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Games oWeb Sites 0CD ROMS GAME
Nightmare Creatures Playstation £44.99
Nightmare Creatures is set in nineteenth century London, With the eponymous monsters roaming the dark, brooding streets. Despite lacking HolmeSian cunning, it’s your Job to get rid of ’em. The Victorian alleys ooze menace, and the atmosphere initially seems one of the most malevolent yet created by a computer game. Unfortunately, gameplay lets Nightmare Creatures down. There is little respite from
, hacking and slashing, and any I _A . 7 ‘ suspense is undermined by the .3}; 'i.g,;}..__- J , I , game’s predictability. Worse, poor ' Ififiia. I _ I- ~ controls and too few movements ‘ ‘ ' ' " " limit enjoyment, so it's probably best ‘I’he most ambitious virtual world ever created: a scene from Ultima Online to hold out for Res/dent Ew/ 2 .f you
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. where they can live an alternative existence. WEB S|TE launching their own ersonal and business lives - l - a e _ . ~. ' , .l’ Aintitcool within a VlrlUdI world. _ _ But the game has been a victim of its own success. hItDWWWWa'm‘lI'COOI‘nEWS-Com On-line gaming IS routinely called the An organised protest — within the environment of the Ain’t it cool— the home of film
future of video games But with death game — complained that overloaded servers slowed criticism and gossip - has transcended ° the action down to unplayable levels. Players were its cult status, recording several
threats! Strange ("Its and Virtual urged to congregate and get drunk in certain areas of mIHIOn VISitS every WEEK RU“ by the drunkenness already occurring, what Britannia in order to register their gripes: mass on- nOW InfamOUS Harry KnOWIeS from
exactl is oin on, line leglessness can lead to server meltdown. In a AUSUn, Tean' Al'n'k/TCOOIhaS
y g g ' sinister tw'ist. disaster was averted by a real-life amaCtE’d the "9 0f HOIIYWOOd WOrdSI 10h" Henderson death threat to the protest leader. SIUd'OSI Who fear "5 ab'l'ty ‘0 599"
Most commercially released off-line games now the" mU't'm'H'O” pound market'ng
On-line gaming evangelists prophesise that one day come with built-in multi-player support via the bUdgets by OUE'”9 "‘9 turkeystoo all games will be purchased and played over the Net. Internet. Quake and Drab/a are the most popular. with early YOU Won t f'nd ény goss'p about Currently. on-line gaming can be divided into three the former attracting its own share of virtual nutters. the Stars' Knowles '5” I 'me'95‘9d m different areas: sta‘i’idard games with Internet links. Fans who take Quake a bit too seriously form into them' but you W'lfl f'nqdlocat'on M Web games played on the World Wide Web using a virtual ‘clans'. complete with special customised reports’ ms'der In 0 an rev'ews’ OSt
brows r and Hit in 1 )nl r M ' h t 'f) )r ‘ k ‘ Of th's '5 prov'ded by regmar punters I“ \ r s ' x _ ( r 3: y s \ 3 \ .v ‘ ‘~ ‘. , . I c c c ( y games iic conncc uscrs uni ( rms ( in and you re more than welcome to
but bypass the Web. All you need to get going is a One of the first things people new to on-line t 10mm ; modern and an Internet account. gaming quickly discover is the importance of ‘ping‘ — ' -Le’ading the Internet-only g . . the time it takes for the charge is the recently released mt’ma onlme has surpassed signals sent by your computer CD ROM. . . .and fabulously successful our expectations from .1} to return from the server The Offlc'al Gu'de to Ulrima Online. which lets you business standpoint and as a you‘re linked to. Quake Babylon 5
enter an involving cyberspace _ , addict Daniel Lewington PC E29 99 'lworld called Britannia. 9mm} soc'al expeflmem- PQOPIQ issues this warning: ‘If ‘ 1 inhabited by thousands of are living an alternative you've got a slow line. you '1 W35 Onlya matter 0‘ “me before
other pCOpIC going about their . . _ . a can he creamed, however some publisher sawthe commercial m,c_pluymg business. The eXistence, launching their own sense of explonmg put_upon
good you are.‘ One solution is
l idea is not to ‘win‘ so much as personal and business iiv‘es Q,,(,k(.w(,,-/(L a pic“. of gaby/on 5 falrlishThbis trio diskdregeta}: ; to so‘iall ’ interact with o i ' ’ '1 ~ 1-: ow' i; z ‘ sof war‘ hi r'ngs you a 9 ac groun
' . “L, > , , - mu Withm a Untuai work" d “R .1d lhk, [- I 1,! cult TV series, With in-depth
I users and to play a role in the ,V _ I g ,1 _ _ a "I . a _ attempts I" 0‘0” Ihmgs “P “ Informatlon on Ovprnments
i largest. most umbmous virtual Richard Garriott, tiltiiiia unlinte creator. hit. 9 v o
cultures, weapons and ships. Sadly, the gmde has a clumsy, confusing interface, as well as a distinct lack of interactiwty: although you can ViSit different areas of the ship, they are
world ever created. Everything happens in real-time. The third and final type of on-line play comes in so if you log off. events continue to unfold in your the form of Web gaming. Although still in their absence. Incredibly. players average an incredible infancy. Web games like the Slap A Spice Girl site four hours a day plugged in. That's one quarter of can be vaguely amusing. Unlike on-line gaming in
I their waking hours interacting with other people via general. Web‘gaining s day has probably yet to come. 8” presented as 5t,” graph,“~
, their computer and not in ‘real life . One thing s for sure though: if this is the future it s Soence “won gUIdeS rarely fulfil the ‘Ultuiia Online has far surpassed our expectations going to be weird. potenuai that their subject matter
i — both from a business standpoint and as a grand offers, and Babylon 5, sadly, is
social experiment.‘ says Richard Garriott. the creator For more information on Ultima Online call 01753 546 another case in point of the project who also plays Lord British in the 465 or visit http://www.owo.com
: game. ‘In many ways. the land of Britannia mirrors SlapASpice Girl site REVIEWER THIS ISSUE l our own. People are flocking to an environment http://www.urban75.com/Punchlspicebelt.htm| John Henderson
23 Jan-S Feb 1998 THELIST 95