1998

Speed Busters – American Highways

Description

Speed Devils is a series of video games developed by Ubisoft’s Montreal studio for Microsoft Windows in 1998 and Dreamcast in 1999. Both Speed Busters: American Highways (also known as just Speed Busters) and Speed Devils are racing games in which the courses feature hazards such as dinosaurs rolling boulders, and UFOs in exotic locales including Louisiana, Louisiana Tornado, New York City, New York City Winter, Mexico, Nevada, Aspen Summer, Aspen Winter, Canada (Supposedly northern Quebec), Canada Light Winter, Canada Heavy Winter, Montreal Industrial, Hollywood, and Hollywood Disaster. The console version’s career mode allowed a player to rise a racer through the ranks of a fictional racing league. Colorful rivals would challenge you to accomplish certain feats during races, making accompanying bets using prize money from competition. Money earned from gambling and performance is used to buy cars, upgrade them, and maintain them. The game also supports five players on one Dreamcast console.

For centuries, the speed limit on American highways has been restricted by law. Technology now offers drivers the chance to make their own choice in the virtual world with Speed Busters: American Highways. The police have lost their minds and reward the fastest players to fly past their strategically placed radar! Earn cash to upgrade one of eight specially designed vehicles based on models ranging from the ‘50s to the ‘90s. Tackle mixed terrain, avoid shocking animations, and storm through environments based on real North American locations. …

Blood 2 – The Chosen

Description

Over a hundred years have passed since the events described in Blood. CABAL, the cult dedicated to the worship of the Dark God Tchernobog, has turned into a huge corporation that calls itself “CabalCo”, controlling much of what is happening in the dark, futuristic city. The undead gunslinger Caleb awakens from his slumber and continues his relentless pursuit for revenge. The company CEO, an ambitious man named Gideon, will stop at nothing in order to attain the kind of power CABAL was wielding before. But in order to fulfill his plans, he must get rid of Caleb first.

Like its predecessor, Blood II is a first-person shooter with a horror theme. The game uses the LithTech engine. There is a vast variety of weapons as well as a greater number of different enemies than the previous game. The levels themselves are rather diverse as well: In the first chapter alone, the protagonist travels from an ornate museum to a huge science facility, alleys of an ominous city street, and a futuristic flying machine. The game features a dark techno soundtrack. The player may choose to play as Caleb’s companions that appeared in the first game; however, cutscenes are displayed only if the player selects Caleb. …

The X-Files – The Game

Description

As an extension of one of the most long-running television series of all time, The X-Files, play through the eyes of Special Agent Craig Willmore, a new FBI field investigator brought in to locate missing agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully whose last location was the Everett, Washington, area. In this “movie quality” video production, characters are played by the actors and actresses from the show, including Gillian Anderson (Scully) and David Duchovny (Mulder).

As the game begins, you are given a briefing of your mission. Gather up all state-of-the-art spy tools (night vision goggles, a digital camera, PDA, lock picks, evidence kit, a standard issue revolver, handcuffs and badge) and then head out to follow their trail. As you explore the various locations, take photographs, pick up pieces of evidence and talk with people. Use your Newton PDA to access the navigational map, to make notes and send/receive e-mail. Trace telephone numbers, run background checks and license plate ids and even post an All Points Bulletin on missing persons using the computer network at your home or office. By using photo viewer software, download field photographs to the computer where they can be enlarged and studied more closely for clues. …

Oddworld – Abe’s Exoddus

Description

In Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee Abe shut down RuptureFarms and saved his buddies from becoming snacks. But Rupture farms was just the beginning; the Glukkons are digging up bones at the ancient Mudokon burial grounds. They use the bones to make Soul Storm Brew. Abe must travel to the Soul Storm Brewery, stop those corporate villains and save the enslaved Mudokon workers.

Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus is a 2D platform game very similar to its predecessor both visually and gameplay-wise. Like in the previous game, Abe has to outsmart his foes and avoid obstacles rather than confront them directly. The game is larger than its predecessor and is more oriented towards puzzle-solving, featuring more complex interaction with the Mudokons, who can now be angry, wired, depressed, sick, or blind. The first three problematic conditions can be removed with the appropriate “Gamespeak” command; sick Mudokons must be cured with a special item, while blind ones will follow Abe’s voice and may fall to their deaths if Abe doesn’t stop them in time. …

Heretic 2

Description

After Corvus returns from his banishment, he finds that a mysterious plague has swept the land of Parthoris, taking the sanity of those it does not kill. Corvus, the protagonist of the first game, is forced to flee his hometown of Silverspring after the infected attack him, but not before he is infected himself. The effects of the disease are held at bay in Corvus’ case because he holds one of the Tomes of Power, but he still must find a cure before he succumbs.

His quest leads him through the city and swamps to a jungle palace, then through a desert canyon and insect hive, followed by a dark network of mines and finally to a castle on a high mountain where he finds an ancient Seraph named Morcalavin. Morcalavin is trying to reach immortality using the seven Tomes of Power, but he uses a false tome, as Corvus has one of them. This has caused Morcalavin to go insane and create the plague. During a battle between Corvus and Morcalavin, Corvus switches the false tome for his real one, curing Morcalavin’s insanity and ending the plague. …

Colin McRae Rally

Description

Colin McRae Rally is a rally simulation game, featuring the works-entered cars and the rallies of the 1998 World Rally Championship. There are three difficulty modes in the game, and each mode offers different cars: the Novice mode offers FWD F2-class cars, such as the SEAT Ibiza F2 Kit Car, the Intermediate mode offers 4WD World Rally Car class cars, such as the Subaru Impreza WRC, and the Expert mode offers the ability to unlock bonus cars, such as Ford Escort MKII, Lancia Delta Integrale, Audi Quattro S1, and Ford RS200. There are a total of 12 cars, produced using laser-modelling. When released in North America in 2000, only 11 cars featured due to Codemasters losing the license to use Renault in Novice mode. Renault were replaced by extra drivers from the remaining 3 manufacturers. Also unlike in the European release of the game (real driver names), the American release has made-up driver names (apart from Colin McRae)

Seven official rallies (New Zealand, Acropolis (Greece), Australia, Monte Carlo, Sweden, Corsica, and the United Kingdom), and one unofficial rally (Indonesia) from the WRC were included in the game. Rally Indonesia was originally part of the 1998 WRC season calendar, but the rally was cancelled due to civil unrest. Although the rallies themselves are named the same as the real events, all of the stages are fictional. …

Tomb Raider III

Description

A corporation called RX Tech excavates the crash site of a meteorite that impacted on Antarctica millions of years ago and finds strange Rapa Nui-like statues alongside the grave of one of HMS Beagle’s sailors. Meanwhile, archaeologist-adventurer Lara Croft is searching for an artefact known as the Infada Stone in the ruins of an ancient Indian Hindu temple once inhabited by the Infada tribe. After taking the artefact from a researcher working for RX Tech, Lara is approached by RX Tech scientist Dr. Willard, who explains that Polynesians came across a meteorite crater in Antarctica thousands of years ago and found that it held incredible power. Using rock from the meteorite, they crafted four crystalline artefacts, one of which is the Infada Stone. They fled Antarctica for unknown reasons, but in the 19th century, a group of sailors travelling with Charles Darwin came to Antarctica and rediscovered the artefacts. The four artefacts were distributed across the globe. Dr. Willard has been able to track the artefacts by using the diary of one of the sailors. Lara agrees to help him find the other three.

Travelling to a South Pacific island, Lara encounters a wounded soldier who gives her hints about the existence of a powerful deity. While pursuing the deity, Lara learns that one of Darwin’s sailors brought one of the artefacts to the island. She infiltrates a temple and defeats the deity, who has immense power granted by the second artefact, the Ora Dagger. In London, Lara searches for the third artefact, the Eye of Isis, now in the possession of Sophia Leigh, the head of a cosmetics corporation. Lara learns that the corporation has performed experiments on humans in order to achieve immortality and eternal youth for Sophia’s personal gain. Lara confronts Sophia in her office and ultimately obtains the artefact. In Nevada, Lara makes her way through a desert canyon and tries to enter Area 51, where the fourth artefact, Element 115, is located in an alien spacecraft guarded by the US government. She is taken prisoner after her attempted break-in fails. Freeing herself, she escapes the security compound and stows away in a truck to Area 51, where she obtains the artefact. …

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