August 5, 1999 Web posted at: 8:47 a.m. EDT (1247 GMT) by Andrew S. Bub

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INTERACTIVE:

(IDG) -- Descent was one of those rare games that's totally unique. It took the innovations of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom and turned their action style on its head--literally. Descent's 360 degrees of nausea-inducing movement, level design emphasizing players' spatial-awareness skills, and killer AI made the game a looker and a fighter.

Yet, after one sequel, the legend just seemed to disappear, and last year Forsaken almost eclipsed the Descent games with its competence and modern looks. Now Outrage and Interplay offer us Descent 3, a title that so brilliantly resurrects the series that it promptly snatches the crown from Forsaken's head--and sends the upstart tumbling into a deep, dank hole.

Gameplay

The story--and amazingly, there is one--is so woodenly and poorly related via rendered cut-scenes that you'll be glad you can end them with a keystroke. Look, the Material Defender (you) has to fight the virus-infected robots in the tunnels again! That's all you need to know or care about.

From there, you go from mission to mission (15 in total) solving minor puzzles, scrapping rabid robots, and solving problems. The challenges are much more diverse this time out: Whereas the first two Descents focused entirely on finding colored keys, destroying reactors, and escaping, this time you'll be hunting for keys in missions that have their own specific requirements, such as defending structures, downloading info, destroying machinery, escaping, or simply killing all the robots you encounter.

Fifteen missions is only half as many as Descent II had, but D3's brilliant design makes up for it. Should the intricacy of these sprawling levels prove daunting, the designers have added a Guidebot that can do anything from put you out if you're on fire, to lead you to the next objective.

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The Guidebot is also supposed to fight for you: it's a weak combatant at best, but at times it can reprogram enemy robots to battle on your side. Overall, this sidekick is incredibly useful for pointing you in the right direction to find enemies, power-ups, and the next puzzle clue/objective. Brilliant addition, guys.

Control remains unique and frantic. Joystick support is broader than before (the previous installments being DOS titles) and the game supports force feedback for those with power-sticks. Best of all, stick players will have an easier time with support for all those nifty buttons, throttles, and hat switches.

The better mode of control is the mouselook function, which works as well as it does in your standard shooter, except that down is a more useful axis with this particular title. In short, all controls can be remapped with a cumbersome, non-intuitive, but workable interface.

Perhaps the best thing about D3, and the thing that raises its metallic head above the pack, is the absolutely wicked enemy AI. These corridors are crammed with tubes, pipes, and other obstacles, and you'll find your enemies dodging, hiding, ambushing, and flanking you at all times. With action as thoughtful, freewheeling, and frantic as this, the game excels like few others in the pure-gameplay department.

Graphics

Lovely, just lovely. Everything is well-rendered and offered in multiple video modes, with support for all the cards you can think of. My Voodoo2 caused a few crashes, but my TNT card gave me a perfect experience all the way through the game.

D3 has all the lighting effects you could want, plus fire effects and some cool weaponry.

One gripe you could levy is that while your fire can mark the walls, not much is destructible or interactive in the levels: shooting neon signs, for instance, causes nothing to happen at all. Fortunately, the game's hyperkinetic pace precludes your firing at everything just to see if it'll explode, so you likely won't notice this deficiency.

The game's indoor environments are strikingly different from each other--you'll zoom through caves, prisons, a subway, and otherworldly mineshafts. The new outdoor environments feel a bit weak--it's painfully easy to dodge in the open air--but they do provide a nice alternative to the claustrophobic tunnels that make up the majority of the game.

Sound

The music is just plain weird, and offsets the oddness of the environments perfectly. Because you're fighting robots, you wouldn't expect D3's sound effects to be overly elaborate, but they're pretty good: Some of the bots make a chilling growling noise as they spot you, and the noise of their weapons fire adds to the tension.

Also, the game's voiceovers are generally decent. You won't have a problem with the sound at all, provided you skip the FMV sequences.

Overall score: 8.5 out of 10

Descent 3 doesn't really take Descent to the next level, but it adds enough to the old formula to make it very worthwhile. Even the multiplayer suite proves stable, distinctive, and fun (even if some of the old-school Descent players are inhumanly talented). Descent 3 is pure action and unique combat at its best, with improved AI, some decent puzzles, and excellent level design to boot. Sure, the story may stink, as do the intro sequences, but all is forgiven once that first shot is fired and your first foe dispatched.

TIPS

Try out the stick and the mouse modes of control. I recommend remapping the keyboard keys and using the mouse: control is much more precise that way.

If you're using the mouse, drop the sensitivity to about 60 percent, or you may find things a bit jerky.

When in doubt, charge the enemy without a thought of self-preservation. The AI is so good that you may find yourself on the losing end of a cat-and-mouse contest.

Use your Guidebot well, and pay attention to what it does, where it goes, and what it can do for you.

If you're nauseated, I've heard that Dramamine helps.