Review
Release Date: 11.18.1998
Platform:
PlayStationDeveloper:
Neversoft EntertainmentPublisher:
Activision, Inc.Reviewed by
Wade Monnig on 4.27.2003
| Review Rating: 8/10 | User Rating: 1/10 |
The Players: Neversoft: The creators of Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Bruce Willis: The star of some of the best action films made in the past decade. System Of A Down: Composers of some of the edgiest music ever to grace a console.
The Ingredients: The best use of the Dual Shock controller at the time. Some of the finest run and gun action this side of a SNES Contra game. More one-liners than a Terminator trilogy film festival.
The Result: Apocalypse.
When Apocalypse was first announced, it was rumored to revolve around the player and his comrade (portrayed by Bruce Willis) fighting alongside of each other. The player would then have the ability to help out his partner or even call for assistance, with teamwork being a major factor in the actual game. However, after rumblings about problems with playability and execution, Apocalypse went underground. After what seemed like an eternity, it finally resurfaced. However, this time it had the player taking on the guise of Trey Kincaid, who was modeled and voiced by Bruce Willis himself. Instead of a team-based title of old, the gameplay now centered on more basic goals, mainly blasting the hell out of everyone and everything.
Unfortunately for Apocalypse, it also debuted before the dual shock analog controller was the default pack-in with a Playstation. This meant that while dual analog control was available, only a small percentage of gamers actually had it. This was a problem for Apocalypse because the only way you can play it and truly enjoy it is with a pulsing dual shock controller in your hands with one stick controlling the route your character runs and the other unleashing devastation in the direction of your choice.
Not only is shooting action the highlight of this title, it was also a hell of a lot of fun. It seems that nothing on the screen can not be destroyed. Neither Buildings, bridges, nor vehicles could stand before the wrath of Trey Kincaid. However, just when this title is on the verge of having you completely addicted, it added in a horrible, unexpected X Factor. An unbelievable batch of frustration inducing jumps which required pixel perfect execution. The whole flow of the game was brought to a grinding halt as you try to jump from pedestal to pedestal while being sniped at by off screen enemies. Sadly, many a controller lost its life at this point in the game. Luckily, with the help of a little patience and maybe a cheat code or two, getting past this point and back to the adrenal overload of Apocalypse is a short trip. If the pixel perfect jumping is fly in the ointment then the constantly shifting camera is gnat buzzing around your face. While Neversoft mastered camera placement with Tony Hawk Pro Skater, they had some problems focusing the camera during boss battles in Apocalypse. It seems they were more interested in giving a good view of the boss than a view of the dangerous areas around the player.
If you want to see what Neversoft was doing before Tony Hawk took over their life, tune into Apocalypse. The Apocalypse doesn’t have to be at the end of the world, it could be as close as the nearest video game store.
