| Category | Action/Shooter |
| Players | 1+networkable |
| Difficulty | Hard |
| Review Date | 1/96 |
| Developer | Crack Dot Com |
| Publisher | Bungie |
| Minimum System Requirements |
| 68040 or Faster |
| 640x480 256 Color Monitor |
| System 7.1 or Later |
| CD-ROM |
| 6 Megs of Ram |
Bungie and Crack Dot Com have teamed together to bring the hit Abuse
to the Macintosh. Of course, the Mac version is a little more refined than
its PC predecessor, but that is to be expected because it came out a little
later.
The graphics for the Mac version of Abuse have been improved. With smooth movement and sharp characters, this game is pretty fun to watch. My only complaint on a graphics standpoint would be that the common beasties look way too much like the things from Aliens (I'm talking about the big things, not the face huggers.).
The control of Abuse is one of the easiest and smoothest I have ever encountered. You use the keyboard to move your character around, but use the mouse to aim and fire. This allows you to shoot while running away (a tactic I hold dear.). It's at this point where old Mac users are screaming, "That's not new, why I used that interface with Dark Castle!" While this interface was seen on the original (I'm talking B&W, little boxes.) Macintoshes with the release of Dark Castle, it is now smoother and faster then ever before.
The sound does a good job of spooking you in this game. You can hear
the aliens before actually seeing them. This leads to some very tense
moments when you know that about eighteen mutants are ready to pounce on
you, but you don't know from which direction. Very well done, indeed.
While Abuse is just a "kill all that you can see" game, it does contain a lot of secrets and tricks. Many walls can be destroyed to uncover secret weapons stashes. Also, because you are in a jail, you can use many of the jails defenses against the beasties. Time it right, and you can eliminate an entire group of mutants with the flip of a switch. I bet Rambo never thought of that! (Though he could do that lip thing, so Iguess we're even.)
Bungie's most recent craze seems to be releasing level editors with their new games. They did it with Marathon Infinity and they didn't want Abuse to be left out. Build your own maps, and challenge your friends to beat the mutant hordes. As with any game that is released nowadays, you can also network Abuse and kill your friends instead of your enemies. You can also use the map editor to tell you where the traps are on any level where you get stuck, but that's cheating.
All in all, Abuse is a game of sheer carnage. If you thought Doom was violent, you ain't seen nothing yet. It is a refreshing change to see a side scrolling bloodbath, in the spirit of Contra. If you want a game that saves on the brain power and is a lot of fun, go with Abuse.
Revolution Report Card |
B |
|
+ Good, Solid Game. + Pretty Graphics. + Level Editor. - No Brainer |