GENRE
	Action
	DEVELOPER
	Probe
	PUBLISHER
	Acclaim
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-4
	CONTROLLER PAK
	yes
	RUMBLE PAK
	yes
	RAM PAK
	no
	BUY NOW AT

Just one captivating look at the unique and enthralling cover art of Forsaken warns any possible testers that this bad boy is different. As hard as I looked, I couldn't find the phone number to the cover girl of Forsaken anywhere in the manual. Ah well, maybe it comes up after you beat the game. The first thing that grabbed me when I turned on Forsaken was that it had advertisements at the beginning of the game. Is this the first N64 game with ads in it? This was cool at first but then I realized that each time I reset or started the game I'd have to sit through these things. That is an inconvenience that this game could do without.

Enough about advertising already! What about Forsaken 64? To start off with if you don't touch anything on the controller you get a little narration with a background of actual gameplay There are no long and gorry movies like the PC version of the game but that's to be expected when dealing with a cartridge format. Although Nintendo allowed for some mature content in this game. It seems like the narration has been edited for Nintendo viewing. The game's story write up and narration seems to focus on battling evil robots rather than thieving the barren Earth. Is this a surprise to me? Uhhh…no. Irregardless of this annoying little fact Forsaken has immense potential and is a really challenging title. Why do I say that? I'm glad you asked……

visuals

Is that blood spattering on the wall after a death? IS IT!?! That is truly astonishing that Nintendo would allow blood in a game. But there it is. Okay it's not that impressive but it is a nice touch especially when coupled with the splat sound effect. The textures in Forsaken are smooth and crisp. Although at times the walls look a little too DOOM like for my taste. This occurs when you pass by flaming skulls and so forth. But most of the time the game sports excellent looking environments with great usage of lighting and the N64's color palette. Speaking of lighting, this is the highlight of Forsaken. The lighting effects that accompany all of the weapons and other events are extremely well done. The colored glow of missiles follows your weapons as they sail down the corridor. All of the weapons are extremely original and well thought out. Try the Titan.

I have two complaints about the graphics though. One being that the game looks extremely boxy. All the lines on the bikes and environments are cut with hard lines. I guess this takes a bit of getting used to and I'm sure it is there to facilitate the astoundingly fast game play of Forsaken. Aside from the boxy look of the game my other complaint is that it is really hard to distinguish between power ups and other players. Or sometimes it is even difficult to see anything as the walls seem to camouflage the characters and the power ups. It can get confusing in the Forsaken environment and it would have been a little easier on the eyes if the bikes were made a more distinguishing color to separate them from the power ups.

Another bonus of this funky blend of Bond, Corridor shooters and flight combat is that the enemy characters are presented in full three-dimensional form. This is a great improvement to the flat and nasty sprites of Doom, Duke Nukem and Quake. Overall the graphic presentation of Forsaken is above average and seems to take off where Extreme G left off. All of the images and renders assist in the gameplay experience and aside from the confusion created at times, the graphics work nicely in this title.

audio

The sound in this title is competent. It is pretty much just texture for the incredible action. Some complaints though. The pionocycle that you're riding makes no noise. That is not good. A vehicle shouldn't be like a Honda Civic in a video game. It should let you know when it is on! Also sometimes the weapons that you fire don't make any noise and that is a downer because hearing things go Boom is always a capper on the fun! One final complaint is that the Music default volume is way to loud. It's worse then Ted Nugent playing Cat Scratch Fever at Candlestick I tell you! Iguana must have some seriously deaf programmers but I guess it's cool to be loud. ROCK ON!!

gameplay

Forsaken rides on rails. That's what it feels like when you're ripping through the tunnels of the lost Earth. The speed is outstanding and the control is precise and action packed. There is a great mixture of action and puzzle features as well as incredibly dynamic level designs which all together create a valuable replay aspect to this cart. The controls are easy to get into as they use a variation of the Bond side step movemtent. A is go and B is reverse. The only awkward control is weapons select. You have to reach for the digital pad to scroll through devices and sometimes this just isn't possible.

The game uses several different game types that rely on collection, destruction, defense and boss attacks as the foundations of their action. Each level is unique and presents it's own separate challenge. The one major problem however is the characters. More precisely, what is missing from the characters. There are no graphics available that outline the strengths and weaknesses of the different bikers. This is a must and I can't see why it is missing. In total, the single player game is fun but I would say that it is not exceptional (meaning 90 out of 100) based on the single player mode alone. The true strength of Forsaken is it's multiplayer mode.

multiplayer

In all honesty my intentions regarding this game in terms of a review value were to give it roughly a Seventy-seven out of 100. Then I brought Forsaken over to my buddy's house and we got into mulitplayer battles. The first noticeable thing that I heard from my buddies was "this is like Goldeneye on ACID". Of course, I don't and never have used that particular drug but judging from certain Oliver Stone movies I pieced together what he was trying to say.

Forsaken's multiplayer mode is magnificent. I use that adjective with a picture of Charlton Heston's body riding a horse in El Cid. It's really that good Dojo disciples. There are two main modes of frag mode and last man standing and a full range of boards to choose from. The best thing that multiplayer in Forsaken has is the ability to play against AI enhanced computer opponents. When the difficulty level is on NAILS these guys are tough to beat. You can play multiplayer mode on your own and hide the computer screens so that the game plays like a single player mode. This sounds cheesy but it really is a unique twist on mulitplayer action.

The most outstanding attribute of Multiplayer is the phenomenal speed and framerates that the game maintains. I had the luxury of playing on a monster screen TV and man the action was friggin' unstoppable. Three guys and one computer battling like true psychos! Great action hear and it completely makes the game a winner.

overall

The Concept of this game is unusually dark for a Nintendo title. It's strength is that it blends the best features of other shooters like Doom and Bond and adds a flight element to them. Very Cool. Very Original. The single player mode of this puppy is a bit lacking. But if you have friends, and you all should, than this is the best party game since Wheel Of Fortune! How can Vanna compare to the multiplayer energy of Beard and Lokesanna? Just kidding. This is a definate rental and I would advise a purchase as it is a quality title with a nice and steep learning curve and lots of challenge. In short, it's fun and it'll keep you guessing. Bottom line- Acclaim is making a statement over this summer beggining with this solid title. I like it. Alot. Nuff' Said.

8.5/10