PC Games

The PC-Games portal

Ah... PC Games. Have fond memories of old games like Wasteland, Budokan, Captain Comic, the King's / Police Quest series and old Larry. A little more recently, games like Star Control 2, Eye of the Beholder, Secret of Monkey Island 2, Ski or Die, and Alone in the Dark came out. Since then we've seen a change in the type of games, for example Command & Conquer, Doom and Quake. Unfortunately, many of the games today really suck. There are no good story-type games (King's Quest III and IV were bloody classics), just great graphics with no storyline. Anyway, haven't got time for that stuff any more so I'll review some quick-start arcade type games for the PC. These are:

Quake 2

Diablo 2

Need for Speed 2

Quake 2

Those guys at ID software have done it again... Quake 2 looks damn awesome, all you have to do is check out the screenshots. Quake provided a revolutionary platform for true 3-D polygon gaming, that's more than anyone else had achieved at the time. Although Quake was never as popular as Doom, Quake 2 has proved to be very popular (The beta-test version was the #1 downloaded program, even more than IE4.0).

To play the game at a reasonable speed, you will require quite a hefty machine. A 3-D video card (sorry, a Virge will not suffice) and P2 processor, around 233MHz will be needed to play the game at a reasonable speed. Ideally you'd like to be using a 3DFX Voodoo or Voodoo 2 graphics card to get the arcade quality graphics you see below.

To find out more, visit QUAKE2.COM.

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Diablo 2

Diablo 2 is the much awaited sequel to Diablo. From the beta version, I've heard that they've added a new character; a monk. He apparently kicks ass because his spells and strength are both good, a well-balanced type of character. There are new monsters and levels, as well as loads of new items and spells. The storyline goes something along the lines of "Diablo's master is severely pissed ... brings him back ... you fight him ... kill him (but he'll be seriously pumped up) ... then fight Diablo's master ... then die cause you can't win without cheating. It will use Blizzard's battle.net to allow people to play over the internet, though I'm not sure how many can play at once. To find out more, try the Blizzard web site or just search the net.

Need for Speed 2

Need for Speed was an immensely popular game, written for the PC an ported to several platforms. It started a huge change in car driving games. Now, Need for Speed 2 is here. If you liked Need for Speed, chances are you won't like NFS2. Sound strange? Maybe not, NFS was written by a different company. Personally, I like NFS2 (actually, I don't really like NFS at all). Mainly because the car is so much easier to control, you can get into the game without too much difficulty, you have a chance of coming back if you crash out, and the cars are so much better (none of this assembly-line car rubbish). It's not exactly the best simulation of a car game, as you can get up to top speed quite easily and quickly. The stats aren't too accurate either, with the McLaren F1 being the best car by far. However, NFS wasn't exactly the best driving simulator either. Where was the car damage? If you want realism, play the game in 'simulation' mode, not 'arcade'.

The game support force-feedback steering wheels and foot pedals. It is also multi-playable over a LAN, modem or serial connection. You can play the Knockout with multiple players. The game even includes a split screen mode! Pretty cool, it's not too sluggish either on my budget P100.

Strategy:

First off, I assume you're playing the game in Arcade mode. This allows you to take corners a little easier, although bumping off other cars is not so easy (on Advanced mode). I've managed to win the Knockout competition 3 or 4 times, and it's not easy. If you've done it before too, you must be a seasoned pro, so don't bother reading on.

To get the best control, you should use Manual. You'll get used to it, and find it much better especially when you play other driving games in the future. When you start off, don't hold the accelerator down then jam it into first. You'll wheel-spin for ages before moving anywhere. Just push forward and change into first when the announcer says 'go'. In the Knockout competition, you start at the back of the field. You then progress onto the next track until you come last. At the end, it should be just you and one other guy. The first track is simple, just go around without hitting the walls. The second is harder. Once you become accustomed to the tracks, you'll find it much better. Use the aerial map to work out how sharp a corner is, and what gear you should be in to go around. Take for example, the third track. It has 3 hairpin corners joined by a long stretch. To go around quickly, you drop from 5th to 3rd gear slightly before the corner, and powerslide around. Drop to 2nd halfway through the turn, and you'll be on your way.

When you start to get better, you'll want to take out the other cars. Normally smashing them from the side will cause only you to crash (in Advanced mode, or in the Knockout tournament). The best thing to do is get slightly ahead of your opponent, and nudge the front of his car to the side with the rear of your car. Swing gently in the opposite direction on contact to ensure you don't crash yourself. Works every time....

If you're real good, or have the "modified" version, you'll be able to see the secret Monolithic Studios track. This comes up when you get to the last stage of the Knockout. It's ok, though my favourite track is the Mediterranean, then North Country. Overall this is a most enjoyable game, once you get into it. You've gotta be patient though, initially. I nearly gave it away after the third time playing, but I'm real glad I didn't. Here are my top times: can anyone better these?

Track	Best lap	Best time (2 laps)
Pioneer Testing Facility	0:48:96	1:45:96
Outback	1:21:15	2:48:09
North Country	1:59:03	4:09:40
Pacific Spirit	1:49:25	3:45:25
Mediterranean	1:31:53	3:10:21
Mystic Peaks	2:36:56	5:29:62
Monolithic Studios	1:49:65	3:48:59

These times were clocked using a McLaren F1 in Arcade mode. Now that the Special Edition is out, the game has become too easy. The additional track is crud, and the "Wild" mode makes it far too easy. The FZR2000 is a sh!t car as well. Guess we'll have to look forward to Need for Speed 3, coming soon to the PC..

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