Rune (Mac)

Set in grim, exceptionally well-designed environments ranging from ancient crypts full of undead warriors to a towering mechanical Dwarven city, Rune mixes typical first-person shooter gameplay with the rigors of close-quarter melee combat. Instead of the shotguns and rocket launchers you've mastered in other games, you will find yourself armed only with an array of swords, hammers, and axes in Rune. Combat with these weapons is very different--and very challenging, particularly in the game's latter levels and against multiple opponents.

The graphics in Rune are excellent, with an exceptional attention to detail on just about every level. The lighting is very well done and so are the sound effects used throughout the game. The music is suitably heroic, though it plays too infrequently and loops too quickly. Overall, the game does a marvelous job of setting the mood for head-smashing Viking combat. There are even some nifty gameplay twists that keep you in the proper frame of mind. When you're wounded, for example, you can drink mead, scarf down a leg of mutton, or grab and eat a lizard off any nearby wall to gain some health back. And when Ragnar is done drinking his mead, he smashes the cup on the floor. He deals with crates, barrels, and many doors in his path the same way.

While the single-player game is outstanding--and features one of the flat-out coolest game-won reward sequences ever--the multiplayer action is where you can really test your sword-fighting skills. Although the game includes 43 single-player levels and only seven multiplayer maps, Rune has proven to be quite popular online, with up to 16 players going at it in wild melee combat.

The only disappointment in Rune may be the fact that it does not offer any computer-controlled bots for solo deathmatch play. Even without the bots, Rune is easily one of the year's top games in any genre and an intense epic that no action fan should be without. --Michael Ryan

Pros:

• Intense melee action using the Unreal Tournament engine
• Epic story line set in the land of Vikings and Nordic mythology
• Excellent level design, with impressive attention to detail
• Great graphics, sound, and music

• An occasional AI flaw will halt action on some levels
• No bots for multiplayer mode

As a third-person action game, players will see the equipment and weapons that Ragnar carries as he explores the beautiful scenery of Nordic legend. As Ragnar, you will be able to take the weapons of those you vanquish, increasing your inventory as you near your goal. You will have to think carefully, however, as you will only be able to take what you can carry, and discretion may sometimes be the better part of valor when you are facing the horrific abominations that populate the underworld. You will even be able to use makeshift weapons, such as a torch, rock, or bone.