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The Games of Summer
by Jeremy Horwitz for Gamers Today
Even though video game companies traditionally wait until the holiday season to release their most impressive games, this summer's game release schedule benefited in a major way from the fierce competition between Sony and Nintendo game consoles. A handful of the most noteworthy summer releases for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 featured all-new twists on past gaming successes, some targeted at younger audiences and others made for all ages. As the summer comes to a close, we look back upon some of the more memorable new titles of the season:
Pokemon Snap (Nintendo for the Nintendo 64): Younger audiences may enjoy the newest title in Nintendo's Pokemon (Pocket Monsters) series, Pokemon Snap, a non-violent adventure which follows hot on the heels of Nintendo's hit Game Boy and television cartoon programs. Utilizing the Nintendo 64's 3-D capabilities, Snap takes players on guided vehicular photo safaris through various habitats, awarding points for clean snapshots of well-known Pokemon characters. While the action may be too tame for older players, young children will be enthralled and amused by the worlds full of animals stirring in the bushes, romping through open fields and flying in the air.
Driver (GT Interactive for the Sony PlayStation and PC): Older gamers will likely be impressed by Driver, the latest offering from Reflections, developer of the car-smashing PlayStation hit Destruction Derby series. In a homage to the ubiquitous car chase scenes of 1970's action movies, Reflections places you in control of classic muscle cars escaping from the scenes of various heists gone bad. While thematically inappropriate for younger audiences, Driver is truly escapist entertainment for adults. Both PlayStation and PC versions feature surprisingly detailed 3-D cars, major U.S. cities and special effects.
Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer (Lucasarts for the Nintendo 64 and PC): A racing experience intended for all ages is Episode 1 Racer by Lucasarts, a video game based on the high-speed Pod Race from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Unfortunately, the Racer 3-D home game doesn't do an especially good job of recreating the thrilling pacing that made the movie scene compelling. Moreover, few of the racetracks created for the game are more than modestly entertaining. Even fans should try this one before they buy it.
WWF Attitude (Acclaim for the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation): Surprisingly robust after 15 years, wrestling video games have reached a new high with Acclaim's WWF Attitude, which features a total of over 40 male and female wrestlers, color commentary and astonishingly lifelike 3-D graphics. (The N64 version is especially impressive visually.) Attitude might rub some people the wrong way: raunchy, trashy themes are numerous within... but recent WWF devotees won't be surprised by what they see.
Centipede 3-D (Hasbro for the PlayStation and PC): Gamers nostalgic for vintage arcade games will enjoy the latest remix of a classic, Hasbro's Centipede 3-D. Based on Atari's hit garden-blasting 1980's titles Centipede and Millipede, this new sequel predictably enhances the classic "you versus massive, mutated bugs" theme with 3-D graphics and multiple camera angles, yet manages to retain the simple, compelling gameplay of its predecessors. Competitive pricing makes Centipede 3-D especially inviting.
