time. The challenge of the game was gone, and so my interest.

On the other hand, if you start on expert and work with it, the game adds the element of not only your personal performance, but also shotmaking. With novice you have to really do something weird before you hit the ball bad, but on expert it takes a better touch with the mouse on top of the possibility that what you thought was a strait shot may have had a little sidespin on it that will take it off course... or strait at the hole.

Being able to hit draws and fades greatly increases the interest in the game, as you then have a huge number of options besides just picking the club you think you can hit the fairway with. The choice becomes "which club can I hit with just the right amount of draw spin to get it down the fairway in just the right place?" My advice is to play on expert from the start and just get used to everything.

Graphics wise, the game is OK, and apparently vastly improved with 2005. If your machine can't handle the new version, or you like the older courses better, going with 2004 should still be satisfying.

The only things I really wish the game included are more detailed equipment adjustments and selection (the ability to build custom clubs... why not?), and an expansion pack of courses. Naturally, there is probably a little matter of royalties for the courses in the game, but one or two extra wouldn't hurt, would they?

Highly overrated
Players are not different enough cause you only get Tiger.

I dislike how putting is done.

Too many arcade elements for a "sim" game.

CPU AI is not worth playing against.

Recommend a 128MB Vid Card
This game is EXCELLENT, IF a person has a decent Video Card. I tried it before I upgraded my Video Card. Liked it but once I installed the upgraded Graphics card, and checked all the options in the settings. The GAME CAME ALIVE! The trees move; the grass flows with the wind; and the water ripples; shadows look great; reflections on water... Great test on the performance of a PC.

BEST GOLF SIM EVER MADE
If you want the definitive golf simulation for Windows XP, look no further than this title.This game will knock your socks off folks.Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 is the best out there.

Really Disappointed
I rented Tiger Woods 2004 for xbox and fell in love with the game.Best golf game ever.Only one problem, no online.So I bought the PC version with great excitement.I must tell you it is junk.The graphics are horrible.Your player looks like he is pasted on the course.There is no interaction between the ground and the feet.The sound is awful, you make a shot and the announcer gives the wrong response.Your putt drops in the hole without a single sound.By the way your ball looks square as it is rolling around. The game play depth is very limited and uninspiring.Compared to the console game you really have very little options.The controls to aim and putt are difficult and time consuming. To be honest I could go on and on with the things that dissapoint.It is a cheap port in form the console.Get the PS2 version go online and have a blast.It is hard for me to understand why so many rate it high.Maybe I am missing something.I have been gaming on computers for 5 years and this is one of the worst game I have seen. This one is rough. YUCK!! ... Read more