major 2001 revival of unionvalt articles

content/articles/black-and-white-review.md

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+---
+image: "/img/games/BWCreature/screen004_k.jpg"
+date: 2002-04-09
+title: "Black and White: Creature Isle Review"
+tags:
+    - 'Black and White'
+game_platform: 'PC'
+game_genre: 'Simulation'
+game_release_year: '2001'
+game_developer: 'Lionhead'
+---
+
+_(This review is originally written in Dutch, in 2002)_
+
+Black & White is one of the most talked about games of the past year. There is therefore no doubt that that game was a well-aimed bull's eye. Peter Molyneux did his best and it was honestly awarded him one of the best games of last year. There was already talk of some sort of expansion on the market, and here it is: Creature Isle. Will this expansion also achieve the high gameplay content like the original B&W?
+
+#### Just as much B&W as before
+
+Don't expect too many big changes to this expansion pack: B&W was a great weirdly crafted game that got its way anyway, and this expansion is no exception. Dropping "B&W" usually reminded you of great AI and an extensive gameplay world. This game removes the mistakes the previous version made, which they should perhaps have already made in their first version ... You must try to conquer the faith of all the people in the world by working miracles so that they can to worship. This gives you "power" and you can try to conquer other peoples with the help of your lap dog / giraffe / elephant / ...
+
+![](/img/games/BWCreature/BW_004.jpg)
+
+#### Beast raised
+
+In Creature Isle, your animal still accompanies you, and in the beginning of the game you arrive in a new piece of land. You come to know that this is controlled by the brotherhood. To join it, you must visit a female creature, Eve, and win her charms. In this expansion, the storyline continues, but instead of talking about your creature's childhood, they now continue playing mom / dad.
+
+#### More special games than 1 big one
+
+You will have to complete several smaller games in the grand scheme of things together with your creature. You have to go bowling with a lazy cow, play a marble game with a monkey, play football with the baboon and his friends, race with a turtle, rescue a bear that has been held captive by a gorilla, ... They are well built and varied, so you will always complete the game to see what your next assignment is.
+
+![](/img/games/BWCreature/BW_008.jpg)
+
+#### Small mistakes
+
+Unfortunately, not all games are fun: gardening may be nice in real life, but watering a garden on the computer with your creature, we would not have thought that from Peter ... That will get very boring after a while ! And most of these assignments your creature has to complete, and you yourself get to click and drag the rope that holds your creature all the time to get through, rather fusing on the latter. Then some things also go on time, and you have to rotate your camera with the mouse at the same time (the interface is unique in B&W: there is hardly any!), Which requires a lot of effort. After a while you want to skip the cutscenes as quickly as possible, but that is not even possible!
+
+#### Stupid chickens!
+
+Those small assignments are the majority of the game, but there is still. Earlier in the game you will have to release an egg from the clutches of some naughty beast, and you can hatch this egg with your creature. Hatches a little yellow chick named Tyke. He's now like you had to raise your creature in the beginning of B&W, only your creature takes care of it. The chick that later becomes a chicken picks up all the funny tricks, which still brightens up the game a bit. Your own creature now teaches Kyle the skills such as water and food making, but he does this much faster than your log beast.
+
+#### Other new features
+
+There are like a Rhino and a giant chick (no not Jozef) new creatures that you can kick the other ass with, so there is fun in that.
+
+Every time you complete an assignment, a new beast that you can switch with your creature will now appear in the main menu. You can also fight the new beasts if you want, but be careful, your beast must be well trained to win all those fights ... Most assignments can be redone if you want, but I don't really have that. had a lot of sense, because then you are again confronted with those stupid mistakes. Playing time of this expansion is approx. 15 hours, not really that much for an expansion. Rather buy BGII: Throne of Baal if you don't already have one!
+
+![](/img/games/BWCreature/BW_002.jpg {})
+
+#### Conclusion
+
+B&W: Creature Isle is best for people who also loved the original Black & White. Surprisingly, it is satisfactory for some other people too. We are sorry for the many annoying mistakes. If those were eliminated and the duration of this expansion was a little longer, this would be a very successful expansion ... Alas!
+
+- Gameplay: 7
+- Graphics: 8
+- Sound: 8
+- Addiction level: 9
+- Total: 74/100
+
+Minimum requirements:  PII 350 or equal, 8 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 3D Accelerator, 8MB VRAM, 430 MB disk space, mouse, soundcard.
+
+_(Screens source: Gamespot)_

content/articles/command-and-conquer-renegade-review.md

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+---
+image: "/img/games/CCRenegade/screen001_k.jpg"
+date: 2002-04-09
+title: "Command & Conquer: Renegade Review"
+tags:
+    - 'command and conquer'
+game_platform: 'PC'
+game_genre: 'Strategy/FPS'
+game_release_year: '2001'
+game_developer: 'Westwood Studios'
+---
+
+_(This review is originally written in Dutch, in 2002)_
+
+Westwoods Command & Conquer was one of the first and most influential real-time strategy titles ever in 1995. A universe was created that pitted two futuristic warring factions: the GDI (Global Defense Initiative or 'the good guys') and the Brotherhood of Nod (the bad guys), in an unrelenting military-technological war for dominance / world peace and the precious tiberium. In Renegade you return to that same C&C setting, but in the person of the most hardened GDI unit in the RTS games: Havoc, the commando - a stubborn, unobedient but remarkably versatile version of Duke Nukem.
+
+#### Graceful graphics
+
+Normally it is best to discuss the gameplay first, but because it is not 'good' to always do the same ("look at your own!" Ed.) We will start this time about the graphics of this game. Everyone knows by now that Renegade is westwood's first 3D game. The developers put their cautious feet in dangerous territory that nearly kills each other in competition, which they should not do. That's why they don't expect much from the graphics, but this time Westwood has pleasantly surprised us: the graphics are not that bad at all ... Of course you should not expect an RTCW or MOHAA level, far from by the way, but still ... For the first time ... Without any doubt, it is okay. Havoc's mouth looks a lot like a barn door or rather a * cough * afin you know ;-), but still. The buildings are beautiful from afar. The closer you get, the more angular everything gets quite angular, but that's normal, and doesn't just happen here.
+
+![](/img/games/CCRenegade/003_CCRenegade.jpg)
+
+#### Euuh what the breeding is it RTS or FPS?
+
+How stupid you can be, but just a little bit of explanation for the people who don't know anything about C&C in the field of FPS. Command & Conquer: Everyone knows Red Alert, I think, one of the most successful RTS-sen of the previous years. The series was very successful, but we don't like to repeat it, so that briefly. Well, Renegade is an FPS but with just the same playing style as Westwood's RTS games. It is not without reason that it is still the same developer. As an RTS freak you will immediately recognize the 'hand of nod', the 'soldiers' and other units and all vehicles, etc. etc. Everything, but then also everything comes from the strategy series. But we did not say that this is negative, far from because that is how you experience all the action involved in the skin of Havoc, an elite soldier with a good heart but hard head. It is now as if you are not just playing, but everything around you moves with you, a great war. Exactly Operation Flashpoint, but much better :-) There is no more explanation, surely? Who wants action, and action ALL AROUND, buy this game vrdoeme !!
+
+####  * Yawn * Disable Hand of NOD - again
+
+As you can see in the score, this game doesn't really get that much for addiction. There is of course also an explanation behind this, namely that it starts to get boring after a while ;-) I mean: The buildings inside are always the same, once you know what to do inside such a building, there is nothing left at all On. Take out officers, shoot black hand guyz, plant some C4, rescue some jacks and it's in the pocket. On the other hand, the missions themselves are quite varied (9 on gameplay is not for nothing). It's always nice to use a big tank to blow those rotten NOD transport helicopters out of the air before those extra men can drop to make you one cup smaller. Another funny thing: you can ALWAYS reload! Even if you still have all the bullets, when you hit that Reload button, reload Havoc obediently ... This may not be a big deal for other people, but I find it quite annoying, because I always reload as much as possible with every game. Also a pity that the weapons were not more extensive. That standard machinegun starts to get you seriously on your alarm clock after a while, always that same sound and that moth-eaten run ...
+
+![](/img/games/CCRenegade/005_CCRenegade.jpg)
+
+#### Weapons & Tools
+
+Little more information about the weapons. You start with a standard pistol, endless bullets. But if you have to fight someone with that, you need about 50 bullets, so better watch out for another gun ... Then there is also a machinegun & chaingun. The latter is also effective against SAM Sites (which you will undoubtedly know from Red Alert etc) and other lighter vehicles. Then of course no sniper or bazooka or something like that should be missing and fortunately there is not ... Unfortunately, you don't find many bazooka bullets in the game, because you need them quite a lot for enemy vehicles and buildings. It is best to first snipe the entire environment and then go to it, because there are still troops coming (who help you and who want to kill you ;-)). that provide your enemy with green holes (see screenshot 8).
+
+#### AI and cutscenesis
+
+Another small mistake Westwood made: there is no mention of the word 'AI' at all. I don't think anyone in the entire editorial team knows that, because you won't find half a trace of it in the game itself ... Which is a bit unfortunate. That makes the game even more boring, always beating loads of NOD guests with a chain gun or something, without those dicks hiding or calling for help or something. They actually do, but that is just a soundtrack - 'to arms brothers' - before it has spoken everything, it lies in the sand like a pathetic heap.
+
+This does not mean that the game is really linear - it is not that bad - The commentary you get in-game through your microphone is quite funny and the cutscenes make up for a lot due to the high level of humor. Are we glad that Havoc is a stubborn little man; otherwise he did what his big boss said and that would only ruin the game more.
+
+#### Multi-player section
+
+HOW but the multi part makes up for almost the whole game! This rocks dirty people - right in the middle of the action that comes out even fiercer than the single player part. You really have to work as a team here to reduce the NOD or GDI base to scrap together ... You can buy new rifles & stuff at terminals in your base (standard a machine gun - grenade or shotgun costs nothing). You get money through the tiberium refinery so no tiberium = no money = no tanks = no victory ... If you have enough money you can buy one of the main characters (Deadly six) who are much stronger and each have a specific ability. For example, you have Havoc with a ramjet rifle, quite deadly. Here you have the feeling that you have to achieve everything together, which is also the case, in contrast to the Red Alert series where you as "god" also planted the buildings that are already there in the beginning of a multiplayer session.
+
+![](/img/games/CCRenegade/008_CCRenegade.jpg)
+
+#### Conclusion
+
+C&C Renegade is a first tentative attempt for Westwood to make a successful FPS game, and it succeeded! This is largely due to the cutscenes and the multiplayer part, but that is normal when you suddenly go from RTS to FPS completely. Are you here for action for AND around you, buy this game! If you are a fan of the Red Alert series, buy that game! Are you here for a very special gaming experience, buy this game! are you ... * sigh * :-)
+
+- Gameplay: 9
+- Graphics: 7
+- Sound: 8
+- Addiction level: 7
+- Total: 78/100
+
+Minimum requirements:  PII 233 or equal, 64 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 3D Accelerator, 16MB VRAM, 600 MB disk space, mouse, soundcard, DirectX 8.1.
+

content/articles/commandos-2-review.md

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+---
+image: "/img/games/Commandos2/screen001_k.jpg"
+date: 2002-04-09
+title: "Commandos 2: Men of Courage Review"
+tags:
+    - 'commandos'
+game_platform: 'PC'
+game_genre: 'Strategy'
+game_release_year: '2001'
+game_developer: 'Pyro Studios'
+---
+
+_(This review is originally written in Dutch, in 2002)_
+
+Direct attack is not always the best way, this concept lies close to the heart of Commandos 2 just like its predecessor, the delightful 1998 real-time tactical combat game with mixed elements of action, stealth and sometimes even puzzle solving in a World War. II framework. In 1999, Spanish developer Pyro Studios came out with a stand-alone pack with more action, but also with more experience required. So be warned, in Commandos 2, you are in command of a small troop of elite soldiers, who must lead you to success in Germany and Japan. This game is very difficult, especially at the beginning, but it certainly brings the atmosphere of the Second World War ...
+
+#### Inspired by filming
+
+As you can see very well that this atmosphere is also radiated in many classic war films. That's also because Commandos 2 (and 1) is inspired by many of these films, such as The Guns of Navarone, Bridge on the River Kwai, or maybe even the recent Saving Private Ryan. You will easily notice if you have seen one of these films that the game plays on it: for example you have a mission in China where you have to cross a large bridge ... [see screenshots]
+
+![](/img/games/Commandos2/Commandos2_006.jpg)
+
+#### Variation
+
+As you get more missions played towards you, you will also notice that the objectives are never the same: for example, you have to save a Hindu, snipe a rebel leader, steal documents, seduce someone, ... So there is more than enough variety. Also quest sets you have one mission snow, while with the other you are in the middle of the palm trees in the hot sun ... The uniforms of all soldiers walking around there are also not always the same: there are snipers, regular soldiers, SS officers , workers, ... And when you go to China, they also differ! Well done!
+
+#### The missions
+
+There are a total of 10 major missions in the game, and if done well you will also get small bonus missions. But make no mistake, because those missions are likely to spend hours messing around and smogging before you successfully complete them! Even the bonus missions are abnormally difficult, which does spoil the gameplay in the game ... It shouldn't be too easy, but so hard that you swear that isn't normal anymore is a bit of an exaggeration!
+
+#### The heroes
+
+Questie characters have everything like mustache: Just like in Commandos 1, you have about 7 elite soldiers at your disposal including a dead-like Green Beret, a spy (and a lady-like!), A thief who can climb anything, a mechanic who cars can ride and throw bombs, a bomb expert who can use flamethrowers and bazookas, and a fast navy who throws knives! Enough choice, isn't it? Naturally you can't just choose your characters in every level, that would make the whole game way too easy ...
+
+![](/img/games/Commandos2/Commandos2_008.jpg)
+
+#### Lots of dragging
+
+You can see what he / she had with all the beaten and gagged (or dead) soldiers and take it with him, this all works a bit like an RPG's inventory. You start with a small amount of items that you can expand extremely during the game. So the sniper starts with ocharm 5 bullets of which you will think "djeu that's a bit too little". Nothing could be further from the truth, but as you progress in the game / mission, I even had to throw bullets, I had that many! What is new is that you can also take his clothes with each soldier, which in Commandos 1 only the spy could. You can also use bottles to lure such as cigarettes, put sleeping pills in dog food against barking, take knives, find pieces of photos for the bonus missions, collect clothes, carry bullets, ... So if you have too little space, because I once had to get rid of a flamethrower because I didn't have enough space, which is a shame.
+
+#### Indoors? no ???
+
+Another of the strongest assets of this beautiful strategy game is that you can even enter buildings through a window / door! If that isn't going to be something interesting ... But you have to pay damn close, because probably there are about 10 German soldiers walking around in that house. With the thief you can crawl into a high window through the wall and let a rope down for your other mates, which brings up a completely different strategy.
+
+Once in a house, the engine automatically switches to 3D, so you can rotate your screen 360 ° that is sweetheart. Sometimes this is necessary because some enemies are behind desks and you do not see them directly on your screen. Do not forget your thief and the navy in the house, which is vital! The Navy can defuse enemies by throwing its knife, which is quite an advantage. But this is a review, not a walktrough ...
+
+![](/img/games/Commandos2/Commandos2_002.jpg)
+
+#### Conclusion
+
+Formulated in a few key words, the game is visually beautiful, nicely animated with a lot of variation. It's just a pity that it is too difficult, so that you immediately start to lose your patience! If you want a tailor-made strategy game in a World War II framework, this game is made for you! A few great features that test your brain and your reflexes that hard-core gamers are certainly not averse to!
+
+- Gameplay: 8
+- Graphics: 10
+- Sound: 8
+- Addiction level: 9
+- Total: 87/100
+
+Minimum requirements:  PII 300 or very fast other ting, 64 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 3D Accelerator, 12MB VRAM, 2048 MB disk space, mouse, soundcard, DirectX 8.0.
+
+_(Screens source: Gamespot)_

content/articles/gaming-setup-2007-flashback.md

@@ -22,7 +22,9 @@ It has been 13 years since I took that photograph, and even in 2007, the Game Bo
 - In case one doesn't see jack shit, take out the magnifying glass. Light extensions also existed. 
 - In case one has trouble beating a boss, take out the Game Genie to apply cheat codes. What an ingenious system!
 
-In another photograph, I of course boast with my "huge" collection DS games:
+In other photographs, I of course boast with my "huge" collection GB(A)/DS games:
+
+![](/img/articles/nostalgia_cards.jpg "The original and rather ugly looking Nintendo DS that quickly got replaced.")
 
 ![](/img/articles/nostalgia_handhelds.jpg "More recent handheld additions for being the year 2007: the GBA Micro limited edition and a DS Lite. ")
 

content/articles/hitman-2-preview.md

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+---
+image: "/img/games/Hitman2/screen006_k.jpg"
+date: 2002-04-09
+title: "Hitman 2: the Preview"
+tags:
+    - 'hitman'
+game_platform: 'PC'
+game_genre: 'Action'
+game_release_year: '2002'
+game_developer: 'IO Software'
+---
+
+_(This article is originally written in Dutch, in 2002)_
+
+It promises to be tough times again. GTA 3 isn't quite out yet, and Hitman 2 is already starting to emerge. The freaky killer machines that want to try out a few different ways to 'put someone down' are going to buy this game without mercy, because it is home to the most dangerous bald head in the entire globe, and that calls itself a mercenary too!
+
+#### Listen to those fans!
+
+Hitman 1 was one of the games that was released under great expectations. Unfortunately, this one has not lived up to all expectations, but that does not mean that it was a bad game. The graphics were amazing then, and the atmosphere was original to say the least. But Hitman was such a game in which you could get stuck, because it sometimes took 3 hours to complete 1 mission, and you could NOT save in between! "Fortunately" (OEF man ed.) This has been fixed in the 2nd (and hopefully better version) of Hitman.
+
+![](/img/games/Hitman2/screen010.jpg)
+
+#### The story
+
+As you can see in the screenshots, you still play the dangerous assassin who doesn't even know his own name. Tired of the massacre and murders after the first part, he retires to a peaceful monastery. Until a Russian mafia boss tracks him back and by kidnapping the abbot forces him to start his killing parties again divided into 6 chapters and 20 missions.
+
+#### 1000 ways to kill
+
+The main difference from the first version of Hitman is that you now have full control over the killing itself. You only get to know in advance that you have to kill person X or Y, but how you decide! Of course you also have to make sure that you are not discovered ... That is less easy than with the 1st version: pick up the 1st and best package and put it on - if you work this way, you have a good chance that a 6 MM bullet through your bald head ... An example: in a certain mission you have to make sure that an open heart operation of a Mafia boss goes to pieces. So the best thing you can do is dress up as a surgeon and screw up the surgery, but make it look like a medical blunder has happened. Another mission is to snipe a particular gang member. Small detail: you are not sure who it is. You do have a vague description of the character, but the hit must be done in a crowded place with even more people. You can't afford innocent victims, so you need to find out who to kill and then find him. Another way to kill people is to poison them. Another example: a mafia boss is almost impossible to approach, so you put poison in his son's food. Big funeral, and just when the father bursts into tears, you pull out your hardball player and pop his eyes out. Not really sensitive, but it is well found!
+
+![](/img/games/Hitman2/screen002.jpg)
+
+#### Larger range of weapons
+
+How creative we are today: there are about 9 more weapons in it than the previous version! That is of course great fun. These weapons range from a fair share of snipers, but there are also plenty of close-combat weapons included so you don't have to aim your scope at someone who is stabbing you with a knife. The next novelty in terms of weapons is that you no longer have to select them in advance for each mission: You can choose the exact weapons in a kind of shop during the game and put the job in the shakosh. But with some missions there are also metal detectors, and then you can only use your choke cord (read: fibrewire).
+
+![](/img/games/Hitman2/screen008.jpg)
+
+#### Also 1st Person View
+
+Surprisingly, the makers also took into account that all people complained about the accurate shooting in 3d person view, which is virtually impossible. Well, there is also a 1st Person view in Hitman 2!
+
+You can change cameras whenever you want. Attention has also been paid to the difficulty level: fixed saves have now been created (x number per level) and the missions have been slightly reduced in terms of surface area. IO claims that it should therefore not become less exciting, and nothing could be further from the truth ... Unfortunately there is no news about the multiplayer that could be 'possibly' in it, but I have my doubts about that . No!
+
+![](/img/games/Hitman2/screen001.jpg)
+
+#### Conclusion
+
+In the first version, the IO did not succeed in getting all gamers to finish the game, but due to the almost overwhelming freedom and the 1000 ways 2 kill, it looks like the IO will succeed this time ... A lot of people- around the corner help have fun! ;-)
+
+_(Screens source: Gamespot)_

content/articles/max-payne-review.md

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+---
+image: "/img/games/MaxPayne/screen001_k.jpg"
+date: 2002-03-16
+title: "Max Payne Review"
+tags:
+    - 'max payne'
+game_platform: 'PC'
+game_genre: '3D Shooter'
+game_release_year: '2001'
+game_developer: 'Remedy'
+---
+
+_(This review is originally written in Dutch by Newkid86, in 2002)_
+
+As the body of the mafia boss collapses behind his desk, the door behind me is thrown open and the guards storm in. The blood is pumping through my head, I turn around in a blur and slowly see the first bullets coming my way… hold it! Why do all MP reviews start like this? Everyone gradually knows that there is bullet time in it, isn't it? No need to keep yacking about the damn thing ;-). Nywayz, having said this: on with the review…
+
+#### Story
+
+In MP, you play an agent seeking revenge after some junkies killed his family. He goes undercover with the mafia and slowly but surely tries to find out who the culprits are. Obviously it has to go wrong somewhere (otherwise we have no game ;-)) and the mafia finds out that he is a cop. In revenge, they kill and blame his only police contact. In short: both the police and the mafia are going after him. So in the beginning you will end up in an 'I against the rest' situation, but as the story unfolds you will discover that everything is more complicated than you would initially think.
+
+![](/img/games/MaxPayne/screen002.jpg)
+
+#### Budget time
+
+The big selling point for MP is, of course, bullet time. You can slow down the time at any time, but to make it not too easy, you have a meter at the bottom of your screen that indicates how much bullet time you have left. You can replenish that by killing opponents. When I first heard about this I had my doubts. Wouldn't it be another extra that you almost never use in the end? How wrong I was. The whole game IS just bullet time! One frantic gunfight follows another and all of this wouldn't look out of place in The Matrix. Often you watch with your mouth open as everything around you is shot to rubble as you duck away from a barrage of bullets. The whole system is just brilliant and the whole game is built around it. A small drawback is that the levels are often no more than a few rooms connected by corridors. Now this is not really noticeable and there is more than enough variation in the levels to keep them interesting. The enemies that populate the levels are generally quite smart, but you should not expect highlights from the AI. It is also a pity that they cannot hide themselves like you can.
+
+All this is shown by the Max-FX engine which proves to be very powerful. The graphics are open-mouthed and the sound only enhances this "WOW" feeling. When you see what this engine is capable of, you immediately know why MP has been working on for so long.
+
+#### What about MODs?
+
+The makers have also done everything to support the MOD scene as much as possible, eg by adding some very powerful editors to the CD. This has not missed its target and as a result there are some promising MODs in development. Fortunately, because the game itself is far too short. On a weekend most of them have already raced through the three chapters and slow motion cannot do much about that. For the rest, I cannot think of any significant disadvantages. Perhaps it becomes a bit monotonous at times, but just at such moments a plot twist of format is unleashed on you so this is never disturbing.
+
+![](/img/games/MaxPayne/screen003.jpg)
+
+#### Conclusion
+
+Max Payne has become a beautiful game where everything is really right. Gameplay, graphics, sound… everything adds to the dark atmosphere that makes this game so much fun. The fact that it is a bit too short is handily compensated by the MODs that are coming and with that the biggest drawback is immediately eliminated. A must-have for every action fan!
+
+- Gameplay: 9
+- Graphics: 9
+- Sound: 9
+- Addiction level: 9
+- Total: 91/100
+
+Minimum requirements:  PII 400 or equal, 128 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 3D Accelerator, 16MB VRAM, 800 MB disk space, mouse, soundcard, DirectX 8.0.
+
+_(Originally written by Newkid86)_

content/articles/medal-of-honor-allied-assault-review.md

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+---
+image: "/img/games/MOHAA/screen004_k.jpg"
+date: 2002-04-09
+title: "Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Review"
+tags:
+    - 'medal of honor'
+game_platform: 'PC'
+game_genre: 'FPS'
+game_release_year: '2002'
+game_developer: '2015, Inc'
+---
+
+_(This review is originally written in Dutch, in 2002)_
+
+This game was on everyone's Christmas list long before it came out, but unfortunately it had to be postponed until 2002, like several games. That is why expectations got higher and higher, especially in connection with the competition with other 3D shooters. But is the game really good? This is the 1st time that a game like this after Half-Life has grabbed our throat like that!
+
+#### This is war
+
+The game starts when you find yourself in an army truck together with your fellow American soldiers. You drive down a bumpy dirt road at night while your sergeant gives instructions for the mission. Turns out you're on your way to an occupied camp where one of our best spies is being held captive. So there you are, snuggled under the green tarp of the truck and just when you start to think you're in some kind of Half-Life-esque intro, all hell breaks loose. From that moment on, the cozy feeling is over, the only feeling you will experience in the coming days is war, pure war!
+
+![](/img/games/MOHAA/screen003.jpg)
+
+#### You're not alone in this doom
+
+The feeling of real war is already good, but in this game you don't play a Duke hero who kills everyone and saves the females on his own ... You play in many missions with teams that will assist you. , depending on the circumstances. And they are certainly not headless pigs that just take all the bullets for you, in most cases these are better than you, but the enemy is not alone, so beware! Especially in the beginning you are the less good, and you get this feeling because they give you orders that you have to follow all the time!
+
+#### Graphics better than RTCW?
+
+The first positive thing you notice when the built-in intro starts is the great graphics. But that is not surprising since every good shooter has already taken out a license on the Quake 3 Arena engine. Wolfenstein also works at that level, but those makers have especially set the atmosphere considerably high. The graphics at MOHAA are very good, but just not better than Wolfenstein, and that doesn't deserve 10 ...
+Difficulty rating and AI.
+
+This game is not easy at all, which is why your buddies are also much better in AI than other team-based shooters. For example, if you shoot an enemy in the leg, he will drag himself to take cover and / or possibly ask someone for help. When you throw a grenade, everyone shouts "GRANATE!" and they look for cover as quickly as possible ... That also gives very nice animations that are not at all choppy or anything. You may bump into a tough German who dares to throw that grenade back! Sometimes these are a bit too slow and they explode, mohahaha: -D So at one point I had to enter a bunker to blow up a radar installation. I was sneaking from bush to bush to approach the bunker unnoticed but then I ducked behind a piece of wall, they had seen me. The Dark behind the machine gun started shooting like a maniac at that wall I was hiding behind. The chunks flew around my ears. As soon as I showed my big toe, they shot it off. Suddenly I saw a small canal to my left, I ducked in and hoped they hadn't seen me. I snuck through the canal and came out at the side of the bunker. I could now look into the bunker from the side. I saw that German with his machine gun was still firing at that wall! He hadn't seen me so he thought I was still hiding there. I calmly took out my sniper rifle and PLOP!
+
+#### Cool missions
+
+![](/img/games/MOHAA/screen004.jpg)
+
+The missions are not the least you can call original ... There are missions that build on the previous one, such as eg. when you have to steal a German tank (prototype) with a few specialists. When you and your mates finally conquer that stupid tanker, your next mission is to get through town in one piece with that same tank! And of course YOU have to control them ... The big problem is that enemy units there also have anti-tank weapons stabbing, and then if you shoot that whole city at your leisure, they have a chance to defuse you ...
+
+#### Immerse yourself in that world
+
+The atmosphere is largely created by the great soundtrack. You have the feeling that you are watching Saving private Ryan, but you play with it yourself!
+
+It gets more and more exciting with the storyline, because on the latter you sometimes get dropped Nazi bombs right in your face, so keep that Quickload button pressed ... Also the multi-player part is simply BOM (literally sometimes: - p), raiding / conquering an enemy line together is simply the end!
+
+#### Conclusion
+
+If you are a gamer buy this game, if you don't you better get lace making, because this is the best binary war experience for PC ever! You shouldn't let something like that pass you by ...
+
+![](/img/games/MOHAA/screen005.jpg)
+
+- Gameplay: 10
+- Graphics: 9
+- Sound: 10
+- Addiction level: 10
+- Total: 96/100
+
+Minimum requirements:  PII 350 or equal, 64 MB RAM, 3D Accelerator, mouse, soundcard.

content/articles/return-to-castle-wolfenstein-review.md

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+---
+image: "/img/games/RTCW/screen001_k.jpg"
+date: 2002-04-09
+title: "Return to Castle Wolfenstein Review"
+tags:
+    - 'wolfenstein 3d'
+game_platform: 'PC'
+game_genre: 'Shooter'
+game_release_year: '2001'
+game_developer: 'Gray Matter'
+---
+
+_(This review is originally written in Dutch, in 2002)_
+
+The year is almost over and more and more big PC action games have been delayed until 2002, outside of Return To Castle Wolfenstein. This of course has a huge advantage especially now with the Christmas holidays ... A sequel of the first first-person shooter of all time, Wolfenstein 3D, was developed by 2 teams, under the supervision of ID. The first team, Gray Matter, who already proved their own by Redneck Rampage and Kingpin, was hired for the single-player portion. Nerver Software worked on the multi-player option and they are lucky, because without that option the game would have been nothing ...
+
+#### Cutscenes? Kewl!
+
+Return To Castle Wolfenstein is like No One Lives Forever, the game that was last year's game of the year. Both at NOLF and RTCW the game is played in a run-and-gun state which gives a lot of kicks. The story is told through cutscenes using the engine, but these scenes are nowhere near as funny as NOLF and even the great hero B.J. Blazkowicz doesn't say a word in the entire game! unbelievably boring.
+
+![](/img/games/RTCW/screen004.jpg)
+
+#### Quake 3? How so?
+
+As everyone knows by now, this game uses ID's award-winning Quake 3: Team Arena engine, which sounds surprisingly good! You don't need a GeForce 3 to see that this game has perfect graphics ... (Tested with a GeForce 1) The detail of the levels, the environment and the lighting effects are simply blinding.
+
+#### The game
+
+The hero Blazkowicz is trapped in a castle guarded by the Germans, named Wolfenstein. A kind of concentration camp, so to speak. As you suspected, the game is set in World War II, so there is a lot of Germans to shoot, certainly a plus ... You have to try to collect information and escape from that damn castle, and so on. One thing that stands out is that the game is a bit on the difficult side if you shoot recklessly, but there are plenty of other games for that. Stealth is also partly important, as you can eavesdrop on Germans in those 27 levels and follow the storyline.
+
+#### No respawning
+
+As in Kingping, Gray Matter has made sure that there are different variations of soldiers. This is because each soldier consists of many particles that are randomly chosen, so you hardly ever get to see the same guy who pops your eyes with an MP-40, quite handsome! Not only do you have to bite soldiers in the sand, but also undead monsters like mummies, skeletons and the like. Since a distant cousin of Hitler is rediscovering black magic from the past, you must of course stop this.
+
+![](/img/games/RTCW/screen005.jpg)
+
+#### Weapons & Tools
+
+In Return To Castle Wolfenstein you will encounter a lot of variety of weapons such as a normal Luger, a knife, MP-40, sten gun, minigun, bazooka, 2 snipers, 2 grenades and so on. What's more interesting are the different objects that your life can depend on as well. For example, if you don't have many lives left, you can quickly eat a Hot Meal, so that you are at least a little better off. Helmets for extra protection are also sometimes vital.
+
+#### And what about the AI?
+
+Another thing that can be said is that the AI ​​is also perfectly fine. For example, if someone hears you bang, an alarm will be sounded immediately and it is best to start walking, because then they will come 4 at a time to where they think you are.
+
+Even when fired, the soldiers dive away or seek protection behind tables or chairs and call in their mates. This makes it all a bit more exciting and also more difficult, but we are happy to add that ...
+
+#### Multi-player section
+
+How happy we are that there was also a 2nd team! The single-player mode was a bit (much) too short! Once you understand the tactics of how to play the game properly, there is nothing left to it ... That is why the score is so high: the multiplayer part is, in short, Super Mega Cool! You work team-based and about everyone gets a kick out of that, but you know that for sure, everyone has already downloaded the multiplayer demo ...
+
+![](/img/games/RTCW/screen002.jpg)
+
+#### Conclusion
+
+Return To Castle Wolfenstein offers a surprisingly good multiplayer section coupled with a good, but far too short single player section. Fans of ID's 3D Shooters will certainly appreciate this game. Frankly, this game can be bought for the multiplayer part, of which the single player part can be considered a bonus.
+
+- Gameplay: 9
+- Graphics: 10
+- Sound: 8
+- Addiction level: 9
+- Total: 89/100
+
+Minimum requirements:  PII 400 or equal, 128 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 3D Accelerator, 16MB VRAM, 800 MB disk space, mouse, soundcard, DirectX 8.0.
+
+_(Screens source: Gamespot)_

content/articles/reviews-from-2001-revived.md

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+---
+title: 'Reviews from 2001 revived!'
+image: "/img/games/CCRenegade/screen001_k.jpg"
+date: 2020-09-25
+---
+
+Good news everyone! Futurama might not be back, but old PC gaming previews and reviews from _UnionVault.NET_, one of Jefklak's Codex ancestors, have been revived. I happened to stumble upon a few readable HTML files wile looking for something else and decided to throw them into Google Translate as they were originally written in (poor) Dutch. 
+
+Don't fret if if'ts in "Engrish" - it's the nostalgic factor that counts!
+
+**Reviews** anno 2001:
+
+- [Black and White: Creature Isle Review](/articles/black-and-white-review)
+- [Command & Conquer: Renegade Review](/articles/command-and-conquer-renegade-review)
+- [Commandos 2: Men of Courage Review](/articles/commandos-2-review)
+- [Max Payne Review](/articles/max-payne-review)
+- [Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Review](/articles/medal-of-honor-allied-assault-review)
+- [Return to Castle Wolfenstein Review](/articles/return-to-castle-wolfenstein-review)
+- [Wizardry 8 Review](/articles/wizardry8-review)
+
+Even better; **previews** of what was to come in 2002:
+
+- [Hitman 2 Preview](/articles/hitman-2-preview)
+- [Soldier of Fortune 2 Preview](/articles/soldier-of-fortune-2-preview)
+- [The Sims: Vacation Preview](/articles/the-sims-vacation-preview)
+
+Especially the added technical _minimum requirements_ are amusing. A Pentium II at 300 or 400 MHz with 16MB SD RAM was the bare minimum, and the year 2000 was the turning point for Gigahertz processors. Especially AMD's Athlon Thunderbird, that was easily overclockable, turned out to be a godsend for gamers. Now where is that Voodoo 3 or Riva TNT 2 card? 
+
+![](/img/articles/thunderbird.jpg "AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.4 GHz, including messy thermal paste")
+
+I recently revived an [old 80486 DOS PC](https://brainbaking.com/post/2020/09/reviving-a-80486/) and fitted a DX2-66 MHz processor into the non-Zero-Insertion-Force socket. Now _that_ was a blast from the past! After clearing out old junk in the storage room at work, we found a Thunderbird 1.4 GHz still attached to a AGPx4 motherboard. I'm saving up parts for a Windows 98 project to relive the above games on the actual hardware. 
+
+What a great time to grow old. 

content/articles/soldier-of-fortune-2-preview.md

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+---
+image: "/img/games/SOF2/screen001_k.jpg"
+date: 2002-04-09
+title: "Soldier of Fortune 2: the Preview"
+tags:
+    - 'soldier of fortune'
+game_platform: 'PC'
+game_genre: 'FPS'
+game_release_year: '2002'
+game_developer: 'Raven Software'
+---
+
+_(This article is originally written in Dutch, in 2002)_
+
+SOF1 will undoubtedly be remembered by everyone. It caused a lot of commotion because the 'gore' content was so high. With SoFII this goes one step further ... We finally got our hands on a Multiplayer beta and then also tested it extensively, because the screenshots on the net already looked / look great, but the gameplay is also what it should be to be? The UV Members already tackled the multiplayer beta in true CS style ...
+
+#### First impressions
+
+No servers ... WTF? Yes of course the beta has no servers, you dumbass! Therefore host ffe itself (this is also possible via network). The first impressions once you have your feet on the ground next to a helicopter and you say "Go, Go, Go!" hears his "wooowww" shout ... It really looks like the Quake 3 Team Arena engine is far from over! (see Jedi Knight II, MOHAA, RTCW, ...) Also in this multiplayer version there are two teams (DM -deatchmatch- is in the full version but we have not been able to test that yet ... Here is the Team DM) ; the terrorists who have to rob a suitcase with important papers and the 'shop' members (the CTs here) who have to prevent this. Unfortunately there was only 1 map in this preliminary version, which makes it boring after a while because you know the map rats by heart ...
+
+![](/img/games/SOF2/screen006.jpg)
+
+#### How multi works at SOFII
+
+As mentioned, we play with 2 teams, just like with CS. Here too you can start your outfit before you start, namely from tough bald negro to John mullins with his clack. Bon, once skin is chosen we come to the weapon stuff. Here it goes a bit wrong: there are two primary weapons - WTF ?? You can choose a sniper, AK47, M4, ... and as a second weapon a shotgun, uzi, ... (but limited number of weapons in the beta). We are not used to this! In addition, you can also choose your standard pistol along with 1 type of grenade and your outfit (armor, night vision -which is ridiculous because you badly need armor-).
+
+#### Models
+
+The weapon models look cool ... The AK47 looks cool (although you look at your weapon more 'from above' here) and the M4 with grenade launcher built in is also very nicely finished. But there are also outrageously ridiculous weapons like that auto shotgun (see screenshots - USAS 12) that doesn't really pull off much. The weapons also shoot way too hard which seems unrealistic. Your feet also play a role here: your footsteps hears someone else close to you and that is not good ... But here Raven drops a stitch: the footsteps sound as if you have steel bones on all the time. on wooden floor succeeds !! And hard ... Not really logical. But yes, this is a beta and my PC has problems :-p. By the way, you can run this game smoothly at 1024 pixels - the specs required are not as high as it seems. Which is good on the one hand, but also a shame on the other because the textures look less great.
+Speaking of textures ...
+
+![](/img/games/SOF2/screen003.jpg)
+
+Some are great like the boxes scattered all over the hallways. But some are also downright ridiculously badly finished like the 'round' oil barrels which are more hexagonal than anything else ... But yes again it is a beta and multiplayer and it may be that Raven has dropped a bit of graphic violence because this too must be smooth playable via the internet (which they have succeeded in anyway, although if the server PC occasionally has trouble with the graphics, the entire clients jerks with it ... yeah!) gets to see something very nice flat ... Exactly the Quake engine is starting to slack a bit, although your first impressions are still wow. But half-life is no longer graphic splendor, so I don't think this is really negative. SoFII single player may be a bit better, but for mulit it is fine.
+
+#### Gore
+
+Euuh more than 25 limbs that can be shot off - WTF? The only gore I've seen is beheading with a sniper (damn * Moi * don't shoot me! LOL) and the occasional arm or leg through a shotgun shell. But if you stab someone in the back with a knife, do you see blood? not at all! That guy just falls down and no more fun. You can't even work him on the ground .... Grab a shotgun and shoot in the throat - the opponent falls down nicely grabbing his throat but some blood? nuu, nothing! Hopefully the final release is a bit more "correct" when it comes to announcements ... (ambiguous boy :-)) Another (small) comment: the soundtrack of this map (shop under siege) was beautiful in the beginning but on the last so exciting that some users of misery had to turn their sound off ... The track comes back every 30 seconds and there is almost no variation in it. But here again this was only 1 folder and it can change.
+
+![](/img/games/SOF2/screen007.jpg)
+
+#### Conclusion
+
+Temporary conclusion: this game is great over the internet. But the mediocre graphics (ridiculous textures) and the not too great sound means that the single player mode is in danger ... This is a multiplayer beta version, so (hopefully) things will change. For the rest: nicely finished weapons, beautiful bangs (albeit too loud), fast action. Good job!

content/articles/the-sims-vacation-preview.md

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+---
+image: "/img/games/Vacation/screen002_k.jpg"
+date: 2002-04-09
+title: "The Sims: Vacation the Preview"
+tags:
+    - 'the sims'
+game_platform: 'PC'
+game_genre: 'Simulation'
+game_release_year: '2002'
+game_developer: 'Maxis'
+---
+
+_(This article is originally written in Dutch, in 2002)_
+
+Everyone is now certain that The Sims is one of the most successful Sim games ever. In America alone, 2.8 million copies were sold in May 2000! In the meantime, about 3 add-ons have been released, each with unique features. Will this addon be able to hold its own between all new games or will it be further milking of the gerne? We have already investigated ...
+
+#### Household on PC
+
+The best-selling add-on game from The Sims is without a doubt Hot Date because Maxis managed to recreate not only the household on PC, but also the whole social life! Now that a party was already being held, your houses were better furnished, your love was virtually packed, what does Maxis have to come up with this time to keep the Sims fans quiet? Well, Sims can go to town to shop if they feel like it. But taking a real vacation is not yet possible. This is what they mean in this extension: taking a 'break' - away from those children who shit their pants - away from your sweetheart who comes to see her earrings - lying on the beach or enjoying skiing with friends.
+
+![](/img/games/Vacation/screen001.jpg)
+
+####  What's new?
+
+The game will feature a whole new area (like the town of Hot Date): Vacation Island. There you can easily suck up your long drink through a straw without all those problems on your mind. But of course in all other expansion suits there are not only a few new catches this time, but also about 100 new objects to brighten up your home again. In the latter you would say that objects are created there that no longer exist in real life, because admit: how many are there already and how many do you actually use? In addition to these new finds, a few example houses are also included to see how best to make your home. Perhaps to allow you to pass through as an architect later, your diploma will say 'Sims valuable house ©' at the bottom, who knows ...
+
+#### Vacation Island
+
+![](/img/games/Vacation/screen004.jpg)
+
+As we mentioned before, Vacation Island is a very special environment that can best be compared to Downtown at Hot Date. You can go anywhere you want or you can call a Taxi. Vacation Island is also fully customable - i.e. fully customizable - so if there's one thing you don't like: break it down! Vacation Island has it all: Ponds for fishing, ski slopes for snowboarding, Beaches for volleyball or sunbathing ... you name it. You have an unlimited budget with which you can build up all the hotels you want and then stay in them yourself!
+
+#### While you are sunbathing
+
+It's actually as simple as anything: pick up the phone, call a cab and you're on Vacation Island ... But what happens at your house? Actually nothing at all: time 'freezes' for the largest part. When you get back home, almost nothing will have changed except for a few things. The main thing is that your friendship (relationship) with other people who are not in your family will deteriorate, which is normal if you do not see them on your holiday. To keep that up, you can also buy postcards and send them to all your friends who stayed at home, just like the real thing ;-)
+
+![](/img/games/Vacation/screen005.jpg)
+
+#### Cheat money
+
+The second biggest problem you will feel when you go on vacation is money problems. Just because you have an unlimited budget to build the island doesn't mean that when you get there with your Sims, everything is free! Everything costs money, just about everything. Do you want to play volleyball on the beach? Pay! Do you want to make a snowman? You have to rent equipment to do that -> costs money ... Do you want to buy presents from the Gift shop? costs money ... You especially have to be careful if you only have a small job and your wife is unemployed, for example ... Then there are two solutions: either look for a lot of work & earn money and then go on vacation, or simply cheat; - ). Every night at the hotel costs are going to add up, so the more money you have, the longer you can afford to spend in that amazing paradise.
+
+#### Of anything and everything
+
+Of course you can solve this in other ways. Maxis has thought about this carefully; this way you can win with games and earn money.
+
+It is also possible to rent a metal detector on the beach and try to find old coins and then sell them to stay longer ... Far fetched, but still original. You can spend the night in a cheaper hotel or in an igloo / tent / open air, which costs much less. But that is of course at the expense of 'room' and comfort ... But beware: annoying Sims in tents = a fight ... Especially in Hot Date the restaurants where sometimes a bit of 'mess' is made ...
+
+![](/img/games/Vacation/screen003.jpg)
+
+#### Conclusion
+
+Maxis is once again going to succeed in producing a successful addon for the all too famous Sims game. You can do even more realistic things here, have even more fun and above all ... spend even more money! Wondering if it won't be a rip-off this time ...
+
+_(Screens source: Gamespot)_

content/articles/wizardry8-review.md

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+---
+image: "/img/games/Wizardry8/wiz8.jpg"
+date: 2002-04-08
+title: "Wizardry 8: the Review"
+tags:
+    - 'Wizardry8'
+game_platform: 'PC'
+game_genre: 'RPG'
+game_release_year: '2001'
+game_developer: 'SirTech Canada'
+---
+
+_(This review is originally written in Dutch, in 2002)_
+
+Sirtech’s last and probably last role-playing game, Wizardy 8, was in development for a whopping 4 years. During this time, the developer lost not only common US publishers, but also massive development changes. Because of all these difficulties in bringing a game like this to the market, you may find that a game like Wizardy needs a little bit of attention.
+
+#### Graphics
+
+A good thing in Wizardy 8 is how the game appears. The environment looks surprisingly good, but this is Sirtech’s first game in full 3D polygons… For example, the monsters in this game are represented by high quality 3D models, so graphically everything is fine. Still, some of the outdoor locations (especially the expansive ones) are a bit blocky, but they did their best at Sirtech with quest graphics.
+
+![](/img/games/Wizardry8/screen004.jpg)
+
+#### Sound & Voice
+
+The sound also looks good. For example, if you are exploring the world, you will hear an amusing sound with all the background noises such as birds and the like. Then when you are defeating one or more monsters, you will hear the sound of steel against steel and many magic spells being cast.
+
+The voice sounds are funny because both the playing and the non-players (NPCs) were recorded by the same actor, but that doesn't matter, because the sound changes a lot. This, by the way, was done by the same actors as those of the Jagged Alliance series. For example, you can create different characters that have an Italian accent or that speak heavy German, which comes across very well.
+
+#### The Locations
+
+![](/img/games/Wizardry8/screen001.jpg)
+
+There is plenty of time to explore the world (that's okay with a game of 3 CDs or 1.8 GGB install size) as there are many expansive locations and alternations between dark dungeons, green forests and many densely populated cities. The estimated playing time is more than 70 hours, so Wizardy certainly does not fall short of that compared to Half-life: Blue Shift… 
+
+There are also plenty of quests that follow the storyline and sub-quests that you can choose whether to complete or not.
+
+#### The Fights
+
+You will have to do a lot of hacking & slashing in this game. And because you look through a first-person view, this is not always easy, although this is nicely remedied here. Of course this is not a game like Diablo where you have to click like crazy, but this is more of a hardcore RPG game that the real enthusiasts will certainly like. Some experience is not really required, but it is a bonus. 
+
+You can also set the battle formations of your choice (normally the first half of your party is covered in the first row and the second half in the back) to make it easier to fight against larger groups of monsters. Wizardy 8 has a good variety of monsters that use simple but effective strategies to dominate you like in group attacks.
+
+#### The Experience
+
+The most interesting thing about this game is watching your party members grow and get stronger with every hit or thrust. This is truly addictive! It is clear to see that with each level that you gain more and more power, and can balance yourself more in different skills.
+
+![](/img/games/Wizardry8/screen002.jpg)
+
+The skill system is very similar to that of Everquest and Asheron's Call; you can improve the skill by spending points on different skills, the so-called “skill points”. That is why there is another reason to play this game several times: try out a different race / class with different skills and who again have a drooling mouth ...
+
+#### Conclusion
+
+2001 was not a great year for the (many) RPG fans, so you better ram this game into your computer quickly because this is the last game that Sirtech will ever make ... It therefore deserves one of the best RPG games of the year with its surprisingly good looks and highly addictive gameplay!
+
+- Gameplay: 10
+- Graphics: 8
+- Sound: 8
+- Addiction level: 10
+- Total: 92/100
+
+Minimum requirements:  PII 233 or equal, 64 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 3D Accelerator, 8MB VRAM, 1229 MB disk space, mouse, soundcard.
+
+_(Screens source: Ironworks Gaming)_