Abuse Me, Abuse Me More!
A Review of Abuse
Mark Woon
The guys at Crack dot Com sure weren't listening when people said that
side-scrolling action games were dead. And thank god they didn't.
Their latest game, Abuse, is one of the best action games I've ever
played, with the familiar adrenaline pumping,
heart thumping, pulse
racing, mind numbing feeling that you can get when playing a great
shoot-em-up.
The plot behind Abuse is your typical alien invasion conquering earth, with you being the only one that's capable of defeating them. You're a cyborg trained for covert operations, and it's your job to infiltrate their defense systems and destroy them. But when you're deep in the middle of a firefight, you really won't care about the lack of a story.
Purchasing the regular version of the game won't get you much in the
way of documentation, but it will get you an Abuse t-shirt and
poster. Fortunately, installation is straightforward (via an
"install" program), and the entire first level is dedicated to getting
you familiar with the keys and interacting with your surroundings.
The interface is extremely intuitive and needs no explanations.
Graphics
Instead of imitating Doom's 3D graphics engine, Abuse uses a
sophisticated side-scroller with point-source lighting. The first
hint of this is the monitor color calibration process that you have to
go through before you can play the game. What does this all mean?
Great graphics. Gloomy and atmospheric, the lighting in Abuse is one
of its most impressive features. Lights flicker and dim, turn off and
on as your make your way through tunnels and passage ways. Sometimes
you can barely make out shapes, and sometimes you'll wish you couldn't
as you're overwhelmed by another wave of aliens.
Sound
If you're real big on music in games, be prepared: there is none in
Abuse. Instead, Abuse relies on incidental and atmospheric sound
effects. And to tell the truth, the sound effects in Abuse are
downright scary. From alien shrieks and far-off clanging machinery to
pulsating lasers and your own thumping heartbeat, Abuse becomes a
very, very realistic experience. So turn down the lights, pump up the
volume, and be prepared to be frightened.
Gameplay
As for game control, movement is achieved with the keyboard arrow keys
while you aim your gun with the mouse. This may be a little odd at
first, but you soon get used to it as you barrel down corridors
shooting at the horde of aliens snapping at your heels behind you.
Apart from standard movements, you can also interact with the environment. There are doors, switches, teleporters, hidden walls, buttons, activators, and elevators galore to play with.
And there are more than enough "toys" to keep you amused too. Apart from the standard laser rifle, there are grenade launchers, heat-seeking rocket launchers, plasma rifles, flame throwers, laser sabers, and the nefarious Death Frizbees. The are also power-ups that augment your capabilities. Some allow you to increase your health limit, move faster, turn invisible, and even fly.
Replayability
If you've finished the 18 levels that come with the registered
version, and want more, you can even create your own. Abuse comes
with it's own full-featured level editor that lets you manipulate
every single aspect of the game. Not just what goes where, but the
AI of every creature in the game. You can create a custom behavior
for a monster, associate a new sound effect with it, anything you can
come up with. For those who want to really make custom levels, a
powerful graphics editor named Satan Paint is also included.
Conclusion
If you're easily addicted, stay away. Otherwise, it's a must have.
At it's simplest, Abuse is all about destruction. Haunting,
beautifully crafted carnage, but carnage nonetheless. Its great
graphics and sound effects and its infinite customizablity add up
to make Abuse one of the best action games ever.
Gamer's Zone Scorecard
| Product: |
Abuse |
| Company: |
Crack.dot.com
|
| Cost: |
$54 |
System Requirements:
386/33, 4MB RAM, 10MB disk space, sound card, mouse.
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 4
Interface 4
Replayability 4
Graphics 5
Sound 4
Overall Score:
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