(HD) Apocalypse PSX - 2

Developer Neversoft had high expectations for Apocalypse, and although many of them didn't pan out, the final result is a better-than-average, high-powered 3D shooter that hasn't got a single dull moment.

Gone is the side-kick that would have been Bruce Willis, aka Trey Kincade, who would have shadowed and paralleled your efforts through the course of the game. That idea, which has never been carried out successfully in a 3D shooter, would have been awesome, but it didn't work for a variety of reasons. Still, what Apocalypse does, it does well.

You star as Trey Kincade (Bruce Willis), a balls-to-the-wall military muscleman who must escape a series of repressive environments to defeat the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Piece of cake, right? Well, if you really were Bruce Willis, it might be easier. You will pass through eight levels and face four bosses in your plight, all of it made for running, shooting, and killing.

What's great about Apocalypse is it's simplicity and speed. Unlike Assault, which is a slow, mindless shooter, Apocalypse is a fast, mindless shooter. Seriously though, Activision's shooter is packed with lots of changing camera angles, some of which are annoying, because you often appear to run blindly into an area. But it's also packed with camera angles that shift correctly as well ¿ and they're shifting because you experience so many different kinds of environments.

Apocalypse blends in the platform-style run-and-jump areas seamlessly. And in a genre that's filled with lots of repetitive aspects, wildly changing environments and different platform movement thrust Apocalypse to a more challenging and ultimately more dynamic level of play.

The four bosses are difficult at first, until you learn their patterns (just like all bosses are), but Death, Plague, War and the Beast are frightening looking monstrosities that are sure bliss to hammer to death.

Graphically, Apocalypse is occasionally choppy, and every so often when you lay down a bomb a jolting slowdown patch will occur with more than a dozen or so enemies on screen. Although Bruce has been "cyberscanned" and motion-captured, he looks rather crude and "crunchy" much of the time. The crunchy part is his sharp-edged, pixelly look. Perhaps this is simply the limitations of the PlayStation itself, and not Neverhood's problem.

The game does have a pulsating soundtrack, which is excellent for a fast-paced shooter like this, but it's certainly not awe-inspiring. Grinding guitar music, much like that heard in Guitar Center sales advertisements (think: chug-a-chug-a, and then a 5 minute guitar solo, and you've got the picture) is what it's all about.

Finally, the game supports analog and dual shock features, and it's perfect with both on, because you can independently swivel your gun in directions different then the direction you are running. And it feels as smooth as silk in analog mode.

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