TRONIX AT CES (DAY 2 REPORT)
Joe Cataudella
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OK - here we are, second day of the Winter Consumer Electronics
Show, and things were a bit easier to see today, thanks to
a normal night of sleep. We started back at ATARI for
some more Jaguar info. I spoke with one of the Tramiels about
the release of the Jaguar CD, and he said quote "When enough
CD games are available, we'll release it - although we could
have released it just so folks can fiddle with the excellent
VLM". Speaking of the VLM, it is really hypnotic. I own both
a 3DO and Jaguar, and I do like the visuals for audio CD
playback on the Jaguar (hey, whatever Jeff Minter does is
gold in my book). I also saw a lengthy demo (well, as far as
you can take it) of BATTLE SPHERE which looks like an
interesting multi-player (or single) space shooter. The objects
are detailed and smooth - I believe using textured polygons.
Whatever it was - they had almost rounded corners, instead
of rough triangles. Battle Sphere is yet another game that
will support the Catbox. Oh, if you're reading this, you
probably know that the SKIING game was released last Friday.
We would have had 'em in stock on Friday, but we're HERE for
the show, and decided to close shop 'till Tuesday (this always
happens). Moving on to ULTRA VORTEX, I must say - it's still
a bit rough here and there- but I truly like it much better
than Kasumi Ninja (although I didn't mind Kasumi). The sound
is a lot better (especially the sadistic announcer), and the
characters are more interesting. Ultra Vortex grabbed the most
attention out of all the other Jaguar games in the booth.
In the 3DO area, Konami's POLICENAUTS was now on display, and
I only got to see some clueless chap trying to play this
target practice mode - I didn't have the heart ('nor the
patience) to scream PLAY THE GAME ALREADY- so I'll head back
to that one tomorrow. While I was visiting Virgin's ridiculously
cramped booth, I managed to find CREATURE SHOCK running on the
3DO. It was impossible to play the game while holding a video
camera, so I let the ship go on its own as I watched it crash
into just about every mountain. I knew it would take a while
to get to the 3D walking mode - where the heart (and creatures)
of the game is, but I wasn't about to wait in that dense mob
(thanks to Lands of Lore II on PC which simply blew everyone
away). Oh, as far as Creature Shock on 3DO - it looks amazing,
and already has a noticeable edge compared to the PC-CDROM
version.
The excellent folks at Silent Software were showing of RETURN
FIRE on 3DO. Let me just say two words - BUY IT! The game
is amazing, in one or two-player mode. And the battles are
backed with full classical scores like Holzt (sorry for any
mispells) - The Planets, and quite a few others. THIS is the
way CD-ROM games should be done. Return Fire is suppose to
ship this Wednesday - so make sure you put this one at the
top of your list (if you can afford it after the ol' X-Mas
crunch). Two other games I noticed today were KINGDOM: THE
FAR REACHES, and BRAIN DEAD 13. Both use cartoon cell animation,
with non-linear plots (in case you happen to have FMV-o-phobia).
Kingdom in particular is suppose to lean more towards an RPG.
The folks who distribute the 3DO/SNES Joystick adapter were
there, and when I spoke with the buyer, he mentioned that
there will be a TWO-PLAYER version of the adapter coming in
two weeks (two SNES sticks on one adapter).
In other news - Sega had a private media room for press
which I believe might be housing the Saturn. I have an
appointment for tomorrow afternoon -so check out tomorrow
night's report. With no SONY Playstation or Saturn being
shown from either company to the general CES audience, you
were still able to find certain import distributors showing
both units in their tiny booths which were easy to pass
if you blinked your eyes. Actually, GAMEFAN magazine had
a Playstation people could play- and a continuous video tape
of Saturn games running. A small importer had Virtua Fighters
running on the Saturn, and Toshinnden running on the Sony
Playstation. Let's see- one fellow was playing Virtua Fighters
in one corner, while at least 20 people were practically on
top of each other in front of the Sony fighting game - oh
including me. To put it simply, this game is NOT TO BE BELIEVED!
Combine Samurai Shodown with Virtua Fighters, add stunning
textures, exotic moves, swords, whips, and lightning fast 3D,
and you have the fighting game to end all others (well, for the
home at least). The Playstation is impressive - VERY impressive.
I wouldn't rule out Saturn as a front runner - CLOCKWORK KNIGHT
is nothing short of brilliant! The entire game uses rendered
characters, and a perspective that makes other side-scrolling
platform games look pancake flat. One of the fellows at GameFan
said that DAYTONA on the Saturn looks 98% identical to the
coin-op (I find that quote a bit too optimistic - but hey,
that would be a treat if it's in fact true).
Well, that's it for tonight's info - I'll be logging on one
more time tomorrow evening for the 3rd report (I have an
early flight Monday morning). The video tape is rolling away,
and there's a lot more to go; should be great! Have a good
night folks....
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~ Tronix Multimedia ~
3DO JAGUAR GENESIS SNES CD-ROM
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