Games section

4. Review: Payback

Payback is available! Therefore Playamiga and Eternity organize a Payback game. More about this at Play!Amiga.

But now let us have a look at the game. Payback comes with instructions in ten (10!) languages and an index of the soundtracks. Ok, let us begin the test with the music. There are 15 songs, most of them Gangsta Rap style but also pop songs (Tip: 03 Crime in 99 (Venom records), 07 The General (Dispatch) and 08 Bleed (Cynic Guru)). It is worth listening to the songs separately.

There are nine languages for the installation so one can say it is a real international game. The game is copied to a directory, with or without the intro. In the directory is the start icon, a setup program for the resolution, and a map editor. After the intro we can start our career on the other side of the law.

Before hitting the streets as a gangster we have to do some adjustments. There is a well done screen for this: in the background is a picture of a town and in the foreground are big animated objects as menu points. A joystick to start the game, a CD for the adjustment of the CD ROM device, a globe for the language etc. Here we can choose if the music will play all the time or only when driving the car (radio). We can also have a look at already played parts of the game or start saved games.

We start a new game. First of all we have to type in our pseudonym and choose single or multi player. In the single player mode the aim is to amass money to get to the top of the gangster hierarchy. For every illegal deed money is paid. So walk around and steal cars, beat up passengers or kidnap women. In public phone boxes we can get orders to earn more money: driving the getaway car after an illegal deed, stealing a car, smuggling drugs - right up to murder. There are some hidden orders, too. One is to steal a tank from a military base and to drive amok.

Technically Payback is programmed very nicely. The game is seen from above. On the top in the right corner is a radar which shows our position and the destination (if there is one). Also shown is how many lives the player has and how much money.

The rest of the screen is taken by the town. The game runs on a 3D engine, so you can get an idea of the height of the buildings. When moving slowly the screen zooms near the person, moving fast it zooms out to see more of the environment. When something obstructs the view a blue arrow shows the position of the person and in which direction he is walking.

The handling is a bit difficult. Using a joystick, left and right changes the direction and with up and down the person walks in this direction or backwards. This might be confusing if you have to push the joystick up to walk down the screen.

Driving is a bit difficult due to the speed and the driving on the left side of the road. To get in and out of the car, the keyboard is used. It is the same when choosing a weapon and using the hand-brake. It is more comfortable if you use a CD-32 or PSX gamepad. Both work well.

Itīs a pity that the keys are fixed and there is no way to change them. An arrow always shows the direction to drive, so one cannot get lost in the town.

The screenshots give an idea of the quality of the game. The textures are very good, especially with high resolution. But thatīs not all. The second level is in snow and the handling of the car changes, cars and people leave traces in the snow, snowflakes fall, and on the water there is ice.

In the third level it is night, so light effects like explosions are very good. There are lensflares and shadows shown in realtime. Sometimes the sheer number of effects is unreal (when you shoot with a shotgun there is an explosion with lensflares, then you can follow the bullet. When beating the cardboard puppet there is an enormous explosion). Unreal but GREAT! I never have seen those effects on my 68k Amiga before. There are several types of cars, all with different handing. Try the ice-cream car! The fastest one is the police car but it means a lot of risk, you cannot drive around, steal, destroy or even kill without getting punishment.

On the top of the screen stars appear, the more stars the more problems you will get. There will be roadblocks and with 6 stars, it will be shoot without warning. In the first town the police calm down when you are passive for a while or change your car. But this will not always be the case.

Sounds good? Ah, my next cue. Payback is not only a good thing for the eyes but also for the ears. Besides the soundtrack the sound effects create the right atmosphere. The whole town is filled with road noise and the tire squealing is very realistic. When the car has a defect it is wreathed in black smoke and the motor starts to clatter. There are many other sounds like explosions, wail of sirens, shouting for help by victims etc.

WOW!!! But that's not all. Payback has a multiplayer mode. Deathmatch. Up to four persons can play against each other. Unfortunately not in a network or by direct link, but on a split screen. Thatīs fun! You can choose how many kills you need to win and where you want to play, and you can make your own levels.

All in all, Payback is the best game of the year so far. Who knows what may come, but till then it is my favourite game. Everything is perfect, the gameplay (o.k. just a GTA clone), the graphic effects and the sound.

I have to mention that this game suggests that violence is o.k. but this in a such an excessive way that it might be ironic. Nevertheless this game is not for kids. Anyone who is not amused that there is a bonus for killed cops shouldnīt play this game.