History: Michael Crichton is known for 20 movies like Congo, Jurassic Park, Andromeda Strain, Runaway, Looker, Disclosure, and Westworld. Westworld was a movie staring Yul Brenner, Richard Benjamin, and James Brolin. The movie centered around a futuristic theme park gone wild, where the android characters, similar to Disney audioanamatronic robots, go wild and start killing guests.
In 1976, Westworld was followed by a sequel called Futureworld which also starred Yul Brenner. The film has been discontinued by the studio and is no longer available. If you want more information go to the Futureworld movie website or Another Futureworld web site. In 1980, the two films were followed by a television show called Beyond Westworld. The more sequels that came out the worse they became.
Plot: First person shooter set in the time after the movie, Westworld. The plot of the movie is the same as in this game where a group of tourists go to an amusement park for a vacation. Those humans quickly become set upon by the life-like super-human robots that run the place. Two settings known are feudal Japan and the wild west around the 1880s. The mission of the game is to kill all the androids, make your way to all the places needed to turn off the robots, and shut down the park.
Company line: The game lets the user explore the three-dimensional virtual theme parks of Samuraiworld, Spaceworld, and the popular Westworld while interacting with other players and three-dimensional humanoid robots. The characters and enviroment respond dynamically to all of your actions, creating a unique experience every time you play.
Game play: This game is a 3D shooter, dubbed Doom or Quake Clone. The three dimensional environment is not up to the standards of the games this one was created for. The first person perspective shooter has a window on the world which has a weapon sticking out of the bottom of the screen.
Graphics: The 640x480 pixel graphics resolution shows very poor details. The graphics are passable at great range, but the pixelation is extreme in the close ups. The three dimensional images are two dimensional texture maps hung on very large polygons. When close the walls and objects, like bars and tables look very two dimensional.
Animation: The frame rate, even at the lowest resolution, is poor with a very choppy, slow motion effect making the game less playable.
Hints, Cheats and Walkthrough: All the hints are contained in the "Hint Me" icon section of the game. Just keep hitting the icon to get more information.
Epitaph: This game did not live up to its promise. With a film license as great as a Michael Crichton film with actors like Yul Brenner,
References:
Christine Grech Wendin, PC Games, volume 3, number 8, August, 1996, pg. 33.
PC Gamer, volume 3, number 7, July, 1996, pg. 37-38.
Kevin J. McCann, Computer and Net Player, volume 3, number 11, April, 1997, pg. 86, 50%.
Rick Henley, Game Briefs Review, 30%
Gordon Goble, GameCenter Review, 20%