| Deleted User | Here goes the second chapter of the Bethesda saga (actually the third, Majestic being the first one; but what the heck, they haven't inclued it in their bundle... ).
After the great little game that Symbiocom was, I was eager to start the imprevisible Zero Critical. I mean, an A- review followed by an F one on JA+ ?!
Technical side, the game installed properly and ran fine. The music volume was completely exceeded by the sound, so I had to lower greatly the sound setting and pump up my speakers to hear the music. The resolution is to be set at 640x480. I have the 2.0 version, so maybe that's why I didn't experienced many of the Ray Ivey's complaints (the object behind a background detail for instance) ? No crashes. -Win98SE
In ZC, you are an ITC agent on his first mission about a murder on a planet named Rheom. On this desolated planet, a strange experiment is going on in a base housing 6 persons. This is not the first time something strange happens on Rheom...the constant daylight? something in the atmosphere?
If there is something this game has, it's definitly a great storyline. In addition, having played Symbiocom before (not at all necessary to the understanding), there was numerous references and contextual things that make the game universe very believable and interesting.
Graphically, some people would call Zero Critical ugly, but for my part the use of monochromatic palettes was an important factor for the game's atmosphere; I can even say some backgrounds are truly beautiful.
The in-game musics are really good, fitted perfectly to the situation and were never annoying (more volume please).
Sound effects are OK.
On the down side, the animations are very minimalist, almost non-existent (so what? IMO) and there is absolutely no speech within the game. Now that's odd! But like in Final Fantasy, imagination does the rest...
The difficulty is medium-easy and the duration very short, which is fine by me.
Finally and the most important is I had a really good time playing this short game, and really enjoyed the story and ambiance.
The overall impression 7/10.
Fine game, mainly because of its story and ambiance. One thing is certain: with today's technology, this game could be a bomb!
Marc
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