THE POWER MORPHING RANGER:
A Review of Thexder
by Istvan Urcuyo
Originally released in the 80's, Thexder became one of the hottest
sellers. It's arcade action was simple but furious and entertaining. I
was first introduced to THX-DR122 (Thexder's real name) by a mutual friend
(OK, so my friend was totally addicted to it, we can all relate..) and I
dedicated many hours to this stress-relieving relationship. But, as we all
know, there comes a time in every man and woman's life when we must make
more room in our hard drive. With sadness, I waved farewell to my old
friend and moved on to installing that useless word processing program so I
could write that pesky final chemistry lab report. Years later when I heard
of its return, I was overjoyed. Thexder is back and he has come a long
way.
Thexder now busts with fast 32-bit Win 95 technology, easy CD AutoPlay,
sleek SVGA graphics, multithreading, network play (modem, IPX and TCP
supported) and the backup of Sierra On-Line. Installation was painless and
it only occupied 1 Mb of hard disk space. The AutoPlay feature makes it
really easy to start playing. First the interface requested my name which
was used to keep track of my personal progress and score. After choosing
the skill level, which ranges from "Weak Foes & Plenty of Ammo" (tempting,
eh) to "Only the Best Allowed", in no time I was staring at my old friend
once again. But, man, has he changed... Thexder now has 256 colors,
higher resolution, scrolling backgrounds, digital speech, MIDI music, new
enemies and five windows open at the same time (why five? I don't know).
Each of these windows claim to have a different purpose: Weapons selection
(eight different ones), available Equipment (eleven of them), Enemy status
(there is plenty of those), a Map (shows where the good, the bad and the
ugly are) and the main Arcade window (were the action takes place). From
my point of view, however, three of those five are just a distraction. The
game configuration has enough options that you can customize in order to
squeeze as much performance as your machine at home (or work) can handle.
So, How do you play the game?
Everything you need to know is in the on-line manual and, control of
Thexder can be exercised via keyboard (customizable) or a joystick. I
found, however, that joystick control was seriously hampered. The keyboard
controls are much better but for the most fun I would recommend a
programmable gamepad. The excellent quality and detail of the graphics are
Thexder's main new feature. Sierra put a lot of work into giving my old
friend and his surroundings a new face lift and believe me it shows. But,
one aspect of the new Thexder that needs refinement is the sound. The
music is fine (if you have a MIDI module) but the digital speech and sound
effects become repetitive and annoying after the first couple of worlds.
Had Sierra put the same kind of effort into the auditory department as they
put into the visuals, this game would be complete.
This time Thexder's mission is to "pacify" all 10 worlds, with five levels
each, by destroying the enemy "Techies" and the treacherous bosses at the
end of each world. Along the way Thexder will need to collect Energy
cells, Energy charges, Charge extenders, Weapons, and Equipment and use his
morphing abilities (robot, plane and tank) if he is to be successful.
Depending on the skill level of play, the 'techies' will require a
different number of hits before blowing up in a nicely done explosion.
Finished the game at the easiest level ? (come on, it's OK to admit it)
then try a more challenging level. The more difficult levels require the ca
reful use of ammo, the strategic use of the different weapons on different
enemies and faster reflexes.
For the Thexderists among us there is more in store than just this second
coming. According to the documentation, in January of 1996 Sierra On-Line
will release a supplemental Help file which will include the following:
Secret codes (who needs them ?), Playing tips, Maps for all of the levels,
Solutions, a Level builder and more brand new worlds. Of course, all of
these will come for a price: $14.95.
If you played the original Thexder, enjoyed it and have WIN 95, this
version will be a welcome resident of your hard drive (until ...) but, I
must be truthful to the Thexder fan by saying that I still miss the
original Thexder.
Gamer's Zone Scorecard
| Product: |
Thexder |
| Company: |
Sierra On-Line
|
| Cost: |
n/a |
System Requirements:
486 or better CPU (Pentium preferred),
8 MB RAM, Windows 95 and 2X CD-ROM
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 4
Graphics 5
Sound 3
Interface 3
Replayability 4
Overall Score:
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