Assault Rigs
Review by Al Giovetti, 09/15/96
Price: $50
Genre: arcade shooter (Futuristic Tank Combat)
Audience: (males 15-35) shooting game enthusiasts
Release Date: March 1996
Publisher: Psygnosis
Producer: Simon Gardner
Developer: Psygnosis, 919 East Hillsdale Boulevard, Foster City, CA 94404
Phone: 415-655-8000
Website: http://www.sony.com
requirements: 486 DX 66 MHz, DOS 6.0, 2X CD ROM, 8 MB RAM, 7 MB hard disk drive space, VGA(VESA recommended), Sound Blaster and Gravis Ultra compatibles

History: Conversion to PC from original 32-bit PlayStation title.

Game play: More than 40 levels set in over 4 unique graphical environments. Fully textured and light-sourced 3-D graphics. Upgradable weapons systems on four sets of three upgradable interactive rig beds. Battle arenas have jump-ramps, sky-ways, and trenches for more variety.

You dive the tank around in arena mazes, get the gems, shoot the bad guys. There are five views, including internal overhead, and behind. Tanks can move forward, back, right, left, slide right, and slide left.

Interface: The interface is not compatible with five or more button joysticks, since there is no need for a hat or rudder control. Gamepads are supported but the keyboard works just as well. The cursor keys are used to navigate the menu without any mouse control, and while some may enjoy selecting from a menu with the cursor keys others prefer the mouse.

Graphics: The high-color, 24-bit and high-resolution 640 x 480 pixels and with no option to switch the graphics look poor on a non-VESA compliant system, but wonderful on anything else.

Animation: Slow

Voice actors: You are the voice actor with real human speech over the network to taunt your buddies in combat.

Music score: Qsound is a surround sound emulator that pumps the musical soundtrack out.

Sound effects: Echo effects

Mike’s comments (13 years old): Very good match game with the multiplayer mode. Good playability. Mike liked it, Hugh did not.

Multi-player: You can play in DOS on an IPX compatible Ethernet eight-player network game with teams. Two player option requires null modem serial cable. The race is timed and get harder as the time advances. Unfortunately each computer of player must have one copy of the game to play the multi-player game.

Reviews references
Die Hard Game Fan
Video Store Magazine
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Ultimate Gamer
Dimension PSX
Hugh Falk, http://www.cnet.com/Gamecenter/Reviews/Assault/