Review - 3DO GAMES: DECATHLON (beta)
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 7:14 pm
3DO GAMES: DECATHLON shows so much promise, and realisticly shows why the 3DO still had a fighting chance in the console market. For it's time, the graphics were top notch, and even today, they're still pretty good. Incorporating a broadcast TV like presentation not done (well, not done really good) again until Dreamcast's 2K sports series, it gives a real feeling of watching classic olympics.
A large variety of sports that required skill, and less that required just simple fast fingers, make this one more than the average level of fun. However, the afforementioned issues keep this one from being really enjoyable.
Starting off on the control front, that is the only really major problem that kept this one from seeing release. While sharp and dead on in most of the games, a few like inthe various foot races, the control just seems to lag to the extreme. Falling to either being non-responsive, or so far behind in the response that you're liable to wonder if the computer is just doing whatever it wants.
Control on the Pole Vault, Discus, Javeline and all are pretty dead on. So really it just required a bit of refinement in the other events to fix that lag issue and I'm sure it would have been all around perfect. Javelin had one extra disadvantage though as occasionally a FAULT would freeze the game. This only happened about 1 in every 5 faults... but still its annoying.
I must applaud Studio 3DO in one reguard, this one really does take advantage of the 3DO's multiplayer feature, offering up to 8 players the chance at olympic gold. Too cool!
Visually, all that can be said was WOW! Very good looking athlete models, realistic looking event locations, and some really snazzy visual presentation effects make this one look really good. Graphic overlays, and smoothly shifting camera angles really give this one a nudge in the right direction. This is where another issue does creep up though. Certain effects were not properly implemented to work on the 3DO, so they caused errors and they'd disappear.
When it came to sound, this one was ok. Effects ranged from clomping feet to the strain of throwing the javelin are all pretty decent. No in game music, but at the character select screen and awards stand... each country's national anthem is well done.
Gir Draxa
A large variety of sports that required skill, and less that required just simple fast fingers, make this one more than the average level of fun. However, the afforementioned issues keep this one from being really enjoyable.
Starting off on the control front, that is the only really major problem that kept this one from seeing release. While sharp and dead on in most of the games, a few like inthe various foot races, the control just seems to lag to the extreme. Falling to either being non-responsive, or so far behind in the response that you're liable to wonder if the computer is just doing whatever it wants.
Control on the Pole Vault, Discus, Javeline and all are pretty dead on. So really it just required a bit of refinement in the other events to fix that lag issue and I'm sure it would have been all around perfect. Javelin had one extra disadvantage though as occasionally a FAULT would freeze the game. This only happened about 1 in every 5 faults... but still its annoying.
I must applaud Studio 3DO in one reguard, this one really does take advantage of the 3DO's multiplayer feature, offering up to 8 players the chance at olympic gold. Too cool!
Visually, all that can be said was WOW! Very good looking athlete models, realistic looking event locations, and some really snazzy visual presentation effects make this one look really good. Graphic overlays, and smoothly shifting camera angles really give this one a nudge in the right direction. This is where another issue does creep up though. Certain effects were not properly implemented to work on the 3DO, so they caused errors and they'd disappear.
When it came to sound, this one was ok. Effects ranged from clomping feet to the strain of throwing the javelin are all pretty decent. No in game music, but at the character select screen and awards stand... each country's national anthem is well done.
Gir Draxa