Assault Rigs

A Casual Once-Over Of Assault Rigs would probably prompt you to avoid it completely. It's sort of a tank game, but not a 'proper' one. and some of the screenshots look worryingly like an updated version of Spectre Supreme. It's also a sort of 3D platform game. And. (steady now) it's supposed to be set in "Cyberspace" - a concept usually associated with games that should have 'Dodgy Game Alert' printed across their cover and their lid sealed with industrial hazard warning tape-. ("Cyberspace" usually only gets used as a way to explain the pathetic lack of realism and logic in a shite game.) All of which shows how wrong the casual once-over can sometimes be. Assault Rigs is actually pretty playable. Ish.

Exterior decorating

Basically, it is a 3D platform game in a tank: there are various gems to collect, complicated level layouts (sometimes several "storeys" high), and minor puzzle elements, with huge arrows hinting at what to do to solve them printed on the walls. There are different weapon pickups for you to fire at the enemy tanks, and gun-posts and missile launchers that litter the levels. Among these you'll find homing missiles, bouncing shells and fly-bywire bombs that you steer from a viewpoint in the nose.

The Cyberspace bit means that every few levels the backgrounds get a different theme, including a World War One-ish type look, a heavy industrial environment, and a (visually weak) vr zone. In each zone, your tank takes on an appropriate look, and there are three types - from speedy but weedy, to slow and sturdy. In practice, you're always much better off going for the heavy tank, because it's more than fast enough, and takes more hits.

Control freaks

As a converted PlayStation game you can guarantee that the controls, while fine on the psx, will be complicated in the extreme on the pc. And sure enough, they are. The trouble is, they're all over the place, and no allowance has been made for anything other than a two-button joystick. This means having to use keyboard presses for many functions: you might be better off playing entirely using this method. Even then, you'll find that you really do have to re-define the keys in order to get any-thing approaching a workable configuration, the default key set-up being scattered all over the shop. It would have been a lot easier if they had just re-designed the whole thing to allow a Doom-style control method, which would suit the game down to its little pink toes. But they haven't.

Reservations

Minor control problems aside, Assault Rigs plays pretty well and in the later stages gets pretty action-packed, even at the easiest level. Some people may not be too keen on the re-drawing enemies: at first they're an irritant, but later you grow to look on them with a complicated mixture of emotions. Imagine having a rich and generous aunt who often visits you bearing lavish gifts, but is hopelessly incontinent and insists on sitting in your favourite chair, and you'll see what I mean. As well as the normal game, there are a couple of network shooty ones for up to eight people, too. Not bad, really, and quite likeable.

Psygnosis' futuristic tank thriller is close to completion. Since we only had cinemas to show you before, we thought you'd like to see some actual game shots.

After some hands-on play, the first thing you'll notice is how "clean" everything looks. The arenas resemble the light-cycle sequences from Tron and are made up of multiple rooms. Everything scales and scrolls smoothly. You will not see any distortion.

You get your choice of three tanks that look really powerful. They handle like they are on ice. They're hover tanks, so they take some getting used to. As to be expected, there are different types of oppo nents to be found in the labyrinth-like corridors. This one should be found with multiple players, as playing alone was a little tedious.

This version is still early, and it is probably being tweaked even as you read this. Psygnosis has proved that they can make top-notch games for the PlayStation, so this one should be really awesome when it comes to store shelves. Let's wait and see how this one turns out.

Assault Rigs is the arena game of mechs and destruction where you battle against other computer-generated mechs through various stages while gathering spheres. Assault Rigs can be played in One- or Two-player Mode, allowing you to go at it with a friend. Choosing one of the three available rigs, you select the mech that fits your playing style best. The rig choices are: a light rig that is the fastest of all but has the worst armor, a medium rig with moderate speed and average defensive capabilities and a heavy rig that is the slowest of the bunch but is equipped with the best armor for protection. For beginning players, the medium rig is the best choice while learning the controls. It offers the best balance of protection and speed to introduce you to the game. Whichever rig you choose you can always improve it by finding weapon and shield power-ups in the level. Some of the weapon power-ups include a mini-gun and interesting bounce ammo that ricochets off walls to hit enemies. Heat-seeking missiles and fly-by-wire missiles are also available. They cause a large amount of damage, destroying most enemies with one hit. Other special rig upgrades can be found in the same manner as the weapons by finding the blue hovering cube and shooting it once. A weapon or other power-up will appear as the canister opens. These can come in many forms including shield upgrades in various powers and highly useful features such as the Auto-turret Option that will keep your turret locked on an enemy no matter which direction your rig is facing. These are only available to specific mechs, though. For instance, the light rigs cannot use the before-mentioned auto-turret due to a space problem on the smaller craft. To enable the weapons or equipment, you need only to bring up the inventory screen and select the desired item.

If it is a weapon, you will watch the turret of your mech morph into the new weapon and ready itself to be fired.

The levels in Assault Rigs have a Tron feeling of virtual reality with the floor grid and the glowing lines on the mech. The arena stages are filled with uneven areas with steep ramps where your rig can climb and descend. These areas can sometimes flip your rig over if you try to climb them too quickly and accidentally slide off the side. Flipping over causes your ship no damage but can aid the enemies while you are incapacitated even for a short while. They home in on your temporarily disabled mech and pounce on it with their weapons before you have time to recover.

The level objectives are simple: Eliminate all of the enemies, thus keeping yourself safe while collecting a predetermined number of gem shapes to finish the level. Once all these hovering shapes are collected, the exit will then become active and allow you to leave that level.

Assault Rigs is a challenging arena combat game that features smooth-scrolling battle action. Although the engine is highly simplistic, the ease of play and the large amount of power-ups are bound to keep players interested for a long time.

The Mysterios Green Gates

Giant green blocks that appear to be standard walls can usually be moved to gain entrance to hidden areas that may contain more of the needed shapes. They can be activated just by running Into them. The gates will move In their respected order and allow you to enter the area that they had previously hidden. This is very Important to finish some of the levels because you will not be able to find all the required shapes without this trick.

For a refreshing change of pace from Cyber Sled, Assault Rigs serves up solid arena-based tank combat. Slick futuristic graphics and diverse game-play add welcome depth to the usual shooter formula.

Cyber Tanks

The action takes place in an impressively long list of arenas, where you must collect a set number of gems in order to open the exits. Along the way, you snag power-ups, blast enemy tanks, scramble over funky obstacles, and even solve puzzles. With time, the slightly spastic controls handle these varied tasks well, but the steering remains hypersensitive.

Hunting through each arena is a blast, but the gameplay leans more toward the mellow side-solving, not shooting, is the focus. The competitive edge of split-screen two-player action would've jacked up the fun, though.

32-Bit Tron

Graphically, Rigs takes place in high-tech cyberspace landscapes brimming with garish colors and outlandish 3D obstacles. The tanks sizzle with sleek militaristic lines, but the bullets and missiles look more like toy building blocks.

Unfortunately, stomach-wrenching flickering in the background often interrupts the show. The sound effects, however, are right on, but the toe-tappin' dance music seems out of place.

Noodling through Assault Rigs will be great fun for those who like a touch of thinking with their shooting. It's not a nerve-wracking splatterfest, but its extensive levels will sustain all but adrenaline junkies.

Up to eight players can compete in a futuristic gaming environment where conventional sports are long gone and networked virtual-reality gaming is the sport of the day. The Assault Rigs are technological wonders created by competing teams of designers, technicians, and sponsors.

At the helm of one of these vehicles, you pilot your craft through the World Net in fast-moving shoot-em-up action. The Rigs have access to more than 20 cool weapon power-ups (like bouncing ammo and oil spills), and they're upgradeable, too. The game's 50 high-tech zones are illustrated with fully textured and light-sourced 3D graphics.

In Assault Rigs, up to eight players will be able to compete in a future where conventional sports have been replaced by networked virtual-reality games. You'll pilot one of the eight Assault Rigs - technological wonders created by competing teams of designers, technicians, and sponsors -through the World Net in fast shoot-em-up action. The Rigs will have access to more than 20 unusual, upgradeable weapon power-ups, like bouncing ammo and oil spills. Fully textured, light-sourced 3D graphics will illustrate the game's 50 high-tech zones.

You might remember these guys as Psygnosis, the minds behind the popular Destruction Derby and Wipeout titles. Assault Rigs is the company's newest opus, and it certainly maintains the high standards its predecessors established.

Assault Rigs resembles a 3-D version of the Atari 2600 classic, Combat. Drive around an arena in one of three tanks, blowing up stuff and collecting more powerful weapons as you battle the computer or a friend.The scrolling in this game is top-notch, but the control could have been a little better. And the tanks need to be a little "heavier". Another great game for the PlayStation.