Adventure/Explore

Game Description: Guide Regina as she explores and fights her way through 3D environments in an effort to save Dr. Edward Kirk. With some help from her communications officer, Rick, and a few weapons pistols, shotguns, grenades, and poison darts she can do battle with the raptors, pteradons, and t-rexes that inhabit Ibis Island. Only by using both brain and brawn will you be able to survive the dangers in Dino Crisis.

While it was spawned from the phenomenally popular Resident Evil franchise, Dino Crisis tries to offer enough to separate itself from Resident Evil as well as the myriad of clones Resident Evil sequels that have saturated the market. Capcom has dumped the pretty (and expensive) pre-rendered background graphics and shock tactics that Resident Evil used and instead have opted for real-time 3D backgrounds, packs of carnivorous dinosaurs, and real-time action. It's a big break from the norm, but it shapes up to be a successful one.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood & Gore, Animated Violence

To my surprise, Dino Crisis was much better than I expected and held up pretty well under my scrutiny. Laughable voice-acting (marginally better than Resident Evil's) and the old 'door entrance' load-times are still present, but there's an effort to fix or improve on all other problems that have consistently plagued the series. Bad camera angles obscuring enemies and objects are less apparent since the use of real-time rather than prerendered environments allows the perspective to pan around when necessary.

Hybrid Heaven doesn't have terrific graphics (which Dale described as 'bland') and it doesn't have a great control scheme either. But it does have an excellent storyline (unfolded through some of the best cut-scenes to grace the N64), emotionally complex characters and some interesting ideas towards gameplay.

The developers, KCEO, obviously set their sights high for this game. One look at the cinematic intro for the game and this point becomes apparent. Its length and use of voice-acting is initially very impressive for a cart-based game, but upon further inspection, it becomes a metaphor for the rest of the game and is ultimately what's wrong with Hybrid Heaven.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood, Animated Violence, Suggestive Themes

Game Description: Classic gameplay genres combine to create a whole new animal in Hybrid Heaven. You’ll take to the underground tunnels of a dark and dangerous New York City in this action-packed, role-playing, hard fighting, puzzle-solving adventure for your N64. Blast sci-fi bots and strange creatures with your defuser gun, find hidden clues, and battle hand-to-hand with enemy thugs. You can also learn new combat moves and level up your character Diaz, in the gritty, mysterious missions of Hybrid Heaven.

Duke Nukem is an aged marketing concept, where a hulking guy destroys everything in his path and highlights the destruction with cool one-liners. It was worked to perfection in the 80s when Arnold Schwartzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were dominating the box office. But in the 1990s, even Sly and Arnold have conceded to the times and have changed accordingly.

Duke Nukem may have entered the gaming scene as kiddy shareware fodder for the PC, but somewhere along the way, he evolved into a technologically advanced first-person shooter (FPS) with a politically incorrect bad-boy attitude that brought him recognition. Since then, developers have tried unsuccessfully to plug his mug into more lucrative, mainstream console systems, some of which came in the form of third-person auctioneers.