MechWarrior 2 (Activision) By Brett Atwood After several delays, the much-hyped MechWarrior 2 has finally arrived. It was well worth the two-year wait. The game opens with a stunning computer-generated sequence, created by Digital Domain on Silicon Graphics workstations. A 70-second opening animation sequence, which is among the best to appear in a CD-ROM game so far, sets up the futuristic storyline. Gameplay takes place in the year 3057 amid a ceasefire between the battling Clans and the Inner Sphere. The Clans have suffered a defeat in the Battle of Tukayyid, and have agreed to not invade Terran space for 15 years. Broken by defeat, infighting has broken out in the Clan colonies. Clan MechWarriors battle it out in an attempt to advance in ranking. The goal is to become the Khan, who is leader of your Clan. Once that is achieved, the player has the opportunity to lead the attack to regain Terra. Fans of the BattleTech Universe and FASA's original series of books and board games will be happy to note that MechWarrior 2 stays true to the spirit of its predecessors. Fifty different missions offer distinct gaming environments, including varied terrain and opponents. The player has the option of choosing between two different play modes. The Trial Of Grievance allows the player to customize single missions for immediate combat. However, to win the game, the player must stay in career mode. By choosing one of two Clans, the player can build in rank and strength in multiple missions. Combat takes place inside two-legged war machines, known as BattleMechs. There are 15 different BattleMechs to choose from. The weaponry and strength of each BattleMech varies, adding a strategic element of choice to the gameplay. Over 20 unique weapons systems are available to the player. Players are seated in a 3D virtual cockpit, with the capability to rotate 360 degrees within the BattleMech. If the BattleMech takes a direct hit, the player's cockpit rocks and rolls. The BattleMech combat playing field resembles a souped-up version of the '70s Atari arcade classic Battle Zone. Real-time polygon texture- map surfaces provide the terrain, which varies mission-by-mission. As the BattleMech walks through the terrain, the screen shakes slightly to simulate its steps. The effect further adds to the immersive nature of the game. For real metal-to-metal combat, MechWarrior 2 is upgradable to network compatibility, allowing up to eight players to compete against one another. The forthcoming multi-player version also will support two- player modem combat. Combat controls are relatively easy to learn. However, Activision has wisely made it easy for the beginning warrior with the addition of several training missions to ease the player into combat. A training voice teaches the player through the use of the controls that are necessary to play the game, as it walks you through a series of simple maneuvers. Although the player can use the keyboard and mouse, MechWarrior 2 plays considerably smoother with a joystick and virtual I/O helmet. Let the battle begin! MECHWARRIOR 2 INSTRUCTIONS INSTALLATION 1.) Quit to DOS 2.) Change to the MWARRIOR subdirectory on the CDROM drive 3.) Type "install" to start the installer 4.) Follow instructions to play 5.) During game play, press F1 for control references and help FX FIGHTER (GTE Entertainment) By Jeff Kitts The folks at Argonaut, the design team responsible for the new FX Fighter, are obviously well familiar with the art of the steal--a credo that basically says that if you're going to rob, rob from the best. In coming up with the blueprint for FX Fighter, they shut their brains off and went straight for the best fighting game of its kind--Sega's Virtua Fighter. FX and Virtua bear so many striking similarities that you can almost smell a lawsuit in the air. The basic gameplay in each is identical: two fighters square off against one another in a ring with no ropes (falling outside the ring constitutes a "Ring Out" and the loss of the fight--Argonaut could have at least given this cheapo maneuver a different name!), pummeling each other with a wide array of wrestling and kickboxing-type moves until one is left standing at the end of either three or five rounds. The action is viewed through various angles with the help of a "camera" that rotates and adjusts as the combatants move--an effect pioneered by Virtua Fighter. But while the resemblance between the two is undeniable, the truth is that FX doesn't hold a candle to the mighty Virtua Fighter. Comparisons aside, FX Fighter is, on its own, a decent fighting game--particularly for the largely untapped PC brawler market. The game offers nine otherworldly beings to choose from, including an evil water spirit, a cyborg fighting machine and a spiritual human monk. But as a whole they're a pretty unattractive group--boring names, boring powers and zero attitude. Some fighters prove to be more worthy than others, which puts more emphasis on wise character selection than skill (choose Ashraf and you'll kick major ass, fight as Venam and you're dog meat). The game is further hampered by slow movements and reaction times; sometimes waiting for your fighter to respond results in you being hammered by a vicious roundhouse to the head. Each character is armed with 10 or so special moves, some of which (like Ashraf's Back Break Throw and Sheba's Frank N Steiner) are particularly cool. Gore hounds looking for blood and fatalities ala Mortal Kombat should look elsewhere--FX Fighter sticks with the clean Virtua Fighter motif and stays clear of any exploding limbs or gaping wounds. The animation in FX Fighter isn't bad, but with everything made up of polygons, there's a serious lack of detail or personality in the game's visual aspect. And lowering the detail levels in hopes of making the game run quicker only makes it more pixelated and drab. Despite these problems and an embarrassing lack of originality, FX Fighter is still capable of providing some decent hand-to-hand combat excitement at least for a short while, especially for PC owners who don't have a dedicated video game system. INSTALLATION To install the FX Fighter Demo onto your system: 1.) Quit to DOS 2.) Change to the FXDEMO subdirectory on the CDROM drive 3.) Type "fxinstall" to start the installer 4.)Type FIGHT to start the game. THE DEMO The Demo consists of 1 Player and 2 Player (VS.) mode only. The user will only be able to select from two characters (Jake or Magnon). However, Jake will be the only computer player available in the 1 Player mode. All other characters cannot be selected in this Demo. The Lava World is the only environment available on this Demo. The user will have the ability to configure the game by going into the "OPTIONS" menu, but not all features are available in the demo. The following list of features are adjustable/operational in the Configuration Menu: BOUT OPTIONS Game Speed: Slow, Normal, Fast, Turbo Autosave Stats: On/Off Sound/CD Volume: User Adjustable KEYBOARD All default key settings are adjustable. To change default settings press the space bar and select the new key. Use the arrow keys or the jump and duck keys (Default P1 A & Z, P2 L & comma) to move around the screen. Note: Please ensure that the key you wish to change is the one that is highlighted. JOYSTICK To calibrate the controller highlight the word "CALIBRATE" and press the space bar or the punch button (A) on the controller. Follow the instructions prompts underneath the respective Joystick to finish the calibration sequence. Note: Four button joysticks may conflict with the second player utilizing the keyboard. We recommend playing the demo with a two button controller. DETAIL LEVELS The detail levels are user adjustable. On lower end platforms (486/33DX), we recommend that setting are set to LOW and OFF. Trying to run the game at high detail settings may slow down game performance. The user will be able to adjust the detail level of the characters and the floor. Note: The "Perspective" option is intended only for high end PCs. You should not use the "Perspective" option unless you are running the game from a Pentium PC. EMERGENCY BROADCAST NETWORK: Telecommunication Breakdown (TVT) (enhanced CD playable on both Mac and Windows CD-ROM) By Brett Atwood Be warned. The Emergency Broadcast Network can induce headaches when applied incorrectly. Sensory overload is a serious side effect to EBN's in-your-face assault of video sampling and beat-intensive music. Some will call it noise, which may very well be true. However, this is noise with a purpose. The audio-only portion of the disc contains 20 tracks of organized confusion. Soundbytes from television broadcasts are layered on top of each other to form quirky, but catchy, melodies. EBN gained some attention a few years ago when it provided a video sample-derived duet of George Bush and Bill Clinton performing Queen's "We Will Rock You" for the opening portion of U2's "Achtung Baby" tour. That track isn't contained on this disc, but there are plenty of other odd television-derived tracks present here, including the stand- out tracks "Get Down Ver. 2.2," "Shoot The Mac-10," and "Sexual Orientation." The only relief from the jumbled musical assault comes from the one-minute meditational opening of "Super Zen State (Power Chant No. 3)." A "video wall" of multiple video images opens up the multimedia portion of the disc, which will play on both Mac and Windows CD-ROM- equipped computers. Click on one of the many mock television screens to see a video sample from each of the 20 songs. In addition, three full-length videos are contained on the disc. "3:7:8" opens with a simple image of a young boy singing falsetto. Before long, a random assault of archive music footage kicks in. Ann Miller dances, an old cowboy whistles, and, suddenly, that annoying falsetto-singing boy is floating around the screen. It's a bit overwhelming, to say the least. Infomercials infiltrate the clip for "Electronic Behavior Control System," which overflows with the television personalities that you love to hate. Video samples of Susan Powter and Tony Robbins are juxtaposed with Bill Clinton and Ross Perot. "Nightline" host Ted Koppel interrupts occasionally, while a hip-hop beat pounds on. The final video "Homicidal Schizophrenic (A Lad Insane)" is (not surprisingly) the strangest. Some crazy dude babbles and drools, while Suzanne Somers smiles on in mock merriment. Throw in a splash of O.J. Simpson, hide the good kitchen utinsels, and reach for the lithium. Transmission out. INSTRUCTIONS: 1.) Click on the Play Demo button. 2.) Your screen will soon fill with multiple television-screen images. At the lower right-hand corner is what looks like a remote-control device. Click on the button marked "Help," and an explanatory screen will appear in the center of the screen.