If you spent any time blasting meteors and aliens in Asteroids, you'lldefinitely experience some degree of deja vu playing this action game.

If a game does one or two things very well, and other things not so well, is that game a success or a failure?

Mindscape's fantastic new adaptation of the classic can teach you how to play, how to improve your game, and how to gracefully get your butt kicked over and over by a computer.

Devo has gone digital and the result is utterly devastating.

Free Enterprise is a SimCity wannabe that doesn't come close to achieving itslofty goal.

Gender Wars is a solid arcade strategy game that doesn't require lots of concentration, and has enough depth to keep things interesting.

If you can look past the lack of sound and graphics, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Kingdom isn't a ground-breaking or brilliant game, but it's surprisingly fun.

Touting many new features and improved graphics, the box would have us believe the game offers a state-of-the-art gaming experience, however, this is not the case.

What makes NHL Powerplay '96 remarkable is its terrific computer artificial intelligence, both in your teammates and in your opponents.

Return Fire may have wowed the button-pushers who bought 3D0 machines, but for PC gamers it's much too little, way too late.

Honorable in victory and gracious in defeat, Robert E. Lee, leader of the Army of Northern Virginia, commands universal respect. Now you can recreate Lee's war years in a campaign spanning six of his most critical battles. Fight any of the historical battles as either North or South; you can even play head-to-head via modern or serial link! Explore alternative history with a final fictional battle for Washington Crisp, exquisitely detailed graphics, rich period music, and top quality re-enactment film footage combine to bring the Civil War experience to life like you have never seen it, or played it, before!

The story is based on a novel by Aaron Connors, and turns out to be a surprisingly entertaining experience.

A deadly virus has invaded the military's top secret super computer. Its catastrophic time-warping effects now threaten to overtake the computer systems of the world. If you cannot restore core memory in time, the growing virus will cause the world's collapse. You must journey through the corridors of history to stop this technological demon. But vicious warriors await with lethal purpose. Instinct will be your only ally. All-out combat, your only choice. [Activision]

Offensive is a sorry, half-baked, dumbed-down, perplexingly incompetent game.

Alley 19 Bowling features the fun of real bowling! Up to 4 bowlers can play at a time. Use your mouse to roll your ball. Original 50's soundtrack and graphics. Challenging computerized opponents.

MADNESS, MUTATION AND AFTERNOON TEA The British Empire: guardian of morality; bastion of all things decent and proper. The World is being taught some manners, with Her Majesty's troops ever on hand to deliver a sound thrashing to anybody daring to bare their ankles. Yet whilst Victorian England revels in the glory of steam engineering and cucumber sandwiches, an evil plot is being hatched. Hideous screams echo from the bowels of the Earth as a deranged scientist toys with his vile creation: the Gene Machine. Soon he plans to unleash its terrible powers upon mankind... Is there anyone out there who is gentleman enough to save the World? Is your upper lip stiff enough for the challenge?

A typical day at the beach: the sand under your feet, the roar of the surf... and the ripping sound of German machine guns as they cut your troops to pieces.

What starts out as a challenge turns quickly into the almost impossible as Puzzle Pits goes from being a nice, friendly, mental exercise to an excruciating and mundane mental torture session.

Dive in to help Freddi Fish and Luther keep the ocean from draining and save the sea creatures.

With this update, Links LS can rightfully reclaim its status as the king of golf sims.

While WCD should be applauded for breathing new life into decathlon titles, it is ultimately undermined by shortcomings in gameplay and challenge.

Seeing how nations are affected under your command is a very enthralling affair.

This game may be one of the rare sports sims that's more fun when you are not playing.

From the exceptional graphics to the innovative driving model, Grand Prix II sets new standards in almost every category.

Hoyle Blackjack is a full-featured blackjack simulation that captures many of the elements of gambling in a real casino.

If you're looking for an adventure game that'll deliver your money's worth, you ought to check this one out.

Perhaps in the future BPMC will expend more energy on gameplay and less on frills, finally giving this niche the treatment it deserves.

Once you get past the moronic plot and insulting characters, the actual gameplay is fairly entertaining.

Although Maxis' latest SimMutation was not developed to give you the network carnage-fest experience of a WarCraft II or a Command & Conquer, you'll still have your chance to raise a little hell in the land of Sims.

The Elk Moon Murder is a full motion video adventure game. Assume the role of rookie detective with the Santa Fe police. Anna Elk Moon, a famous native American artist, has been murdered and you have five days to solve the mystery before "the big boys muscle in", as your chief inspector tells you.

No PC baseball game has ever offered the level of batting control that you experience with this title.

It is up to you to piece together select bits of the meta-intrigue and prevent a murder.

If you've never tried a PC pinball game before, or if your PC isn't up to the chore of handling higher-end sims like Hyper 3-D Pinball, then Total Pinball 3D might be just the ticket to get you started with the genre.

Tracer is definitely a game to pick up if you thrive on planning your moves well in advance and don't mind the pressure of something creeping along after you.

Rage through 32 single player levels and 6 deathmatch levels of sheer terror and fully immersive sound and lighting. Arm yourself against the cannibalistic Ogre, fiendish Vore and indestructible Schambler using letal nails, fierce Thunderbolts and abominable Rocket and Grenade Launchers. [id Software]

Longbow is a fabulous piece of work, full of attention to detail and countless features. No serious sim fan with the right hardware should miss it.

Good graphics, a good interface, and gameplay that keeps you coming back for more are this product's strengths.

While the Battleground series has always featured solid gameplay, this new title adds a grace of play and significant style to the table as well.

Chronicles of the Sword takes a classic approach to a classic story—and manages to accomplish very little in the process.

The final chapter in the legendary Doom series. This is it. The end. The end of the undead Marines, the acid-drenched hallways and hell-spawned hordes. Its 2 new, 32-level episodes (complete with new stories, The Plutonia Experiment and Evilution) let you finish what you started. Final Doom. End of story. -Frighteningly realistic graphics, spectacular lighting effects and a pulse-pounding score. -More chain gun zombies, revenants, hell knights and cyber-demons than any other DOOM in history. -Over 64 new finger-twitching levels to play, including the foul recesses of hell, Egyptian ruins and UAC bases.

This game is no Galaga, but it was enjoyable to say the least.

As the old saying goes, as a PC game, this makes a great console game.

The laundry hasn't been done, the bills haven't been paid, and it's all because of this terribly engrossing game.

While the realistic driving model is unquestionably IndyCar II's greatest strength, it is, at the same time, the game's greatest weakness.

The sweat that the first Lemmings produced on your brow may not be there, but die-hard Lemmings fanatics may still get a kick out of this new edition.

Micro Machines 2 hearkens back to a kinder, gentler era of electronic entertainment.

This bizarre new title pits alien against alien in a contest where the extra-terrestrial with the greatest understanding of frivolous earthling knowledge will win the right to call Earth home.

Sierra has taken a basic, turn-based strategy game, added some beautiful graphics, fantastic sound, and great network play, and set it into their expansive Earthsiege universe.

Ocean of America's Sea Legends has painstakingly reproduced almost all the elements that made Pirates! so popular, and injected just enough new material to qualify it as a unique experience.

Strife mixes elements of stealthy espionage with ever-satisfying bloodletting to serve up one of the tastiest concoctions in the 3-D shooter market.

The War College attempts to provide the wargame fan with a system that can recreate the greatest battles in history—a good idea, but it needs more work.

Wizardry Gold takes the classic story line from Wizardry VII and "enhances" it with all new graphics, sounds, and interface.

Return to the apocalyptic world of the post-nuclear future...But this time you won't be going in alone. Now you can join in and kill everything and everyone in the ultimate multiplayer death match over LAN or the Internet. Leap across rooftops to lie in wait, ambush from the rear in your captured jeep, or attack from the sky in an HK fighter! SkyNET -- No limits! As a member of the Resistance movement, you are sent on a reconnaissance mission to infiltrate a special robot complex. What you find there leads you on a break neck series of missions, each one more critical and deadly than the last. SkyNET gives you the best of bother worlds; intense single player solo missions that push your skills to the edge and the most explosive multiplayer combat ever created!

News flash: The PC version of Battle Arena Toshinden isn't as good as the PlayStation version.

A repressive government regime has enacted city-wide bans on all vices - alcohol, cigarettes, sexual expression, music, dancing... just about everything worth living for. Enter Chaos Overlords, criminal masterminds who have exploited citizen resentment to overthrow governmental authority and establish a reign of terror. As one of the elite Overlords, your goal is to outsmart your rivals, spread your influence, and make a power grab for ultimate control of the city. Mercenary gangs such as the "Suicide Squad" and "Pain, Inc." are your chief tools of conquest. [HotGames]

Gamers new to fantasy adventuring will be disappointed by the graphics and playability, and hard-core role-players will be quickly frustrated by this game's inherent limitations.

The combination of wacky sound effects and silly character renderings harksback to the twisted trailers of Tex Avery.

If you were a big fan of the early eighties Nintendo adventure games, check this one out.

Allow Rayman to take you on an unbelievable adventure through cartoon-like landscapes packed with goofball characters and absurd opponents. As you enter this blissful, action-packed world, strange phenomena begin to occur and suddenly reality seems far too lame. Take a thrilling trip into this fantasy game and help Rayman rescue the Electoons to re-establish order in his world - if you can.

The acting isn't Oscar-quality, and it's got a few rough spots around the edges, but if nothing else, The Dame Was Loaded proves that a game can be built around full-motion video and still be fully interactive

The fortunes of Tony La Russa may have taken a turn for the worse (hello, St. Louis), but each installment of his namesake game just keeps getting better.

If you're not careful, a game like Total Mayhem might just make somebody use some of that grey matter.

Argos Gamesware's Ungaria doesn't really possess any of that nail-biting intensity that its puzzle-game ancestors had.

Even the most jaded Orc or Human will be challenged by the new scenarios.

Arthur's Reading Race centers around everyone's favorite Aardvark. Arthur is trying to teach his little sister, D.W, to read. However, she insists that she already knows how! After a heated conversation, Arthur challenges D.W to read ten different words with a promised reward of ice cream! Will D.W be able to read all ten words for the ultimate reward? Since it's first release in 1997, Living Books' rendition of "Arthur's Reading Race" has been enjoyed by countless children. Step-by-step, the reader will find the story is full of surprising encounters with many of their favorite Arthur storybook characters, providing new ways to interact with the book again and again.

The best fighters from around the universe battle in the ultimate tournament. Each win allows you to advance to the next round. Lose, and your homeworld is destroyed. Survival is your only option. Flesh ripping, blood sucking, claw slashing, tail whipping, karate kicking, fist ramming, body slamming, blood spurting action Need we say more? Rip your friends apart with 2-player head-to-head action at the same computer. By far, the largest, most detailed foes ever seen in a fighting game on the PC. Exotic characters up to 3/4 of the screen's height. Innovative screen panning, zooming, real-time scaling, shadows and special FX, like those only seen in the arcade. Eight blood thirsty characters, two bone crushing champions and a nasty surprise that you will never be able to forget. Special never-before-seen moves, concussion causing combos, resurrections, & humiliations. Customize your matches with several different options including fighter quickness, auto-blocking on/off, special moves toggle, and a dozen more. Spine tingling music by Bobby Prince (famous for Duke Nukem 3D and DOOM), with heart stopping sound and voice effects. Enjoy three different modes of play: Story Mode, Free Play Mode, or brush up on your skills in Training Mode.

Interplay has managed to combine top-notch graphics, sound, and gameplay with a detailed historical framework to create a title that is both addictive and entertaining.

It's important to understand that The Covert Operations is not a sequel to Command & Conquer, but merely a rehash of it.

The puzzles in Bolo Adventures III are the most difficult yet! Once again Mr. Bolo uses balls, water, ramps and more... to figure out how to exit each room. Packed with features and all the solutions, this one's a real brain twister! Are you up to the challenge?

For nostalgia buffs, these old games are worth your time and money, though you will miss the feel of the arcade controller.

Advanced Tactical Fighters is Electronic Arts' follow-up to U.S.Navy Fighters,and shares all of that game's strengths and weaknesses.

Stylish, cinematic and creepily atmospheric, D would be a good example to show your friends of what 3-D graphics animators can do on the computer these days.

The Heretic chapter comes to its evil conclusion with Shadow of the Serpent Riders. In a twisted medieval dimension, undead creatures and bestial horrors have done the unthinkable-callously slaughtering your entire race. Your friends. You family. Eliminated. But the nightmare has just begun. Wielding ungodly weapons such as the Firemace or Hellstaff and casting spells from the Tomes of Power, you must seek your vengeance. Or die trying.