Forsaken 64  

by Acclaim  Reviewed by: Mark Skorupa  

Editors Note: The screenshots shown in this review are screens from the PC version of the game. As soon as Acclaim makes the Nintendo 64 screens available on their web page, we will replace them.

Overview

Acclaim seems to have taken a real liking to the N64 and it is really starting to show with some impressive new titles. Although Forsaken will be released on PC and PSX, it is nice to see the N64 flex its muscles. Let me be the first one to tell you that if this game is any indication of what the future holds for the N64, we may be in for some good gaming soon.

Forsaken has you blasting through tons of levels with tons of weapons against tons of enemies. If multi-player is your thing, you have a couple of choices that should keep you smiling while blasting your buddies. The game is based around a two page story that amounts to the fact that some scientists developed a means to manipulate matter at its most basic level, meaning human life will be revolutionized. We are looking at technology changes never even imagined before. As usual, the scientist screw it up and end up blasting the Earth. After trying to salvage as much as could be salvaged, the Earth was classified condemned and has been overrun by the scum of the galaxy. In a last ditch effort to save the planet, the government sends in a cover operation to try to reclaim the planet. The name of the operation is Forsaken and it is up to you to save the planet.

Gameplay

Forsaken can best be described as a first person shooter only in a high speed vehicle. The game has drawn close comparisons to Descent Maximum, only much better. While I think this is a fair assessment, Forsaken is a better looking and playing game. So if Descent Maximum was your cup of tea, this game will blow you away.

The game takes place in various tunnels, corridors, hallways and even under water. You choose a bike, called a pioncycle, from a number of different cycles to ride around the levels and blast away at the evils that lurk around every corner. I hate to start off with a complaint but there is one thing that I was a little disappointed with. There were a number of different cycles to chose from and the manual says the bikes have different attributes but there is no place to check to see what these different attributes are. You can only go by the different looks when selecting. I do want to point out that this is only a minor thing but it still deserves to be noted.

After you select your bike, you go into the first level. Each level has a mission that needs to be accomplished and you receive a briefing prior to starting the level. When you enter the first level, you are armed only with your Pulsar which is your default primary weapon that you will always have. After quickly blasting the first enemies you encounter, you will most likely find a weapons power-up of some sort. Your pioncycle has two different weapons systems. One is a primary weapon which is a basic weapon that fires either lasers or bullets and have high ammo supplies. The secondary weapon is things like missiles and mines. All in all, you can find a whole slew of primary and secondary weapons to help you make it to the end. I know that you are thinking that with this many weapons it is a pain in the butt to arm yourself with the correct one. One of the best parts of the game was the ease with which you could switch between your different weapons. Everything is very simple and if you happened to use up all of the ammo for that particular weapon, the game will automatically switch to the next available weapon so you are never left with your pants down.

At first I was a bit skeptical of the gameplay. I figured that it would get boring after playing a few levels and it would end up being monotonous. I was very surprised that the further I got into the game, the more I wanted to keep going to see what would happen next. I think they did a great job of mixing the all-out shooting and destruction with exploration. As the levels progress, finding door switches gets more difficult. For example, in the first few levels, there would be a panel next to the locked doors. All you had to do was shoot the panel and the door would open. After getting past the beginning, you were forced to go out and explore the levels for the switches to unlock the doors. They were no longer just sitting next to the door waiting for you to come along and blast them. The best part is that even though finding these switches to open doors is a big part of the game, I never felt that they overused the switch thing. I mean, how many games have you played where you have to flip a switch to open a door to another switch so you can access a third and so on. This game focuses on the high speed gameplay like it should so these switches were not the main focus.

Another great thing about this game is the different enemies. First off, there are a minimum of 16 different types of enemies ranging from stationary gun turrets to flying, laser shooting hunters. This does not even include the level bosses which are huge and very mean looking. It was great to have the different variations in enemies and the game does a great job of mixing the enemies up so you don't feel like you are just fighting the same bad guys over and over. Also, what I found completely amazing about the enemies was their intelligence level. For the most part, you can not sit there and shoot the thing until it explodes unless you are willing to take on some severe damage yourself. There were times when I would hide around a corner and use the strafe (very important to learn to use) to slide into the hallway where an enemy was waiting. After blasting and then strafing back out of the hallway, the enemy started to fire at the corner where I just hid. If I even stuck my little toe around the corner, he was laying missiles on me. This meant that there were no easy hide and shoot victories which was a nice change. Well, I should not say that there are no easy victories because occasionally you can stand in a doorway, shoot, and when the return fire comes in, you just back up and the door closes, shielding you from danger. Also, it was very cool when I would shoot a flying enemy because it did not blow up immediately but it knew it was about to go. So instead of dying a quiet death, it would Kamakazi and try to inflict one last blow. It was awesome to see enemies with the wherewithal to know they are about to explode and try to take you with them.

Most multiplayer games are usually a blast and this is no exception. You can play the multiplayer in two ways. The first is called Max Frag and is a timed game that sees who can destroy the most enemies in that time period. The second, and best, is called the Last Man. This is exactly like it sounds. You try to be the last man left. This mode has no time limit and blasting others is at its peak.

I do have a couple of complaints about the game aside from the fact that the cycles are supposed to have different attributes but there is no place to view these attributes. My biggest complaint is that the game does not include any sort of mapping device. I don't know how many times I went down the same tunnel thinking that it was something different. The complex levels scream for an auto mapper and I think that it really would have helped the game. My second complaint is more of a warning; people with motion sickness should stay far, far away. I am a roller coaster rider extreme so motion does not bother me but this game even made me feel a bit sick after playing for an extended period. I guess that could be a selling point for some people but don't say I did not warn you.

Graphics

This is where the muscles start to be flexed. This game looks awesome. Everything is smooth, crisp, clear and detailed. How may first person games have you played where you get close to something and it turns into a distorted mess? Not in this game. From short range to long range, the enemies and surroundings all look great. Also, the developers have found the correct formula to make realist and awesome looking explosions. I love shooting one of the flying enemies from the sky because they start to smoke and instead of just exploding, they crash into the walls and explode into a beautiful ball of flames. Very cool.

Bottom Line

I really enjoyed this game. The fast paced action coupled with a bunch of different enemies and weapons will keep you playing for hours. The graphics are top notch and watching those explosions never gets old. I think that this game is everything that other games have tried to be but failed. All in all, if you do not suffer motion sickness, you should check this game out. I don't think that it will be for everyone, especially on the Nintendo, but if you are not sure, it is worth the price of a rental for sure.