08/1997
Path: menudo.uh.edu!barrett From: aad.nieuwmans@amiexh.hacktic.nl (Aad Nieuwmans) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews Subject: REVIEW: Microcosm CD32 Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.games Date: 27 Mar 1994 23:00:50 GMT Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett Lines: 145 Sender: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu (comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator) Distribution: world Message-ID: <2n5372$roh@menudo.uh.edu> Reply-To: aad.nieuwmans@amiexh.hacktic.nl (Aad Nieuwmans) NNTP-Posting-Host: karazm.math.uh.edu Keywords: game, shoot-em-up, CD32, CD-ROM, commercial Originator: barrett@karazm.math.uh.edu PRODUCT NAME Microcosm CD32 BRIEF DESCRIPTION MicroCosm is a shoot-em-up game for the CD32. AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: Psygnosis Ltd. Address: South Harrington Building Sefton Street, Liverpool L3 4BQ England Telephone: +44 51 709 5755 LIST PRICE 129.00 (Dutch Guilders) for the Limited Edition, which comes with an audio CD (Psygnosis Soundtrax Vol.1) and a T-shirt of MicroCosm. 99.00 (Dutch Guilders) for the normal edition. SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS HARDWARE A CD32. SOFTWARE None. COPY PROTECTION ?? MACHINE USED FOR TESTING Amiga CD32 INSTALLATION None. REVIEW The game is based on the movie Inner Space, where a miniature spacecraft is travelling through the body of a human. INTRO The Intro is most fascinating and extremely cleverly done. As we go to the Cyber*Tech corporation, we get a 3D look at the city and see some common vehicles run by. The next step is on top of the building where security agents are waiting for the transport to arrive. Incredible graphics and stunning action give you the impression that you are looking at a movie instead of a video game. GAME The game starts in a vein. The craft you're steering is simply drawn. The vein itself is very nicely done, like plasma. On our way to the control center we meet some body-habitants, which we must shoot down. With the help of a map (warning, the map is shown, but the action will continue as you read it), we can determine our way out. Different weapons can be selected, but there's no noticeable clue on the screen! Shooting at those weird-looking objects at a rapid speed seems to be the task here. There's some interaction; for example, when a vein splits in two we can actually choose to go right or left. When completing the first (still intro) level, you'll get the chance to enter at different locations, e.g., left brain or right brain. This will only show other aircrafts and other vein-graphics. The graphics in between all the action are superb. Although the gameplay is very difficult (you could be dead in seconds), continuing the game to see some other levels is done some five times. Maybe there's more to come... DOCUMENTATION Good. Normal explanation of the world and vehicles. The parts of the body you can enter are described. LIKES AND DISLIKES I like the Intro very much, and the animations shown throughout the game. They show what a machine the CD32 really is. The game however is not so exciting as I thought it would be. If the Intro shows so many nice/neat animations, then the game itself could be better. It would be best if this product had improved gameplay and maybe some improvement on the interactivity, controlling the ship better. The most annoying part is the loading disk at the screen, so the animation simply stopped or started. BUGS None. CONCLUSIONS Good. It's definitely a must-be-in-my-collection game. Although the gameplay isn't that exciting at all, the intro and animation make it all better. COPYRIGHT NOTICE This review is freely distributable. Aad Nieuwmans (aad.nieuwmans@amiexh.hacktic.nl) -Via PDQMail @ 2:281/510.0 (primary default address) -Via DDDGate @ 2:281/510.0 DDDGate 1.42 (30.09.93) --- Daniel Barrett, Moderator, comp.sys.amiga.reviews Send reviews to: amiga-reviews-submissions@math.uh.edu Request information: amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu Moderator mail: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu Anonymous ftp site: math.uh.edu, in /pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews