87 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
87 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
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DR. DOOM'S REVENGE
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DR. DOOM'S REVENGE is an arcade game written by Paragon Software, published by
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Medalist International, and distributed by MicroProse. Based on characters from
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Marvel Comics, DR. DOOM features Spider-Man, Captain America, Dr. Doom, and a
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horde of Marvel villains, along with excellent graphics, fine animation, three
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difficulty levels, a comic book, joystick control, save-game option, hard drive
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support, and key-disk copy protection. (This review is based on the Atari ST
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version.)
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Paragon and Medalist have labeled DOOM an "interactive comic book," which is an
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accurate assessment: Comic book panels introduce each arcade sequence. DOOM is
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not nearly as tough as, say, NEVERMIND, but it's tough nevertheless. Spider-Man
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and Captain America are far less superhuman here than they are in their comic
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adventures. The villains are, predictably enough, energetic and very nasty.
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The plot of DOOM concerns a weapon, the C4V.G nuclear missile, which the
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sinister and repulsive Dr. Doom threatens to drop on New York City if the United
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States refuses to become a colony of Latveria, Doom's homeland. The comic book
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included with the package provides all the necessary background information. The
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graphic panels that appear onscreen to introduce the arcade sequences continue
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the tale where the comic book leaves off.
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Having two characters creates a twofold goal: You must guide Spider-Man to the
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silo and prevent a missile launch, and you must guide Captain America to Dr.
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Doom's private room and apprehend the vile scumbag. The arcade sequences
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alternate between the heroes: Each sequence offers multiple arcade challenges,
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and each sequence continues until the panels are filled or the current hero is
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killed.
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The difficulty levels are Beginner, Hero, and Superhero; they're more precisely
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described as Hard, Extra Hard, and You're Joking, Right? Working to prevent you
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from completing the mission are robot troops and defense mechanisms, hazards and
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traps, and a wild lineup of menacing Marvel villains, including Batroc,
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Boomerang, Hobgoblin, Eduardo Lobo, Rattan, and Zaran, a dagger-tossing villain
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who appears only in this ST version.
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The ST graphics display consists initially of the comic panels. Pressing the
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joystick button loads the arcade sequences, which take place in and around
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Doom's Latverian castle. Some sequences (usually those with hazards) scroll.
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When a robot or a villain is present, the scenery remains stationary while you
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do battle. Below the main action screen are pictures of the current hero and
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villain, and energy bars for each.
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DOOM is joystick-controlled. The stick alone handles the general movements of
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both heroes: flips, jumps, crouches, turns, and left/right directional movement.
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With the button pressed, the stick makes Spider-Man throw high and low webs,
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stick to ceilings or walls, and attack in three ways. Captain America's arsenal
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doesn't include any kind of stickum; instead, he has five attack moves, and high
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and low shield throws. On the scrolling hazard screens, the stick allows the
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hero to perform flips and somersaults, and to control his speed. Keystrokes
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pause the action, toggle sound, and invoke the "Bookmark" save option, which is
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available only at a comic book panel.
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The DR. DOOM'S REVENGE package comes with two disks, a Marvel comic book, an ST
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reference sheet, and an instruction manual that provides detailed background
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information on the heroes and villains: You'll need the manual, at the very
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least, for the three-part documentation checks. Two disk drives are supported,
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and a hard drive. While installing DOOM on a hard drive, you'll encounter copy
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conflicts; the problem these conflicts cause (usually on buggy, older STs) can
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be avoided if you select Cancel from the Copy-Conflict Dialog box. Although the
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disks can be copied onto floppies, you'll still need master disk A to boot the
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game. If you boot with the backup, the program doesn't ask for the master disk
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(which it should), and in any case, you'll need master Disk A when booting from
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a hard drive. The program runs on any Atari ST with 512K and a color monitor.
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DR. DOOM looks excellent on the ST: a computerized comic. The backgrounds are
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bright and colorful. The animations of the heroes and villains are very well
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done, if sometimes a bit slow. The arcade sequences are difficult, even at
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Beginner level. The villains move swiftly, and they either jump around with
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reckless abandon (which means your hero will have to do the same), or throw
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lightning bolts and saw-blades and bombs, or possess a lethal move (such as
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Rhino's Impaling Freight Train Thrust). This is a vicious bunch that dishes out
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large servings of punishment, which Spider-Man and Captain America promptly find
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indigestible; what's more, the heroes' actions are sluggish in comparison. At
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Superhero level, the villains seem to last forever.
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Overall, DR. DOOM'S REVENGE is a fine package whose considerable design and
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graphic impact is blunted by high difficulty. Although not as brain-melting as
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NEVERMIND, it's a game worth having -- but you'd best hone your nerves along
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with your joystick skills.
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DR. DOOM'S REVENGE is published by Medalist and distributed by MicroProse.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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