A TRIP ACROSS AMERICA, GAS PROVIDED
A Review of Arcade America
by Ron Enderland
Not everybody out there is handsome, sexy, or built like an athlete. For the rest of us, there's Joey.
Joey is the pot bellied, grunting, occasionally flatulent character that flashes his buttcrack from sea to shining sea in Arcade America.
This game is a jaunt across the country from Alcatraz to Woodstock. In between, our hero encounters a variety of creatures bent on deterring him from reaching his rock and roll goal. Joey picks up ammo and extra life time by running over strategic objects on the road as he goes from destination to destination. There are also numerous secret rooms in which can be found bonus points, extra life, and the all important tools needed to free the monsters that must be released in order to win.
Each location has unique features. For example, you fight off ghosts in an abandoned Alcatraz, crawl through the mud in Oklahoma, and fight off sharp dressed little nasties in Vegas.
You obtain passwords as you complete each location's challenges. In this way, you can eventually wend your way to Woodstock, where you are promised "an earth shattering experience" that "you've earned." Unfortunately, I have not yet made it, but I'll keep you posted.
Arcade America is good fun. I found the body function humor a little juvenile, however. The MIDI sound had to be switched off in order for the game to run acceptably well on my 486 SLC-2 66MHz machine with 8 MB of RAM and Win 95.
The graphics are very impressive, although they probably require at least a DX4-100 to be appreciated. In addition, I would highly recommend 16 MB of RAM.
All in all, this is a good program, taking in mind these few reservations. When you play it, make sure you sit through the bluesy electric violin solo that plays through the end credits. It's the greatest I've heard since Jean-Luc Ponty on Elton John's Honky Chateau!
Gamer's Zone Scorecard
| Product: |
Arcade America |
| Company: |
7th Level, Inc.
|
| Cost: |
$35.00 |
System Requirements:
486 33 Mhz or greater (486 66 Mhz recommended)
IBM compatible computer with at least 8 MB of Ram,
256 or more color display,
Mouse or other pointing device (Some Windows-compatible joysticks supported),
MPC compatible double-speed CD ROM drive,
MPC compatible sound card and amplified speakers or headphones,
Windows 95 or 3.1 and DOS 3.3 or higher
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 3
Graphics 4
Sound 4
Interface 3
Replayability 4
Overall Score:
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