by Mark W. Frantz

Sometimes, when a game is a great success, its sequel is better. The designers listen to user feedback, and fix those nagging problems and add features. And the sequel is a true sequel. Civilization and Civilization II are excellent examples. Sometimes, when a game is a success, the sequel is worse. Many sequels that had great base games were much worse than their predecessor. Many point to the long awaited and monstrously disappointing BattleCruiser 3000 as an example of this. But sometimes, when a game is a success, it's sequel is the same. Very little, if anything is changed, just the plot, the setting, or the story line. X-COM and X-COM : Terrors of the Deep is an excellent example of this.

Enter Terminal Velocity. It achieved a brief popularity among the gaming community for its fast paced action and simple game play. And so, a sequel was released which did nothing to build to the engine. And finally, another sequel was published, this time with the help of corporate giant Microsoft, called HellBender. It is this software that is on the reviewing block today.

It's difficult to describe exactly what Hellbender is. It's very similar to Descent, except not set in the confines of a mine. The story line is customary...you, piloting your Hellbender spaceship, is off to the fight the countless hordes of aliens, all by yourself. Sound familiar? But the story line only offers a reason to lay waste to hundreds of alien scum, and save the galaxy for humanity. Game play is always the key to good games.

The game is not difficult to grasp. Each mission begins with a briefing, which consists of just a list of targets. Then you're placed in the thick of battle, and you go from target to target, destroying them and the enemies that surround them. That's what the heart of this game is; flying around in your little ship blowing up targets. There are no other kinds of missions, just destroy. Go from place to place, unload your weapons on some building, and go to the next. When you're done, return to base.

This lack of variety takes a lot away from the game. After the initial thrill of flying around blowing stuff up, it becomes a repetitive nightmare. The missions run together, and it all seems to be one long continuous battle, with you facing insurmountable odds.

The graphics are a sore point, somewhat. The game was reviewed on a Pentium 100, but that was not fast enough to handle the Direct3D and DirectDraw calculations being thrown at it. So, I was forced into using the low-res 320x200 mode, which made the entire game look pixelicious. It became difficult to determine where the ground stopped and the enemies began. Finding powerups was next to impossible, for everything seem to blend in. I assume that the problem wouldn't be as bad in high res mode, but I don't have the 3D card to test it out. Needless to say, a good deal of computer and graphical horsepower would probably improve the game.

One of the game's self imposed selling point is that the onboard computer of your craft features the voice of the X-Files Gillian Anderson. Personally, I would rather they had spent the money on the game than on Ms. Anderson.

So, Hellbender, the third in the Terminal Velocity Saga, is just on par with Terminal Velocity itself. Not a heck of a lot has changed, and that's a bad thing. Hellbender is a mediocre shoot em up with dazzling but slow graphics and Gillian Anderson's voice. If you liked Terminal Velocity and you've got the horsepower to run it, you might like Hellbender. If not, I wouldn't recommend the frustration.