Stargate

Stargate plays much like the classic Welltris. Drop blocks into a 3-D hole, and line up three of the same patterns in a row. Complete all of the designs on the top of the screen in order to advance to the next level.

Stargate has three modes of play: Practice, Battle and Two-player. You can link your Game Gear with a friend for the Two-player Option. Stargate is perfect for passing time on long trips. Any puzzle fan will love it.

FIRST IMPRESSION

To be honest, I was expecting an action game, so i was a little disappointed to find that Stargate was a puzzle game.

But the disappointment did not last long. Soon I found myself playing the game for lengthy periods of time ... and so did a couple of other guys in the office.

BEST FEATURE

I really like the fact that you can play against a friend or against the computer. There's nothing like beating the pants off of your opponent to make one's day!

WHAT'S MISSING

Not much. For a Game Gear game, this one has it all. Good graphics, music that doesn't get too annoying and lots of fun play. What more could you ask for?

WILL YOU LIKE IT?

(This is so cliche!) If you liked Welltris, you'll love Stargate. If action games just don't cut it for you, or if puzzle games are your thing, you will like it. Promise.

Colonel O'Neil and his team walk through the Stargate and find themselves on Abydos, a planet on the other side of the known universe. Suddenly, a sandstorm comes and separates the team. O'Neil wakes up to find the team gone, along with the nuclear bomb he brought! Play as O'Neil as you try to find your team, your bomb and a way home.

The Dunes

A sandstorm separates the mission team from Colonel O'Neil. To make matters worse, someone stole the nuclear bomb! Search the catacombs for your equipment, then go to Nagada to find the rest of your team.

The City Of Nagada

Ra, in a rage of fury, attacks Nagada. Now four elders are missing, lost in the city during the resulting confusion. O'Neil must find them, or he can't proceed to find his team.

Locate Your Team!

Your team is scattered in some dank catacombs, as well as in Ra's pyramid. Scattered around are a couple of bomb pieces, and a couple of hieroglyphics Daniel needs to get home!

Take To The Skies!

Later in the game, O'Neil will come across a downed glider. Hop in and fight Ra s Horus guards in the air! This level plays much like the Mode 7 levels in the Star Wars games.

FIRST IMPRESSION

I saw the movie twice, and I really liked it. Even so, it's been my experience that movie-to-game titles don't do that well, so I wasn't expecting much. But after playing for a while, it occurred to me that Stargate uses the same engine as Alien 3, and that game was awesome!

BEST FEATURE

The music soundtrack grew on me, especially in some of the later stages. The Mode 7 flight scenes were good as well. The graphics were crisp and clear on those scenes.

WHAT'S MISSING

The graphics are a little grainy ... almost like a Sega game. I think the programmers could have done a better job with it.

WILL YOU LIKE IT?

If you liked the movie, you'll like Stargate. (If you haven't seen the movie yet, well, go see it!) If you like action games in general (especially if you liked Alien 3), give Stargate a whirl.

Stargate won't transport you into action/adventure heaven, but its solid platform action has enough intriguing twists to launch you into orbit (even though it's identical to the Genesis version). This entertaining journey will snare your attention with exceptional graphics and relentless challenge.

Stellar Action

Based on last year's hit flick, Stargate sets you up as Colonel Jack O'Neil, the leader of a squad of Marines that's exploring a planet on the other side of the universe. The game unfolds as a series of missions that send you jumping and shooting through various alien landscapes to achieve mission objectives. Eventually, you're embroiled in a complex scheme to save the locals and even Earth itself.

The details of the missions, such as locating local leaders and raiding the enemy's armory, draw you deeper into the absorbing story line. RPG- like conversations provide timely tips and plot info, adding depth to an engrossing story that involves you more than the action alone would.

Marine Mayhem

But there's plenty of action to satisfy adrenaline junkies. Armed with a machine gun and a stash of grenades, you'll have a blast blazing through hordes of enemies. Enticing power-ups juice up the combat and the focus on fighting keeps the gameplay riveting. No tediously impossible jumps or obstacles drive you batty before you master them.

With four buttons to command O'Neil's broad range of moves, the responsive controls let you pitch grenades, crouch, run and shoot without a hitch, but the flaky jumps require practice. Even worse, the flaccid controls in the weak glider-flying missions hang you out to dry. Despite these flaws, the controls definitely improve on the finger-snarling setup of the Genesis version.

Shining Stars

O'Neil decisively steals the graphical show; wonderfully detailed animations imbue his sprite with striking realism. Well-illustrated backgrounds capture the atmosphere of an alien world, and, though the enemies are nicely animated, a broader array of foes would've energized the action.

Funky Arabian beats suitably accompany each level, but the insipid grunts and running noises do little to intensify the action. Regardless, with three difficulty levels and a seemingly unending lineup of missions and sub-missions, this game will send you happily into combat until your thumbs fall off.

If you loved the movie, then you're probably gonna enjoy the game as well. The action follows the plot of the film pretty closely, and the animations are kinda neat also. If you didn't like the movie, then you should probably skip this one.

If you loved the movie, then you're probably gonna enjoy the game as well. The action follows the plot of the film pretty closely, and the animations are kinda neat also. If you didn't like The movie, than you should probably skip this one.

Humans have discovered a gate that will take people a million light-years from home. You'll wish they took this cart with 'em.

Star Crossed

Vastly different from the 1994 movie, Stargate is a one-or two-player puzzle game. The object is to arrange tiles into a specified "address" that will destroy the gate, thereby preventing the Egyptian aliens, which are your enemies, from re-entering the gates. If you lose, the gates stay open, and everybody gets in without a green card.

The game takes place on a cosmic spiderweb reminiscent of the grids in Tempest, but devoid of color. Tiles fall from the heavens, and you must arrange them as they fall onto the web. You can arrange the address tiles clockwise, counterclockwise, or vertically.

Stairway to Heaven

The graphics are sparse and very hard to make out. As tiles move away from you, the symbols carved on them become indistinguishable from one another. You'll see stars before long, and they'll have nothing to do with the gate.

The sounds are annoying and repetitive. Apparently, Egyptian alien music is no better than a series of insect buzzes. Even the victory music is boring.

As a puzzle game on the Game Gear, Stargate is even less fun than Lemmings and about as hard to see. The real puzzle is why someone would try to cram such a huge universe onto such a small screen.

If you loved the movie, then you're probably gonna enjoy the game as well. The action follows the plot of the film pretty closely, and the animations are kinda neat also. If you didn't like the movie, then you should probably skip this one.

Solid platform gaming and long levels will make this version of Stargate a favorite for diehard action enthusiasts. In this titanic pyramid buster, you'll find that the Marines don't just land on the shores of Montezuma.

The Sand Played On

Stargate is loosely based on last year's flick. You play as Colonel Jack O'Neil, a career Marine who's sent to help scientist Daniel Jackson search out a culture similar to that of ancient Egypt. The only setback is that the culture exists on a planet a million light- years from Earth, and it's only accessible through a Stargate. In addition, Colonel O'Neil has his own agenda: to detonate a nuclear weapon and destroy the Stargate once he discovers what's at the other end.

At the beginning of the game, you quickly become separated from your crew, only to find that the workers on this new planet are rebelling against their masters. You side-scroll through the levels, searching for your men, supplies, weapon power-ups, and more while blasting the enemies you encounter. Count on rescuing Daniel Jackson a few times, too.

Dune with a View

Good graphics make for a good visual adventure. The well-illustrated ancient Egyptian settings vary between houses, caves and pyramids. Your sprite moves fluidly, much like Ripley in Alien 3.

The enemies you face, however, are disappointing in their visual banality. Boring beetles, flying beetles, and guards make up the majority of the opposition.

The fairly funky music serves up Tut-struttin' disco in every level. The sound effects are average, but there's only so much you can do with a constant machine gun noise.

The control can be as confusing as reading hieroglyphics. With one button you jump and release from hanging ledges, with another you shoot, and with yet another button you run and throw grenades. You waste a lot of grenades before you get the controls down.

The Miracle Nile

Stargate will definitely not disappoint adventure fans or players who are looking for an exciting platform piece with purpose. With its long-lasting playing power, Stargate would keep you occupied for a voyage across a million light-years.

In 1994 there came a movie starring the likes of James Spader, and Kurt Russel. Written by Dean Devlin and directed by Roland Emmerich, Stargate was about an Egyptologist (Spader) who is hired to decipher a set of symbols found on an ancient artifact. Spader comes to realize that these weird symbols are constellations which when identified in the correct sequence will define a specific point in space. This will allow the ability to travel within space. The plot of the movie is to use this interstellar transit device to perform recon on a distant world; Abydos. Based on the information gathered on the far end, they were to make a determination to protect Earth in the best way possible.

While exploring the new world, they encounter a civilization descending from ancient Egyptians, who are enslaved by an alien who poses as the Egyptian God Ra. Kurt Russel’s team of explorers forms an alliance with this civilization to destroy the alien and rid the land of a false God.

The movie did well worldwide totaling over 190 million dollars at the box office, and 16 million its opening weekend. Since this movie, there have been several spin-offs for television.