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by | 27/12/2009 · 12:00 pm

GAME REVIEW – Commandos: Ammo Pack (1998/1999)

By Stewie Sutherland

commandoscover

One of the few games my PC could run back in school, Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines and its update, Beyond The Call Of Duty (combined, they make the Commandos: Ammo Pack) were the thinking man’s distraction. A top-down view of a scene set in WWII, players had to plan a sharp, precise strategy to complete the objective of a team of Commandos. Easier said than done, when the scenes were crawling with enemy soldiers who were watching and listening for the slightest signs of trouble. Rushing in head first with guns blazing was a sure way to get killed, too.

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by | 19/12/2009 · 12:00 pm

ALTERNATIVE MUSINGS – Why Achievements Have Ruined Gaming

By Duncan Voice

xbox-360-avatar-caption-generatorI was having my monthly nostalgia moment in my local retro shop recently, gushing over the hundreds of Mega Drive, SNES and N64 carts they have there. Each one I exclaimed to my not-at-all-interested girlfriend was ‘my favourite game’ growing up (I have since settled on Rocket Knight on the Mega Drive, by the way).

It got me thinking about the days where LA Lights were the must-have pair of trainers for the fashion conscious 11 year old and begging my Mum for 25p to go and get a packet of Premier League stickers, even though I’d always rip the top of them. It reminded me of the first time I knew I wanted to play games, watching my big brother speed through Green Hill Zone on Sonic the Hedgehog.

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by | 09/12/2009 · 12:00 pm

GAME REVIEW – Assassin’s Creed 2 (Xbox 360)

By Duncan Voice

AC2-Cover

It’s not often that I’ll take offence to an advert, being the fairly laid back fellow that I am, but after a first game that transcended even listening-to-your-Dad-drone-on-about-airplanes levels of boredom I was quite taken aback by the TV advertisement for Assassins Creed 2. It carries itself with a swagger, an air of arrogance much like it’s lead character Cesc Fabregas, erm sorry I mean Ezio Auditore de Firenze. He swans about, performing his murderous duties whilst the advert screams at you various accolades about it being ‘Action Game of the Year!’ and ‘9/10’, all the while having the gall to play the awesome Genesis by Justice during proceedings. So by all means, if you’re going to sing about it from the rooftops, it had better be good!

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by | 05/12/2009 · 12:00 am

ALTERNATIVE MUSINGS – 2010: Nintendo’s Striking Year

By Stewie Sutherland

nintendo-logo

Frequent readers of Alternative Magazine Online know that we do our best to cover all mediums when it comes to games. Duncan has put some of the Xbox 360’s best games under the microscope, while Matt researches hot portable and PC titles, and our editor and site owner Marty has reviewed some of the Playstation 3’s must-have titles this year. This usually leaves yours truly covering the Nintendo side of things (though now that Marty has gotten himself a brand new Wii, I might just convert him yet!) and it’s a job I enjoy quite a bit!

That said, we’ve only got a few short weeks until Christmas ’09, so most people already have their shopping lists sorted. Yep, it’s that magical time of the year where toy ad’s run around the clock, people meet with their strange elderly relatives they see once every two years and in my house, the electric bill soars from putting up too many lights. Still though, if you’re a fan of Nintendo’s stronger names, then 2010 will be a big year. (And not just because we can stop saying that really long “two thousand and…” biz).

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