It all started with Sonic the Hedgehog. And it was god. Sega's iconic smirking blue character became a symbol of rebellion against more traditional characters like Mario. Sonic's adventures continued in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and it too was damn good. It offered speed to Mario's precision, and Sonic was the new big thing. Sonic games only got better with Sonic and Knuckles, and escpecially the classic Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Sonic CD, released later, was also an enjoyable game. But Sonic ineviatbly had to make the difficult jump from 2D to 3D gaming. Mario did and, and the results were astoundingly excellent. So, what was to be Sonic's first true 3D adventure? Well, it was the simply titled Sonic adventure. And it wasn't a horrible game, but it was the game that led Sonic down a dark path of crappy games. yes, my friends. Sonic Adventure is what killed Sonic. It was followed up by the inferior Sonic Adventure 2, which was plagued by a horrible camera, painfully loose control and astoundingly boring levels features Knuckles' treasure hunting escapades (and Rouge) and Tails' generic shooter levels (plus Eggman (Robotnik sounded better)). 'But', many gamers thought, 'Maybe Sonic is just in a slump; maybe he can make a good comeback!'. Sadly, the answer was a resounding 'NO!'. Sonic Heroes was a head-shakingly unfortunate attempt at milking a cash cow and feeding off of Sonic fans' nostalgia for the character's once greatness. And don't even get me started about Sonic Riders or Shadow the Hedgehog; at that point, Sonic games almost felt like a self-mockery, like Sega was saying "Yeah, we know these games suck, but hey, it's Sonic! You gotta love him!". Now, I'm not saying Sonic can't be resurrected, per se. I'm just saying he's currently dead, what I like to refer to as a "gold production zombie". Maybe, just maybe, Sonic games will amaze again with Sonic Wildfire and the Sonic game for the 360, but as a reaction to Sega's current games, the only feasible prediction I can make is that Sonic isn't going to become awesome again over night. Making Sonic Adventure was a step in the wrong direction, but I fear Sonic has already gone too far and trying to achieve his former greatness seems like an impossible task.
-PM11

I'm excited about the release of EE2, surely to be the best strategy game of '05. I can't wait to crush my foes with Greek hoplites or send in a tank assault! Leave your comments about this game here.

I was never a fan of Empire Earth. I thought it was rather loose, boring and shallow, but I just downloaded a demo of Empire Earth 2 and boy am I impressed! It's tons of fun, even for a demo. The demo includes the Americans, the Germans, and the Koreans as playable factions. The final game will have 15 or so. The demo spans sometime in the 1600s to the early 1800s. I love playing as the Americans and Germans, because they have the Minutemen and the Germans have mounted knights. I recommend this demo to anyone even slightly interested in epic RTS games. I can't wait for the final game product!

-PM1

'Nother boring day. Boy, I hope Namco ports Soulcalibur 3 to the Cube. Still, the "create a character" feature has me worried. Will you actually play as the character or watch some simulation. Cause that would ****. I'll get it for the PS2. I'll miss Link though.
-PM1