Page 30 - OSG Presents Classic Gamer Magazine #1

E3 Special Report
E3 Special Report

Missile Command

More of the same?
In this version you get to choose
between "classic mode" or an
Pong "enhanced mode." Either way, the
objective is the same: Protect your
You're kidding, right? six cities from the incoming alien
To be honest when we first missiles above.
heard that Pong was going to be
remade we were more than a tad 3-D?
skeptical. I mean it seems kind of Why, yes, it is. How did you
weird to update the most basic know? The graphics and sound are
game of them all. We're glad to re- quite impressive, the missiles being
port that Hasbro Interactive has launched from the ground are
done an admirable job of bringing change the physics of the ball, nicely detailed, and the resulting
this moldy oldie up to date. sometimes causing it to spin explosions are well animated.
quickly back towards you or to-
Gee, let me guess...it's in 3-D. wards your So, how does it
Well, yeah. But what classic up- opponent. play?
date isn't? Hasbro definitely scores The envi- Pretty much as you
points for game board creativity. ronments would expect as it
You can play in various arenas can change has retained its ba-
such as on ice, in the jungle and in at the drop sic game play. Be-
space. All arenas have rich, vibrant of a hat. At yond the addition of
colors as well as detailed graphics. any mo- the upgraded graph-
ment, the ics, there isn't much
So, how does it play? board can new material here.
Quite well, in fact. It did take a convulse in We played this
little time to get used to the Play- waves, demo on a PC and
Station controller to maneuver the shoot the mouse made it
paddle onscreen, but after a bit of spikes upwards, buckle violently, or very easy to place accurate shots
practice take a dramatic in the paths of the oncoming mis-
we were 'tilt' in your favor. siles.
doing a-
ok Is it worth it? Is it worth it?
(nothing, We think so. If you like the original Missile
of With so much to Command then you'll like this ver-
course, see at E3 we sion. The same elements are pre-
will ever found ourselves sent as well as the expected
take the returning several weapon power-ups and the added
place of a times to the Has- ability to launch a counterstrike.
trusty bro booth to play Based on the demo, we would rec-
Atari pad- Pong. It has more ommend it. Don't expect anything
dle). Use than enough fea- earth-shattering; just expect a Mis-
of the tures to hold our sile Command with impressive
dual interest and graphics and some nicely improved
shock controller improved the con- enough challenges to keep it inter- features.
trol significantly. esting and addicting. The mini-
Numerous power-ups are avail- games within the game, such as a
able as well as constantly changing pinball level, are also fun and the The Skinny: Missile Command
environments. In one arena, pen- multi-player mode (multi-tap re-
guins march across center ice and quired) will certainly bring out your Format: PC and PSX
if a penguin is struck it will alter the competitive side. Multiplayer over modem, LAN and the
course of the ball. Also, the pen- Internet
guins will "lay eggs" which can pro- The Skinny: Pong
duce multi-balls and paddle power- Publisher: Hasbro-Interactive/Atari
ups. In the jungle arena, spinning Format: PC and PlayStation Release: November 1999
logs in the center constantly Publisher: Hasbro-Interactive/Atari
Price: $29.95 (PC) and $39.95(PSX)
Release: October 1999 Release: November 1999

Classic Gamer Magazine Fall 1999 30