Monster Media 1996 #14/Monster Media No. 14 (April 1996) (Monster Media, Inc.).ISO/magazine/cgw3.zip/ART4.DAT

Text File | 1996-02-07 | 15KB | 229 lines

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│ S P E C I A L   A R T I C L E │
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║ A SURVEY OF 3-D FIRST-PERSON ACTION GAMES ║
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        Ever since the release of id's first surprise hit, Wolfenstein 3-D, a
glut of 3-D shoot-em-ups has flooded the market.  In this article, we'll take a
quick peek at all of them, the best _and_ the rest: from megahits like DOOM all
the way down to losers like Virtuoso and Body Count.

        The following list is in alphabetical order.  As usual, we make no claim
as to this list being complete.  If we left a game out, write to the editor at
[e-mail], and blame it all on him.


BLAKE STONE: ALIENS OF GOLD / PLANET STRIKE                               Apogee
        This Wolfenstein clone was Apogee's feeble try at a sequel, after id
left them.  Using an enhanced version of the dated Wolfenstein engine, both of
the Blake Stone games are well-done but hopelessly mired in ancient history.
While the game plays well, the programming is top-notch, and there are some
pretty neat features, the idea of using Wolfenstein engine again was, well,
doomed from the start.  Not only that, but Blake Stone lacks any kind of atmos-
phere.  Everything is cartoonish, which may have been the intention, but it pa-
les in comparison to DOOM's visceral feel.  The gameplay is fun (especially for
smaller children, as there is no gore to speak of), but doesn't hold a candle to
the intimacy and creepiness of DOOM.

CATACOMB ABYSS                                                          Softdisk
        One of the first 3-D first-person shooters, this fantasy game is dated
but still playable.  The graphic engine is of the same quality of Wolfenstein,
and the gameplay is virtually the same.  The only thing that makes this game in-
ferior to Wolfenstein is the EGA graphic look.  A nice nostalgia item.

CREATURE SHOCK                                                            Virgin
        A horrendous hybrid of shooting gallery and arcade action.  The arcade
sequences place you behind a spaceship in a shoot-em-up with terrible controls.
But the shooting gallery, which is hidden behind a gorgeous DOOM-like point of
view, is the meat of the game.  This is where you walk around in preprogrammed
segments, with none of the fluidity of DOOM - sort of like EA's old Space Hulk.
When a creature appears, click on him in the right place and he dies.  Yippee.
Are we having fun yet?  And yes, that's pretty much all there is to the game.
Each gorgeously-rendered enemy has a preset weak point - shoot him there and he
dies, every time.  This makes Creature Shock nothing more than a stiff, albeit
beautiful, glorified shooting gallery.

CYBERMAGE: DARKLIGHT AWAKENING                                            Origin
        Cybermage is an interesting game combining elements of roleplaying and
action, as in Origin's System Shock.  However, while all the technical elements
are superior, the world simply doesn't feel right.  The roleplaying elements are
virtually nonexistent, as are the puzzles, which is odd for a game that touts
its flexibility and non-action parts.  The flat, 2-D objects just don't cut it
in this game, becuase some objects are very large (like tanks), making the 2-D
sprites all the more noticeable.  Still, this is a fun game, but it doesn't come
close to Origin's earlier release, System Shock.

CYCLONES                                                                     SSI
        The most average 3-D first-person shooter ever made.  The plot you've
heard thousands of times; the gameplay is standard DOOM-type stuff; the weapons
are the usual high-tech fare; and you have to find keys, flip switches, and open
doors to get around.  The only major differences from DOOM are that the weapon
can be aimed independently of your body; you can jump and look up and down; and
the gameplay is rather mundane, due in a large part to the boring enemies.

DARK FORCES                                                            LucasArts
        Dark Forces coulda been a serious contender to overthrow DOOM.  The game
mechanics are of the same high quality as DOOM, except you can look up and down.
The graphics and sound are great and varied, and the level design is absolutely
superb.  Each mission has its own unique objective.  The automap is nice in that
it is laid transparently over your 3D view, so you won't get killed when you're
looking at the map.  And, of course, Dark Forces is set in the Star Wars univer-
se.  So where did LucasArts screw up?  Well, there are less than twenty levels,
(14 or 15, I think), and though they're all huge, it's just not enough.  Plus,
the savegame function is miserable, and there is no multiplayer support.  If on-
ly....

DESCENT                                                                Interplay
        Descent is DOOM in flight.  In this null-gravity game, you pilot a ship
through 30 levels of twisting corridors, in true 3-D.  The graphic engine is a
quantum leap over DOOM's, allowing you to twist, turn, and spin through narrow
corridors with unlimited freedom.  This gets extremely disorienting, and is one
of the reasons Descent is one of the most difficult games of this type.  Aside
from the zero-gee environment, gameplay is much the same as any other game in
this survey - you fly around shooting baddies, collecting keys, and blowing oth-
er things up.  But the flight twist is something new, and many players may want
to try it out.

DOOM and DOOM II                                                              id
        You know all about them.  They started the whole craze over 3-D, first-
person games, in a way Wolfenstein 3-D never could.  See the flashback in our
last issue (#2) for more information.

FORTRESS OF DR. RADIAKI                                                    Merit
        By far, one of the worst games in the batch.  Dr. Radiaki is a game that
can't take itself seriously.  The game oozes humor, but such humor can only keep
a player entertained for the first couple of levels.  After that, the awful 3-D
engine, the terrible game play, and the subpar graphics start getting to you.
The game requires 8 megs RAM, yet the 3-D engine is horrible; the wall textures
are boring; and the programming is so bad it takes seven seconds just to switch
weapons!  The level designs are seemingly randomly generated mazes with no pur-
pose, and the automap - essential when these mazes are so unpredictable - is set
at a fixed zoom, and always follows the player, rendering it virtually useless.
In short, a game that will frustrate and infuriate more than entertain.

HERETIC                                                                       id
        The only game of this bunch that can match DOOM.  Fitting, because al-
though Heretic was developed by Raven (makers of the first-person RPG Shadow-
caster), it's distributed by id, the makers of DOOM.  Heretic puts an improved
version of the DOOM engine into a fantasy setting.  You can look up and down,
and jump.  There are rivers with actual currents, and water splashes up when
you step in.  The little effects really build up to make a believable world.
The weapons and enemies are of DOOM quality, and the level design is better.  In
particular, the Ice Grotto (E2M5?) and Cathedral (E1M6?) are beautiful.  All in
all, this is a game worthy of play by all DOOM freaks.

HEXEN: BEYOND HERETIC                                                         id
        The id/Raven team strikes again in this pseudo-sequel to Heretic.  Hexen
boasts all of Heretic's strengths and much more.  There are lots of nice little
touches, such as the damage you take from falls.  The graphic look is stunning,
with fog and haze effects. When you step into the swamp, the effect is riveting.
Hexen is much more difficult than Heretic.  There is an emphasis on puzzle ele-
ments; for example, instead of just finding a BFG-scale weapon laying around,
you must find the three pieces of it, then put it together.  There is another
nice touch in the different character classes (fighter, cleric, mage), each with
its own strengths and weaknesses.  This is the pick of the DOOM-clone bunch.

ISLE OF THE DEAD                                                           Merit
        Another Merit loser.  Isle of the Dead mixes the worst adventure game e-
lements with the worst first-person shooter elements.  The adventure game part
is a sideshow, a useless and tedious part of the game with halfway decent graph-
ics.  On the other hand, the meat of the game, the 3-D part, is even more horri-
ble.  The graphics looks like paper cutouts, and are completely lifeless, unin-
teresting, and blocky.  The engine probably has more in common with Wolfenstein
than DOOM.  The art looks like it was done by a team of five-year-olds.  The en-
tire world feels cheap, fake, and shallow.

OPERATION BODY COUNT                                                    Capstone
        A horrific attempt by a company with a historically bad reputation in
computer gaming.  The graphics are terrible (the enemies look like cardboard
cutouts, and the wall textures have no variety), the sounds are worse, and the
plot is absolutely laughable. Terrorists have taken over an embassy or something
like that, which is okay if not terribly original.  But when you first get into
the game, you don't fight terrorists, you fight slime molds and giant rats.  Are
you seeing a problem here?  The gameplay itself is flawed; when standing in a
doorway, you can neither kill nor be killed.  Also, there are pointless "perks"
added that only irritate, such as booby-trapped medikits that hurt you badly,
and cannot be identified nor disarmed.  The best thing that came out of this
game were the horrendous and hilarious reviews, particularly the Strategy Plus
review.

RISE OF THE TRIAD                                                         Apogee
        While this game received favorable reviews, and does contain some amus-
ing elements, that's all it's good for - a few laughs here and there.  ROTT's
levels are lousy, feeling completely derived.  In addition, there are cheesy ar-
cade elements, such as jump pads and floating platforms.  Apparently, Apogee
couldn't figure out how to make stairs, and instead steps consist of floating
white discs.  Also, all the walls are set at 90 degree angles, a la Wolfenstein.
The amusing enhancements include enemies who fall to their knees and beg for
mercy, stunning explosion effects, and tons of gore.  But the world feels shal-
low, perhaps due in a large part to the weak sound effects.  It's hard to beli-
eve that Apogee actually thought Rise of the Triad could be a contender for the
DOOM crown.

SYSTEM SHOCK                                                              Origin
        There is a flashback covering this game inside this issue, but here's an
overview of this instant classic anyway.  System Shock takes DOOM, puts it into
a whole new world, and improves immensely on the engine.  System Shock is true
3-D, with bridges, slopes, and extremely realistic physics (especially in the
zero-gee cyberspace simulator).  The world is completely interactive, with your
character able to kneel, crawl, jump, lean, look around corners, manipulate and
examine objects, enter cyberspace, read notes, receive E-mail, and of course
kill baddies.  System Shock's world will draw you in, it's so realistic.  The
fear element is far more pronounced than DOOM.  Call me a wimp, but I could not
bring myself to play this game with the lights off.  Play it and you'll under-
stand fully.  I promise.

VIRTUOSO                                                               Vic Tokai
        One of the strangest and worst games in this article, Virtuoso depicts
you as a rock star enveloped in a virtual reality world consisting of Mars, a
haunted house, and a Biosphere.  The story is the dumbest thing since Operation
Body Count - shooting possessed snowmen in a haunted house? - but the action
would be halfway decent if two extra "details" had not been overlooked.  First,
it's extremely hard to aim.  Virtuoso places your point of view just behind and
slightly to the side of your long-haired rock star hero.  This is a terrible
view for aiming.  Second and most annoying, you cannot do two things at once.
That is, you can't shoot while you're moving.  And speaking of movement, it's
really slow, and can't be speeded up, which basically kills the fast action that
Virtuoso might have included.  While not nearly as bad as either Merit game in
here, Virtuoso is certainly not up to DOOM or even Wolfenstein standards.

WOLFENSTEIN 3-D / SPEAR OF DESTINY                                            id
        Ah, the classic itself.  Wolfenstein 3-D, followed by its commercial
version "Spear of Destiny," was the game that started the whole 3-D first-person
craze.  While the engine is hoeplessly outdated, Wolfenstein warrants a look,
just to see what started this whole first-person deal.


        It's amazing that none of the games above, with the possible exception
of Dark Forces, really stands up to the visceral action of id's five games (DOOM
and DOOM II, Heretic and Hexen, Wolfenstein).  These guys can be justifiably
titled the masters of the genre.  Origin's System Shock, however, is the only
game of the bunch that takes the novel first-person real-time 3-D (whew!) to a
whole new level of roleplaying and world immersion.  I would like to see some
more progress in terms of interactivity inside the world; only System Shock and
to a lesser extent Cybermage allow you to really manipulate objects inside the
game world.

        Unfortunately, most companies seem to be satisfied with simply cloning
the traditional nonstop action of Wolfenstein and DOOM.  This is fine for a
while, but in the end the ones that really survive are the innovators.  Wolf,
DOOM, System Shock - all classics.  Why?  Because they were pioneers.  Because
they tried something _new_.  And they did it right.

        Speaking of new, there are three major games to be released soon that
may give this genre the boost it needs.  Id Software, those freaks, are coming
out with Quake, probably sometime in March.  See last issue's preview for more
info on this game, which will reputedly put DOOM to shame the way DOOM did to
Wolfenstein.  Apogee/3DRealms are coming out with two major new titles.  Duke
Nukem 3D takes Apogee's side-scrolling hero and puts him into a 3D world that
improves immensely on DOOM.  And 3DRealm's Prey will compete directly with Quake
for the first-person shooter crown.

        We've got a lot to look forward to. Just remember, whoever does it first
and does it right will likely have the classic game on their hands.

-=≡<CGW3>≡=-