|
|
|
The Daily Click ::. Downloads ::. Review Review: Unknown Game 3200
I had seen this preview about a week before. The screenshots were uninspiring, but I realise that screensavers look good when they're moving. Still images don't do them justice. Anyway, on to the screensaver itself... You download the install program. You install it. (The uninstaller could've had a more unique name than 'Uninstal.exe', so it wouldn't potentially overwrite another install program.) You go to Display properties, select the screensaver and click Preview. All is OK, except it crashed in Kernel32.dll (this happens each time the screensaver displays). The screensaver appears, and you get prompted for a serial/name. If you forgot (like me) you need to switch back to the Daily Click window, but you only need to enter it once. After you do that, you're away! Or are you? A credits screen appears for a few seconds, then you're away! Before I continue, I must point out that I have a 1152x864 screen. The screensaver takes up a quarter of the screen. I would've liked to see more, but never mind. Big things come in small packages, right? Um... Battle 0303 doesn't really seem to have any logic about it. Sure, you have aeroplanes flying in the sky, an aircraft carrier where the planes land (you'd think they'd use a runway instead, since the carrier's about 10 feet from land) and a few boats carrying soldiers who get out and walk off the side of the screen. A battle isn't a battle without enemies, so you have red planes flying from the right. Perhaps they are Irish suicide bombers (apologies at this point - it's the only analogy that I have): they just fly overhead and wait for someone to shoot them down into the sea or a passenger boat. It doesn't make any sense - you'd think that a plane landing into the sea would make a bigger splash than a little fountain which sounds like you dropped a pebble in the water. My main gripe is that the movement is totally unrealistic, and the pace is far too fast. You would've thought that a couple of billion dollars can make fighter planes move as smooth as vodka. However, this screensaver has led me to believe that the fighter planes actually teleport 5 metres in front of them. Perhaps they should've spent more money on other things, like the lead parachutes. Fortunately, the soldiers manage to walk off unharmed after hitting the ground at about 90 m/s. Unfortunately, not everything is fast. The gunner on the boat shoots at where the enemy plane was, 5 minutes ago, and the missiles launch from the box-on-a-stick at a snail's pace. The speed definitely needs improvement, or the visible screensaver needs to be bigger. Now, talking of the box-on-a-stick... The graphics. Flat, lifeless and out of place in the case of the explosions and water splashes. Aeroplanes need a bit more texture! All the graphics could benefit from some more shading. The smoke effects can be improved, right now it looks like a grey mess. Also, the rotated graphics are jagged as usual, perhaps that can be sorted out. Sound and music is sparse, and the effects sound wrong (explosion and splash). I'd like to hear something more realistic, but screensavers shouldn't be super-noisy. Overall, I think this screensaver has potential. It just needs a lot of work to improve it. It certainly isn't worth buying, which was the original intention. I suggest that Mike buys a nice, large tin of polish and improves everything so it looks good. Variety wouldn't go amiss either. In any case, <a href="http://staircasestudio.com/cnc/scombat.htm">space is cooler</a>. Consider that a target to look up to.
 Download This Game
|
  Poor   AdvertisementWorth A Click   |
