Game Reviews

[Montrealer]

Here I'll share some reviews for 3DO games for discussion purposes.

​I found scans from my favorite gaming magazine from the days, Game Players and they have some 3DO games reviewed. They were always pretty favorable to the machine, and the magazine itself was a pleasure to read. They have this whole 2-year cycle where they had great humor, a lot of personality and they engaged the readers directly. Quite the gem. Sadly it fizzled out rather quickly after trying to reinvent itself a couple times. But I digress.

​Here is the review for none other than Blade Force.

 

WOAH look at that score! 95% lands Blade Force a "Game Players Ultimate" award and the reviewer Jeff Lundrigan can't seem to get over how good the game is.

​In case the text is too hard to read, here's the detailed score:

Graphics: 10
+Beautiful, texture-mapped city to fly through.
+And it MOVES, baby!

Music & Sound FX: 8
+A great -and loud- rock soundtrack.
-Scrapes the edge of generic rock, though.

Innovation: 9
+There's never been a heli-pak sim before.
+Just two words- Bungee Cam!

Gameplay: 10
+If you love to fly, you'll love this!
+Special weapons, challenging gameplay- what more do you need?

Replay value: 9
+Screaming action keeps you coming back!
-Gets a little repetitive after a while

​Bonus : Blade Force was also titled 3DO game of the year in the 1995 Holiday issue

 

 

Do you agree with the review? I DON'T.

​Don't get me wrong, I like Blade Force. It's one of the true quality exclusives for the 3DO and it is quite the technical achievement in terms of graphics and framerate. I really shows off what the 3DO could do. But come on- read that review; "fly! shoot! explosion! woohoo!" He's basically regurgitating a mix of the press release and a few of the most obvious features of them. It's almost as if he only played the first level or so and extrapolated from there.

​While the review does mention of how deficient the map is, it misses that everything sorta looks the same so you're always getting lost and most of all, nowhere does Jeff Lundrigan talk about the legitimately broken collision detection. Again, I like Blade Force, but I just think it was never as great as M. Lundrigan makes it out to be. Technical prowess aside, I'd rate this game more in the 70% range, especially due to its gameplay flaws which were apparent even back then.

​What do you guys think of Blade Force or the review?

Edited February 1, 2018 by Montrealer

[NoelleAmelie]

I think this is the least "review" review I've ever seen. It's just the guy talking about the game and saying things are cool with no critique.

[homerj]

I'm pretty much with you. Bladedorce was a nice showpiece & there was some fun to be had but in the end it was just really frustrating. Mostly due to the collision detection and the less than helpful map just added to it. Not a terrible game by any means but I never could play it for more than 30 min or so before I rage quit. I'd like to give it another shot but I think my disc is damaged.

[Montrealer]

I think this is the least "review" review I've ever seen. It's just the guy talking about the game and saying things are cool with no critique.

 

Ah...but the 90s were a different time. It's just how they did reviews. The guy likes the game a lot (or got paid a lot) so he writes only nice things about it. There are negative points made about the map and repetitive action. You'd get a more solid, nuanced review if it scored 60-70%, then he'd be talking about the high and low points from the game. I'll have such reviews up for you guys shortly.

[UHATEIT]

I really enjoy Blade Force. I have only played maybe 3-4 levels in tho because my 3DO started to overheat and was skipping so I had to turn it off, but I got about an hour and a half of play on it. But the graphics are surprisingly good and really do show off what the 3DO can do.

 

I 100% agree with the last part about the repetitive nature of the game. Also I got lost as shit in that game because everything really does look the same. The map wasn't very well created IMO and there were times I killed everything in the level and then just keep flying around not know where the hell I was supposed to go or if there was a boss or exit I was to be looking for! The map doesn't really tell you any specific direction to go for and kind of pissed me off. Unlike the map in Doom or Wolfenstein that are extremely helpful. I also agree with you on the collision detection. However for me, I am fine if the copter doesn't blow up when crashing into things since flying a copter is pretty tough anyways and is likely to happen a lot.

 

I'd probably have to go back and read the intro or watch the opening video to see what the point of the game was. I think there was some sort of drug lord what runs the area or some crap like that.

[UHATEIT]

BTW I am excited if you want to post a bunch more of these reviews! Make this a Sticky with all the reviews on it would be great. Otherwise just keep adding. I am happy to see action in this 3DO section! I am part of the Atari Jaguar group but there have been a lot of opinionated parties in there. I wish there was also a Sega Saturn section on this forum! (Since there is a Sega Genesis section)

[Austin]

Any game I can't even hope to manage to get more than a couple levels in doesn't deserve a 95% in my book. I like Bladeforce, but **** me if I ever come close to finishing it, and I'll be surprised if the reviewer ever did either.

 

I actually like a lot about the game, but several key things bring the whole experience down for me, like the nonsensical stage layouts, confusing means of progression and a map that is borderline useless. It wouldn't have been so bad if they nixed the whole fuel idea, but you'll basically end up running out of time trying to figure out where to go.

[Montrealer]

Any game I can't even hope to manage to get more than a couple levels in doesn't deserve a 95% in my book. I like Bladeforce, but **** me if I ever come close to finishing it, and I'll be surprised if the reviewer ever did either.

 

I actually like a lot about the game, but several key things bring the whole experience down for me, like the nonsensical stage layouts, confusing means of progression and a map that is borderline useless. It wouldn't have been so bad if they nixed the whole fuel idea, but you'll basically end up running out of time trying to figure out where to go.

 

Yeah most people will agree that the game is almost solid. It's near miss and it is fully underserving of a near-perfect score.

[Montrealer]

New review!

​This one is a game I'm actively hunting for (not keen on paying eBay prices on this one). It is considered one of the better FMV games, but apparently the movie-to-game ratio isn't optimal. It's mostly a movie, but the reviewer from my favorite game mag from the days, Game Players, seems to like it. Bonus points to Jeff Lundrigan for being mostly non-sexist in his writing.

​The Daedalus Encouter

 

​This 73% score is surprisingly high for an FMV game, which was a dreaded genre even back then. Come to think of it, whose brilliant idea was it to offer gamers titles that were essentially non-games and expect them to buy that sh*t? And most times the "movie" isn't even good. But I digress, here's the detailed score:

Graphics: 10
+Excellent video quality, nice design work.
+Oh, OK- Tia Carrera is cute too.

Music & Sound FX: 9
+The sound is great, especially in full surround.
-The music is good, but it's pretty generic outer space music.

Innovation: 4
+Some of the puzzles I haven't seen before.
-Nothing much new here really.

Gameplay: 7
+Not bad if you like puzzles and enjoy the videos.
-Nothing else to like if you don't.

Replay Value: 7
+There are some "hidden" things you might miss the first time.
-It still doesn't take manu tries before you're tired of it.

​I have yet to play this so I can't compare my own experience with Jeff's. He probably makes valid points: this is mostly a movie with some puzzles to solve here and there. My research tells me there are 11 puzzles scattered throughout this movie. It could probably be played via a DVD player with just your remote, if they had made it that way.

​A score in that range is better than a near-perfect or near-zero to inform us readers and would-be buyers about the game. So here we are clearly told that this is mostly a movie with little interaction, but that the acting and the set are above average. This looks like an accurate reflection of the game, just by looking at the screenshots and considering the cast. I mean yeah, Cassandra​ Tia carrere is a well known actor after all.

​Ms Carrere herself was present at the last ComicCon I went to, and my main regret is not having a boxed/sealed copy of this game for her to sign. Hopefully I'll make that happen someday soon.

BONUS: A second opinion, EGM's review




​It looks like EGM's review agrees with that of Game Players, averaging 6.75/10 with some mostly positive comment about the quality of the video.

​Have you played this game? How hot is Tia​ What did you think of this "movie with 11 puzzles"?

Edited February 2, 2018 by Montrealer

[UHATEIT]

Answering the question have I played the game, no I haven't. As to how hot is Tia, well she was pretty hot back in the day! Wayne's World

[Montrealer]

Answering the question have I played the game, no I haven't. As to how hot is Tia, well she was pretty hot back in the day! Wayne's World

 

I'm really looking forward to the day I'll own a copy of this. Wayne's World is a cult movie from my early years, I know the french-canadian dubbed version almost by heart to this day. I have _never_ played this, but I always saw it everywhere and Cass-- Tia Carrere on the cover alway caught my eye. This predates her Sydney Fox days by 4 years. Fun fact: Relic Hunter is mostly canadian-produced.

 

​Would you be more inclined to play/buy the game after reading up on it? It's not even an uncommon title so it should be relatively easy to find it at a good price, unless you're in Canada. (currency conversion, shipping and customs really do break deals in my case)

Edited February 2, 2018 by Montrealer

[Flojomojo]

I want to dig out my Rusel DeMaria "3DO Game Guide" books ... they were fun compendiums of reviews. They should be scanned and shared; I'm sure their commercial value has vanished. Why isn't this stuff public domain?

[UHATEIT]

I haven't looking into Daedalus Encounter as of yet for an acquisition. I want to say its like 4 discs or something crazy like that, which probably explains the price.

 

I did play over an hour of Corpse Killer today and eat the game finally. I feel good about that!

[Montrealer]

​Today, on 3DO reviews : definitive proof that money can buy good reviews​ BallZ

​If you like this game, then you might be able to keep a straight face and say that it is the 3rd best fighter on the 3DO, because SSF2 Turbo and Samurai Shodown are top 2 no matter how you look at it. I'd say Way of the Warrior is #3, personnally.

This is a short, half-page review from Game Players, so the detailed score has no text to explain the points the game is getting.


​The review for BallZ Director's Cut:

 

 

82% Someone must've drank too much.

At least the written review makes sense. Jeff Lundrigan (again?) pretty much highlights Ballz's true weakness : Confusing gameplay. This is all because everything looks the same: assembled balls. The characters are all supposed to represent something, I know that much; like one is a humanoid of sorts, one's a caveman, one's a zombie, I think one's a mammoth, but it's impossible to make that out just by glancing at them. The fact that the balls move away from each other then the figthers' limbs stretch out doesn't help either.

​All the great fighting games out there showcase strong, immediately recognizable characters so if you are represented by a weird ping-pong ball statue you can't relate to, why would you even care to fight as him/her/it? I don't. On top of that, it's almost impossible to tell what's what when you get the two characters next to each other in close combat. Hit detection doesn't really suffer from it, but it _looks_ like it does and that's enough to distract me when playing.

​I'll conced that the game's mechanics are good enough and the controls are responsive. This is one of those instances where the presentation and stylistic choices actually hurt the gameplay. Fighting games need to give the players the visual cues they need in order for them to react accordingly and BallZ does not deliver here.

​The review mentions that the moves are hard to pull off (I haven't noticed, but I'm no master of the BallZ) and that the gameplay is confusing overall, yet it scores an 8 in that category. I just lost all the naiveness I had left.

​Anyone else play this? It goes for like, $35 CAD CIB or even sealed. No one cares about BallZ.

Edited February 5, 2018 by Montrealer

[UHATEIT]

I 100% agree with your 1, 2, 3 order for fighting games. I was going to say Way of the Warrior was #3 for sure behind those other 2. I have never played BallZ and from what i saw watching it online on youtube I had no interest in it. I have enough fighters on multiple systems I didn't feel like getting more. I'm more down for the games that i can have a good quickplay through.

[Montrealer]

I 100% agree with your 1, 2, 3 order for fighting games. I was going to say Way of the Warrior was #3 for sure behind those other 2. I have never played BallZ and from what i saw watching it online on youtube I had no interest in it. I have enough fighters on multiple systems I didn't feel like getting more. I'm more down for the games that i can have a good quickplay through.

 

A quick session is all you'll give these BallZ. You can play with BallZ for a short or long period, it's up to you. It's your BallZ.

 

​Delicious jokes aside, a couple rounds should convince most gamers to switch to a better game.

[UHATEIT]

Samurai Showdown is pretty decent but I think I saw that on some other systems. Way of the Warrior I think is only on the 3DO and that one was slow for me. I am not really a fighter game person. I will say the most fun I've had with a fighter game was Fighters Megamix on the Saturn since it incorporates everything from Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers both of which are pretty good

[Montrealer]

Samurai Showdown is pretty decent but I think I saw that on some other systems. Way of the Warrior I think is only on the 3DO and that one was slow for me. I am not really a fighter game person. I will say the most fun I've had with a fighter game was Fighters Megamix on the Saturn since it incorporates everything from Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers both of which are pretty good

 

Oh man Way of the Warrior is a semi-decent MK clone not only in terms of violence and technology, but also in terms of pacing and rythm in the fights. Plus the cheating AI

 

​I have to give you points for Fighters Megamix, but it's mostly built around Fighting Vipers, with the armors on the fighters and the walls around most stages. Virtua Fighter 2 might just be my favorite fighting game of all times, I don't know, but it's for sure in my top 3. I really have to consider getting a Saturn just to play VF, VF Remix and VF2. It all started when the SF and MK machines at my local arcade were always super busy and no one was giving VF any love. I tried it and I couldn't get over how good it was.

 

​I might've segued more into Tekken close to that point in time (Tekken 3 will be forever dear to my heart), but Virtua Fighter 2 had me hooked for months on end. I'd skip school just to go to the arcade with like, 5 or 6 quarters and kick polygon butts.

Edited February 5, 2018 by Montrealer

[UHATEIT]

Dude it's been over a week, I need more reviews! I am happy to see the 3do section of this forum alive and kicking! Unfortunately it looks like I've been the last to comment on a ton of the threads but I am hoping to spark more 3DO interest and discussion since the Jaguar section which I was mainly in seems so harsh and angry all the time!

[Montrealer]

I'll post more next week, promised! I'm playing A Link Between World on 3DS so my focus is going there, but I've been itching for some Road Rash...I'll see if I can't find a few reviews of that, if not I'll go with some of the scans I have already.

[UHATEIT]

I just burned though "D" this morning. I thought it was extremely slow and not very good honestly. I started to try Cyberia and just got stuck, same with PO'ed also can't tell what the heck I'm doing and got stuck. I started Gex as well but again am not sure of the entire process for completing the game.

[Austin]

I just burned though "D" this morning. I thought it was extremely slow and not very good honestly.

It is a FMV adventure game. Do you not enjoy those?

 

I just burned though "D" this morning. I thought it was extremely slow and not very good honestly. I started to try Cyberia and just got stuck, same with PO'ed also can't tell what the heck I'm doing and got stuck. I started Gex as well but again am not sure of the entire process for completing the game.

Cyberia is an extremely frustrating game. I can think of few that actually enjoy it.

 

PO'ed, it's an odd one. Some people really like it but to me it doesn't feel that solid compared to other popular first person shooters of the era. 3DO version slows down a ton but I still feel the same about the PS1 version.

 

Gex, it's pretty straightforward. There's a main hub world housing all your game worlds. You go through each world one by one until you get to the end of the game. You start at the graveyard first. You need to find remote controls within the levels to unlock other stages. Stages that have remotes will tell you at the beginning of those levels.

 

Also.. it sounds like you need to spend more time with your games and quit bouncing around so quickly! Kind of hard to learn or appreciate any of them when you only spend a few minutes with each.

[UHATEIT]

With a small kid to literally have limited time to play each game. I really need to learn the controls of each game before attempting! Sometimes I get 15 minutes here and there to try something before I have to move on. Some of the games I don't think save on the 3DO so it's kind of a flip and flop until I figure it out then when I have a good chunk of time I'll go back to it and try to finish it in a long play through if I can. So most of these even tho I've flipped and flopped a few times on them, I'll likely go back and eventually tackle and finish if I can but if I was interested in them from the start and some of them I just can't grasp to.

 

As for "D" I love horror style games any horror game really. I just expected it to be faster like Resident Evil was but it was more of a Myst type game to me point and click to move forward and was slow. Definitely slower then I thought it would be!

 

FMV games I don't mind at all actually. At least games with FMV cut scenes. I just needed it to be a bit faster paced.

[Montrealer]

I ran out of cool reviews D:

​Maybe I'll get around to snuffing them out from the internet's a**hole eventually. I just don't like EGM reviews and GamePlayers scans are hard to come by.

[Montrealer]

Any game I can't even hope to manage to get more than a couple levels in doesn't deserve a 95% in my book. I like Bladeforce, but **** me if I ever come close to finishing it, and I'll be surprised if the reviewer ever did either.

 

I actually like a lot about the game, but several key things bring the whole experience down for me, like the nonsensical stage layouts, confusing means of progression and a map that is borderline useless. It wouldn't have been so bad if they nixed the whole fuel idea, but you'll basically end up running out of time trying to figure out where to go.

 

If my memory is right, a commenter under your YouTube video claims to have finished it, no sweat. Talk about crazy​ devotion.