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Preview  Dark Arena
- By Mike Schneider [Editor In Chief]
E3 2001 Impressions:
Having played through the first three levels of Dark Arena, I walked away from it feeling floored by the game. It is simply unreal how quick everything moves onscreen, and I can only imagine the possibilities with 4-player linked GBA matches (assuming the framerate can be kept up).
The graphics themselves in the game were good, and about what I expected. Enemies are sprites, and when you get close to them, the blockiness of their textures becomes very apparent. But still, everything moves so zippy and with enough details, that I hardly mind.
The control scheme in Dark Arena was equally strong. When there were a lot of baddies on screen at once, I was successfully able to maneuver my way around, thanks in part to being able to use the L and R buttons on the GBA for straffing.
In the E3 version, there was no sound available yet for the game, so I obviously cannot expand upon that any.
One thing I didn’t see much of that was plugged about Dark Arena was the “strategic elements” of the game. For the most part, the early missions seemed pretty straightforward. Run, shoot, find door to next level. Maybe these are just intro levels however.
Dark Arena, to this point in time, is probably my GBA favorite. Its September release won’t come soon enough!
- Mike Schneider, 5.18.01
Majesco has a lot of shooting projects on the way for Game Boy Advance: Iridion 3D, Earthworm Jim, and F-14 Tomcat. Of these, perhaps the most ambitious of all of them are Dark Arena, a game that tries to do what "isn't" supposed to be done on the handheld - an entirely 3D game.
Dark Arena is a first person shooter laid out how you'd expect a Doom style shooter to be - shoot first, think and explore later. The game is said to contain 20 levels and 6 different weapons for use, including a sniping rifle; and judging by the screenshots, will contain a lot of corridors, as well as dreary and dark environments.
As now is the norm in an FPS, puzzle solving will also be frequent in Dark Arena. With the help of an auto map feature, you'll be hunting down keys, switches, and other necessities that will allow you to progress through the game.
On top of all of this, Dark Arena has pre-rendered FMV screens that will help move along an impressive storyline... Taking place in the year 2146, the United Arms Organization is using genetically engineered opponents to give their top soldiers the ultimate training test. In a turn for the worse, the genetically engineered opponents were able to entirely take over the training facility and have killed everybody but you. Now, here comes the shocker: it is your job to go Rambo on these genetic freaks and keep on living.
Moreover, one of the most awe-inspiring aspects of Dark Arena is that you can do multiplayer death matches. So, let's say you're on a 4 hour airplane trip, and say, your younger brother also has the game. By linking up with his GBA and cartridge, you'll be able to do some quality grudge matches against the kid, and totally relive those many Goldeneye and Perfect Dark victories against him. Dark Arena will let up to four people hook up, and unlike console multiplayer battles, you'll be able to go at it without cheating off of other players screens. If pulled off right and with a smooth framerate, this feature alone should make Dark Arena worthy of a purchase.
Only time will tell if Dark Arena matures into an awesome first person shooter. Majesco and Graphic State have a lot of time to make this happen, and we'll be along for the ride to tell you more as it comes available.
- 5.18.2001 |
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Choose a path
Fragging GBA style
Fireball from hell!
Look at my purdy gun
Die aliens!
Shooting the horizon
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INFO |
Developer: Graphic State
Publisher: Majesco Sales Inc
Number of Players: 1-4
Release Date:
11.15.2001
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