Dark Forces - Lucasarts (Distributed by Virgin)
                          IBM PC CD-ROM
                       A review by Roy Sims

If you love Star Wars (like I do) then any game which is based on
the Star Wars films is going to be of interest, especially when
it also uses a similar game engine to the game "Doom", its
sequel ("Doom II") and off-spring ("Heretic"). As the blurb on the
back of the box says "Experience first person firepower in the
Star Wars universe". That sums it up nicely!

For starters, the game is only available for the PC and (at the
moment) it's also CD-ROM only. It will run on a 386DX 33 but it
isn't very playable. To be honest, you shouldn't even think
about it unless you've got something faster than a 486DX 33.
You also need 8 Mb to run the game, which can prove a problem
as a lot of PCs still come with only 4 Mb as standard. Time to
buy some more memory! You can play the game via mouse, keyboard
or joystick. The joystick option also caters for a wide range
of specific models (e.g. the 4 button Gravis Gamepad). I still
find the keyboard to be the best option. It's also handy to
discover that the keyboard controls are almost identical to
"Doom" which means that veterans of that game will feel
immediately at home with "Dark Forces". There are a few
additions though - you can crawl, jump and look up and down
whilst moving about. (This is nothing new though - jumping and
looking up and down were done in the "Ultima Underworld" games
over two years ago).

You assume the role of Kyal Katarn, a freelance agent who used to
work for the Empire but who has now sided with the Rebel Alliance.
You take on a variety of missions for the rebels, the first of
which is the capturing of the plans for the dreaded Death Star!
(This is a slightly modified version of the one level demo that
a number of glossy mags have had glued to their covers in the
last few months). You can pick up ammo clips and different
blasters that are left lying around once you've disposed of the
owner in true "Star Wars" style. Laser bolts fly in all directions
as you blast your way through each level, and again, the feeling
of being in a "Star Wars" movie is very strong. The sound effects
are all spot on (as they would be, coming from Lucasarts) as are
the graphics. Stormtroopers are still pretty much cannon fodder,
and still they can't shoot very straight when it comes to
fighting rebels!

There are 9 different weapons that you can use in the game. Most
have to be collected and then maintained with a supply of relevant
ammo clips etc. The most basic weapon of all are your fists. I
don't think I need to elaborate, but they are only useful in close
quarter fighting! Next up is your Modified Bryar Pistol. It's slow
compared to Imperial weapons, but it is highly accurate. You have
one with you when you start the game. Other weapons up for grabs
include Stormtrooper Laser Rifles, Thermal Detonators (as seen in
"Return of the Jedi"), Jeron Fusion Cutters, I.M. Mines and loads
more.

Whilst a fair amount of the game is spent rushing around and
blasting Stormtroopers (and other creatures straight out of the
movie trilogy), you also have a specific number of goals to
achieve in each mission. Once you have done the deed, you must
return to the rendezvous point where your ship awaits your
return. The first mission involves stealing the plans to the
Death Star. The second involves reactivating a power generator on
a planet and learning as much as you can about the rumours behind
the mysterious "Dark Trooper" project. This is the main plotline
throughout the game. As with the previous games "X-Wing" and
"TIE Fighter", you get cut scenes every so often which advance
the plot. Early on you will learn about the experimental Dark
Trooper initiative being conducted by one of Darth Vader's
lackeys, hence the name of the game.

There are supposedly 12 missions in total. and whilst I've only
experienced the first quarter of them so far, I think it's safe
to say that the levels have been designed very carefully. It
feels a bit like "Doom" in places, but I guess it's a little
difficult not to draw comparisons. There does seem to be a bit
more puzzle solving than in ID's blood fest. It's not just a
matter of blasting everything in site and finding the odd colour
coded key. You have to think as well as shoot which makes a nice
change. The problems aren't exactly hard to overcome though.
Thankfully you can adjust the difficulty level of the game for
each mission. You also have three lives for each mission, and
if you lose one it doesn't matter because once the mission is
over and you start the next one, you are given a full compliment
of three again. What's also useful is that if you do die and
use another life, you don't have to start the level again from
scratch as you do in "Doom". You are placed back at a strategic
restart point, and the doors and objects you have opened or got
so far are still intact.

The music is recognisably "Star Wars", but I think it's a great
shame that Lucasarts didn't find a way to include a digitised
soundtrack as they did in their other CD-ROM only arcade shoot
'em up "Rebel Assault". Whilst the game was awful, the inclusion
of the actual John Williams "Star Wars" music added so much to
the atmosphere of the game. The "Star Wars March" through a
Sound Blaster card doesn't quite leave the same impression.

So, do I like it? Yes. It's like "Doom" but without the gore.
Obviously, the authenticity of the "Star Wars" universe helps
add a bucket full of atmosphere. The only real negative points
are that it might be a tad hard on anything other than Medium,
and you can't save your game during a mission (it's saved
automatically for you when you complete one). If you think about
it, this is as it was in "X-Wing" and "TIE Fighter" but it
somehow feels as if it needs such an option, especially when you
consider that "Doom" allows you to. Having said that, the fact
that you don't have to restart all over again when you lose a
life counter balances that complaint doesn't it? However,
there is one other omission that a lot of people have commented
on leading up to the games release. There's no multi-player
option (null modem, modem or network). This is an option that made
"Doom" so successful. Lucasarts said that they would have had to
design levels specifically in mind for multi-player games, and it
also goes against the idea of the game - a sole rebel going up
against the whole empire. Maybe so, but if they do an update or
release another game of this ilk in the future, they have got to
include this option!

                              - o -