News:  November 27-December 3, 2000

Sunday, December 03, 2000

Deep Space 9: The Fallen reviews - Mikael @ 18:17 EST

GameRaiders has posted a fairly detailed review of the Unreal engine powered Star Trek Game, Deep Space 9: The Fallen. The review is very positive but don't think non Star Trek fans will like it. Here a snip of the rather long sound comment:

The sounds can definitely help enhance the game's atmosphere. It can be quite eerie to be in a dark room and hear someone's (or something's) footsteps quickly approaching you.

There's also a variety of sound options available for utilizing enhanced audio capabilities, such as 3D-positional audio or EAX. If you're sound card is capable of utilizing some of these advanced features (especially EAX), it can dramatically enhance the overall sound experience. Be sure to read the README.TXT file though, so that you know how to properly configure the audio.

Rune reviews - Mikael @ 18:04 EST

Four new reviews of Rune, all fairly positive about the single playing mode with Intelligamer being the most impressed and PulsarGaming the least. Here's their impression of the sound and music:

GamersPulse:

Sounds are pretty nice as well - grunting and shouting as you wander into combat, your enemies taunting you - all is nicely done. The grunts, clangs, and other assorted combat sounds do get slightly annoying after some time. There’s only so many ways you can grunt in pain, right? One more thing I would have liked to have seen would be a voice for Ragnar. Our hero is effectively mute for the game - I don’t like that. Even if it’s a bored-out-of-his-skull developer, the hero has to have SOME voice

Starship Troopers reviews - Mikael @ 17:52 EST

The squad based 3D action game Starship Troopers continues to get very mixed reviews. First up GamersPulse who think it's simply a bad buy with plenty of bugs:

The sound is, well it’s not the best. First the good. The ambient sound is rather nice; during most missions you will hear gunfire, screams, air support streaking over and the rumble of bugs. The bad is more mediocre than bad. The voice acting is read with the enthusiasm of me cleaning the litter box.

One thing that really got me peeved is that when in the game if you get a message from the powers that be the game sound fades to nothing so all you hear is the voiceover instructions. Now in combat that should be reversed, I should hear the battle not the orders. I have lost troopers because I could not hear their cries for help and that bugs me (pun intended), I hate to lose because the game interface defeats me.

Unreal Tournament: Game Of The Year Edition review - Mikael @ 17:37 EST

If you still haven't bought Unreal Tournament you could check out The Entertainment Depot's very positive review of Unreal Tournament: Game Of The Year Edition. Here's the sound snip:

For such heated battles, the music is quite dramatic, more so than one would imagine. Actually, this tends to help the battles become more intense and resembles the gunfights seen in Hong Kong action movies where the battle is slowed down physically, but ramped up by the orchestra-driven melodic symphonies that enhance the situation. The music really overly dramatizes the combat, but also serves to engulf the player in the frenzied firefighting. It’s a shame that these songs are often overshadowed by the gunfire and taunts that are constantly being thrown around. In fact, that is the most disparaging aspect of the audio; the same limited phrases the characters say get quite annoying. Yes, it’s cool for a teammate to acknowledge an order, but it gets overly frustrating to hear “die bitch!” repeated over and over. Aside from those qualms, the music is really topnotch and fits in with the game’s style perfectly.

Sacrifice review - Mikael @ 17:32 EST

Game-Over has posted a very positive review of the DS3D with EAX supporting Sacrifice with the following short bit on sound:

In terms of sound, the music is a bit of a disappointment but the sound effects are great, particularly the casting sounds made by the wizards.

Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance reviews - Mikael @ 17:14 EST

A couple new reviews of the DS3D with EAX supporting Mechwarrior 4 have popped up on the net. Both very positive giving the game a score of 9.6 and 9 out of 10 respectively. Here's the sound snips:

Jumbo:

The sound in MechWarrior 4 is good but not the best. There's the lovely metal wrenching sound when getting hit by enemy fire and explosions are nice and booming but I can't help but feel I've heard them all before somewhere. Perhaps canned sound effects were used? They're good but I'd swear I've heard them somewhere before.

Michelin Rally Masters: Race of Champions - Mikael @ 17:10 EST

PCSportsUpdate has finished its review of the arcade racer Michelin Rally Masters: Race of Champions which they say is a must buy for any racing fan. Here's the interesting bit on the sound work in this title:

Sound wise, I have to admit that this game performs better than any other racer that I've seen in a while. I used my Vortex 2 card ( A3D 2.0 ) and the engine sounds were out of this world. I really felt the power of the engine roaring in front of me. The whiz of the air going past me, it was all there. But the most remarkable sound was the constant banging and sliding that you hear when your car is colliding with the elements.

Metal Gear Solid review - Mikael @ 17:06 EST

MadDogStudios has posted a very positive review of Metal Gear Solid with the following interesting bit on music and sound:

As mentioned before, the audio in this game is outstanding. One, the music. Fading in at just the right moment to pump you up for the horde of badies you’re going to try and evade (rather than plowing through them, right?) or that serene tune that gets you as you try to rescue the hostages. Two, the sound effects and ambient sounds. It’s all about sneaking around and not being seen or HEARD in MGS. So you can expect that if you trudge too quickly over that puddle of water, you’re going to be heard. With all of this to take into account, you’re starting to see what set this game apart from all of the other PSX games out there.

Midtown Madness 2 review - Mikael @ 17:03 EST

GeMontly has kicked up a very positive review of Midtown Madness 2 saying it's the best arcade racer of the year but he has one major complaint:

I was not impressed with the sound effects - it wasn't annoying but neither was it special. 3D sound is nowhere near the quality of Rally Championship

Gunman Chronicles reviews - Mikael @ 16:29 EST

PCShooter has posted a fairly positive review the Half-Life engine powered futuristic shooter Gunman Chronicles with the following bit on the aurals:

The environment wouldn’t be anything without the sound. The background noise is necessary for every game, and hearing the animal noise on this game keeps you on your toes. As far as the graphics and sound go on this title, they did a very good job but it’s nothing extraordinary. What more can you do with the sound of a shotgun?

Fur Fighters review - Mikael @ 16:12 EST

IGN PC has posted a review of Acclaim's 3D action adventure Fur Fighters. The review is quite positive with an overall score of 8.3 where sound and gameplay was the best part of the game both achieving a score of 8.5, here's the sound bit:

Great sound clips, but instead of voice-overs, the game wisely uses silly noises to convey character speech

Dirt Track Racing - Australia review - Mikael @ 13:00 EST

MGON has posted an overall very positive review of Dirt Track Racing - Australia but as the following bit shows that positive impression doesn't include the aural aspects of the game:

The one area of the game that I was really disappointed in was the sound department. The cars themselves sounded pretty good although a little more variation in engine sounds would have been a good experience. It is very difficult to tell your speed and rpm level from the engine sounds as there just isn’t enough variation between slow and high speeds. What really disappointed me was the lack of crowd sounds in the game. Once you have won the race you get a rather lethargic cheer and off you go again. I do understand the fact that it would be hard to hear the crowd etc when racing in these cars however maybe something to add a bit of the racetrack atmosphere such as cheering crowds and loud announcers might have been a nice edition.

Creative DTT3500 Review - Mark @ 11:59 EST

Anandtech has posted a review of the Creative DTT3500 5.1 Dolby Digital speaker system. There are a couple of things worth noting. The DTT3500 does work for 6-channel gaming but only via the DIN output of the Live 5.1, which is essentially sending 3 stereo PCM signals to the DTT3500. As the review notes, for all other sound cards the DTT3500 will only function as a standard 4-channel system for games. The other comment I have is on the complaint of noise from the center channel. They don't describe the type of noise but I suspect is the same problem I have with my evaluation unit. It's a problem I have not reported on to date as Creative Labs has assured me that it was a pre-production issue. If it's the same problem the noise is a hiss and the hiss is from all channels as well as directly from the amplifier itself. This last bit is very unusual and is one of the primary reason why I have taken Creative's assurances 100 percent at face value. The first batch of units that went to reviewers were apparently all pre-production but with the retail units apparently now shipping the issue should be eliminated for buyers (and subsequent reviewers). For what it's worth, I just read a positive review of the DTT35000 in the December 2000 issue Home Theater Magazine and they make no mention of the hiss or any other center channel noise. Either they have a production unit that has no hiss or they got them same assurances from Creative as I did for the pre-production unit.

I have completed testing of the DTT3500 with just the actual writing of the final review to do. I think the as long as you are using it in a small to mid-sized room and don't want very loud sound then the system delivers good, but not excellent quality to go with excellent flexibility. You can get more of my impressions by checking out our early impressions as well as my follow-up impressions via a forum post. Of course these comments assume that the issue is in fact not present in the production units. If anyone has heard a retail unit we would really appreciate hearing from you. Thanks to Exodus121 for the pointer.

Dirt Track Racing: Sprint Cars reviews - Mikael @ 06:47 EST

3 new reviews of Dirt Track Racing: Sprint Cars have popped up. All find it to be very fun and well worth the $20 but when it comes to the aural aspects of the game the impression was quite mixed. First up GameCenter:

The game's audio is fairly impressive as well, with guttural engine notes, splattering mud, and the accurately positioned rumblings of other cars being particular highlights. We also rather enjoyed the track announcer, whose voice is not only authentically echoed, but spits out witticisms like, "He's all alone at the finish like the chess club president on prom night."

Rainbow Six: Covert Ops Essentials Review - Mikael @ 04:48 EST

XLGaming has posted a fairly detailed and negative review of Rainbow Six: Covert Ops Essentials with the following bit on the aurals:

Planning and training music are all perfectly satisfactory. The training disk comes with ambient electronic background music, which completely fades into the background as you become engrossed in the information provided. Mission planning has a dramatic score, like something straight out of Patriot Games – very appropriate. Within the missions themselves of course, there is no music so not to spoil the mood.

The sound has issues. Besides the meager enemy speech (I only heard "Grenade!" "Run!" and 3 flavors of "Aagghh"), some of the weapon sounds seem to get stuck – that is, they run on for much longer than the weapon is being fired. Other than that, the sound is satisfactory, with weapons providing sufficient chattering death and your teammates reporting status quite often – nothing special however. There is something about the sound that I really didn’t like though – that’s outlined below.
[snip]
Picture this. You're at the head of a three-man team, infiltrating a radar installation. Lots of corridors, metal stairways, metal catwalks - great opportunities to HEAR your enemies approaching. You slowly walk sideways (strafing) into a T-intersection and spot a staircase leading downstairs and a baddie at the end of the corridor. BLAM! He goes down. You hear multiple outcries from below (the baddie's friends) and a couple of shots as rounds whizz by your head. You duck back, away from the intersection. Hearing nothing else, you figure they're all gathered below waiting for you to stick your head out. You decide to toss a frag grenade downstairs to create some dead bodies. You pull the pin, lean outside a bit and prepare to throw, and.... four bad guys come out from right behind the corner, silent as ghosts, and waste you and the rest of your team. So much for sound.

Blair Witch Volume 3 reviews - Mikael @ 04:37 EST

GameSpy has posted a mixed review of Blair Witch Project 3: The Elly Kedward Tale. The major complaint is plenty of bugs with the praise going to the storyline and atmosphere, here's the latter in more detail:

In a horror mystery like this, atmosphere makes or breaks the game. BW3 has plenty of atmosphere, luckily. The creatures' animations, skins and models are very well done. The horrifying sounds of demonic voices are top-notch. It reminds me a lot of Resident Evil, of all things, in terms of atmosphere and combat. Once or twice, I actually jumped when a demonic shadow leaped from behind a tree and splattered blood across the snowy ground.

Blair Witch Volume II review - Mikael @ 04:26 EST

Electric Games has posted a short but positive review of Blair Witch Volume II:The Legend of Coffin Rock. As most others they think it's not as scary as the the first in this trilogy but still thinks it's a good game thanks to a solid storyline and the sound work isn't bad either:

The sound is not only good, but it is put to excellent use in this game. While this title is not as scary as Volume I, much of the atmosphere is set by the ambient sounds and effects. Voice acting is hit and miss - many performances are very good while others fall short to a certain extent.

Blair Witch Volume 1: Rustin Parr - Mikael @ 04:22 EST

GamersCrypt has posted a short but quite positive review of Blair Witch Volume 1: Rustin Parr. As most others they consider the aural aspects as one of the hi-lights in the game:

The game’s music is incredibly disturbing and does a great job of suggesting danger. The sound effects in Rustin Parr are just as unsettling as the music. One should give credit to the audio engineers at Terminal Reality because every single sound is executed with crystal clear precision, and all are easily distinguishable. The majority of the voice acting is right-on, with only a few low spots to temporarily mar the experience.

Airfix Dogfighter Review - Mikael @ 04:15 EST

DogFighter.com has posted a positive review of Airfix Dogfighter describing it as a fun action air combat game. Here's the usual sound snip:

Sounds within the game are average to good. Most of the aircraft have the same engine sound, so the Hellcat's radial and the purr of a Merlin in the P-51 are really the same. The jets do have special effects, though. The weapons sounds are also identical across all aircraft, although the variety of weapons leads to a lot of cool sound effects. You can tell your proximity to enemy forces by their noise. Explosions and the "click" of bombs and the "shoosh" of rockets releasing off weapons stations do add to the overall experience. Music is included, but it's a little too monotonous and I found myself turning it off.

4x4 Evolution reviews - Mikael @ 04:11 EST

3DGameForces has posted a review of the off-road racing game 4x4 Evolution. They liked the game overall giving it 8 out of 10 stars but when it comes to sound effects they were less impressed:

The graphics are nice, but the sound effects are on the other end of the spectrum. Generally the effects are decent but the problem is that there isn’t a whole lot of variation between the sound effects. Things like the repetitive engine sounds can get a bit tiresome. Usually you get too involved in the game to notice, however. As for the music I must say it is superb and love to listen to it. The techno music that is used is really a good addition to the game and it will get you in the mood for going off-road and all over the place.

Saturday, December 02, 2000

S4 MidiLand 3050M Review - Mark @ 21:50 EST

OnePC has posted a review of the S4 MidiLand 2.1 speaker system. They have somewhat mixed impressions of this $70 system but still thought it was good enough for an 8/10.

Alice Demo with Advanced Audio Support! - Mark @ 10:54 EST

I am sure you have seen news of the demo for American McGee's Alice. I was holding off posting anything on it until I checked it out to see if it had any advanced sound options. We were hopefull of this since they were using some of the FAKK2 technology that made use of Miles Sound System. I can confirm that the Alice demo uses Miles Sound System and has setup options for A3D 1 and 2, Dolby Surround, EAX 1 and 2, and Miles. It also has configuration options for 22 and 44 kHz audio as well as speaker settings for headphone, 2 speaker, 4 speaker and surround. In my brief testing I did not hear any reverb effects but 3D sound was working very well. I have not tried it on a Vortex 2 board so can't comment on the A3D support. Overall I have very positive first impressions of the attention paid to sound (music, voice and effects) in the demo and look forward to trying out the full game. If you have the bandwidth I highly recommend that you grab the 78.6 MB demo. Here's a snip on the game taken from 3Dfiles:

When Alice answers a distressed summons to return to Wonderland, she barely recognizes the befouled setting. From the fungal rot of the Mushroom Forest to the infernal chemistry of the Mad Hatter's Domain and beyond, Wonderland festers to its core. Undaunted by the diseased ambiance, cavernous confusion, and mortal danger that surround her, Alice must undo the chaos...

Game Commander 2 review - Mikael @ 05:58 EST

Avault has posted a review of Game Commander 2. In addition to the software the $40 package includes Labtec LVA-7331 noise-canceling microphone. Avault had no major complaints and gave the package 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Friday, December 01, 2000

Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force Patch - Mark @ 23:55 EST

A patch has been released for Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force that apparently includes a number of important fixes and new joystick code. A list of the improvements and fixes is provided in the enclosed readme.txt that comes with the patch. You can grab the 7.8 MB patch from 3Dfiles. The game supports A3D 3.0 with wavetracing and it will give both 3D sound and EAX effects on DS3D/EAX supporting cards.

Venom Demo Patch - Mark @ 23:46 EST

Vital Engine has released a patch for the Venom demo fixes a number of bugs and adds a number of new features. The first test that was released more than a year ago offered support for DS3D with EAX and A3D 1.0 so I would guess that's still available in the demo. You can download the 9.8 MB patch from 3dfiles.

Tread Marks 1.5 Coming to Retail - Mark @ 23:43 EST

Avault reports that the A3D 2.0 supporting Longbow Digital Arts’ combat racer is heading into Babbage’s stores with a batch of new features and enhancements. Slated to be released Dec. 4, the updated release contain changes to the interface, better mouse control, smarter and more tactical artificial intelligence, mp3 support, comprehensive tutorials and an in-game manual. The game will be sold for a suggested retail price of US$39.93 and a mail-in rebate will be offered to those who own the original game.

Updated Blade of Darkness Demo - Mark @ 23:39 EST

According to 3Dfiles there's actually nothing new in the updated demo, it's just meant for the USA crowd and still a very large (102 MB) download. Set in a world of heroes and quests, Blade of Darkness will draw attention due to the graphic violence in its combat scenes. Sword-wielding gamers can lop off an opponent's limb and use it as a club to batter the victim into submission as jets of blood pour from the wounds. The official site the game will offer" 3D sound and environment music". You can grab the demo from 3Dfiles.

EverQuest Add-On Completed - Mikael @ 08:35 EST

Avault reports that the EverQuest add-on The Scars of Velious has gone gold and will be released Dec. 5. Everquest supports 3D sound and the add-on probably use the same sound engine. For more info about the add-on and Everquest check out the official site. If you have sound issues with this game you can find plenty of tips in the official FAQ, most of them unfortunately is simply ways to disable 3D sound.

Toshiba introduces world's first DVD video recorder with HDD - Mark @ 07:48 EST

Toshiba Corporation has announced the world's first combination of hard disk drive and DVD-RAM video recorder for recording TV programs. The new product, RD-2000, will go on sale in the Japanese market only on December 22. Integration of a 30GB HDD and a 4.7GB DVD-RAM drive in the RD-2000 allows storage of up to 33.5 hours of video images and supports editing between the HDD and DVD-RAM. You can get lots more detial, specifications and images from the full press release.

In a seperate press release C-Cube Microsystems Inc. announced that Toshiba Corporation has chosen C-Cube's DVxplore® MPEG-2 video codec as a key component in their RD-2000. DVxplore is C-Cube's first consumer MPEG-2 codec product, providing the highest quality video together with a superior feature set optimized for HDD and DVD-RAM recording. The PR says that DVxplore is based on C-Cube's patented fourth generation MPEG-2 codec technology, and, together with DVxcel® are the only true MPEG-2 video codecs shipping in the market today.

In another press release Zoran Corporation announced that the Vaddis IVplus DVD Decoder IC is decoding video and audio in Toshiba's new RD-2000 DVD video recorder. Zoran's Vaddis decodes DVD-RAM, DVD-Video and streams stored on the integrated hard disk drive (HDD) of the RD-2000.

More details can be found in each of the linked press releases.

JA2: Unfinished Business Ships - Mark @ 07:37 EST

GA-Source reports that Interplay has announced that the next edition of the Jagged Alliance franchise, Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business, has shipped to retail. Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business is a stand alone turn-based strategy role-playing game with squad type combat developed by Sir-tech Canada, creators of Jagged Alliance and Jagged Alliance 2. We had reported (but never tested) that the first two games supported A3D 1 via Miles Sound System but that's no guarantee they carried that forward to the new release. More information about Sir-tech and its products can be found at www.sir-tech.com.

Diablo II MP3 of the Week - Mark @ 07:28 EST

Blizzard has released an MP3 of "Outtake I", an example of some music that did not make it into the final game. They also have posted their usual liner notes on the track.
News Source: Blue's News

Zoran's Vaddis in Toshiba's New DVD-Audio Players - Mark @ 07:23 EST

Zoran Corporation has announced that the Vaddis IVplus DVD Decoder IC is used in Toshiba's new generation of players that support the DVD-Audio standard. In Toshiba's flagship Model SD9200 the Vaddis IVplus enables theater quality video and audio reproduction of movies and dedicated musical entertainment. This new model is Toshiba's first player introducing DVD-Audio functionality offering audiophile-quality sound for the home. Support for MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) allows up to 24-bit/192 kHz reproduction of two-channel audio or 24 bit/96 kHz reproduction of 6-channel audio. In addition, the movie experience is enhanced by DTS audio decoding and progressive-scan video output for the ultimate home theater experience. You can find several quotes as well as more details on the Vaddis IVplus Decoder in the full press release.

Thursday, November 30, 2000

MidiLand Launches the New S4 Midiland 7100 PLUS - Mark @ 21:28 EST

MidiLand, Inc. has announced the released of its latest in the S4 line: the S4 MidiLand 7100 Plus, a system they bill as "the ultimate multi-channel speaker system for the serious gamer or audiophile in search of power, clarity, and full surround sound capabilities". On the speaker side of things the S4 MidiLand 7100 Plus has the same specs as the original 7100 which mines it comes with 6.5" subwoofer driven by 50 watts of output power and five 2.5" satellite speakers each driven by 10-Watts of output power. The S4 MidiLand 7100 Plus includes the new Audio Digital Station 3000 Dolby Digital decoder. There are no details on just how the ADS-3000 differs from the ADS-2000. Estimated street price of the S4 MidiLand 7100 Plus will be $299.95 (MSRP $329.95). For some additional details you can check out the full press release.

VideoLogic DigiTheatre DTS In Courts Stores Now - Mark @ 21:21 EST

VideoLogic Systems has announced that Courts has made VideoLogic's award winning DigiTheatre DTS home cinema audio system available through stores across the UK. 60 Courts stores are now stocking DigiTheatre DTS from their PowerZone departments. You can get all the details including a bundle as part of a complete home cinema by checking out the full press release.

Mediaforte Releases PCI RadioLink - Mark @ 13:12 EST

Mediaforte has announced the availabilty of its PCI RadioLink in its Mediaforte Retail Product Line. An update of the original RadioLink (ISA), the PCI RadioLink is available at an estimated street price of EUR34.95 (US$29.75) inclusive 17.5% Dutch VAT. According to the release, RadioLink has brought a new dimension of FM Stereo music, news and information to the PC desktop. In tandem with the update for PCI interface, the PCI RadioLink comes with the latest OS support for Windows Me/95/98/NT4.0 and 2000. The included software, RadioAKTIV, simulates a typical radio panel for a easy-to-use and also familiar interface. Auto / Manual Station Scan, 20 Preset Stations, Alarm, Sleep and Scheduling functions expands the practical aspects of radio-listening. For some more details on the PCI RadioLink as well as on some other radio-included products in Mediaforte range of multimedia product line you can check out the full press release.

Videologic Digitheatre In Tempo Stores Now - Mark @ 13:05 EST

VideoLogic Systems has announced that Tempo has made VideoLogic's DigiTheatre Dolby Digital home cinema audio system available through selected stores across the UK. You can find full details in the press release.

New FM801 based soundcard from Terratec - Mikael @ 05:55 EST

Terratec has introduced a new soundcard based on ForteMedia's FM801 chip and uses QSound's 3D sound and reverb engine Q3D 2.0 which offers support for DS3D, A3D 1.0 and EAX 1.0 with current drivers. The soundcard is named 512i digital and unlike many other ForteMedia cards it's a 4-speaker board that also features an optical output. For more details check out Terratec's site. Thanks to Brian Bryce for the pointer.

Pulse 2424 Speaker System review - Mikael @ 02:40 EST

Riva3D has posted a very positive review of Labtec's inexpensive $49 2.1 system Pulse 2424.
News Source: Blue's News

Rocco 5.1 Dolby Digital System Reviews - Mikael @ 02:34 EST

Gamers Depot has posted a detailed review of Jazz Hipster's $200 DD 5.1 system, Rocco 5.1. According to the review this is crappy system that no one should buy and if you live in US you won't even have the opportunity to buy it.

If you want a second opinion of the system you can check out TechExtreme's review, which also concludes you should buy some other system.

Battlesuit MK1 Interview - Mikael @ 02:15 EST

Stomped has posted an interview Savage Entertainment CEO Tim Morten about the upcoming Battlesuit MK1, a multiplayer oriented title which combined elements of giant robot gameplay with some first person shooter features. Here's an interesting bit:

Stomped: What major features does the Sabertooth engine have?
Morten: Too many to list :). Super-fast platform-optimized rendering (using SIMD or hardware T&L where available), progressive mesh, vertex and pixel shading, anti-aliasing, skinned animation, bump-mapping, environment-mapping, specular lighting, HDTV resolutions (hardware dependent), 3D sound, 5.1 surround (hardware dependent), interactive music, IP networking, blah, blah, blah...

Alice preview - Mikael @ 02:10 EST

Gamers.com has posted a preview of the recently gone gold Alice with the following interesting bit on sound and music:

Music
Ambient music and sound effects also play an important role in Alice. Alice's soundtrack was composed by former Nine Inch Nails drummer, Chris Vrenna. The music here has an interesting effect, as it is neither adrenaline pumping, nor outright scary. Instead, it subtly adds another dimension of twisted creepiness to an already atmospheric experience. A music box jingle is given ominous undertones, mixed with the slightest hint of industrial influences. On more than one occasion I was given the distinct sensation of goose bumps or prickling hair on the back of my neck because of the creepy feeling the music exudes.

Sound
Sound effects, particularly the voice acting, are all in keeping with the game's dark theme. Weapon, character and world sounds are crisp. The voice acting ranks with No One Lives Forever's as some of the best in recent memory. Alice, having grown up, has lost the kiddy voice from the Disney movie, and has gained that of a strong-minded young woman, with an edge of attitude. The mad Duchess rants, raves, and sneezes in a convincing fashion, true to her character from the original story. The best voice of them all, however, is undoubtedly that of the Cheshire Cat, whose eloquent and witty commentary is both useful (for explaining the basics and expanding on the story) as well as amusing.

Sacrifice music - Mikael @ 02:06 EST

Shiny has uploaded 16 of the 18 soundtracks from Sacrifice to Fileplanet. You can find the links and file sizes at the fan site The Ambassador's Domain.
News Source: Blue's News

Baldur's Gate II patch - Mikael @ 01:45 EST

BioWare has released a new patch for its DS3D with EAX supporting Baldur's Gate II.

New AvP Gold Levels - Mikael @ 01:30 EST

The fourth set of Aliens vs. Predator Gold levels has been released on AvPNews.
News Source: Blue's News

Wednesday, November 29, 2000

New Santa Cruz Drivers - Mark @ 12:52 EST

A full suite of new drivers is available for the Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. The Win2K and WinNT drivers are shown as version v.4071 BETA and the Win2K and WinMe drivers are shown as version v.4063 BETA. As soon as we get more information on the issues addressed we will let you know. You can find all the files from the Voyetra Turtle Beach FTP site.
News Source: Our Forum

Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 Review - Mark @ 07:58 EST

GamePC has posted a review of the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1. Just a couple of minor comments on what is a very positive review. LiveSurround can also be done via the front left and right analog outputs and not just via the SPDIF out. Secondly, the center channel in 6 channel mode is not a simple mix of left and right as stated in the review. The center channel is generated directly from the positional information in DS3D or A3D 1.
News Source: Our Forum

Giants Goes Gold - Mikael @ 02:13 EST

Interplay has announced that Giants: Citizen Kabuto has gone gold. According to several retailers the game will hit stores on Dec. 7. Here's short description of the game ripped from the official site:

Giants is a revolutionary new style of action game combining RTS elements like base building and resource management in a simple and easy to understand way that has never been seen before. The game requires strategic thinking to exploit the enemies' weaknesses and manipulate your opponents against one another for control. The frenzied action ensues once your enemies' weaknesses are determined. For example, Kabuto depends on the Vimps for a food source to keep up his strength. The Sea Reaper can call in a tornado to sweep the Vimps away, leaving Kabuto hungry, weak and open for attack.

The main focus of Giants is obviously the frenzied action when playing as one of three incredibly unique races: the Sea Reapers, the Meccaryns, or the mighty Kabuto, but the addition of indigenous creatures called the "Smarties" adds to the fun. If "cared" for properly, the "Smarties" will build a base for you offering new weapons, spells, traps, vehicles - whatever each specific player needs. The bases will be different depending on which species you are playing with Kabuto not having the ability to create a base, since he is his own base! "Smarties" will offer Kabuto a special ability…

Tuesday, November 28, 2000

Philips Acoustic Edge Review - Mark @ 23:16 EST

Happy Puppy has posted a very positive review of Philips new Acousic Edge sound card. Just a couple of general comments. First just to be clear, the stereo to 5.1 they are talking about is to 5.1 analog output. Secondly, their stated bundle is incorrect. The games and the Eagles DVD they list were sent to reviewers to assist with evaluation and are not part of the final bundle. The final version of PowerDVD 3.0 will be part of the final bundle which also includes a special verion of the Siren media player. Our own testing is progressing well with overall positive impressions. Before the full review we will post an "Early Impressions" update in the next few days with our thoughts on what this new entry has to offer.

New Strategic Commander and Game Voice profiles - Mark @ 23:06 EST

PCIGN has some new Microsoft Strategic Commander and Game Voice profiles available for downloading.
News Source: Blue's News

Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400 Review - Mark @ 23:03 EST

Avault has posted a review of the Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400. As usual, a few comments. First, contrary to the idea you will get from reading this review the system does have a subwoofer level control mounted right next to the volume control. A minor comment is I find their reference to tight Cambridge SoundWorks subwoofers somewhat surprising. That fact that they mention using the FPS1000 as their regular system makes the comments all the more perplexing but if they missed discovering the ProMedia subwoofer control then maybe they had them at a high level (where they do get boomy) for the whole review. When it comes to midrange it's worth noting that I have the exact same impression as the Avault reviewer and I can add from hands (or ears) on testing that the new ProMedia 2.1 system has indeed addressed the midrange issue on the v.2-400s by altering the crossover to the horn mounted tweeter. Moving along, according to information I got from Klipsch, the v.2-400 is supposed to be incredibly power efficient drawing no more than a night lamp when the system is idling as the power supply goes to quiescent (idle) the instant there is no signal to it. This contradicts the statements made in the Avault review. Overall this may be the most negative review of the v.2-400 that I have read. For more on this system you can check out our own ProMedia v.2-400 review as well as our more recent ProMedia v.2-400 vs Sirocco Crossfire comparison article. In the end I do agree that in the $200 to $250 price range there are other systems equally worthy of consideration.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen reviews - Mikael @ 06:18 EST

A couple new reviews of the Unreal engine powered Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen, have been posted. First up GamesDomain who thinks it's a good game but not excellent game overall with great sound effects:

The audio not only includes excellent music, but some great sound effects as well. Well-known Star Trek sounds such as the transporter, phaser, and tricorder are authentically reproduced. Other sound effects, like the splashing as you run through shallow water, are also well done and contribute nicely to the overall sensation. One other note of key concern regarding the audio… the voice-overs are well done and lip synced with exacting precision. Star Trek fans will be rather disappointed to discover, however, that Avery Brooks does NOT provide the voice for Captain Sisko. Likewise, a stand-in supplies the voice acting for Chief Miles O'Brien. Die hard fans may balk at the idea entirely but I found that, although it took a little getting used to, the somewhat unfamiliar voices did not detract enough from the overall experience. On a positive note, the rest of the character voice-overs were done by the original actors from the television series cast.

Starship Troopers review - Mikael @ 02:31 EST

BigKid has posted a positive review of Starship Troopers with the following short bit on the aurals:

The music and voice acting and sound effects are also well done but are not big standout features of the game. The sound effects are also pleasing with some meaty explosions and weapon sounds.

Dirt Track Racing -- Sprint Cars review - Mikael @ 02:26 EST

Avault has posted a review of Dirt Track Racing -- Sprint Cars which they think is a rather average game giving it an overall score of 2.5 out of 5. They were even less impressed with the sound effects giving it just 2 stars but at least the 3D sound is well used:

Dirt Track Racing -- Sprint Cars nicely allows separate volume controls for such audio elements as crowd sounds, announcer voices, and even interface noises. But the sound effects are uniformly disappointing, with the all-dominant engine noise loud, annoying, and unrealistic. This is the first racing title I have played in a long time where I am consistently seriously tempted to press the mute button on my speakers. The 3D sound is, however, implemented effectively.

Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance reviews - Mikael @ 02:21 EST

A couple new reviews of the DS3D with EAX supporting Mechwarrior 4 have popped up on the net. Both very positive giving the game a score of 9 out of 10. Here's the sound snips:

HardNews:

The sound is incredible! There's just something pleasurable about stomping through an urban cityscape and squishing streetlights with a pleasurable shattering noise. Get hit with a PPC and you can hear the thing snap and burn like an electrical fire untill it goes out. The lasers and autocannons sound pretty beefy, and all the standard "mech noises" have come quite a way since Mech2. As is tradition with each new Mechwarrior game, you've also got a new vocal computer system. I'm glad they replaced it since the test version that was released awhile back though, I hated that. This one's better. For one, it doesn't spam you with reports about critical sections getting damaged (ALA Mechwarrior 2), and it's got a nice mechanical tint to it to make it sound more believable. The voice acting is, of course, quality stuff too...hey, this sucker was sponsored by a company who's boss can afford to buy his son a load of nuclear weapons for his birthday, what the hell do you expect

Sacrifice review and demo review - Mikael @ 02:16 EST

IntelGamer has posted a short but positive review of the Sacrifice demo with the following bit on sound and music:

The voices in the game are professional with top-notch acting. There are several options in the demo for direct sound or EAX. The music is very well done but nothing special. The best thing about it is the fact that it is not irritating and you won't mind at all leaving it on.

Rune review - Mikael @ 02:11 EST

GameSpy has posted a mixed review of Rune saying "for everything Rune does right, it does three or four other things wrong". When it comes to sound & music the review is more positive:

The sound effects and music in Rune are certainly up to the task. The clanking of swords against shields, and axes against platemail is the main thing they had to get right, and they did. The battle sounds are very effective at heightening the brutality of the melee combat. And the subsequent violent, gory deaths are usually accompanied by satisfying gurgling screams. The music does a nice job enhancing Rune's dull atmosphere. There's some taunting and also a bit of Thief-style overheard guard dialogue thrown in toward the end. The voice acting is mostly fine, but a few enemies sound like Cookie Monster the Barbarian

realMYST review - Mikael @ 02:00 EST

GameSpy has posted a review of the re-creation of the best-selling computer game MYST, realMYST. They liked the game but notes beyond the new engine it offers nothing new compared to the orignal. Here's the short sound bit:

The sound emphasizes this loneliness. There is no background music at all, just the noise of what is happening around you--the sea crashing against the rocks, birds chirping, and wood creaking. This works really well, and proves that less really is more sometimes.

Xitel Takstar Force Feedback Headphones Reviewed - Mark @ 01:58 EST

OnePC has posted a review of the Takstar "Force Feedback" headphones sold by Xitel. I put force feedback in quotes as they are not powered by any special force feedback API. What they have is a special driver the vibrates in response to low frequencies when the feature is activated. The review is quite positive and while I agree that they offer reasonably good quality sound at a reasonable price (force feedback aside) I don't find them to be the most comfortable headphones out when it comes to extended use.
News Source: Blue's News

Blair Witch Volume 2 review - Mikael @ 01:56 EST

Gamezone has posted a short review of Blair Witch Volume 2: The Legend of Coffin Rock 1886. They liked it almost as much as the first in this trilogy including the excellent use of sound:

Just like the first release the sound is the best of any horror series to date. The creepy sounds of the forest and ghosts make your skin crawl with fright. The sounds of Rustin Parr are what I really enjoyed, and it is just the same with Coffin Rock. The best way to really enjoy this game is to turn off the lights and turn up the sound.

Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force review - Mikael @ 01:52 EST

GlideUnderground has finished its review of Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force which they think is a great star trek game with excellent sound work:

Sound and music in the game are extremely well done: the weapons sound exactly as they should (not that that's a real feat: all Raven had to do was sample the sounds out of the show or materials that Paramount provided). The music in the game fits well, but what really sets the game apart is the lack of voice sound-alikes: everyone from Kate Mulgrew to Ethan Phillips reprised their show voice roles, so that Chakotay, Tuvok, and all the rest won't throw the player off when they speak. The only exception there was the sound-alike used for Seven of Nine, but thankfully she doesn't mess up since the voice is close enough.

Swat 3 Elite Edition Review - Mikael @ 01:49 EST

Neoseeker has posted a detailed and positive review of Swat 3 Elite Edition with the following bit on the aural aspects of the game:

One thing you’ll notice right away after installing Elite Edition is how much better the weapons sound. In the original game the weapons just didn’t have much gumption behind them. It’s a subtle difference, but they all sound more realistic now than they did before. The M4 makes an appropriately loud pop and even the suppressed MP5SD is a lot more believable. In multiplayer these enhancements become even more apparent since there is such a wide variety of weapons to choose from. Particularly impressive is the HK G36C which has one of the most intimidating sounds of any of the guns. In fact, when you’re playing a deathmatch game you can almost identify your enemy’s location just by the sound of his gunfire. Elite Edition also upgrades weapon sounds in all of the original 16 missions. Other than the sound of gunfire or tangos yelling smart remarks at you, much of the game is played in stealthy silence. A fitting soundtrack adds to the tension of the atmosphere as your swat team progresses through the missions in either stealth or dynamic mode.

Creative on Aureal Technology - Mark @ 01:48 EST

There are a couple of recent forum posts related to Creative Labs and their purchase of Aureal's Technology. One post on the Vortex of Sound Forum quotes a Creative support rep as saying that "have not yet integrated our support for Aureal products, this will take some time to do" and the second post on a network54 forum points out a quote in the Watchdog section of the latest issue of MaximumPC from a person the article references as Creative Labs executive Craig McHugh. McHugh says that Aureal has retained contractors to finish a set of drivers for Aureal based cards but had no details on if and when those drivers might be released. He was also unable to offer any insite into future use of the technology they purchased. This is all in the December issue of MaximumPC which also contains reviews of the S4-MidiLand 8200, VideoLogic DigiTheatre DTS and Creative DTT3500.

Gunman Chronicles review - Mikael @ 01:45 EST

VideoGamer guy has posted a very positive review of the Half-Life engine powered Gunman Chronicles giving the game a rating of 9 and sound 9.5:

Gunman has the same frightening atmosphere that made Half-Life such a hit in the first place. Getting scared is what this game is all about, if you don't darken the room and raise the volume on your speakers you're simply not going to get the same effect. Remember those little crab creatures in Half-Life? They'd jump at you from out of a dark corner with that creepy squel and would always make you leap out of your skin. Well in Gunman there are little xenome creatures that do the same thing, I think their main role is to frighten more than anything else and they certainly do it well. Though a lot of the game isn't in total darkness there are lots of dark little corners that have enemies lurking about ready to leap head on. Then there's the environment itself, things explode, glass shatters, and floors break when you walk on them so you can never expect what's going to happen next. You're guarenteed at least a few good scares while you play through this game. So as you might have already figured out, sound is a major plus. You are able to use either EAX or A3D which is great, it seems that some FPS titles don't always take advantage of these sound setups. I can't figure out why because they truly give the atmosphere of being surrounded and with a game like Gunman you need that kind of immersive feeling.

Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2 - Mikael @ 01:42 EST

FiringSquad has posted a review of MS Combat Flight Simulator 2. They had some complaints about the AI and multiplayer aspects of the game but still thinks it's the best World War II flight sim. Here's a snip on the sound:

The team of CFS2 took it upon themselves to not only make the game look realistic and play realistically but also to sound as it should. The development team drew on two men in particular, Joe Foss and Saburo Sakai. These two men are commonly regarded as the two greatest aces of the second great war still living. The two of them not only gave input on tactics and the era, but also how the planes should sound, how the guns should rattle, what a loose panel would sound like and every aural nuance one could dream of.
The result is an excellent blend of sincere sound effects. Great voice acting and excellent music help set the atmosphere. You'll hear more than one Southern drawl on the American side, and the Japanese wingmen all speak to you in their native tongue. When the journals are read for the cut-scenes, they're accompanied by sweeping war music or traditional Japanese folk music. The sound as a whole is a great experience, and something that should not be missed.

Baldur's Gate II review - Mikael @ 01:37 EST

GameIndustry has posted a very positive review of Baldur's Gate II with the following interesting bit on the sound effects:

The sound is much improved, and the ambient effects like hawkers in the market, rats in the sewers, birds in the forest and echoes in caves all add wonderfully to the environment. You might want to turn the music levels down a bit though, as they can sometimes overpower the environmental effects. The music itself however is top quality, and crescendos at just the right moments. It does an excellent job of setting the mood, no matter what mood your characters happen to be experiencing.

Three-Way Blair Witch ShootOut - Mikael @ 01:35 EST

Checkout.com has posted a three-Way Blair Witch ShootOut. Here's a taste:

Fear Factor
The whole point in playing a Blair Witch game is to wet your pants a few times, get a few good scares amidst the undead slaughter. Unfortunately, Coffin Rock and Elly Kedward both suck the fear right out of things; the face of ultimate evil ends up being more goofy than scary. In Coffin Rock, you can shoot ghosts with guns -- which just makes no sense -- and Elly Kedward's monsters are too slow to get the adrenaline pumping even in an action-game, reflex kind of way.

In comparison, Rustin Parr is exquisitely creepy. As you wander through the Burkittsville forest, distant crashes get your hackles rising, and the Parr house itself is an exercise in dread: bizarre, bloody symbols splashed across walls, ghostly children playing in the yard … it's a freakout. Even some of the puzzles are eerie, like when you adjust the levels of a tape recording until you hear a dead child having a conversation with a living one. Why are little kids so scary? Who knows, but they are.

Result: Rustin Parr definitely wins here. Of the three games, it was the only one that consistently had me jumping at strange noises and checking the closet twice before going to bed.

Half-Life: Counter-Strike review - Mikael @ 01:31 EST

IGNPC has posted a review of Half-Life: Counter-Strike. They liked most aspects of it but they had some complaints when it comes to the aural aspects of it:

Just about the only aspect of this game that we could make negative comments about is the sound. Sure, the realistic guns sounds are spot on, we just wish the same amount of attention to detail was given to the rest of the sound in the game. Some levels have lighting and thunder. When the thunder crashes it sounds a little wimpy. We were hoping for some deeper bass and clearer sounding claps from the lightning. In most of the level the user can go inside or out side of buildings, the sound of their footsteps should also change to reflect what type of surface they are walking on. The sound of footsteps getting closer and closer could also have been improved. As it stands now, it's hard to tell how far down the hallway or street a bad guy is from you by sound alone.

Monday, November 27, 2000

Panasonic Promotes DVD-Audio at Retail - Mikael @ 16:06 EST

Two mail-in offers conducted by Panasonic/Technics are hitting store shelves this month to promote the purchase of home, portable and car DVD-Audio players. The promotion runs from November 7 until January 31, 2001. You can find the details in the press release.

Lear Corporation wins award for transforming headliner into a speaker system - Mikael @ 16:04 EST

Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) has won the Automotex Innovation in Industry Award for its design of OASys(TM), Lear's overhead audio system that effectively transforms a vehicle's entire headliner into a speaker system. Using new audio reproduction technology together with advanced material and acoustics, the headliner membrane produces full audio sound. You can find more details in the press release.

Quake 3 : Team Arena Demo reviews - Mikael @ 16:01 EST

Plenty of Quake 3 : Team Arena Demo reviews have been posted the last couple days but so far none have mentioned if the semi working A3D2 code is still there. Here's a couple that at least mentioned sound:

The Ecronom:

The sound effects have been tweaked for Team Arean. The rocker launcher sounds slightly different, and there's a whole heap of team releated sound effects. The best part is the voice taunt facility. Like the one in Unreal Tournament, except its not automatic. You have to press the taunt key and the computer responds depending on the situation. Like if you've just been fragged, hit taunt and your killer gets a nasty message. There's around 30 different taunts, althought I only noticed about 3 while playing it. One thing I did notice was when I had the white flag in One Flag CTF and I got killed just before tagging the enemy flag. I thought that I said it, but on inspection of the included sounds I found the game said it. And what did the game say, "Holy Shit!". I thought that was soo funny. Killed inches from the flag, and its like some spectator said it.

3DactionPlanet

If you've played Q3A, you know what the game sounds like. Everything has stayed basically the same. It's the same thing with the graphics -- same look, same feel, same style, etc., which is fine. Q3A looked nice, and sounded nice as well. It would have been better if they could have beefed up a few of the weapon sounds and little things like that, but as a whole it isn't really anything of ignificance.

NOMAD II MG firmware update - Mikael @ 15:33 EST

This is a new upgrade firmware release for the NOMAD II MG for users running Windows 98, Windows 2000 and Window Millennium. This release supports the usage of the LCD wired remote control.

Rio 500 MP3 Player review - Mikael @ 15:27 EST

3DSpotLight has posted a detailed review of Diamond's Rio 500 MP3 Player. The Rio 500 includes the features you expect from a second generation MP3 player including USB port, 64 MB memory (expandable to 128MB according to this review), upgradeable firmware (allows it to support other formats than MP3s in the future), back lit LCD display, supports the audible format, equalizer presets, custom bass and treble. 3DSpotLight thinks just like most if not all other reviews I've seen that the Rio 500 is a pretty good player.

News from November 20-26, 2000

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