This was supposed to be a Duelling Review since we haven't had one in ages, but CigDangle is apparently far too busy to play the game with me in multiplayer for an hour. Or else he trembles at the mere thought of attempting to best me in a strategy game. So, here's the skinny on what will undoubtedly win a newly created (by me while writing the review) Generation: Gamerz 2007 Editor's Choice Award, Mayhem Intergalactic from Inventive Dingo.

Simply put, this game RULES! Chris Pelling has successfully taken turn-based strategy back to the sweetly simplistic beginning and made it so much fun I can't stop playing the damned thing. I keep trying to make bigger and bigger challenges for myself, Milky Way map - large with 5 computer players and myself and growing. Time to get it on! It's like a galactic battle royale with cheese. Am I exaggerating? Hell no! If you buy one downloadable strategy game this year it had better damned well be this one. Hell, if you just buy one downloadable PC game this year it had better be this one.

This game, Robert D. Anderson & The Legacy of Cthulhu, is a fan-made product and as such I was informed that it should be considered differently when under review. But no matter how you cut it the pieces just don't add up to a full gaming experience which really was a let down as I was looking forward to this game.

The game looks to have been made with the commercially available FPS Creator engine which was made to allow games just like this to be created. The storyline has promise but it seems like the gameplay episodes just get in the way of telling it. I do not want to discourage the creation of fan-made products, but they need to be worth the purchase price.

The gameplay is standard FPS fare in that you must run around and shoot things to survive as well as pick up keys to open doors and sometimes even move an object to get to some otherwise inaccessible location. But more on that later in the Gameplay section.

 

 This is not a full review but merely my thoughts on the game from what I saw in the demo.

It was a slow morning and so I took the opportunity to play through the Overlord demo (about 20-30 minutes), which I downloaded last week (1.1GB). Right from the beginning I knew my gaming experience would be lacking when it told me that my computer did not meet the minimum requirements for the game. I have an AMD 64 3200, 1GB RAM and an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700, and the game was unplayable at medium graphics. But the intro films were nice and smooth at 1024x768 so I suggest everyone watch the intro in the highest resolution possible but play in whatever works best.

In The Sopranos: Road to Respect, you play Joey LaRocca, the bastard son of Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero. This third-person action game for the PlayStaion 2 begins with a chance meeting between you (as Joey) and boss Tony Soprano. Feeling anger and compassion toward you (as he catches you stealing a purse), "Uncle" Tony offers you a "job"...a way in, to "this thing of ours".

As you progress, you will attempt to prove yourself, all the while "paying up" to Paulie "Walnuts". Slip up, you'll lose respect, and end up like your old man. But do it right, and you may just get "made".

Pelican recently released their PS2 Controller Adapter for the PlayStation 3. The device connects to a USB port on the PlayStation 3, allowing users to utilize old PS2 controllers with their new system. Although usually not a concern, users with specialty controllers, particularly the guitar controller used with Guitar Hero 1 and 2 have waited for this product for some time.

Have you forgotten what you learned in school about the American Civil War? To truly understand the political and social conflicts that brought about and sustained this titanic conflict, I have a few books I can suggest. But, if you only have a few hours you can always pickup Civil War: A Nation Divided by Cauldron for Xbox 360, PS2, and PC.