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SOFTWARE REVIEWS/PREVIEWS - Shane R. Monroe
                       ALIEN BREED 3D - GLOOM

TITLE: ALIEN BREED 3D PUBLISHER:TEAM 17 CODERS: IN HOUSE TYPE: ARCADE/DOOM STYLE PLAYERS: 2 HARD DRIVE: ? SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: AGA ONLY RELEASE DATE: TBA

I know what you are thinking ... "Wait a minute? How many times are we going to read about this program this year? Just in the Dispatch alone?" Well, I understand the frustration. Fact of the matter, we have never gotten to see how this game PLAYS; just the rolling non-playable demo. I decided to go ahead and review it again now that there is more info AND I have gotten to play a level of this kick ass game.

For those of you who just got rescued off of Gilligan's Island or something, AB3D is Team 17's entry into the Amiga 'Doom Clone' market. Right now, the market seems to be expanding at a gruesome rate (considering I didn't really care for the gendre - and still don't) with no less than four companies announcing actual commercial releases of these first person perspective (oh, did I forget 'virtual reality' - knock it off) games.

The rolling preview really got people talking about AB3D. Die hard DOOM fans bitched about the chunkyness of the pixels claiming that PD demo engines were much better (yeah, but where are the monsters? The doors and elevators in those engines, eh?). IMHO, the fact that they made that decent of a translation using copper and blitter tricks on a 14 mhz Amiga was amazing to this gamer. But, everyone just complained about the demo and looked toward TextDemo and such for solace. Now, everything is different.

We now have some real release data on AB3D and I have gotten to actually PLAY this cool engine. Now let me fill you in.

First, over 20 levels of super-smooth, 360 degree 3D movement - no jerks, no 45-degree only turns. Full rotational character movement without sporadic jumping. The graphics are fully texture mapped and Gouraud shaded (yes!). The enemies consist of aliens and a host of grisly bad guys. The intelligence is being worked on hard so that enemies won't just aimlessly walk around; they will hear you and seek you out through sound. Two players cooperative (and death match type play) will be achievable through a null modem cable/serial link (modem play please!). Best of all, T17 says that you will NOT have to buy two copies of the game to play two players; backing up of the disks will be available immediately on purchase (um, does this mean we get a HD installable version?). Nice to see someone breaking the norm for a change.

A full screen environment will envelope the character. The cool backround throbbing and atmospheric type effects used in other Breed games are present in AB3D and it is reputedly ber 'John Crapenter-like' (I love it already).

"Real-time inverse kinematic objects" ('buzz phrase' I wonder?) will also be present which means the creatures in the game act totally independant and realistically, as if in real-life. Music and sound effects are being provided by that good old chap Allister Brimble and we all know what a great job he does of making up feel 'right at home' during our gaming.

Enough specs. Now let me convey what it feels like to actually PLAY this new hot game.

Feels like DOOM. Plays like DOOM. Even kinda looks like DOOM. Those who know me know that I am not a big fan of the gendre, *BUT* I am a huge fan of the Alien Breed series. Folks, what these geniuses have done on a 14 mhz machine will astound you. You would have to play DOOM on a 486DX2/66 to get this kind of smooth clean gameplay. DOOM didn't have the atmosphere; that brooding music - you know, like Jack Nicholson was going to pop out from behind the next corner with an axe like in THE SHINING screaming "HEEEEEEEERE'S JOHNNY!" and burying it in your chest. (Nice mental image, eh?)

The fact of the matter is that this is a highly playable game. Sure, it is a bit more chunky than others of its class, but I will tell you what. It more than makes up for it in other aspects.

First, the monsters are better than most I have seen. They don't pixelize really bad when you get close. The screams they make are cool. Like DUNGEON MASTER, you can HEAR them coming. Their footsteps echo behind you as you run off. Very nice. There are only two types I have seen; the green aliens that scream when they die and the totally killer 'walker' type creatures (that are not killable in the demo version). Man, they did a sweet job with this enemy. His movements are super smooth, and detailed. I mean, you can read the thing's serial number. They are pretty smart and follow you around like they should.

The demo also shows the multi-level capabilities. There are lots of stairs, platforms, sunk in ground, etc. There are some REALLY nice elevator effects too.

Your traditional doors are there, along with switches and such on the walls for your interaction, too. The standard boxes of ammo, medkits, etc. are abound.

The coolest part of this game that even DOOM doesn't have is the water. My god, was I ever impressed. The water is not only reflective, but refractive too. You see reflections on the surface, as well as the distortions of the items under the water. Even better, the water is variable leveled; that's right. You can be wading in water up to your chest! And finally, the water actually rushes by you at times like a river. Totally killer. Nice job.

At the time of writing, I still had not finished the preview level but will keep chugging on it. This is a remarkable piece of work and everyone, even if you are NOT a DOOM-type game fan, should check this out. You might be pleasantly surprised.

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TITLE: GLOOM (PREVIEW) PUBLISHER: ACID SOFTWARE CODERS: B.MAGIC TYPE: ACTION/DOOM CLONE PLAYERS: 2 TOGETHER HARD DRIVE: ? SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: PAL/AGA ONLY RELEASE DATE: TBA

'Tis the season for DOOM clones I guess. Here is yet another entry in the growing list of DOOM style clones. This one is a bit different for a change, and definately has some strong points. To give you my first impression, I thought it totally kicked butt!

First off, the game is more like Wolfenstein 3D versus DOOM since it is a bit more pixely and doesn't have the stairs, elevators, etc. that the DOOM clones tend to have. The doors all seem to open automatically (most people are saying how much they dislike this) so that is one less thing to distract you from the main goal of the game: killing.

The demo version floating around allows you to set the detail and screen size of the game based on your processor and on the 040/25 you got about 1/4 screen (only slightly smaller for my 020/14). The detail change is actually pretty dramatic. You may also elect to have floors and ceiling graphics on or off for more speed. The coolest thing about the demo is that the two player mode is already in place and you can play cooperative or the infamous "death match" mode. Unlike Death Mask or AB3D, the two player mode is split screen with the playing screens on the top and bottom versus DM's side by side or AB3D's null modem play. There should be null/modem play in GLOOM's final release. Even if there isn't, the two player mode is great.

Sound like I am a bit more enthusiastic about GLOOM versus AB3D? Well, I am; and I will tell you why. GLOOM has some traits about it that I think are just kick butt. While AB3D will appeal more to the die hard DOOM fans with its Gourard Shading, smooth reflective water, etc. GLOOM will appeal to those who are into the basics of the game: death. What's more, it does it with STYLE. On the other DOOM style games, when you kill an enemy, they may scream and fall to the ground (some even keep bleeding), BUT in GLOOM in either of the modes (MESSY is my favorite) has your enemies not only screaming (heh heh heh) but also have their bodies exploding into dozens of pieces, usually littering the ground with carnage. There is very little more satisfying that charging down a corridor filled with enemy and shooting them and finding yourself in a rain shower of body parts.

Weaponry is handled a bit different. You pick up little fists and your 'weapon meter' grows. As you shoot, your meter decreases. Your meter is graduated in increments; each increment represents an increase in weapon power. Drop below the increment, you go to the next lesser weapon. Tell you what; when you peg that puppy out, get ready for some serious death. 'One shot kills all' type thing. Its great.

There are some great extras in the game that I haven't seen in any (including the actual) incarnation of DOOM. Extra hardware such as a thermal imager which allows you to see through walls! Heh heh heh. Now you can look through the doors and see what really awaits you on the other side. A very nice touch. Hopefully the final release will have even more goodies like that.

I have to admit, I liked this one better than AB3D, but each has theirown strong and weak points. Myself, I am going to have to buy both. The creepy atmospheric play of AB3D is really cool (as are the Walkers) but GLOOM satisfies my undying need to see the enemy turned into Gaines burger dog food. Those of you who follow the newsletters know what a bloodthirsty kinda guy I am (I mean Roadkill is still my favorite game) so if you find that our tastes are the same, you will certainly not be disappointed.

Both of these demo versions are available on Aminet at FTP site: ftp.netnet.net and many people have them in their own home FTPs. You could also get these from just about anyone hanging out in the IRC's if you have DCC capabilities. Try IRC server irc.virginia.edu 6667 on the #AMIGA channel and just ask. heh heh. Here's to happy blasting.