Games - June '97

Demos for all the following games are featured on this Month's PC User Offline CD-ROM

Windows 95

Interstate 76 is a sort of a cross between 'Mad Max' and 'The Dukes of Hazzard'.

Interstate 76
From: Activision (02) 9869 0955
URL: http://www.activision.com
Australian distributor: Activision (02) 9869 0955
Genre: 3D Driving Combat Simulation
Classification: M15+
Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall value:
List price: $89.95
System requirements: P90, 16Mb RAM, double-speed CD-ROM drive, 80Mb hard disk space, Windows 95

Interstate 76 is a funkily innovative game from Activision. You may have noticed a variation on the word 'funky' insidiously creeping into the previous sentence . . . Well, when writing about Interstate 76 you just can't seem to help using words like funky, groovy, hip, cool, trippy and so on. Why? Well it probably has something to do with the fact that the game is very much a tribute to those corny American TV shows of the '70s many of us grew up with -- Charlie's Angels, The Dukes of Hazzard; Interstate 76 is chock full of affectionate references to them. Apart from this dubious '70s heritage there also happens to be a cutting-edge 3D combat driving simulation residing underneath all the flares, afros and beads.

The game is set slap bang in the middle of the decade most people would rather forget. In Activision's version of '76', law and order has taken a nose dive. Heavily armed muscle car vigilantes represent the only form of justice. Your character, Groove Champion -- no, I'm not kidding-- (who also happens to be one of the hippest dudes ever to grace a PC game), is on a mission of revenge. After discovering that your sister Jade was rubbed out by a jive-ass called Antonio Malochio, you feel obliged to track him down and waste him. (My apologies for the tacky 70s lingo, but it's extremely contagious.)

At the heart of Interstate 76 is a very cool 3D combat driving simulation. From the outset the structure of the game has a very similar feel to something like the Wing Commander series in that you follow the storyline, complete a mission, watch some more of the story unfold, drive another mission and so on.

The missions themselves start off pretty easy (allowing you to familiarise yourself with the car controls) and get progressively harder. Mission goals consist of wasting a few bad guys to blowing up enemy headquarters etc, and you have a huge variety of weapons and firepower at your disposal to complete them with. Unlike many games of this ilk, the player has literally miles and miles of terrain to explore rather than being locked into a small track or road. Of course this has its drawbacks in that it is very easy to get lost; thankfully you always have a map at your disposal, along with mission directives drawn up by your handy mechanic and weapons expert also known as 'Skeeter'.

The only real problem with the game is one of longevity; there are only about 17 missions and they probably won't take the average player too long to complete. This is a shame really, because the characters and high quality graphics will have many players yearning for more by the time the end credits roll. Hopefully Activision will release some add-on mission disks in the not too distant future.
Once you've finished Interstate 76, you may like to try your hand at one of the seven melee missions (similar to the instant action missions of other games). You can also make use of the multiplayer option which includes provisions for modem or Internet play.

Although I'm somewhat ashamed to admit it, I loved this game. The excellent music (it's so bad it's good!), '70s characterisations, and slick polygonal graphics really hit a sentimental nerve. I'd like to see Activision build a series of games around it.

Be warned: while the game supports high screen resolutions, you'll need a very powerful PC to get it running quickly and smoothly in anything higher than 640 by 480. Thankfully Activision has promised support for 3D accelerators which will hopefully compensate for the hardware-hungry nature of the game.

Here's a taste of this hi-res 3D RPG which offers single and multiplayer modes.

This award winning flight simulation technology utilises cutting edge 3D polygon rendering resulting in hi-speed graphics, even at resolutions of 1024X768!

A Golf sim from Sierra.

A strategy game dealing with the problems of effectively managing a hospital.

DOS

X-COM 3: Apocalypse
From: Microprose
Genre: Strategy/action
System requirements: 486DX4/100, 8Mb RAM, DOS 5.0

The latest in the X-COM series offers more of the same with better graphics and new weapons and enemies.

Rex Blade: The Apocalypse
From: X-treme Games
Genre: Arcade/Action
System requirements: 486DX4/100, 16Mb RAM, DOS 5.0

You are rex blade, part human, part cyborg with a history of extreme violence. You are also armed to the teeth and Earth's last chance. Go kick some butt!

Theme Hospital
From: Bullfrog
Genre: Strategy/simulation
System requirements: 486DX4/100, 16Mb RAM, Win95 <DirectX 3.0>

A strategy game dealing with the problems of effectively managing a hospital.

Games - May '97

Games - April '97

Games - March '97

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