A few years ago I found a used copy of Daikatana at Half Price Books for something like $2. I've kept it around, eventually wanting to install it and revile Romero for his hubris. I was curious to see just what went wrong.

The first time I installed it, a year ago, was on a celeron 266 with 192 megs of memory and a Voodoo3 graphics card. Talk about a sucky experience. I swear, half of my computer's power was devoted to those annoying, constantly spinning weapons.

So I tried it again today, on my much more beefy, modern computer (1.6GHz, 512 Megs of RAM, GeForce 5200 - not the highest system on the market but plays the current batch of games very well). After doing the full install (so I could install the patch), I got it running.

The obviously ammateurish/undeveloped parts are what end up sticking out to me. Like the characters mouths not even moving, the running animation of the ninja that stops just a few seconds AFTER he pushes a man over, the terribly-chosen enemies (BUGS? What kind of uberman has to squash bugs to survive?), the Cremation Truck's wheels NOT TURNING.... I stopped playing it after I heard the 100th overly dramatic scream that the "technicians" in the sewer plant shout when they see me for the first time. Hosnestly, it sounds like a death cry, not a cry of fear or being startled.

In the first two levels, I don't have a partner, which makes it a passably decent first-person shooter. I hear that things take a turn for the worse when the AI partner appears. I'll keep you updated... if I play it again.

Overall, this game reminds me of "The Gunman Chronicles" - entertaining, but you always feel like it was created in a dorm room by a bunch of well-meaning frat boys.

-22

For my first entry, I have to give Gamespot props for putting this together for us gamers to share knowledge and meet friends. I appreciate how they have opted to give us a complete experience. I'm glad to see integrated reviews, journals, news, and any other info all here in the same place. I especially appreciate the links to reviews of games on other sites. The leveling system is interesting.

I have been observing 1up.com and find it also to be a close-knit community. However, I think their interface could use some work... Much too much graphical overhead (Tone down the Flash!). So, I'm testing my wings to see which creates the best experience for me.

So here's a question to those who actually read newbie's journals: How do you define a good (gaming) community?

-22