Zero 5 review #3

Zero-5, the 5th Jaguar-saving game in the last year is out, and it's got a lot of things going for it. Opinions on the game seem to be a bit varied but I'll go ahead and throw mine out there :)

The graphics of this title are composed of 256 color, shaded and texture mapped polygons. Don't let the 256 colors fool you, it does a great job of looking more than it actually is. When you first pop this cart in, the graphics are going to jump out at you. Considering all other Jaguar polygon games, Zero-5 sports a very high poly count and framerate. This makes the game look far more "Next-Gen" than other attempts. As I started to move my ship around I was taken back by the smooth movement and nifty 3D effect that the intelligent camera created. The graphics are incredibly 3D looking even though the gameplay isn't entirely 3 dimentional (I'll get to that later).

A lot of extra time went into the mission intros/endings and explosions, and these kinds of things really push the visuals over the top. The explosions are very powerful. Big polygonal chunks blast off from the terminated craft in many directions. The insides of the chunks flash red, yellow and orange colors. As these break off, multiple red pixel-shatter-like rings expand and animate from the center of the explosion. As the rings of fire fade, it creates a smokey-looking effect. In the HitPak Gunner mode (turret like mode), if you don't hit the center of the enemies, you'll blow away various parts of their craft. If you shoot the front end of a Stinger craft, the nose of the ship will explode leaving inner parts of it exposed. You can see wires and sparks on the front of the ship now! This is a very awesome effect.

Now to those intros that I was talking about :) before each mission you see different scenes to set up what's about to happen. The Hit-Pak will be flying though space and it'll open up and out comes the Bam-Bam fighter complete with a voice saying, "Launch sequence initiated." Or else the Hit-Pak will be cruising though space and some bad guys will arrive at the scene just before the voice says, "Take control." It's extra touches like these that make a game stand out above others.

The sound is covered very well. There are 4 techno tunes that play throughout the game. The all have very nice drum loops and techno rhythms, but lack a little bit of the melody of a T2K or D2K tune. Still, while some of the top music in a Jag game, just not topping Imagitec's masterpieces. On the upside, the tunes are nice and long. You won't be getting any short repetitious tunage :)

The sound effects are quite cool! The explosion sounds in the Hit-Pak gunner sequences have a nice little bit of bass in them. the sound of your ship getting hit is very fitting as well. There are sound effects where they need to be, and they are all nicely tweaked. The voicing is a big plus as well! There is also a bass/treble slider and some pre-set equalizer settings.

I think the gameplay is some of the best on any Jag game. There are 3 different modes of play that cycle thoughout the game, and near the end you get combination missions. The missions are: Bam-Bam (in the small fighter alone in space), Hit-Pak gunner (turret/Missile Command 3D), and Trench sequence (ala Star Wars)....

The Bam-Bam mode is the one that comes up first. This one has some control that will be tough to grasp at first. This mode is 3D, but not fully 3D. You're in the center of the screen and enemies will fly all around you. You can turn side to side, up to down, shoot towards or away from the screen, or even roll right or left. You can't fly away from the enemies, and you can't dodge enemy fire. You have to do the best to protect yourself by learning the patterns of the enemies and shooting their bullets down before they hit your ship. The effect is truly amazing. There is a part on level one where you're in the center and guys keep popping up one-by-one counter-clockwise all around you. This is where you really get an idea of what's going on. Shoot an entire pack of guys and you'll recieve a power-up. Now, what you do with this power-up is up to you. You can select gun upgrade, shield repair or points. You also start each level off with 3 super lasers. Push this button and you're invincible while your laser automatically attaches to ships around you.

The Hit-Pak gunner mode puts you in control of a turret. You have a 360 degree playfield where you rotate the gun right or left to locate enemies. You have a choice of a fast or slow target cursor. I usually keep it on the fast one unless I need some heavy fine tuning against a boss. Your shields aren't just one bar, they're based upon the damage you've recieved from around your ship. So if your south/east side shields are critical, you'll want to protect that side over the other areas. In this mode, you'll also face asteriod belts and big bosses. This mode has a bit of slowdown in it when there are multiple explosions going on. The gameplay doesn't seem to suffer from this very much though.

The trench sequences require a lot of memorization to complete. You're flying though the core of an enemy starship. There are walls that you can blast though, and wall that are indestructible. You'll have to roll your ship around in a circular motion to avoid the unbreakable walls. Imagine the T2K green path bonuses with barracades you have to dodge. This mode looks really cool and is hyper fast! Don't expect to beat it the first time because it takes a lot of practice. This mode has some noticeable slowdown at times....mostly in the texture filled places.

There are 15 missions in the game, and the levels go in 3's....so with every new level, you'll face new enemies with harder attack patterns and stronger weapons. Whenever you finish a level, the next is unlocked for you to play. The main problem is that you only face 4-5 enemy types in eace level (with exeption of the last level)....They could have mixed it up a little more to keep things a bit more interesting. The turret levels are the best examples of this. Some missions you'll face Stinger after Stinger or Scopio after Scorpio. This is the biggest thing that I consider to be wrong with Zero-5.

A lot of people have complained about the lack of autofire. To tell you the truth, I like pounding away on the controller as fast as I can. It gives me a feeling of arcade action and a blood pumping adrenaline rush :) Just holding the button down would just take the fun out of it.

The difficulty of the game is going to be a bit steep for little kids or people who just aren't very good at staying with a tough game. It has quite a steep learning curve, but this is the type of game that psychos such as I crave! A challenge that just won't stop until you've gotten it near perfect. Some of the later levels require you to do close to *flawless* for the entire duration of the level (15-20 minutes long).....this is beatable, but it's not going to come easy....and that's how I like it. Very little margin for error :) I played the game up to level 15 on the Cadet difficulty setting, but I *had* to put it on Novice mode to finish it off (shame on me!).....I'm working on finishing it on Cadet, but it's near impossible I tell ya! You have to shoot the boss for 10 minutes straight....

Z5 didn't get a lot of hype...and that's one of the reasons I think I'm so impressed with it. It was kind of a sleeper hit if you know what I mean. Many people may disagree, but I say that Zero-5 is one of the best Jag games there is. I'd definitely rank it in the top 5. Don't get me wrong, Battle Sphere will be the best space shooter on the Jag (I've played it, of course).....but is it so wrong for the Jag to have another space game with some ultra fun-factor and a sweet next-gen look to it? Not at all.

Graphics	9.5	Jag games don't come with this high of a poly count and a high framerate often. The texture mapping that is scattered around in the game is done in very good taste.
Sound/Music	9	Great tunes and sound effect....a tune or two more would've really been awesome though.
Control	8.5	A bit steep at first, but with some practice you'll be able to flip around and pinpoint enemies very quickly.
Power	9.5	This game really takes advantage of the what polygonal power the Jaguar has, and it does it while maintaining a smooth and ultra playable framerate.
Fun Factor	10	One of the funnest Jag games I've ever played. A straight up, in your face, action space shooter with some great tunes and tough missions.

Zero 5

Atari Jaguar