3DsoundSurge News: December 25-31, 2000


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News: December 25-31, 2000

Sunday, December 31, 2000

Creative DTT3500 Digital Review - Mark @ 08:54 EST

PC-IGN has posted a review of the Creative DTT3500 5.1 Dolby Digital speaker system. They are fairly mpressed with the system. One bit worth restating is bascially any game that supports 3D sound will take advantage of the DTT3500 5.1 output when matched with the digital DIN output from a Sound Blaster Live 5.1. Games don't have to support Dolby Digital for this and I think that it will be some time (if ever) before we see dynamic interactive sound positioning using Dolby Digital 5.1 in the game itself. I agree with their quality assement as well as their comment on best suited for smaller rooms. Overall I think that most of the complains about power you see in reviews are putting the DTT3500 in situations it was not intended for. As long as you use it in a small to midsized room and don't push for extremely loud volumes, then there is enough power to deliver on most peoples needs, but not beyond. Our own review is just awaiting the arrivial of a final retail amplifer/decoder (we were using a pre-release unit for all testing todate) so look for lots more of our thoughts on this system when the full review goes up later this week. Thanks to Kue Foo for the pointer.

Saturday, December 30, 2000

Game Theater XP review - Mikael @ 19:28 EST

Computer Games Online has posted a nice review of Hercules new $150 soundcard, the Game Theater XP. This card uses the same chip (CS4630) as the Santa Cruz/SonicFury. Notable differences compared to the Santa Cruz are the external rack with multiple inputs and outputs (e.g USB ports, optical and coaxial SPDIF output), the bundle of PowerDVD and the $50 higher price.

CGO found the card to perform quite well but complained about low volume from the headphone jack and a poor software bundle. I think PowerDVD 3.0 is a good software bundle even though it's behind X-Gamer for those that want most of the games part of that bundle. When it comes to the headphone complaint I am not sure if they mean just not amplified or lower than most other soundcards. If it's the former it's worth noting that almost no other soundcard offers amplifed headphone output. One other thing I disagree with is their claim that the difference between the reverb on the Live and GameTheater XP is hardly noticeable. That's not even close to being true if you test it in several games. Not saying it's worse or better just that it's a difference (mostly more prominent on the Live). Thanks to Jeff "wumpus" Atwood from Gamebasement for the pointer.

Cambridge SoundWorks DTT3500 review - Mikael @ 19:10 EST

KanuHardware has posted a review of Cambridge SoundWorks DTT3500 system. The reviewer that mostly compares it to the DTT2500 thinks it's an excellent system.
News Source: ALive

Game reviews - Mikael @ 06:02 EST

Sacrifice on GameGenie (Overall: 5/5, Sound: 5/5):

You never really notice the sound, because it is so natural. Insects fly about, lightning crashes in the distance, a dramatic musical score rumbles out of your speakers. All of the characters speak with a distinctive accent. All of the players wizards also sound completely different. Each of your spells has its own phrase. To sum it up, everything sounds right.

Michelin Rally Masters: Race of Champions on Electric Playground (Overall: 7.5/10):

No great game is complete without a good musical score and powerful sound effects. MRM: ROC has them both. The techno soundtrack, though not the best I've heard, is more than adequate, and is a benefit to the game. As far as sound effects go, the engines in this game sound absolutely intense. The ambient noises from the crowd, passing helicopters, and thunder add to the mood. Another cool effect is the sound of the gravel and dirt as it kicks up and hits your car as you drive through it. Everything just adds to the gaming experience to make you feel like you're really there.

Fallout Tactics demo on Gamers Pulse (Overall: 91/100, Sound: 80/100):

Soundwise the demo is a wee bit of a bust. Nothing offensive or lacking just nothing special in the game. There is nothing to detract from the game so in that respect it is fine

Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance on ActiveWin (Overall: 96%, Sound: 90%):

The sound enhances the immersive factor that Mech4 presents, presenting satisfying footsteps that boom through the speakers with each step, and that particular *whoosh* as a barrage of missiles flies right past your head. When you are hunting through a complex environment in stealth mode, listening for the sound of footsteps or weapons fire will tell you where your target lies ahead--or in a dangerous scenario, behind you.
Music is scattered throughout the game, providing a decent ambience for the action, often times starting out slow and calm to emphasize your peaceful location, and then speeding up other times as you plunge into battle.

Blair Witch Volume 3: The Elly Kedward Tale on Electric PlayGround (Overall: 8.5/10):

If you look at any good horror movie, the sound track is essential to keeping the audience off guard and anxious. I mean, who can forget the music to the shower scene in Psycho. Ritual Entertainment took this to heart and produced some of the creepiest sound this side of the silver screen. By taking advantage of environmental audio effects, gamers will be subject to heart pounding music and great special effects. The only problem that I noticed with the sound is that the voice acting on certain scenes seemed to cut out for no reason.

B-17 Flying Fortress II: The Mighty Eighth on SimHQ:

Sound is another strong point of the game. When you install the game, it gives you the opportunity to install A3D. Some Sound Blaster Live owners have encountered problems with A3D enabled but I haven't had a problem in over 60 hours of gameplay. Sound is positional and if you have a good four-speaker setup with a subwoofer you won't be disappointed. Gun sounds in the fighters are a little weak but not bad overall. The sounds are adjustable in the game so you can make your outside sounds, music, and interior sounds as loud or as soft as you like. Each crewmember had unique sounds to them. I give credit to Wayward on the voices. I was afraid we would get American crewmen with either British accents or with some hokey Southern Drawl that sounded totally unrealistic. The voices sound pretty good overall.
[snip]
Overall, if you want the thrill of manning the positions of a B-17 and are willing to put up with some things that will definitely need to be changed, then B-17 II is a good game. I guess what is frustrating for a lot of folks is that it could have been a whole lot better.

News Source: Blue's News

Cambridge Soundworks DTT2200 review - Mikael @ 05:31 EST

Tech-Gods has posted a review of Camridge SoundWorks DTT2200 speaker system. It's a 5.1 system that's not shipping with any decoder so it's intended for those that have bought one of the new Live 5.1 cards, one of the other 5.1 cards or an external DD 5.1/DTS decoder. Safest bet is probably only to use it with a Live 5.1 or Philips Acoustic Edge since they are the only 5.1 cards I know where the subwoofer out is a mix of all channels. This review used it with the H+ for the DVD tests which is not a good way to test the speaker system. When it comes to the soundcard they say they selected Live!Surround which will only give you front left and right unless you use it with a Dolby Prologic system in which case you also get a center and mono surround channels. The review later mentions getting sound from all channels so hopefully they haven't based the entire review on testing in the Live!Surround mode. The review is a bit mixed with the major complaint being poor bass and that it requires a new Live 5.1 card to use the center channel but otherwise thinks it offers good sound quality for the money ($129). The poor bass may be due to selecting Live!Surround instead of Live 5.1.
News Source: Blue's News

VideoLogic DigiTheatre and DigiTheatre DTS review - Mikael @ 04:50 EST

Digit-Life has posted a review of VideoLogic's $400 DigiTheatre and the $650 DigiTheatre DTS speaker systems. They liked both units.
News Source: Blue's News

Friday, December 29, 2000

Updated SonicFury Drivers - Mark @ 22:13 EST

VideLogic has posted new Win9x and WinME drivers (V4.12.01.4071-2907) for the SonicFury sound card. If the stated version numbers are correct the ME drivers are more recent than the ones posted in November for the Santa Cruz but the Win9x drivers appear to be the same as the latest Santa Cruz drivers with the exception being that VideoLogic is not calling them beta drivers and Turtle Beach is. These new drivers are a must get as they make significant improvements in the gaming performance of the cards and also address other issues. More details can be found at the links above. Note that these drivers are dated December 18th but we missed posting news of them earlier.
News Source: Our Forum

S4 MidiLand 8200 Review - Mark @ 21:33 EST

Hexus.net has posted a review of the S4 MidiLand 8200 Dolby Digital 5.1 speaker system. The system uses MidiLand's ADS-2000 decoder matched with five identical satellites and subwoofer driven by a total of 200 watts RMS. As with most reviews I have read, Hexus.net is impressed with the 8200's performance. One thing worth restating to be clear is the 8200 does not offer multichannel analog inputs for gaming (at least not without some after market modifications and a six channel sound card). The other bit worth noting is MidiLand's MK-01 promotion is still running - if you buy an S4-8200 or S4-7100 MidiLand will send one pair of the excellent wall mounts for no cost (you pay $4.95 shipping and handling). You can read our review of the MK-01 and also visit MidiLand's promo page for more details on the give-away.

JDoom patch - Mikael @ 16:59 EST

A small patch for JDoom has been released. JDoom supports OpenGL, D3D and most importantly 3D sounds and reverb effects with DirectSound3D and EAX 2.0 or A3D 3.0.
News Source: Blue's News

The Gamecenter Holiday Speaker Roundup - Mikael @ 05:54 EST

Gamecenter has posted a speaker round-up featuring Yamaha YST-MS201, S4 MidiLand 4060M, JBL Sonnet, Klipsch ProMedia 2.1, Altec Lansing ATP5, Boston Acoustics Digital BA7500, Cambridge SoundWorks Desktop Theater 5.1 DTT3500 Digital and Jazz Speakers Rocco 5.1. They name a winner in each category (2.1, 4 and 5.1 systems).

Game reviews - Mikael @ 05:43 EST

Alice on Fragland (Overall: 89%, Sound: 8/10):

The sound that you hear during the game is incredible, adding alot of atmosphere, although sometimes when using a surround soundset, the volume goes up and down during cut-scenes which makes it hard to understand what people are saying.

Alice on PC Fan (Overall: 91%):

The sound department at Rogue must be on some strange new performance enhancing drugs (perhaps Alice slipped them a few `shrooms from Wonderland - although I doubt they're performance enhancing) as this has a completely different feel from the usual caffeine and pep-pill variety of above-average games. To be fair it's really only the music that is so extraordinary, I'd only class the sound effects as above average. The sound effects are quite realistic and there aren't any that stick out as odd, wait, come to think of it there was one squelching noise that seemed to come from plants when Alice was in her shrunken state that didn't make much sense, and it was also used for a couple of other objects which made less sense. Ok so there's one sound effect that was odd, but the rest sounded like they were supposed to (I assume what I heard were the sounds elemental demons, Jaberwock eye-staff and razor-sharp playing cards make) but without becoming exceptionally engrossing. It was nice to see a few more sounds than usual when Alice went about her business, unless most action heroes, she isn't silent when she performs strenuous activities, and her little grunts and other noises are appreciated. No, not in that way you retards.
The music, as mentioned above, was exquisite. Chris Vrenna (whom I believe to be formerly of Nine Inch Nails) has done an exemplary job of capturing the right feel and atmosphere of American McGee's interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. Some creepy tracks involving a girls choir, the various childlike sounds of a music-box and various other touches added tremendous depth to the both the score and the game itself. An oft-overlooked part of shooter simulations (both first and third person) is the music, but when performed correctly it can add a whole dimension to the experience, and do just that - turn a pleasant sensation into a complete experience. The voice-acting was also very good, Alice had a nice accent about her, and the Chesire Cat's manner of tongue was very good. For some reason the Gryphon stood out as a character whose voice had. issues. I don't exactly know what a gryphon sounds like, but for a big strapping bird he sounded very weak and adolescent.

Fallout Tactics Demo on RPG Vault ("this one shows both promise and the fact that Fallout Tactics is still a work in progress"):

In terms of sound, much of the audio in the demo is of the placeholder variety, but support is included for various 3D sound formats.

Giants: Citizen Kabuto on ActionTrip (Overall: 85%):

What's more, the top-notch expressive voice acting and sound effects are on a par with the visuals. Visually, as well as acoustically Giants has more candy than your eye or ear can handle. Vibrant, sharp, and pretty are just a few adjectives that may sum up my final thoughts on the game's sound and appearance.

Giants: Citizen Kabuto on Gamers Depot (Overall: 4.5/6):

Of course, all of this graphical prowess wouldn't seem complete if it didn't have great sound effects to back it up. Once again, Planet Moon has done a great job here as well. By incorporating EAX (Environmental Audio Extensions), Giants gives you a good feeling of "being there". There are creatures that burrow under the ground and then pop up near you and start shooting. During their burrowing, you can hear them moving around you while they're still under the ground. This makes it a lot easier to locate them and take them by surprise when they surface.

Gunman Chronicles on Avault(Overall: 4/5, Sound: 4/5):

Sound FX: Everything sounds incredibly realistic in Gunman Chronicles, from the maniacal shouting of the former Gunman General when he orders your execution to the muffled sound of his voice as a group of Xenomes chase him through a different area of the map. Character speech is done amazingly well, too, in particular the scenes where you run into a dying scientist who is trying to speak to you while choking on the blood in his throat. Positional audio is functional and works well with fading instead of instantly switching to one speaker or the other when doing quick turns. For a genre where character detail is highly regarded, it was nice to see decent timing on the moving jaws and lips of the characters with the digital speech.

News Source: Blue's News

Thursday, December 28, 2000

EAX in Mechwarrior 4 Contest - Mark @ 23:30 EST

Creative Labs is running a contest with the winner getting a Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer 5.1, a copy of MechWarrior 4, and a limited-edition EAX T-Shirt. All you have to do is fill out their online entry form which has three easy questions. The contest is open to individuals worldwide (except where prohibited by law) and runs up by 11:59 pm PST January 7, 2001.
News Source: ALive

Sony unveils USB Memory-stick Hi-Fi - Mark @ 23:04 EST

USB Workshop has some information on the Sony NHS-MS10 mini Hi-Fi that's interesting in that it accepts Memory Sticks, and ships with a USB interface. According to the report, the NHS-MS10's USB connection is necessary, because transferring music onto a Memory Stick requires converting MP3 or WMA music into ATRAC3 format on a computer. The conversion is done with the accompany software, OpenMG JukeBox. You can get some more details, including product images, of the NHS-MS10 over at USB Workshop. Note that the unit is only available in Japan and is going for a retail price of 70,000 Yen ($600 US).
News Source: Anandtech

Luna Updated Beta/Demo - Mikael @ 17:22 EST

Luna is the first ever 3-D Sim/Strategy game featuring complete camera freedom and dynamic surround sound within ultra realistic, fully 3-D environments. Build lunar colonies, create industries, trade with Earth and alien races, and survive the perils and disasters of life in space. Take mankind to the final frontier by colonizing the Moon, solving the Earth's energy crisis, and boldly going beyond the stars to befriend or conquer aliens, while unlocking the mysteries of the universe.

The official site supports lists "Dozens of 3-D sounds, immersing players in a incredible lunar environment." as one of the features in this game. They also mentions dynamic surround sound so good chance it has support for DS3D but always a risk they just talk about Dolby Prologic or some home made 3D sound engine. You can download the updated demo/beta from 3dfiles.

HipZip MP3 Player review - Mikael @ 17:11 EST

Adrian's Rojak Pot has posted a positive review of a USB Clik! drive and the Iomega HipZip MP3/WMA portable player. The HipZip features includes support for MP3 and Windows Media Format, support for additional formats in the future, USB connectivity, equalizer, Backlit display, built-in rechargeable battery and uses PocketZip for storage.

New technology could stop digital music piracy - Mikael @ 17:02 EST

CNET's News.com reports that a group of technology companies is creating a set of industry standards could put digital piracy protections directly into portable disk drives as soon as this summer. According to the article that's just a first step and the technology could ultimately be used to prevent users from downloading copyrighted files directly onto their hard drives. As the article points out it's far from certain this technology will get the widespread use the designers and music industry hopes.

Guillemot Maxi Sound MUSE review - Mikael @ 14:19 EST

Technoyard has posted a positive review of Guillemot's $30 Maxi Sound MUSE. Not tried the card but from what I understand a 4-speaker card where the low price is a definite pro but the lack of EAX 2.0 support a major issue.

DirectX 8 article - Mikael @ 08:09 EST

Computer Games Online has done a short overview of the new features in DirectX8. Here's a bit from the audio portion:

DirectMusic now supports the a Downloadable Sounds Level 2 (DLS2) capable synthesizer, which allows for quality custom instruments, six-stage envelopes, layering of voices, release waveforms, and all kinds of other nifty technical mumbo-jumbo. Developers can assign arbitrary sound looping points, submix channels before sending them off to DirectSound for playback, apply filters independently to each voice, and stream sound playback automatically. Music tracks can play back as 3D sounds, so you can have a DirectMusic track playing through a radio on a desk in a 3D game, and it will be represented as a 3D sound. Designers can more accurately control the sound in a game through the use of scripts, too. A game event might call upon a sound script instead of controlling multiple sound events directly. This should make it easier for the sound specialists to control the sound in games without so much work from the programmers.

Wednesday, December 27, 2000

Game reviews - Mikael @ 18:12 EST

Hitman: Codename 47 on Computer Games Online (Overall 2/5):

The audio work is quite competent, with a cool soundtrack and solid (if stereotypical) voice work and really good sound effects. The AI is alert to foul play when there are obvious dangers, and guards will sound alarms, or get their friends if they find a body, hear screams and gunfire, or need assistance

Hitman: Codename 47 on Gamersuplink (Overall: 9/10, Sound: 8.5/10):

The sound is the last high point of the game, it is very good in that it helps to immerse you into the game like good sound should. Foot steps can be heard even if you are looking the other way, gun shots are life like and sound actual (though I've personally never heard a AK-47.), and the sound made my the guy you're choking is classic. The only thing wrong is the in game cut scenes. For some reason the lip-sync is fairly far off a lot of times and the persons lips will be moving while they aren't saying a word. Reminds me of those old Chinese films

B17: Flying Fortress on PlayNow (Overall: 9/10, Sound & Music 9/10):

This authenticity and accuracy also extends to B 17's audio. Effects such as the roar of the planes engines and the rattle of machine gun and cannon fire rip though the air, with radio and com chatter punctuating the action adding to the already astounding authenticity

Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance on WEWP (Overall: 8/10, Sound: 9/10):

The sound within MW4 was excellent whether it was during the between scenario radio messages or it was during your actual missions. You can hear the mech as it walks across the landscape. Your weapons make appropriately loud noises when fired, and you are able to hear radio chatter from your lance mates.

Giants: Citizen Kabuto on JunkYard (Overall: "A great game") :

Another forte of this game is it's sound - both music, sound effects, voice acting and ambient life. In the opening movie, you see Tel and Baz (two of the five Mecc's in the game) flying over the Island, as Baz heads onto the wing of the plane - preparing to descend to the land below. A miscommunication forces Tel (the pilot) to close the hatch (on Baz's hand) who is now left on the wing without his jetpack. Tel, being the moron he is doesn't notice this and camera moves into the cockpit, where you hear elevator music, as Tel taps his fingers to the beat. Sporting a British accent, the Mecc's converse amongst each other and with the Smartie's, adding a brand of comedy that I haven't seen in these type of games in some time.

News Source: Blue's News

MZ-R90 Portable MiniDisc Recorder\Player Review - Mikael @ 17:25 EST

TechExtreme has posted a review of Sony's $250 portable MiniDisc player/recorder the MZ-R90. The detailed review that includes the basics of MiniDiscs and how it compares to MP3 players come to a positive conclusion.

Logitech Soundman Xtrusio DSR-100 review - Mikael @ 17:17 EST

GameGirlz has posted a short but positive review of Logitech's new $180 4-speaker system the Soundman Xtrusio DSR-100. The price, according to the review, includes the bundle of PowerDVD.

Pioneer DVD-305S review - Mikael @ 04:44 EST

StorageReview has posted a detailed review of Pioneer's DVD-305S, a 10X SCSI DVD-ROM. The review covers DVD-ROM, CD-ROM and DAE performance and how it compares to some other popular SCSI DVD-ROM drives.

Tuesday, December 26, 2000

Clusterball Updated Demo - Mikael @ 20:22 EST

An updated demo/base version of the A3D supporting Clusterball has been released (v1.04). Clusterball is an online sport, designed to invoke the same adrenaline rush as Quake and Unreal, but replacing the spatter and gore with pure gameplay. By combining the feel and gaming experience from ball, flight and racing games, Clusterball is unlike anything you've ever seen before. The base version of Clusterball and membership are free! Mark has played the game and found to be quite a blast and A3D support is working well. You can grab the updated 17 MB base game from 3Dfiles

Analog Devices Announces Dolby(R) Prologic(R) II Certification - Mikael @ 18:50 EST

Analog Devices has announced that its Melody(TM) audio decoder has been certified by Dolby(TM) Laboratories to decode Dolby Pro Logic(TM) II and is one of the industry's first chipsets certified for this Dolby Surround Pro Logic decoding technology announced by Dolby on June 20, 2000. In addition to being one of the chipsets to deliver the benefits of Dolby Pro Logic II, the Analog Devices' Melody decoder chipset has previously been certified by Dolby Laboratories for 5.1-channel Dolby(TM) Digital, Dolby Headphone, AAC, MPEG2, MLP and 4-channel Dolby Pro Logic available from DVD, audio DVD, digital television (DTV), satellite, cable, videotape and laserdisc. You can find more details in the press release

Hitman: Codename 47 patch - Mikael @ 18:46 EST

Eidos has released a patch named Service Pack 1a for its 3D sound supporting Hitman: Codename 47.

Game reviews - Mikael @ 11:07 EST

Alice on Head-2-Head (Overall 85%):

Honourable mentions must certainly go to the sound and music. During game play, I was always aware of the music, which was primarily created by, Chris Vrenna, the ex-drummer and co-founder of Nine Inch Nails (one of my personal faves!). It had a certain quality about it that freaked me out, but very very nice. As well, the sounds were very cool, very realistic-water splashed, rocks fell, acorn bombs exploded. The voice acting was well done; the accents were cool.

Blair Witch Volume 3 on OnlineGameReview (Overall: C-):

BW3 does not have very many background noises. Occasional music in places like the church, and prison. But when you are out doors the only things you will hear is the monsters when you get close to them. The cut scenes with dialog are typical video game style. If you read the subtitles it helps since the actors who do the voices are not very good. The demons sound like they were rejected from hell. The sound effects are pretty good, but the dialog is extremely cheesy. The lack of music actually helps make the game more erie.

Baldur's Gate II on PCShooter (Overall: 90, Sound/Music: 5/5):

The sound of in Baldur's Gate 2 was well done. The music sets the given mood the developers wanted to acquire in each location. The music in the merchant's district makes you feel like you are in an large open air market, the music in the dungeons gives an imminent sense of danger. There is also ambient noise throughout the game. In the city you can hear hawkers yelling, children playing, women arguing, and criers yelling out their news. This effect was well done in that it isn't loud and over powering but just loud enough that it helps set the mood.

Sacrifice on PCShooter (Overall 4.5/5, Sound: 4/5):

Sound: : The only reason this category loses points is for the between mission presentation. Some of the demi-god voice acting sounds pretty cheesy, and the manner in which the dialogue is played out can be frustrating. That aside, in-mission sounds and effects are marvelous! From the reciting of a spell as it is being cast, to the sounds of battle raging will never disappoint. Being around as a desecration is taking place is eerie, due to the ghostly sounds and horrified screams. Units receive orders and acknowledge them in varying tones, from a `pity me' tone to a `what do you want' harshness. Very deliberate in the sound category, and is pulled off to create an incredible atmosphere.

Oni demo on 3DActionPlanet (Mixed impression):

Sound is another point against the Oni demo. The sound effects are simply scarce: a few beeps when you activate consoles, the (good, for once) firing sounds, and that's about it. Environmental sounds are really missing here. Fortunately, it's not all bad: speech comes to help. The voice actors are excellent, although I could say that Konoko's female assistant sounds too cheesy, but that's my personal opinion

Last year the game was on Aureal's list for A3D 1.0 but not seen anything on this recently so start to doubt it ever happened.
News Source: Blue's News

Operation FlashPoint will support 3D sound - Mikael @ 10:56 EST

ColdWar has posted an English translation of the Fan-Seite Flashpoint 1985 preview of Operation Flashpoint that includes the following interesting bit:

The sound in OFP is great! All sounds are correctly digitized. The weapons sound good and hard. You can hear the wind, birds chirping in the forests, dogs barking in the villages and if you run you can hear your character groan from the heavy weight he carries. The sound of battle and the sound of vehicles appears corresponding to the surrounding and also, modern 3D Surround Sound Technologies will, of course, be supported and create their very own atmosphere.
According to the situation, different music will be played. The game comes with a Rock soundtrack, which fits the game pretty good. Bohemia Interactive found a group from Australia that creates the soundtrack and it sounds like a chart breaker.

The preview is very and even says "the game is going to be the hit of the next year, no doubt"
News Source: Blue's News

Fallout Tactics supports 3D sound - Mikael @ 10:50 EST

The Fallout Tactics demo feature support for 3D sound according to Valut13's review of it. Here's a taste:

Having followed the development of Fallout Tactics since it was announced I had developed certain expectations about how the game would be. I envisioned a game that kept the familiar atmosphere of harsh wasteland life native to the previous two Fallout games while incorporating the gameplay elements necessary to make it a Tactics game. My expectations were quite simply blown away, torn to pieces and burnt in a bonfire.
[snip]
Sound was perhaps a bit lacking but considering that the sounds aren't done yet according to the developer's I don't think there's any need to worry. The 3D Positional Audio actually worked very well and sounded great on my Aureal card with 5 speakers, creepy music and loud explosions. There is also an option to play your own MP3's while playing the game which was a very nice addition.

As you may guess the reviewer thinks the demo is very promising.
News Source: Blue's News

Monday, December 25, 2000

Merry Christmas - Mikael @ 06:16 EST

Just a quick note to wish everyone a Merry Chrismas or in the event that you don't celebrate Chrismas then a safe and happy holiday season.

News from December 18-24, 2000

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