VR Stalker: review by Matthew Sorrels

Text by Matthew Sorrels <mdmmds@netcom.com>

Introduction :

Game: VR Stalker released by American Laser Games

I picked up VR Stalker last night mainly based on the screen shots on the box I figured it would at least be decent. However I believe it wins the award for worst 3DO game of all time. Anyway here is the review:

Plot:

The basic premise of the game is that in the near future our military will stand down allowing other countries to gang up and attack us. Your part of a bunch of military rebels that have been hoarding weapons and planes. You can fly one of several planes on various missions to reclaim america. Rather than risk dying you fly each plane through a VR simulator(hence the name).

Gameplay:

The game has a very nice intro movie that I believe was rendered on an Amiga with a toaster(they give credit to it). It isn't great, but is long and has some nice effects. I liked Total Eclispe's intro a bit more, but its not bad. The game's first mission is taking back Hill Air Force base in Utah. You have a choice of an F-14, F-16 or A-10 plane. If you crash one of the planes that jet will no longer be available. Ie you get 3 lives, one for each plane type. While each plane does have a different cockpit and number of weapons they are for the most part nearly the same. The handling/performance didn't seem as drastic as a real simulator would have been. The planes all handle very poorly. I don't think an analog stick would help(its supposed to be compatible). Your plane just doesn't move, period. The enemy planes are boring and don't seem to be very much of a threat. I died mostly because the physics of the simulator sucked and I would hit the ground. The radar system is poor to say the least. You can't tell if a plane is above you or below you and you can't really tell much about the type of target. You can pick one of three views: cockpit, just behind the plane with the dash superimposed, and just behind the plane with no dash.

Graphics:

The graphics are in general poor. The ground consisted of very little terrain(A few trees, some ugly polygon mountains, very unpopulated). For the most part its a big square of brown. The sky is a few levels of blue, not well blended. It reminded me of old Commodore 64 flight games. The sound was at best annoying. I kept thinking I must be playing an old 2600 game. But then I reminded myself that the 2600 did have 128 colors and would look better than this game. I never did complete the first mission. I have no idea if it gets better. I didn't feel any reason to care. While it may claim to not be on rails, that isn't true either. Each mission has a set boundary(a big square) that you cannot go outside of or else you lose control of the plane and it crashes.

There is some sort of password feature that I assume would let you start where you left off. I don't know if it uses the NV Ram, some how I doubt it. The box claims 15 missions. I think you would find it impossible to last that long.

The game comes with a very small manual that doesn't explain anything about the game other than a few pointless tips and a control review. I think the plot was conceived after the manual was printed. The game comes in the standard(is there such a thing) large case/holder like most EA games.

Summary:

A flight simulator/shooter game that is neither fun nor even impressive. This software wouldn't sell on an SNES, I see no reason it should be successful on the 3DO. Buy Road Rash, hell buy Fatty Bear, you would be happier. I sure wish I didn't buy it.

Extremely bad example of what you could do with a 3DO development kit. I do believe that every 3DO developer should have this game and be forced to play it each day as a reminder of what not to do. If this was the only game I saw on the 3DO I would make statements about how great looking Gameboy games are.

Mathew Sorrels | And thats when I decided to microwave the Diet Coke mdmmds@netcom.com | Std. Disclaimers Apply. YMMV. Member FDIC.
michel.buffa@essi.fr