Fraiser, trying to make out he likes the british:"I Spell Colour with a u". My Brother: "How?"
REVIEW: Pandemonium!
Genre: Semi-3D platformer.
Format: Playstation.
Country of Origin: US
DEVELOPER: Crystal Dynamics
PUBLISHER: BMGInteractive
Price: £14 second hand, £30 new
At the Playstations release, Platformers were never it's strong side. They were either crap re-releases from late coming Mega Drive Games (E.g Micky's Adventure) or just crap (Rayman). Then Xmas 1996 came along, and we saw a new style of platformer come out of nowhere. Crash Bandicoot and Pandemonium sold like hot cakes, manily to people that thought they were buying a playstation version of Mario64. Ho Ho, how wrong they were. But in there own right, semi-3D platformers can be great, if a little easy. They still have the social stigma of old 2D platformers though (you wouldn't tell your friends that you liked 'em, for example....) but will cheer up you annoying brother who hates Final Fantasy 7......
As explained above, Pandemonium was released in December 1996. Alough not as popular as Crash (and not as nicer looking, it has none of those cool one colour pologon effects) it sold pretty well. Like Crash also, you would be hardpressed to find it in the GamesEx shop's, it hasn't even been realeased on Platinum, yet. For the uninitated, this is usally a sign that the owners are keeping hold of there copies, we were lucky to get one, actully.
Pandemonium tells the story of Fargus and Nikki, teenage magicans from god knows how far back. Flicking though their book of spells, Nikki accidently sets off the "Great Big City Eating Monster" spell. Stupid Girl, she should of known. To get rid of it, she has to find (with her equally stupid brother) somesort of orb or somthing, that'll get rid of the monster and make the world a happier place again. Yawn.
To the game. You can choose to be Nikki or Fargus. Nikki is faster and can jump higher than Fargus though Nikki has less energy than him, and Fargus has a weapon to get shite of his enimes. Nikki makes the game a hell of a lot easier than if you were stuck with Fargus, so I advise you to use her.
The levels sort of go like this. You can move from left to right, you can fall and you can jump, too. Imagine what the original Sonic would be like in Linear 3D and you're almost there. Play moves normally from left to right (well control of it does anyway), sometimes you have a choice on which platform you wish to be on by jumping on somthing or by getting a lift, so it's not completly linear, but you still end up in the same place as you would of by going the other way. Completing a level invouves finding a quick way to the exit, and hopefully getting as many coins as you can (At the end of the level that amount is calculated into a percent. Anything above 80 gets you into a bonus round). Theres usually obsticles in the way you have to work out how to get past, or use to your advantage. Like a windtunnel, or a hot-air thingy that propells you up. The Puzzles provided by the game are really not hard to work out, though if you can't carry them out, you might as well give up. This game requires split second timing. Ocassionly you'll turn into a frog or some other animal via a strange gate. This makes the game even more intresting by providing extra abilities, and even making it harder than it already is. Usually you have to learn a new control system on the spot....
The Graphics are brilliant, the camera (computer controlled) moves in or out depending on the situation. Normally potioned at a sort of 2D but at a slant perspective, if you go upwards in a tunnel, for example, you get an excellent view of yourself top-down. Sometimes it goes go too-far, and it's hard to see where you are going. Otherwise this games graphics are fine. The Sound is annoyingly crap, it's crackly and, erm, corny. To say the least, to say the most would be "It's best to turn the damn thing down".
Is it too easy though? Well if you have lightning reflexes, then you'll find this a walkover. If you don't, then though cheese. Some of the levels are incredibly easy anyway, and the Boss levels are awful (You pronce around a circular platform, where you have to activate a switch to inflate a ballon, to jump on the bosses head. Great idea, but stupidly easy and it's repeated over and over and over...). Experienced players will hate this game, N64 owners will hate this game (Most Lilkly to Say: "It's not like Mario64, is it?"). It's not trying to be Mario64, but it's fine in it's own place. In some ways I prefer Crash, it's levels and puzzles are a lot harder. Which isn't saying much. One for your siblings.
GRAPHICS: 9/10 (Brilliant, though sometimes the camera pulls out too far...)
SOUND: 3/10 (Awful, like listening to a Gramaphone)
GAMEPLAY: 6/10 (People with dodgy pads will not succeed)
LIFESPAN: 6/10 (Some levels are huge, and worth revisiting, others arn't)
OVERALL: 7/10 Intresting game, not really very revolutionary (bar the graphics) and a sight too easy. Also Nikki is ugly.
By PAndroid, dated 15/3/98. Do you like (or hate) Reviews or Features? Sign My Guestbook or email me.