HyperZone

This is a very peculiar little game. The influence of F-Zero is undeniable, from the layout of the tracks, the sidewalls that hurt you, the energy refill spaces, and even in the design of the car/ship itself. But as far as I can tell (I haven't yet gotten past the third boss) your only objective is to run through the tracks, shooting objects as they get in your way. It's weird, I didn't think too much of the game at first, but it kind of grows on you. Here are the specifics. By: Catfish_82

Graphics: 8/10

The game is graphically rich. You only need to examine the ground, the ceiling and the background to see there was a lot of attention to detail going on here. It's nice, but it's more pixilated than it is sharp or crisp. But hey, you gotta reward the effort at least.

Characters: 6/10

You don't get to select your ship at the beginning, but you do get upgrades. For instance, I got a new ship at the beginning of level three. Again, at least from what I saw, the ships looked very F-Zero-like. I'm assuming they give you a new one every couple of levels. Now the enemies were another interesting feature. On one hand they mostly consisted of colored geometric shapes, however a few of the ones in the later stages resemble some of the alien devices from Contra 3.

Sound: 2/10

Muted, uninspired, dull. Those are just a few of the terms I can think of to describe the music here. There's nothing blatantly out of place here, and that's how the game racks up it's two points in this category. On the upside though, I have discovered that you can make up your own soundtrack. Just mute the volume on the game, insert an Alan Parsons Project cd, and enjoy.

Play Control / Gameplay: 5/10

I don't know, the game kind of grew on me, so I don't mind it, and the fact that it's so clearly related to F-Zero is a selling point. But it is difficult. I like to think of myself as a pretty competent gamer, but I have yet to figure out how to get past level three. Also, the lack of two-player mode is a minus (even though F-Zero wasn't two player either). So, I wouldn't say you have to have this game, but it's worth giving a thought to. Thus I'd give it a B- (an 80 to be exact).

Overall Score: 80/100