Centipede

Hoping to duplicate the success enjoyed by its critically panned yet freakishly popular Frogger update, Hasbro Interactive is preparing to drag another '80s arcade classic kicking and screaming into the '90s. In Hasbro's Centipede, players assume the role of Wally Gudmunzsun, an unlikely half-wit selected to save the world from a horde of giant armored beasts. After jumping behind the controls of a one-of-a-kind hovercraft known as The Shooter, you and Wally must blast your way through 23 levels and four unique worlds to end the insectoid menace. In addition to its updated 3D graphics, Hasbro's Centipede has a number of brand-new play mechanics, such as jumping, strafing and rescuing diminutive townsfolk, who reward your efforts with a comically high-pitched "Thanks, Wally!"

Your primary enemies, as the game's title implies, are enormous centipedes, which descend on your lone craft in wave after deadly wave, tirelessly winding their way through a forest of giant mushrooms. Destroy one of your foe's body segments and a mushroom will appear in its place, causing the creature to make an abrupt 180. Additional classic enemies--including mushroomplanting fleas, poisonous scorpions and elusive spiders--also return.

If Centipede's Adventure Mode isn't your cup of tea, you can give your trigger finger a workout in the game's Arcade Mode, certain to look more familiar to twenty-something gamers. If that weren't enough, Hasbro's Centipede is rumored to contain a pixel-perfect port of Atari's 2D classic.

Overview

Riding the waves of the recent flood of '80s nostalgia, here is another re-issue of a classic arcade game. Like Hasbro’s recent re-issue of Frogger, however, the game has been completely overhauled and updated. There are two different types of gameplay (which can be played single or multiplayer): a 3D-ish remake of the the arcade game, and a whole new 3D adventure game with a bit of a storyline to it (evil bugs invade a peaceful town) which mostly makes for a good excuse for some groovy pre-game cinematics. Either way you play it, it’s a brand-new game -- these ain’t your parents’ bugs.

Gameplay, Controls, Interface

The Arcade game is similar to the original, with the exception of the angle of the playing field and different colored, more 3D-ish graphics. In the Adventure game, you control a small ship via mouse/keyboard or gamepad and roam around various environments, blasting the bugs and saving the little Wee People. There are three camera angles, each of which has its uses: first-person, close-up and overhead view. There are several levels to the game -- which, if you run through them fast, do run out quickly -- but it’s enough to keep you busy for a while.

Graphics

The 3D environments in the Adventure game are pretty good -- having the different camera angles to choose from helps give you a good feel for where you are and what’s around you. The pre-game cinematics aren’t bad, either. The 3D-ish version of the Arcade-style game is a little weird, though. Don’t expect it to feel like the original game, especially if you’re using a mouse as your controller. The response is significantly more sluggish than the trackball/button combination on the arcade machines of old, probably due to the complexity of the 3D.

Audio

They’ve added zippy techno music for your background (it helps keep you going!) and some deliciously cheeseball sound effects, including several taken directly from or built on the sounds from the original game.

System Requirements

Pentium 133 or higher running WIN 9x, 4X CD-ROM drive, 16 MB RAM, 60 MB HD space, 1 MB SVGA card and Direct X 5.0. Recommended: the above plus 32 MB RAM, 120 MB HD space, 200 Mhz Pentium and a 3Dfx card. A good 3D card is really essential for the proper game experience, and you may need to tweak your video settings and the game settings to get it all to work correctly.

Documentation

Not much, but useful. The booklet in the jewel case gives you a good overview of the controls, weapons and point system, but it’s not terribly necessary. Both games are pretty easy and self-explanatory.

Bottom Line

Skip the Arcade game, unless you’re just buying it for the nostalgia, and go straight for the Adventure game. It’s very fast-paced and utterly addictive. The look and feel is very much like some of the newer console games out there (Mario 64, etc) and as a result, you may want to use a gamepad for your controller rather than a mouse. This new version has all the elements that made so many of the original arcade games so popular: simple, mindless, blast-the-bugs, save-the-cute-critters fun. Highly recommended for maturing Gen-Xers looking to recapture their youth, and younger kids raised on Nintendos and overly violent combat games who never had the original arcade experience.

Take a popular arcade and an Atari classic, remove the color graphics, shrink it to Game Boy size, and what have you got? A headache! Your best bet with Centipede is to take two aspirin and call an exterminator in the morning.

Long time gamers and arcade groupies will remember Centipede as a coin-op staple. You use a magic wand to fire at Centipedes and other bugs who wind their way down the screen. If you zap the bugs, they vanish and you score points. If they zap you, you vanish and lose your wand. The object of the game is simple: the higher you score, the better you feel.

With each level you complete, the pesky pests increase their speed. It takes lightning quick reflexes to react quickly enough to nail the bugs and use mushrooms to create avenues of escape and attack.

Although the coin-op game play is basically intact, the Game Boy version of Centipede doesn't have the colorful arcade graphics. Instead, tiny black and white bugs are hard on the eyes and drive you buggy.

On the plus side, Accolade's added enough different play alternatives to make two-player games a lot of fun. You can compete against a fellow pesterminator in alternating or head-to-head play, or team up for compete-tive extermination.

Overall, fanatic Centipede fans should check out this version. The uninitiated, however, should head for Centipede in the arcades and seek pest free Game Boy pastures.