Dark Vengeance
- January 01, 2000 00:00 AM PST
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But the gameplay is thin�lacking strong characteristics that would distinguish it from competition like the three Tomb Raiders, Heretic II, and even Deathtrap Dungeon.
I�ll spare you the elaborate story laid out in the jewel-box manual. Suffice it to say you can choose from among three characters (gladiator, trickster, and warlock)� each with nine distinctive weapons, four �uniques� (basically, selectable power-ups), and different starting levels. They do share a destiny. Whichever you select, you�re The Chosen One�a prophetic figure whose ultimate fate is uncertain, but who appears to be the last, best hope of the troubled land of Amagar.
Each quest takes you through a significant subset of the game�s 16 levels�many of them dark interiors that quickly had me toying with my monitor�s brightness controls. (The gamma controls came up as �unavailable� on the video menu on two systems.) Evade or dismantle the enemies (30-plus types, all told), surmount the odd action-oriented puzzle, smash your way through walls, find the keys or key-like objects that clear your path, and move on to next dark level. And so it goes.
Sad to say, this is familiar stuff�too familiar�and I quickly found I wasn�t playing so much as going through the motions.
That�s not to say Dark Vengeance is without a few clever bits. Weapon swipes leave lingering trails behind them in the air�red when you�ve made contact and white when you haven�t. Your current level�s objective is clearly stated in the menu (a nod to games like Quake II). You can apparently join a multiplayer game in 64-player Voyeur mode as a spectator (which has to be more fun than the routine network game we played), and there�s team and CTF support. Some of the effects are attractive. The obese demon cherubs and occasional Butt-head�voiced Dark Elves are good for the odd laugh. And the difficulty level seems pretty high. I like a challenge.
But, that said, all these are easily separated from the whole, and I can�t think of a concrete reason to continue playing Dark Vengeance now that I�ve written the review. The level design is pedestrian�a standard array of corridors, stairways, ramps, and doors with few surprises. The AI is undistinguished.Enemies move toward you and try to hit you, or they stand at a distance and try to shoot you. They do not run away when hurt, use the power-ups or high-level weapons that are lying around, or behave in any way that suggests an instinct for self-preservation. The artwork is glossy in the 3D-accelerated version, but in a generic way. The story is too convoluted to make us feel part of a world on the one hand, and our introduction to the characters too brief to develop any feeling for them on the other. Fact is, I just don�t care.
And that�s finally where the game falls down. I couldn�t find anything to attach myself to in Dark Vengeance. It�s just another third-person action game, and in this increasingly crowded field, �just another� isn�t enough.
