File extension Details of SWD, SWE, DAM, D2S, SXT, SYN, SYN, TAF, CYR

Settlers 2

Company / developer:
  Ubisoft Entertainment

The settlers games have traditionally been blighted by the same two problems - over complexity and under achievement and at first glance, not much seems to have changed in this fourth edition. As always, the graphics are gorgeous; lush, well animated and obsorbing enough just to sit back and watch. We challenge anyone not to enjoy seeing their little baker come out of his hut, collect corn and wheat, place the dough in the oven and finally pull out a steaming hot loaf - it's like Windy Miller all over again! After a while though, the attractiveness of the graphics only draw attention to the game's fundamental futility. As you cannot directly control the movements of your peasants, why speand so much effort watching them doing the same things over and over and why make the game so ridiculously dependant on sensitive supply chains? Maintaining a settlement requires a typically Germanic attention to deatail. Unlike Age of Empires, where peasants will intelligently go about their tasks, everything in settlers requires careful supervision and no community grows without the supply chain being intact. For example, recruiting soldiers requires a tedious and involved seven-tiered production process, ranging from building and meatl construction tasks to food supply and peasant recruitment. Watching supposedly advanced economy grind to a halt because someone forgot to build a scythe is verging on the ridiculous - this is, after all a videogame and not an open university course in lateral thinking! Consequently, although the scope of the game is huge, with three nations to master and literally hundreds of buildings and tools to construct, it's the petty inconsistencies that keep popping up. For example, there are three ways of expanding your territory - occupying and enemy town (logical), building a guard tower (less so) or employing little men with shovels to walk around very slowly... digging (oh, come on!). Such is the curious world of settlers games -
a place where nothing is simple enough to work out for yourself and when something goes wrong no one ever bothers to tell you. In stark constrast to such a complex economy is the fact that 75 per cent of your men stand idly around for most of the game simply taking up space and looking untidy. With dozens of buildings to contrast and commodites to be ferried back and forth, there is nothing more infuriating than watching bread pile up in a storehouse complete woth 25 peasants staring into the distance, while your army starve to death half a mile away. So once again, tose nutty developers at BluByte have come up with a games which bristles with technical excellence but seems to think that gamers have nothing better to do with their time other than grow old and die. Everything in settlers takes forever and even battles are only worht winning because it gives you something tangible to show for an evening's patient gameplay. It will undoubtedly sell by the truckload but unless you're a settlers fan, stick to watching the kettle boil.

NHL 08

Company / developer:
  Electronic Arts Inc.

NHL 08 is turning heads once again with all new features that make it the ultimate hockey simulation! Here are a few of the exciting features in NHL 08:

FEATURES:

*SKILL STICK MOMENTS
The Skill Stick gave you the power to deke the goalie in NHL 07 ? now you can own the 1-on-1 matchup and undress opposing defenseman with complete control Use your stick to push the puck into space and walk around your defender. Once you?re all alone in front, improved stick handling and shooting accuracy will give you the toolset to beat your goaltender for that decisive goal.

*ON THE FLY AI
Dynamic AI adjusts to your every move both on offense and defense, promising to challenge even the most skilled hockey players. The intelligent CPU scouts your tendencies like a coach and makes the necessary adjustments to shut down your money plays, forcing you to adjust your style of play.

*CREATE CUSTOM PLAYS
Take any team into practice mode and train them to run custom rush and in-zone plays in game. Do you want your team to run cycle plays down low? Or feed the point for a one-timer? Record the exact movements of each player in practice mode and watch as your team?s AI executes them in gameplay.

*ALL-NEW SKATING ENGINE
New analog speed control of the left stick gives you the variance you need to glide into the zone with control or get a burst of speed to step up on a defender. With new skating animations and responsiveness, you have the control to perform crossovers to maintain speed or carve tight turns for an immediate change in direction.

*DEVELOP AHL PLAYERS
29 AHL teams ? the top developmental league for the NHL ? are exclusively featured and fully playable. Develop your talent with their minor affiliate until you are ready to call them up for the show. Be the GM and manage your team from the ground up while staying under the salary cap.

*GOALIE MODE
Take on the hardest job in sports and seize control of your goaltender with a new 3rd person camera. Stack the pads, butterfly and make glove saves with your entire team depending on you.

*AUTHENTIC PRESENTATION
From player likeness, to the signature jersey tucks and sock preferences ? each athlete is rendered with a meticulous attention to detail to create a truly authentic on-ice experience.

Dam

Company / developer:
  Harm Jetten

Diablo II

Company / developer:
  Blizzard Entertainment

Diablo II

Since the beginning of time, the forces of Order and Chaos have been engaged in an eternal struggle to decide the fate of all Creation. That struggle has now come to the Mortal Realm...and neither Man, Demon, nor Angel will be left unscathed...

After possessing the body of the hero who defeated him, Diablo resumes his nefarious scheme to shackle humanity into unholy slavery by joining forces with the other Prime Evils, Mephisto and Baal. Only you will be able to determine the outcome of this final encounter...

In Diablo II, return to a world of dark fantasy. As one of five distinct character types, explore the world of Diablo II -- journey across distant lands, fight new villains, discover new treasures, and uncover ancient mysteries, all in the quest to stop the Lord of Terror, once and for all..

Singles: Flirt Up Your Life

Company / developer:
  Eidos Interactive Limited

Singles – Flirt up your Life is the simulation of the exciting relationship between Mike and Linda. The game shows them in their shared flat, which means that everyday routines are focused as well: Cooking, watching TV and cleaning are as important as talks and a cuddle. And of course the two have to work for a living as well … Enjoy playing Cupid!

Dragon UnPACKer

Company / developer:
  Alexandre Devilliers

Dragon UnPACKer is a game archive (Quake PAK, etc..) unpacking tool. It is plugin based making easier to add new archive file formats.

Dragon UnPACKer has a convert ability and raw search function for known material (audio, video and pictures).

Dragon UnPACKer gives you the possibility to see into the big files in games like Quake, Unreal ...etc and extract files to anywhere you want easily.

Dragon UnPACKer can also convert some formats to more common formats.

BreakNeck

Company / developer:
  SouthPeak Interactive

Earlier this week, SouthPeak Interactive held a press event in the city to show off a number of its upcoming PC games. One of the more eye-catching titles being shown was BreakNeck, a fast-paced arcade-style racer with a bevy of cars, tracks, and gameplay options.

In the single-player mode, you get a choice to play either in an arcade setting or in a normal setting with a more conservative physics model. The latter lets you race through a series of tracks from around the world in a classic championship event. Here, you can modify your car's engine, brake, suspension, and tire tuning to your liking for optimal performance around the tracks. The arcade mode is a bit more fun, and it introduces weaponry to an environment with less-than-realistic physics. The end result is a game that looks and plays like a 3D version of Blizzard's 16-bit racer, Rock & Roll Racing.

In all, BreakNeck has more than 43 cars from four different classes and 24 unique racetracks with four different versions of each for a total of 96 tracks in all.

ADRIFT Generator

Company / developer:
  Campbell Wild

ADRIFT Generator

ADRIFT Generator is a program written for Windows 95/98/NT/2K/ME/XP which allows you to create your own Text Adventures instead of having to learn a new adventure programming language.
ADRIFT Generator takes all the difficulty away leaving you with a simple, yet powerful game designer.

Adventures are built up by adding:

• rooms,
• objects,
• tasks,
• events,
• and characters.


All you have to do is type in the descriptions, and select how everything interacts with each other from pull down menus and lists.

Crysis

Company / developer:
  Electronic Arts Inc.

Story:

Earth, 2019.

A team of US scientists makes a frightening discovery on an island in the South China Sea. All contact with the team is lost when the North Korean Government quickly seals off the area.

The US responds by dispatching an elite team of Delta Force Operators to recon the situation. As tension rises between the two nations, a massive alien ship reveals itself in the middle of the island. The ship generates an immense force sphere that freezes a vast portion of the island and drastically alters the global weather system.

Now the US and North Korea must join forces to battle the alien menace. With hope rapidly fading, you must fight epic battles through tropical jungle, frozen landscapes, and finally into the heart of the alien ship itself for the ultimate Zero G showdown.

From the makers of Far Cry, Crysis offers FPS fans the best-looking, most highly-evolving gameplay, requiring the player to use adaptive tactics and total customization of weapons and armor to survive in dynamic, hostile environments including Zero-G.

Features:

* A unique three-act structure forces the player to use real-time armor and weapons customization to adapt constantly to an ever-changing world.

* Encounter a frightening and totally original alien species?they use their senses intelligently and work together to present the most challenging enemy yet in an FPS.

* Control of a variety of land, sea, and air vehicles including trucks, tanks, boats, and helicopters.

* Explore a living, dynamic world where earthquakes, breaking ice, landslides, and tornados pose an ever-present threat.

* 32-player multiplayer with real-time armor and weapons customization, plus an all-new multiplayer mode that combines player modification and tactical objectives.

* Emergent gameplay means that in-game actions affect future outcomes and give each player a unique experience.

* Highly robust and easy-to-use mod toolset allows players to create their own expansive levels for both multiplayer and single-player modes.

* The CryENGINE 2 engine delivers the most realistic environments, spectacular special effects, physics game engine, lighting system, and enemy Al.

Starcraft

Company / developer:
  Blizzard Entertainment

As the military leader for your species, you must gather the resources you need to train and expand your forces and lead them to victory. 30 unique missions will challenge you across three different campaigns as you control the fate of the galaxy.

Story:
In the distant future a small group of human exiles have been doomed to fight for survival on the edge of the galaxy. Through military strength, espionage and deceit, a unified Terran government has maintained an uneasy peace. As resources run short, however, these Confederate nations find themselves looking towards the rich worlds of their alien neighbors, the enigmatic Protoss. To further complicate matters, it seems that a previously unknown and deadly species known only as the Zerg has entered Protoss space and is destroying everything in its path. The time for war has come...