Product description
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The Bugs are Back!Product Information Centipede the
classic arcade game of the '80s is now revived and broughtfull
speed into the '90s! Meet Wally. He's your alter ego. The
ultimateeveryman a simple bean counter chosen to fly the Shooter.
Wally's mission is todefend the Wee village against an onslaught
of Centipedes spiders scorpionsfleas and other creepy-crawlies.
Your mission...help Wally destroy theQueen Centipede and save the
world! Command acustom-built Centipede-fighting vehicle called a
Shooter. Battle across manydifferent areas to the Centipede
Temple saving captured and stranded Wee peoplealong the way. See
if you can put an end to this menace once and for all. Cutting
edge 3D technology with stunning cinematics and artwork 2 modes
of play: Classic and 3D real-time gaming 5 worlds / 30 levels
Playable over LAN modem-to-modem or the Internet Classic arcade
and adventure game variations Multiplayer split screen action for
you and a friend Fast action real-time 3D shooter Change views
on-the-fly from the top down to over-the-shoulder or first
personWindows Requirements Pentium 100MHz CPU or higher Windows
95 98 Me XP Vista 16 MB of RAM 4X CD-ROM drive 60 MB free hard
drive space Windows 95 98 Me XP compatible 1 MB SVGA card Windows
95 98 Me XP compatible sound card DirectX version 5.0 (included)
or later 28.8 baud modem (for Internet and modem-to-modem play)
Mouse
.com
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Centipede, the arcade game of the '80s, has been brought
full speed into the '90s. You play Wally, an ordinary person who
must defend his village against the onslaught of centipedes as
well spiders, army ants, fleas, and scorpions. Command a
custom-built centipede-fighting vehicle called a shooter. Battle
across many different areas to the centipede temple, saving
captured and stranded people along the way. Finally, meet up with
the mother of all bad creatures--the queen centipede. See if you
can put an end to this.
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From the Manufacturer
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The video game classic is back.
Review
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Hasbro has jumped on the remake bandwagon again, and as
with Frogger, it's delivered another game that clings to the
spirit of the original while diverting just enough to make the
game feel new. The resulting game is at times frustrating, but
for the most part, it's a welcome update of a classic shooting
game.
While this may seem like a game for kids, there's some solid
gameplay that is at times akin to a mixture of a first-person
shooter and the original coin-op Centipede. The game has two
gameplay modes. The first is the classic arcade shooter played
from a top-down view with the attacking centipede descending upon
you. In the adventure aspect of the game, you navigate through
levels populated with mushrooms and civilian structures. The
civilian buildings must be defended by destroying the oncoming
centipede and its allied bugs. Certain mushrooms provide
power-ups that give you new weapons and defenses. The mushrooms
also serve as obstacles, and you have to maneuver past them or
destroy them outright. What further complicates things is that,
as in the original, when you shoot the centipede, it drops
segments that transform into mushrooms, thus hindering your
progress.
The most important function of gameplay, control, is acutely
debilitated. The mouse allows you to control your rotational
turning while the keyboard allows for forward, back, and strafing
movements. The only problem is that the mouse also has forward
and back motion input, and there's nothing in the control setup
that allows you to change this. When it comes time to do some
platform jumping as is the case in almost every level, the
forward motion of the mouse disrupts you as you're trying to
turn. Most of the jumping occurs over some lethal hazard, and as
a result, many deaths can occur simply from an unintentional
mouse movement. These problems are eliminated through the use of
a gamepad, but the necessity of using a peripheral input device
when this simple problem could have been solved with some mouse
tweaking really makes for some frustrating moments.
The viewing modes are another major problem. There are three
viewing modes: first-person, over-the-shoulder, and finally, a
top-down look on the playing field. The game is at its most
intense in the first-person view. The over-the-shoulder view is
nice as well but doesn't show the keen technical display of the
cockpit. The last mode is the top-down view that removes you from
the intensity of the playing field but seems to be the only real
way to do well at the game; keeping your backside free from
possible dangers is just as important as taking out the foes in
front. This basically makes the first two views useless except as
eye candy for those of you eager to watch the bugs up close.
Apart from these concerns, the levels themselves are sometimes a
bit confusing. After defeating a round of centipedes, there is
usually a portal that opens into a new area, but the direction of
this is not always obvious. And at times, the boss levels require
you to eliminate a time-wasting horde of weak foes in order to
get to the main boss area. So if you die while fighting the boss,
chances are you have to wade through some busy work before you
face it again.
While this review may sound really negative, the game, when not
frustrating, is really a lot of fun. Killing the bugs and
gathering power-ups is quite invigorating and makes good use of
its arcade and first-person-shooter roots. The levels are
colorful and don't get repetitive.
Remakes such as Centipede recall a time when genre had little
meaning and the path to an arcade hit was really a in the
dark. Despite some control problems associated with the levels
and a lack of useful playing views, the game is enjoyable. If
you're a gamer with some patience and a capacity to forgive some
overs, Centipede will reward you with some exciting moments.
But if you're a stickler for hard-core rocket-launcher action,
better leave the bugs to themselves. --Tahsin Shamma
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written
permission of GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot Review
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