WiZzard/Carnage Reviews

|1-Gloom Deluxe



                              For The Word

(yep, I DID notice what happened with the Worms review :)

So then, Gloom Deluxe, eh?  Is it as good as finding you've sat opposite
Sharon  Stone  on  the  bus  or  as  bad  as  finding you've sat down on
something that went "squish"?  Well, don't take my review as gospel, but
I think it's pretty darned good.  Here's why...

For  a  start,  you  don't  just  get Gloom Deluxe, you get the original
version  of  Gloom, which is a good idea as when you upgrade to a faster
cpu,  you can try out Gloom Deluxe at a decent speed.  The strange thing
about Gloom Deluxe is that it is exactly the same levels as before, only
at  a  higher resolution.  Funny, because the demo of Gloom Deluxe was a
totally  new  level.   However, I have heard that there will be some new
level disks out soon.

There are a few options available before the game is loaded, these range
from  using  your  own  chunky-to-planar routine to using the Virtual-io
glasses.   Unfortunately,  I  haven't  had  the  chance  to test out the
virtual  glasses  setting,  but  I guess it would be like looking at two
slightly different mini tv's for each eye.  There are options to set the
resolution  that  the  Gloom screen runs in, from Low-Res to SuperHi-Res
Interlaced,  although  you'd  have to have a Risc cpu to run full-screen
1x1  S-HiRes  Interlaced...   There  is  also  the  option to have Gloom
running  in  the  background on Workbench, which sounds cool.  I haven't
tried it yet (I think I will in a minute, though!)

On  my computer (fitted with an Apollo 1220 - 25MHz 020 + FPU) I can get
away with running Gloom Deluxe 2x2 full screen and 1x1 a couple of sizes
up  from the smallest size, which is okay because although the screen is
fairly  small,  the  detail is high so you can clearly see what is going
on.  I have had the pleasure of seeing an A1200 fitted with the Blizzard
A1260  run Gloom Deluxe full screen 1x1 fairly smoothly.  Wow.  Just one
screen size down and it ran silky smooth.  Cor.

It  might  seem  obvious  to some that some games programmers are urging
A1200  owners  (and  owners  of  older  machines)  to  upgrade to faster
processors.   After  all,  who wants to play Doom on a 286?  Team 17 are
urging people to upgrade for their forthcoming title Alien Breed 3D II -
another  contender  for the Doom - But On The Amiga crown.  It does look
good though, from the still screenshots I have seen.

This brings me onto another point.  Gloom is very frantic and it is very
atmospheric  thanks  to  the spooky sound effects.  However, even though
the  graphics  have  been  updated  somewhat, it still doesn't beat some
aspects  of Breed 3D.  The main reason is that Gloom is all on one level
and the rooms are mostly square; okay, this means that you find yourself
going  around  the  corners  warily  but  it gets a bit repetitive.  The
repititiveness  is  broken  down  a little bit though, as there are some
massive  rooms  here and there, plus there are walls swinging about that
can crush you to death if you're not careful.

One  other  thing  is  that the weapons seem a bit unrealistic, shooting
glowing  balls  of  light  doesn't appeal to me as much as chainsawing a
lizards  head  off,  but maybe that's just me.  I found Gloom Deluxe one
heck of a game, even playing it full-screen 2x2, the ghosts coming at me
through  the  walls really shit me up.  I would urge everybody to go out
and  buy it, as it would show that people have got accelerators in their
wonder-machines,  and  that  they want good games that take advantage of
that extra power.

               A fine example of how to make a good game.

Ratings:
--------

Graphics    -  93%  Imagine hot shit flying off a hot shovel. And you're
                    almost there.

Sound       -  90%  Sound effects that make you afraid of walls.

Playability -  92%  Instantly playable. Even better with a CD32 joypad.

Longevity   -  89%  It's a pity the levels are the same, as it won't take
                    original Gloom players long to get far. Still presents
                    quite a challenge though. And you'll want to get
                    through it.


Overall     -  91%  A veritable gore-fest. With the messy option, of
                    course.


Hi mum!
Review by WiZzard/Carnage.

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