Descent developed by Parallax Software published by Interplay for PC CD-ROM / DOS November 30, 1995 Somebody help me here. There was a midway ride I went on years ago that produced such nauseating disorientation, I was unable to even look at the thing for years afterward. Every time I did, it produced a near blackout and a certain amount of debilitating fear. It was made up of several cages (yes, you heard me right, cast-iron cages - apparently built to hold John Merrick), all connected to a couple of arms that rotated on numerous axis. Bad as that usually is on its own, the cages would spin themselves. It was hellish. And yet, like most other rides of its kind, it was still kind of fun... at least I think it was fun. The human being is a strange animal when it comes to these sort of things. In any case, I'm asking if anyone knows the name of this ride because I'd like to put a name to something that is probably hidden in my subconscious (for my own mental safety, presumably) but has been conjured up once again by the thrills and spills of Interplay's fabulous Descent. The first few minutes of Descent will have you heaving as down becomes up, and left becomes right. You'll adjust but you'll never be fully free of occasional miscues in direction. It can be easy to get lost miles below the surface of the moon or Mars. Don't depend to heavily on landmarks because objects connected to the floor tend to look a little different when, after another pass, they stem from the ceiling. You'll find that Descent's look-at-it-anyway-you-want-to automap can be your best friend. Descent is a rip-roaring, rollercoaster ride through a sub-terrainean hell. Doom-like in its concept, it comes off with its own feel and unique gameplay. As the story goes, you are a mercenary pilot hired (by the Post-Terran mining conglomerate) to rid their mines of an infestation of modified robots, which have been reprogrammed by an alien race to create a little economical havoc before they invade the earth. The only way to stop this infestation is to blast your way to the core of each successive mine, blow the reactor, and then launch your way out of the mine by way of the emergency access tube. Oh, there are also some hostages involved but I quickly found it difficult to give a damn. With hordes of screaming machinery, coming from above and below, popping out of walls and unleashing all kinds of firepower at you, self-preservation was the overwhelming instinct, not compassion. Take care of #1 baby! Descent packages simple gameplay, speed and an omnipresent sense of danger to produce a game that is completely addictive and an absolute blast to play. Imagine the fun involved in winding your way down a tight corridor with your quad lasers blasting away at anything that moves. Suddenly, everything opens up to a cavern with a floor (or ceiling) of pure molten rock. From out of the dark corners of the space come screaming, demonic lifters, ready to tear you apart with their blood stained pincer arms. You fire off a salvo of concussion missiles, shards of disintegrating metal go flying and relief turns to joy, as you find that a stray missile has opened up a secret area in the wall, that has encased a spreadfire cannon. Elated, you rearm your self only to find that you are taking hits from 3 or 4 drones below you. In a quick 90 degree turn you head straight up towards the ceiling. You punch the throttle and send your Syssyx screaming towards the corridor you've noticed. The drones are still in pursuit though, so, in a moment of clarity, you lay a stream of proximity bombs behind you. With the click of a key, you turn your rear camera on to witness the result of your giving nature. Your new found friends have been blown away by the gifts you left behind. There is nothing in this game that isn't fun. Even if you happen to get stuck on the Mercury mission, unable to get past the madness of cloaked Hulks all around you, you'll still have an enjoyable experience. I spent hours replaying (from my save point) the same 4 minutes over and over again with unwavering demonic glee. Descent has been out months now, and its not Interplay's success story for the year for nothing. Level upon level of chaos, smooth and simple gameplay, the option to save any one of your missions as the game demo and the ability to take a screen shot at anytime to use as your Windows wallpaper. Oh, did I mention network play? Yes, you can join up to 7 other Descenters in either Anarchy (deathmatch) Team Anarchy or Cooperative modes. Information sharing? Bah, this is what the modem was invented for. Some would argue that Descent has completely reinvented the 1st person genre, I for one would not go that far. But what Descent has succeeded in doing is to take gaming, involving fully realized 3D environments, to a new level. It's not as graphically rich as its progeny (i.e. Warhawk for the PSX) but then it wasn't developed for a pure game system such as the PlayStation or the Saturn. Not to mention, anything older than 3 months is already ancient looking (these are heady days for gaming). Besides, I couldn't give a damn about graphics when gameplay is this much fun. In any case, my point is academic; as I haven't had a chance to marvel at what the other versions of Descent will look like (name a system and there will be a version of Descent for it in the new year). Descent is a must buy for the PC and for me to expand on this point would be a waste of information packets. Buy it, regret isn't an option here. I give Descent.....................................................................................9 out of 10. John Shaw