Reviewed
03.11.2000
Publisher
Accolade
Developer
Technopop
Format
16
Megabit
Origin
Domestic
Available
1994
(USA)
Exclusive
Yes
Difficulty
Normal
Dimensions
3D
View
1st
Person
Genre
Shooter
Players
1-2
Options
6
Button
Password
Requires
Cable
(for 2 player co-op)
Importable
n/a |
INTRO:
> First person shooters, while a main staple of the Personal Computer
game library, weren't prevalent on the Genesis. In fact, I believe that
there was only one, but that's ok, because it's a good one. The story line
is pretty run of the mill, even for six years ago when the game was released.
Aliens have invaded, and it is your job to eradicate them. You pick
one of five team members, each with their own abilities, and go out trashing
the bad guys through a space station and high rise building. When one guy
gets killed, you can start with another, effectively granting you five
"lives". You get a map to show you the layout of the level you are on,
and a bunch of weapons that are left laying about. Standard FPS stuff to
be sure.
GRAPHICS:
> One of things I always hated about first person shooters was the
repetitive level graphics and repetitive enemies. Well, this doesn't set
any new standard. What it does do is add little touches such as walls showing
damage when you shoot at them, or enemy blood getting splattered on the
walls and floor when you blast them apart.
> The action takes place in a window about one third the size of the screen,
but the environments scroll by pretty well. A nice change to the skip and
stutter of poly-games. The enemy sprites are pretty pixelated when up close,
but to me it is no where near as bad as Doom was on the Super NES, and
that even had the FX chip to help out.
> This is by no means the most beautiful or technologically savvy game
on the venerable Genesis, but is is still pretty good, especially when
compared to what the competition was. The Aliens and bosses have
some animation, but thankfully, you'll be to busy trying to stay alive
to stick around and nit pick. I will say that the boss enemies were a little
underwhelming. The explosions are satisfactory, as is the charred remains
left over after a healthy flame thrower attack.
CONTROL:
> The control for this is surprisingly efficient. Most First Person
Shooters work best with a keyboard and mouse, but this one controls very
well with the old standard 3 button pad. The D-pad moves you around, you
strafe by holding down the A button and pushing left or right, and you
can jump or duck by holding A and pushing up or down. B shoots, and
C cycles through your available weapons. There was not once in the forty
some odd weapons where I felt hampered by the controls. A very rare occurrence
I assure you.
SOUND:
> The name of the developer describes the music well. Techno- pop.
Lots of deep sound midi-like music with a few little things going on as
well. It is suited to the game, though I don't think it really added to
the experience any. The sound effects are varied, lots of different explosions
and weapon fire sounds. Could be better, but I've definitely seen
worse.
FUN:
> The real nitty gritty. Everything else is fairly average, so is
it fun or not? Well, it is. I picked it up the other day for $6.00, popped
it in the Nomad, and goose-stepped my way on through the game. The text
is large enough to be readable, which is nice, because the only semblance
of a story line is words scrolling over a static background picture. In
the manual, it states that there is a two player link-up option available,
like what was available on the Playstation and import Saturn. A special
cable hooked into the second controller port of the two Genesis. I'd like
to find one to see what it's like.
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