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Based
on one of the most popular series of movies ever made, Lucas Arts take us on a
trip through the STAR WARS TRILOGY. The game includes settings from all three
movies and features many associated characters such as Jabba the Hut,
Interrogation Droids, and Darth Vader. You can take out your frustrations on
the many Stormtroopers, or maybe one of the bounty hunters such a Boba Fett.
Even the elusive swamp creatures make an explosive appearance.
The
Empire has begun developing a terrifying new weapon of destruction - the Dark
Trooper. Armies are being constructed then shipped off across the galaxy and
this is regarded as a threat to the existence of the Rebellion. Rebel mercenary
Kyle Katurn must hunt down the Imperial bases that are developing the weapon and
destroy the flagships.
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Dark
Forces is a strategy shoot-em-up where your mission should you choose to accept
it, is to guide the rebel spy through 14 massive levels, locate and destroy the
newly created Dark-Trooper, taking with you as many of the enemy as you go!
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The
Star Wars Trilogy of movies oozed with quality visuals, superb special effects
and a crystal clear soundtrack that remained firmly in your head for days. Dark
Forces, unfortunately is exactly the opposite in these departments.
As
you advance through the game the story is explained by short clips between
levels which are reminiscent of the old Monty Python cartoon fillers. Imagine
the scene - a cardboard cut-out of Darth Vader stands on the bridge presenting
a rousing speech to his inferior commander. You know that he has blown a fuse
because someone is behind the rigid Darth Vader shaking the cut-out too and fro.
The cowardly commander is an obese balding chap and because he does not have
the benefit of a shining black helmet to cover his features we have the pleasure
of seeing his mouth in motion. Cue stage hand, to move a section of his chin
(that is surely connected to a stick) up and down. So it goes on, scene after
scene, cardboard cut-out after cardboard cut-out. I found myself losing track
of the excellent storyline because I couldn't concentrate on what they were
saying, I was so gob-smacked.
Moving on to the in-game graphics.
Three years on, the average looking PC version has finally reached the PSX and
it is virtually a straight port, so don't expect any next generation update.
From afar the enemies don't look too bad but get up close and, ugh, crude low
resolution pixilation. It's looks similar to a mosaic picture. The same can be
said about the scenery which appears stunning from a distance but incredibly
blocky when near-by.
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The
quality of the soundtrack is inexcusable considering that the PSX uses a CD
rather than a cartridge. It sounds like a cheap tape has been used on a tinny
cassette player and recorded in a public toilet.
There are many
hundreds, possibly, thousands of Stormtroopers to destroy throughout the 14
levels of Dark Forces and each and every one of them will hail "Stop rebel
scum" before launching an assault. Suffice to say this begins to grind on
you after a while.
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So,
the graphics are messy, the animated scenes are laughable and the sound quality
is naff. Surely there must be something within Dark Forces that justifies
praise. Well there is. The gameplay is superb.
It's not all running
around vast complex levels shooting everything in sight, although that is a
fundamental part of the game. Each level includes a selection of missions which
must be completed fully before you are allowed to advance onto the next planet.
This may include retrieving codes from Imperial officers, pulling switches to
de-activate force fields, switching on lighting systems or a liaison with a
specific character. Once your penultimate mission is accomplished, you must
back track to the landing zone to complete your final objective - get out of
this goddam hell-hole.
The levels are truly massive and varied in
design with each requiring use of the old grey matter for the many puzzles that
must be solved to open up new areas of the game. In terms of structure the
levels are fully three dimensional with many of the locations being
multi-levelled. Narrow walkways cross high above the ground while tunnels and
sewers snake far below the surface.
Secret areas which contain a
wealth of power-ups and bonuses may be accessed by climbing high above the
structures or ducking underneath narrow ledges. Power-ups appear in the form of
health and ammo boosters while your arsenal of weapons may be increased if you
stumble upon some of the nine meaty blasters that are scattered throughout the
levels.
You begin the game with three lives and a choice of three
skill levels. Various essential items are collected which are displayed on your
Hud. Energy packs are required to boost your shield generator and power your
headlight for those dark spooky areas. Infra red goggles also come in handy
while the Gas Mask should remain close at hand when you enter the toxic zones.
Gameplay
is enhanced by the addition of the ability to look and shoot up and down. This
small difference has massive ramifications on how difficult it is to kill off
your enemies. Rather than just roughly aiming at your foe (as in Doom) you have
to accurately line them up in your sights, before letting rip with your high
powered weaponry. Crawling, crouching and jumping are also possible in this
game.
I don't mind picking up a game and taking the time to master the
controls as long as you can eventually concentrate on the task in hand.
Unfortunately the set up in Dark Forces never really feels comfortable and you
will find yourself constantly fidgeting about with the joypad, even at the later
stages of the game. The strafe button is essential to your survival but why do
certain developers allocate only one shoulder button combined with the D-pad for
this motion. It never really works for me and at times feels downright messy.
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If
you can overcome the initial disappointment with the sound and visuals there is
an excellent game within Dark Forces. Be warned, if you suffered motion
sickness with Doom then have the vomit bags at hand in this jerky ride through
the Galaxy.
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MARTIN |
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GRAPHICS: |
Poor |
Look,
I don't want it to appear that I am just slagging off Dark Forces because the
visuals did not reach the standard of Tomb Raider, or the controls never feel as
intuitive as Doom, or even the animated scenes are so simplistic. It's just
that I was so disappointed with the overall presentation, especially when the
gameplay was so good and the storyline gripped your attention from the opening
level to the thrilling climax. I expected so much more from a Lucas Arts
product. Let's hope this is corrected when Dark Forces 2 appears and the
frustrations of this game are left in a Galaxy far, far away. |
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SOUND: |
Average |
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PLAYABILITY: |
Excellent |
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VALUE: |
Average |
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OVERALL
7/10 |
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