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I became excited to find out that Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 was about to be released. I loved NFS3 and looked forward to an “upgraded” graphics engine. I became happy to discover that Need For Speed: HP2 did do a massive overhaul to, not only game play, but also the whole package. As with everything, though, there is a problem.

I actually was going to do a Quick Rant on NFS: HP2 because I became extremely frustrated at every turn with the controller fiasco dealing with this product.

Big on the “must have” list of qualities with a game is controller support and configuration. If you cannot adjust how you wish the controls should be, it makes for a big problem that any game needs to over come for me to consider a good recommendation.

Installation was no problem and I grabbed my MS Sidewinder Precision Pro joystick and plugged it in. Upon first running the game, I was given a warning about “an unknown controller” installed. What?!? It is not like this is a rare joystick.

I figured, ok, I have an adapter installed on the joystick to convert from “midi” or game port to USB. I unplugged that and the joystick was detected just fine. I then proceeded to configure my controls and eagerly hopped into a game. After about 5 seconds, I realized it was impossible to control the car with the joystick. I am talking about continuous overcorrecting and rapid response to even the slightest movement of the joystick. The options were no help as the only thing that was configurable was “dead zone”. With that, it only delayed the inevitable fishtail action around the first bend.

I then decided to adjust the controller in the Windows Game Panel to reduce the sensitivity. That worked ok, however, upon reboot, the “saved” profile forgot the buttons I had defined. I went through the motions all over again.

In game, it worked out better because I could actually get around the track. I thought of another option.

I threw on the system the faithful Gravis Game Pad Pro. It worked, but again, the game never remembered how I configured it after exiting back to Windows and restarting. I was able to get around the track, but it took extreme effort.

The game looks great and I really wanted to play it! This called for drastic action and a great excuse to finally invest in a wheel controller.

I headed to the local geek store and picked up a MS Sidewinder Force Feedback Wheel, eagerly plugged it in and XP detected it as such. I fired up the game and low and behold, a dialog complaining about not recognizing the new Wheel. I then became mad.

I thought I would go ahead and install the MS 4.0 software for the controller and the new options in the Windows control panel were great! I tested out all the force feedback stuff and got even more excited.

Upon reloading the game, I did not see the warning dialog. Finally, I have done everything correct. Now down to business. I (again) set up the buttons and steering for what I wanted and jumped into a game. First thing I found was that the force feedback DID NOT WORK! I was super mad, now.

I checked for updated patches (none) and wandered around the forums to discover that I was not alone. I then figured that force feedback was not as important as actually getting around the track, so I gave up and started the game again. Sure enough, it forgot the configuration of the wheel.

Even after all of that, I love the game! It has plenty of options and the graphics have great eye-candy! The wheel definitely improved game play, as I played for a few tracks straight. You earn points to unlock cars and tracks and, even if you fail to increase your previous standings, you still earn a few points by completing a lap in first place or avoiding the cops.

Speaking about cops, they are super drivers that love to cause the car you are driving to fishtail out of control. Even though it is not impossible, it makes for a difficult race. Avoiding the cops requires the cat like reflexes to spin THEM out before they do it to you, or travel through many different “short cuts” throughout all of the tracks. The tracks, averaging between 2 and 4 minutes a lap, cause for some headache later on in the race because “way” too much stuff is after you.

I was also intrigued with the “damage” model displayed on the box, of which I never saw until I did a “single” race. I guess the Hot Pursuit mode and Championship mode does not include the destruction of the car code.

Funny thing, though, is the dialogs that pop up between tracks alternate between “pressing any key” that has no mouse support and a “continue” style dialog that requires pressing enter or using the mouse. It did not take too long for me to get out of the game, back to Windows, bind one of the wheel buttons to “enter”, and get back to the game. Of course, I had to do the control configuration again.

I also hopped online with an easy to use interface powered by GameSpy to race a few and, even though I am crippled with a 56k dialup, it seemed to play rather well. Others, however, complained of the car popping around. That did not seem to be much of a bother, though, because I rarely crashed into anyone. Maybe 56k is not that bad, after all!

Even after all the problems with the controller and the annoying aspects of dialog boxes with no standard way of clearing them, I am happy with the game. Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 more than makes up for its shortcomings by providing a great experience for any motor head with a computer system. The awesome sense of speed and varied environments coupled with the insane desire for “one more race” goes a long way at satisfying my difficult tastes.

Even though it really makes me angry to “wait for a patch to cure obvious annoyances”, this game is worth the efforts. However, since I put my money down for a retail product, I expect it to pass certain criteria. Thankfully, the flaws should be easy to fix, but the score I offer will suffer accordingly.

After playing Diablo 2 and Diablo 2 LOD for almost two years, the need for another hack and slash RPG that does not dddrrraaaaggg on with a story or have a turn based combat system that you can take a leak during and not miss anything. Funny thing is, I did take nature breaks in Dungeon Siege during combat and lived to tell about it!

I usually do not care much about a story since very little is “new” in terms of story line from the norm: Unknown hero gets bless with skill and saves the planet. When I fired up the Single Player mode, a cut scene started with a “farmer” working and a wounded friend collapses outside the field. The farmer gets the task of, well, in short, saving the realm. I liked how the introduction came about, for about 5 minutes, until I realized that this realm is totally infested by monsters! You must assume the farmer is oblivious so long as not to notice the transition. Regardless, as I have said before, story is not important. If I wanted a good story, I would read my Steven King Novels.

Beside the lack of storyline pulling the game together, I did notice one thing right off. The world is beautiful. All the textures, from the forest floor to the structures littered throughout are truly outstanding. Lush environments like a snow covered mountaintop and a green forest, complete with swaying trees. Water flows and mist forms. Something that I have not seen is a gratuitous lens flare that tends to be a standard annoyance in some games. Be warned, having all details cranked up does require a bit of horsepower. Since there are no real “loading” scenes, all game information loads, by the looks of the hard drive LED, constantly. This is a good and a bad thing. Good not to stare at a static loading screen, bad because the hard drive access will slow your frame rate down. If you have borderline system pushing the minimum requirements, you should turn details down or if anything, invest in more memory. By the looks of the task manager, this game uses more memory than ANY other game I have played to date.

Do not think that this will be a one sitting game, though. After I played for a few hours, I felt that I did not even scratch the surface of single play. Continuing through the realm, I did realize that leveling up a character is going to be quite a bit of time investment. Luckily, you can take your single player character and import it into a multiplayer game for further advancement.

As itself, I will have to compare Dungeon Siege to Darkstone and not Diablo like everyone else tends to do. Diablo has statically rendered imagery and a fixed isometric view. True, hack and slash is there, but like Darkstone, Dungeon Siege renders everything in a 3D environment. You may rotate the camera, and zoom in and out at will. Let me make this perfectly clear. Camera action implemented well MUST be there for me to even give it a good rating. I always had a constricted feeling with Tomb Raider’s “up close to her booty” view and clipping issues. I usually play Darkstone from a “2D Gauntlet” overhead view, mainly because it was easy to control battles and I hated constantly adjusting the view with the cursor keys. Not with Dungeon Siege. Using the camera zoomed all the way out, it still performs rather well. Building roof’s seamlessly become transparent while entering and all environment objects (trees,
etc) become transparent to be able to view the party better. You may also move the cursor to the edge of the screen to adjust the camera view. Perfect for morons like me that are not coordinated enough to use any other method. Game developers take note: This is how it is supposed to be.

Your character, even though there is set attributes, to include the standard Strength, Dexterity and Intelligence, but no strict rule when it comes to leveling up. Do you feel like wielding an ax? Go for it. Wish you could switch to a bow? Can do. Use some spells to heal and summon creatures and you are in route to a well-rounded Dungeon Siege character. I discovered, though, that not specializing in a particular field might make the game a wee bit longer than I had wanted. One character made level 12 Combat Mage before another character had 5′s in all skills. This makes it difficult to continue through to harder areas until the easier ones are completed over and over. That is ok. It does make some frustration factor because the game, even though your skill levels are around 8, considers you a level 15 character. High-level items and spells are available in the shops but seem far, far away to reach. I may create (yeah, I will) more characters with 2 skills in various configurations to balance out the difficulty and time factors. Hm. Looks like replay value increased! :)

Combat can be as simple or complex as you wish. You can micro manage all available characters (up to or let the computer figure it out by setting up battle orders for your formation. I did notice that, even on the “highest most aggressive” setting, the character may kill a monster, stand still until another monster hits them from a distance, then head off after them. Usually this activity effects melee characters as the ranged spell casters and archer types tend to attack properly… as long as you move forward a few feet. I must say, though, that fleeing a battle with my melee characters to regroup and heal has never had more meaning than now while viewing multiple arrows sticking out of them. You can see the hit. :)

I discovered that you colud click on another characters portrait icon and put them in “guard mode.” This seems to follow the guarded character around and protect them by fighting with whatever equipped weapon to select as well as automatically heal with little input. One time, I put my character in guard mode and took a nature break. When I came back, I expected to have to wait the customary 60 seconds to “get out of ghost mode” after death. What I found was my character kicking butt and healing my partner’s character much better than what I could do. I asked her what she needs me for and the reply was “I don’t know.” The fact that the AI can take on advanced path finding and battle scenarios is a total plus. Rejection from a multiplayer game because I was “not needed” is a bummer.

I am also not one to have the music running. After all, it sucks up CPU cycles, but with Dungeon Siege, the music fits. From swords hitting icemen to birds a chirping, the environmental sound effects fit well to set the scene, as does the music. Every movie, from the dawn of time, has used music to set the scene. A critical plot twist or mass murder is around the corner, the music changes to convey that fact. The same thing happens in Dungeon Siege. I do not even realize the music is running most of the time. It just fits.

After logging many hours of game play, including both single and multiplayer mode, I must say that this is going to be the next time killer for me. Combining outstanding graphics with hack and slash game play will keep you interested for some time. Even though I was initially angry that the “Siege Editor,” a development utility for creating your own Dungeon Siege worlds, was not released on the retail CD, it does give me the time to figure out what I do and do not like about the environments. Unfortunately, there is not much to dislike.

Whether you are seeking an open-ended RPG and have a nuclear powered system, or looking for something other than Quake 3 to show off your graphics card, go out and get Dungeon Siege. Unless you are looking for a thick plot to read, you will not be disappointed.

Here we go again! The new release of the ever-popular NHL series is out the door of EA Sports. I will warn you, though; I am far from a sports fan. I grew up around motor sports but with a family that shunned all others. That has still carried over to my adult attitude. Hockey is one game that I can sit down, watch an hour of, and not be totally board out of my skull. Fast action, rapid transaction of events, the winner in the last seconds, it all adds up to a good time. Hockey is exciting and NHL 2002 conveys that attitude to as the previous itinerations have for the last few years.

Options are numerous, to include custom teams, importing faces, different levels of rules and AI attitude, and changing detail levels of players and arena. I always play on simulation. This year, I decided to try out the other options of “beginner.” I scored well over 20 goals in the first (short) period alone. I am thinking that I am a little more advanced than that. Barring that, I am glad that I did! The announcer actually walks you through some basics of game play and I thought it was a great touch. Whether or not the earlier versions contained this feature, I do not know, but at least it is here.

Yearly updates to the graphics and sound engine are mandatory for me to remain interested and actually plunk out my hard-earned dollar and it happened here. Last year, I was impressed with the detail of the players. This year I am impressed with the detail of everything else! The audience, the first few rows anyway, work well with the short “cut” scenes between plays. This detail alone is a great touch. Something that many may not notice and take for granted if they have not been playing NHL since 97. Game play is smooth and the difficulty levels seem to scale rather well. An over abundance of scoring is possible on “beginner,” but throw the game on simulation and prepare to be in for a challenge. The announcer’s ability to crack a “good” joke still is pathetic, but I guess you cannot ever replace the Live-in-the-booth improvisation that true announcers have to face.

As always, multiplayer is well implemented with the ability to play on LAN or use EA Sports match making service via TCP/IP. My G-fri (a big Ducks fan) and I (Sharks!!!) go head to head over the LAN with no problems at all! The games response was fast and truly enjoyable. Controller configuration is completely customizable as well as having different configuration setups for others in the house, if need be.

Last year, it seemed that I would score a goal on pure luck. A “round-the-back-off-the-skate-through-the-score-board” would never go in, but a lame blooper straight down the pipe would hit often. The general rule, the more times you shoot, the more often you score. It seems that it is not “all” luck in NHL 2002. Some great shots went in and the stupid ones were normally blocked, but the tired and true way of “get puck, shoot,” still is very valid. Moving the puck around with the game pad seemed effortless, but I usually opt for a “high” cam for the largest view of the ice. Players are very fluid in their motion and the game “speed” seems right on the money. In years past, it would seem that it would take only seconds to take the puck from one end to the other and back, but EA Sports has seemingly toned the arcade feel down a bit. Only thing that does is make a much more realistic game, always a plus.

Having the ability to play a full season (142?) games is also a plus, but I will never be able to find the time to do so. Armchair interactive hockey playing is my forte and I think I will keep it at just that. Regardless, there is a new “feature” of “NHL Cards” that can be collected and traded from player to player. Collecting these cards is not an easy task, though, because you have to accomplish particular events to earn additional points giving you the right to purchase more cards. Options include unlocking “cheat” codes, making players “Hero’s” for a period or two, etc. However, I like it. What is the only draw back? No multiplayer support added. I was hoping to be able to use that as a scoring system to find out how well (or poorly) I am doing against my in house rival. Unfortunately, no such luck. Therefore, if you wish to play from beginner on up to simulation in single player mode, you can earn many points just by completing the “easy” tasks with the same user profile and rack up those cards.

Since at the time of this writing, I am strapped with analog connections, I usually do not dally with any “online” gaming services unless they offer much more than what I can do locally. That essentially means that I did not even attempt to log on to EA’s match making service, but the option is still there, regardless.

After a few great hockey games and no “required” reboots, NHL 2002 was well worth the money to support this franchise. I am hoping that when next September comes along, that the whole audience is modeled and you can see the players sweat.

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