Author: Brad Gallaway

Dragon Valor – Review

Namco is a name that means a lot to me as a gamer. It touches me spiritually, almost. Not only is it the company that invented Pac-Man, Galaga and a monstrous slew of other hits during the golden days of the arcade, but it continues to be a vital, successful and influential force in the gaming scene today.

Valkyrie Profile – Review

When looking at RPGs lately, it seems to be getting harder and harder to tell them apart. You know how it goes—a young hero from a quiet town is thrown into circumstances beyond his control. He sets out to right a wrong and gathers together a band of friends to help him on his quest. After facing insumountable odds and legions of evil dragons/sorcerers/corrupt rulers, etc., our courageous hero emerges victorious to right all wrongs done to innocent townsfolk everywhere. Justice prevails, you win.

Dino Crisis 2 – Review

For such a young genre, it has quickly gained a feeling of "been there, done that" in the few years since its explosion onto the scene. In fact, looking back at the list of games that qualify as survival horror, I'd pick only three as being the best representatives of what this type of game has to offer: Resident Evil for starting off the craze, Silent Hill for making things truly chilling and Dino Crisis 2 for putting an entirely different spin on how the game can be played.

Seaman Second Opinion

Seaman Screenshot

Seaman is a tough game to review. Since the overwhelming majority of titles released these days are rehashes of games that have been done time and time again, a rare gem brimming with originality is something to be cherished. Overall I found it to be a very worthwhile and interesting experience that has never really been done before. On the other hand, Seaman isn't really a "game," so I'm sure that a title like this isn't going to be to everyone's liking.

Monster Rancher Battle Card: Episode II – Review

Taking the concept of playable and collectable cards one step further by bringing it to an electronic format and succeeding fabulously, Tecmo brings us Monster Rancher Battle Cards. Based on their two other virtual pet/monster raising niche titles, Battle Cards takes the same previously established world and characters and gives them an entirely different style of play.

Strider 2 – Second Opinion

Like Ben, I enjoyed growing up in the golden age of arcades and have many fond memories of days riding to my local 7-11 to play the latest cabinet, or many evenings spent trying to connive my dad into taking me to Chuck E. Cheese only to spend three hours there without touching the pizza. However, the good feeling of those golden years gone by don't really carry over to the current incarnation of Strider 2. Based on my memories of the original arcade release and the nearly flawless Genesis port of the first Strider, I was ready to put my money down sight unseen and trust in Capcom to produce something as solid and fun to play as the first game. However, I was quite disappointed.