When
Tempest 2000 first hit the
Jaguar, most players were awestruck by the awesome new additions and
amazing visuals that finally screamed "Next Generation!" But for
some reason, the (basically) same game was released without much fanfare
when it arrived on Playstation, probably because the machine was already
drowning with tons of choice titles. Atari fans also didn't go gaga over
it, probably because they were in a state of denial that their beloved Jag
game had lost its exclusivity. But being a fan of the classics and a game
player first and foremost, I'm here to give you the scoop on a game that
was heralded on the Jag and almost went unnoticed on the Playstation.
The game is basically Tempest 2000 with souped-up
graphics effects, plus a few extra enemies. The biggest change is in the
visual department, where the webs are rendered with translucent, warping
textures in the panels instead of the gourad shading of Jeff Minter's
Jaguar creation. This makes X3 even more psychedelic than even Tempest
2000. There's also a mild plasma around the edges of the screen
that's subtle yet tastefully done. The explosions and various effects of
the original have also been replaced by full polygonal effects which look
extra trippy when combined with the overall scene that's rendered in a
persistence/blur field. There are just as many different variety of webs
in X3, although they're less angular and consequently a bit tamer in my
opinion. The other major difference is with the audio as you'd expect,
being as the sound is now on CD, allowing for a fantastic redbook audio
version of the Tempest 2000 soundtrack disc. Some of the
audio effects have changed, and by and large they're improved upon its
Jaguar predecessor.
Where
Tempest X3 stumbles somewhat is in the gameplay
department, although I would point out that I'm a T2K "purist"..
meaning that I played Tempest 2000 to heck so some of the
faults might not be evident if you haven't spent much time with the
original. One of the terrific power-ups that was introduced in Tempest
2000 was the AI Droid. It was a wire-framed, cube-shaped object
that assisted you in blasting away enemies on the web. In X3, Interplay
took the "I" out of AI! It seems to have lost its intelligence
because it just follows you around and hovers over your ship without a
mind of its own. This takes away from an important strategy element
because it's basically useless - you can't take comfort anymore that you
have something covering your butt while you mind your own business
circling the web... oh well. The hideous looking demonhead has been
replaced by a smaller object that takes several shots to destroy, although
this doesn't necessarily detract from the game and is probably just a
matter of taste. And if you feared the dreaded Pulsars in Tempest
2000 (I KNOW you did), there's no reason to get scared when they
reach the top in X3. Here, instead of splitting in two when it reaches the
top and literally hurtles its way toward you, they now behave like nothing
more than the red flippers. It's a bit easier in dealing with Pulsars, but
to an expert player, the feeling of terror and helplessness when
confronted by Pulsars is something that will be missed.
Despite these caveats, however, the gameplay is just as fast and furious
and fun as it ever was, and in many respects, it's improved. The slight
experience of slowdown on Tempest 2000 when a lot of
enemies onscreen has thankfully been eliminated, and the textures on the
web enhance what was already a trippy visual delight. And best of all,
those who have Playstations and not Jaguars, and consequently missed out
on the fun the first time around, can now find out what the fuss was all
about... and enjoy some extra audiovisual treats to go along with it. And
that's perhaps the best thing about Tempest X3's already long line of
virtues. |