Featured Game: Nerf Arena Blast

A colorful, Unreal Engine-powered shooter that's well worth a download 

Year: 1999

Genre: First-Person Shooter

Recommend: YES









Colorful neon arenas? Nerf darts instead of bullets? A complete absence of the concept of death? Yep, NAB's a kid's game, for sure. That doesn't mean you can't play it, of course. Nerf Arena Blast runs very well on most netbooks, in theory, anyway. Since it's based on the first Unreal Engine, it runs like a slug on Cedar Trail netbooks unless software rendering is used, and even then, fullscreen mode doesn't work. DirectX mode on a Diamondville netbook with the stock 1 GB of RAM works just fine at native resolution in fullscreen, and at a solid 60 fps, no less. Even if you are stuck with faulty drivers, NAB is still worth checking out.You can download it for free at Abandonia. Keep in mind that the free download doesn't include the original music from the CD, and will instead play any audio disk you have mounted in a virtual or external CD drive.

What you'll need

As far as hardware goes, Nerf Arena Blast runs on just about anything. You might want some friends to play with on a LAN game too, as the bots aren't particularly skilled. This is a kid-friendly game, after all.

Reviews and Awards

Nerf Arena Blast has been met with mostly positive reviews. IGN awarded NAB a, 8.8/10, praising the gameplay and lasting appeal with scores of 9 in those categories. GameSpot gave a slightly lower score of 7.0, saying the game is "really fun", but suffers from poor AI and online support.

Tips

Having trouble with NAB on a Cedar Trail netbook? Set your 3D renderer to Software, then drag the game window toward the top of the screen until it turns a translucent blue. It'll expand to fill the screen. That's the best option we N2x00 owners have for the game at the moment, until alternate renderers become available or Intel fixes their drivers, both of which are unlikely.

Methinks I need more ammo. 

Featured Game: RollerCoaster Tycoon

For those who love money

Year: 1999

Genre: Construction & Management Simulation
Recommend: YES


















I'm the kind of person who likes more than solely action-oriented games, e.g. first-person shooters. If you're anything like me, RollerCoaster Tycoon ought to be on your list of favorites. It's one of the most addictive constructive and management simulations ever, and, come on, who doesn't like making money, even it is virtual?

What you'll need

RCT is a 2D game from 1999. You can play it. Really, you can.

Reviews and Awards

RCT was a huge success because of its uber-realistic model of an amusement park, as well as its originality. GameSpot and IGN gave the game 8.6 and 8.5/10, respectively. Some negatives: There's no sandbox mode, the isometric viewpoint can sometimes be irritating, and you can't fast forward time. The theme park industry and roller coaster enthusiasts applauded the game for its realism.

Tips

I strongly encourage you to get your hands on the Corkscrew Folllies and Loopy Landscapes expansions packs. More rides, more lanscaping options, more music, more scenarios (much more challenging than the stock scenarios), more everything! How can you go wrong?

I have no idea why I can't take screenshots, so here's Wikipedia's.

Featured Game: Midtown Madness

Drive around like a maniac with no repercussions

Year: 1999

Genre: Racing

Recommend: YES

Got the need for speed? Well, you could play one of the Need for Speed games, or you could give Midtown Madness a try. There's nothing quite like hurtling down a Chicago freeway in a Panoz GTR-1 at 200+ MPH, trying to evade the cops. Or you could rumble down the avenue in a Freightliner Century, crushing every Geo Metro in sight. However you play, Midtown Madness gives you a super-fun experience, and the graphics aren't bad, considering the game's age.

What you'll need

You don't need to have the slightest worry about this game. If you can run Windows XP, you can run Midtown Madness. EDIT: You might have to reduce the graphics a bit for Cedar Trail netbooks; I get 13-32 fps on maxed out settings at 640x480.

Reviews and Awards

 Midtown Madness's most positive reviews (90% equivalent) came from Allgame and PC Zone, while the worst, 7/10 and 7.7/10 (still respectable) were given by Total Video Games and GameSpot, respectively. Midtown Madness was praised for its realistic vehicle models (for player-driven cars) and accuracy in portraying Chicago. On the other hand, the game was criticized for its poor performance on lower-end hardware (no big deal for netbooks) and AI intelligence, among others.

Tips

No, you can't commit vehicular homicide in Midtown Madness. If you could, the 'E' rating would be revoked in a heartbeat.