How to make summertime fun on your computer screen
By Joe Fasbinder
NEW YORK (UPI): This simulation game is hell. Literally. Other simulations let you build a city, an ancient empire, an outer space adventure or even an ant farm. But Afterlife from LucasArts in San Rafael, California, is really the last word in simulation gates.
Instead of the deadly seriousness of most other sim games, this one is infused with a good measure of otherworldly mirth. You're asked to assume the role of a regional manager of the Great Beyond, running things efficiently and profitably. If souls get unhappy, well, all hell breaks loose. You might lose all your work to the dreaded Disco Inferno.
Totally nonviolent is one of the phrases that Sirius Publishing uses to describe its new CD-Rom title, Treasure Quest. The game involves a spiritual guide, Terry Farrel of "Deep Space Nine," leading the player on an interactive mystery tour, in which clues are unveiled on the walls of a mysterious mansion, and sometimes, you have to go beyond the computer to find answers.
The game is challenging, entertaining and not something that you can dial into for just half an hour at a time.
Imagine this: You are on the trail of the most notorious criminal of all time, Angel Devoid. But following a bizarre accident, you discover you have the face of the very man you have been pursuing. No longer the hunter, your only choice is to infiltrate Neo-City, a dark world where you have to watch the shadows, because they're all watching you.
This is the theme of Angel Devoid: Face of the Enemy, an adventure game that features a cast of 24 actors and a storyline that allows multiple endings.
Angel Devoid: Face of the Enemy comes from Mindscape, Inc. Live Fast, die young, leave a pile of good-looking corpses. So begins the welcome from TerraNova: Strike Force Centauri, a shoot-em-up game from Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Looking Glass Technologies.
Mixing full-motion video with high-speed polygons, this is a fast-paced game. And the soundtrack is good, too.
Ever wake up with that restless urge to wipe out on Rollerblades while careening down a steep hill in San Francisco? ESPN Extreme Games gives you a chance to do so while avoiding a serious talk with a skin-graft specialist.
In ESPN Extreme Games, from Sony Interactive Software you'll hone your skills at four human-powered events, in-line skating, skateboarding, mountain biking and the always-life-threatening street luge. You get to compete against 15 aggressive opponents and hurtle past dozens of really threatening obstacles.
And with a street price of about US$50, this game is cheaper than just about any head injury.
Joe Fasbinder can be reached on the Internet at fasbinder(at)delphi.com or on Prodigy at Srth69A or on CompuServe at 74431,2554