Kicked out of touch
It looks like a no-score draw for Microsoft Soccer, but Nickelodeon3D Movie Maker is making a better impression. Marc Ambasna Jones round upthe reviews.
"Relegated", reads the headline over PC Gamer's review of Microsoft Soccer. Microsoft may be the undisputed king of application software but when it comes to entertainment, it doesn't have it all its own way. PC Gamer has given the big software vendor a complete roasting over Microsoft Soccer, saying it is "quite possibly the worst football game on the PC, ever". In a market where nearly every football game receives some semblance of acceptance, that's damning ammunition for all the Microsoft bashers out there.
Like Manchester United, people like to see big, successful names fall from grace every now and again. Microsoft's gaming reputation (not a massive one to date) has been hit for six. "Microsoft demonstrates its grace as complete gaming losers," continues PC Gamer, almost rubbing its hands in glee. "I could never be prepared, no matter how fierce the training, for the hideous dross that currently occupies nearly 50Mb of my hard disk," adds the reviewer.
The problems on the pitch are seemingly endless. PC Gamer was even less impressed with the penalty shoot-outs. "No matter what you do, the ball only travels along the floor and rolls into the corner of the net. You never miss. The goalie never saves it. It even continues straight through him." Of course, this means no one really wins from a penalty shoot-out, doesn't it? PC Gamer adds that "the hideous graphics, dreadful animation, unrealistic ball movement, atrocious sound effects" and the fact that a foul is called a "tripping violation", justifies the very low score.
PC Home says little to redeem Microsoft Soccer although it does give it a significantly higher score. "It simply cannot hold a candle to the latest breed of football games. Graphically alone, it's like taking a step back in time," says PC Home. "This really isn't good enough." They think it's all over. It is now for Microsoft Soccer, surely?
Microsoft does redeem itself in more familiar territory, with the multimedia title, Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker. This is not a new area for Microsoft although, unlike Microsoft's original 3D Movie Maker title, this one is aimed at a younger audience, replacing "actors" with Nickelodeon cartoon characters. "It is both amusing and informative," says CD Rom Magazine.
Featuring Ren and Stimpy (two cult characters from the US children's TV channel), this title "is amazingly easy to use considering how complicated it should be to create such great end results," adds CD Rom Magazine.
"This really is quite superb."
Computer Life is more reserved, suggesting that by using Nickelodeon characters, the title has been limited, a little like those themed Lego sets. Yet good fun eventually shines through. "If you yearn to direct an art-house movie in which a Polish man describes how depressed he is for three hours, then this isn't for you. But as a tool for creating capers, it could well turn you into the thinking person's Rolf Harris."
Another multimedia title which has been given a unanimous, wobbly and almost mediocre thumbs up, is Weird, by McGraw Hill New Media. A title which falls roughly into the category of Flagtower's The Unexplained, Weird is not just about supplying unusual stories in a reference format.
"Weird is best described as reference work meets exploration game meets abominable snowman," says PC Review. "But don't rush to the shops thinking it's a mixture of Quake and some sort of supernatural Encarta." PC Review adds that with its reasonable price and good presentation, "newcomers to the world of the mysterious will find the disk a useful introductory exploration and may find the simple gameplay aids their intake of the knowledge." PC Home is a little entranced, saying that it is "a well presented disk and genuinely interesting," with some "fantastically interesting tales". CD Rom Today says that it's "a satisfying blend of fact, fantasy, utter nonsense and multimedia malarkey. Those who dare to enter its surreal landscape won't leave disappointed. Some might not even leave at all."
More puzzles and adventure, but this time Blue Ice from Psygnosis is a game and not a half-hearted reference work. "It looks beautiful, and the sound is fantastic, so if intricate adventure/puzzle affairs are your thing, you'll love it, despite tendencies to pretension," says PC Home.
PC Gamer is a little half-hearted, saying it's "good for those who keep a thinking cap and clever clogs in their wardrobe, but thrills are hard to come by."
PC Review describes it as "a concept game" and as "brave, ambitious, tedious and irritating" all in one go and suggests it may appeal to "chin-stroking cryptic crossword fans". PC Format offers a little salvation.
"Blue Ice is fiendishly tricky at times, but full of depth and you keep returning long after you've solved it. Think of it as a great coffee table game."
Something a little less coffee table-ish is Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries.
It's the sequel to last year's successful release, Mechwarrior 2 (someone else bought the rights to Mechwarrior 3!) and promises much destruction and spilling of cups and saucers. It's PC Gamer's Game of the Month, but not everyone is as pleased as punch about it, although no one really criticises it in any depth. "A great 'bot battler but you really need a Pentium to play it. A worthy follow-up to a pretty top game," says PC Home.
"This is a great game for those who like action," adds CD Rom Magazine, "it is made all the more intense by the elements of strategy involved."
While Computer Life yearns for the punch of the last Mech II, they might be better off switching to the Playstation and picking up a copy of JVC's Victory Boxing. "Packs a punch more powerful than that Prince Naseem nutter," says Play +. Even though there are some good games in this area, such as Boxer's Road and Tekken 2, it looks as though Victory Boxing could be a contender.
Microsoft Soccer
Microsoft
PC CD
u35
Out Now
PC Gamer - 16%
PC Home - 72%
Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker
Microsoft
PC CD
u40
Out Now
CD Rom Magazine - 4/5
Computer Life - 3/5
Wierd
Twopointzero
PC CD
u35
Out Now
Computer Life - 3/5
PC Review - 6/10
PC Home - 86%
CD Rom Today - 4.5/5
Blue Ice
Psygnosis
PC CD
u40
Out Now
PC Gamer - 75%
PC Review - 5/10
PC Format - 80%
PC Home - 84%
Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries
Activision
PC CD
u50
Out Now
PC Zone - 88%
PC Gamer - 90%
Computer Life - 3/5
PC Home - 90%
CD Rom Magazine - 3.5/5
Victory Boxing
JVC
Playstation
u50
Out Now
Total Playstation - 93%
Play + - 90%.