$afc|2-Alien Breed 3D II |1-The |2-Killing Grounds $aaf reviewed by Dick Price : £22.95 (Mail Order) Programmers: Team 17 Publishers : Ocean Software This is it, this is the game that everyone's been waiting for because it's the one that people want to kick-start the Amiga with, was it worth the wait? The story is based around events after the destruction wreaked by your character at the end of the first episode, you have been picked up by the INDOMITABLE and have been sleeping off the effects of the battle in one of the med-bays in the quarantine area. When you wake up you scan the area and find no signs of contamination but start to worry when you can't raise anyone on the ship's comm system. As soon as you step out of the door then that's it, you're in trouble. Anyone with half a brain would sit where they were and hope for help but that door has slammed behind you and it was rigged only to be opened from the inside... Most people have had the chance to play a demo version on their machines thanks to the guys at Team 17 and it immediately strikes you that the engine for this version is much more powerfull than before, which means it's also much more processor intensive than before, aaahhh, so we're going to need some serious oomph before we can play this one right? On a double-speed 020 (like a Blizzard or Apollo) you can play the 4Mb version which runs a bit quicker, but even with the detail set to a reduced level and the lighting effects off you can still only manage to play it really in quarter-screen 2x2 pixel mode. Bearing in mind that the Blizzard is as quick as an A4000/030 this means that users of some 030 machines are going to feel hard done by. It begs the question, is this game going to be good enough to persuade people to upgrade? Well, possibly. From that first med-bay to the corridor beyond, the atmosphere pours out of the game at you. Your overworked imagination outfits every shadow with a battalion of bloodthirsty aliens out to kick your head in, and the fact that the shadows contain nothing more threatening than a medi- kit or some shotgun shells does nothing to ease your nerves. Yes folks, this game is an adrenaline pumper all right, the first incarnation of AB3D was too cartoony, but there's nothing in the slightest cartoony about this one, oh no. Robots hiding in shadows can be a pain in the bum, especially when you've just turned your back on them because you didn't see them there. The devil-dogs are back, big and red and as bloody annoying as ever as they bounce all over the screen, and with you trying to get one of the little buggers in your sights as you hear footsteps behing you. This game hypes everything up to a rediculous level, you'll often shout at the screen in fright as something bounds joyously round a corner in a spirited attempt to rip your head off, I recall turning the first real corner in the game and shouting "arrgh!" at the sight of a red alien dog thingy chewing my arm off. You'll know it when you see it. Later levels seem to be rediculously complicated and resort to the old "pick up the key, open the door, shoot the aliens, pick up the next key" kind of approach and it spoils the game, even later though there's a cramped crawl through an air-duct, there are generators and uplink computers to destroy and eventually of course there's the big bad boss at the very end, right up there on level 16, or "P". This game is too bloody hard though, level one isn't so bad but the top action really starts on level two, where you'll have to work like mad to get to the exit, and probably get shot anyway, it's a bit of a downer if you've spent 10 minutes creeping round trying not to attract anyone's attention only to get shot in the back from someone you didn't hear. Some of the levels don't appear to be at all well thought out, there are stupid things like keys left in cages where the alien dogs are, and you miss them because they're right up there on a shelf where you can't possible get to unless you've got the anti-grav device, and even that needs constantly recharging. The game goes some way to explaining some of this, like the fact that the aliens haven't had time to clear up after the battle with the crew of the INDOMITABLE, hence the ammo that is scattered all over the place, but that doesn't go enough towards excusing the poor layout of some of the levels. One brilliant idea in this package is the inclusion of a level and object editor which will allow you to design your own worlds. This part of the package will probably guarantee it's success more than anything because people will start designing propper "Aliens" levels, complete with baddies and Giger-esque graphics, can't wait for that! This means that the game will be in the limelight a lot longer and more and more people will be persuaded to upgrade, all good stuff. You want some reviews? Okay... Graphics - 9/10 - Spot on! Couldn't really be much better! Sound - 10/10 - Options for everything up to 8-channel stereo! Atmosphere - 10/10 - Aaargh! Lemme alone! Take that! Aha!! System Use - 10/10 - 2 and 4 Meg versions, easy enough to install. Playability - 9/10 - Groovy, needs to be a bit quicker though. Value - 10/10 - Buy it on Mail Order and you're laughin'! Lastability - 10/10 - You're kidding me right? What else is there? |1- 9.7 or 97%!!! Overall: Buy it today, or miss out on the Amiga's best game ever! E·n·d