GD Star Rating loading... |
Overview
You’re sitting at the starting line, waiting for the checkered flag to drop. Engines race as each driver waits for the race to begin. Suddenly the car next to you surges forward, slamming the starter’s body into the wall. You and the other drivers take off in fast pursuit, careening up onto the sidewalks, sending spectators running for cover.
If you’ve ever seen Deathrace 2000 you have a good idea of the story in Carmageddon. There are no rules; it’s just you and your car against everyone. Your goal is to climb from 99th in the rankings to number one and if, along the way, you have to crush the opposition (literally), that’s just fine. And if you’re also willing to take out any pedestrians that don’t run fast enough, that’s even better. This is one racing game where your position in the pack doesn’t matter as much as how much damage you do.
Each race does have a set course and you can successfully complete a race by going through the checkpoints and finishing the required laps, but you’ll miss most of the fun if you do. You can also win by knocking the competition out of the race, and we’re not talking about a wimpy game where you blast away at the enemy with guns — in this race, it’s just you and the car slamming into stuff while doing 95 mph. And if that’s not violent enough, there is a third way to win: run over every pedestrian on the streets.
Grim Fandango by LucasArts
loading...
Overview
Well, whaddya know. The Aztecs had it right all along. You die, take the money you’re buried with, and start out on your four-year trek through the land of the dead. Our hero, Manuel Calavera, is a travel agent for the dead, selling the best travel packages a dead soul qualifies for; after all, why spend four years on a dangerous journey when the Number 9 Express train can get you there in four minutes? Manny’s been in a bit of a slump lately, though, with all the good clients going to his competition. There’s trouble in paradise and Manny needs to untangle himself from a conspiracy that threatens his very salvation. That’s where you come in.
Gameplay, Controls, Interface
I liked the game interface. LucasArts chose to keep player interaction with the world pretty simple. In a quick reward for reading the booklet, they even tell you outright that you will not be able to combine inventory items (making it much easier to brute-force a solution if you get desperate). As you approach something with which you can interact, Manny’s head moves to focus on the object. You can then examine it, use it (i.e. pick it up or talk with it) or use an inventory object with it. Pretty basic. There are one or two tight spots where the angle of approach can make it tricky to get from one area to another, and another area where you do have to combine two objects you can pick up (prop item one where you found it, use an inventory item with it, and then pick it up), but all in all, things went pretty smoothly. I particularly liked the option of choosing your frame of reference—either character-relative or camera-relative. I got to love controlling things relative to the character so that I didn’t have to change buttons when my camera angle changed.
Download the Grim Fandango CD’s and play Manuel’s role in this adventure game…