Posts Tagged ‘GT Interactive’

August 14th, 2018 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

9: The Last Resort Review

9thelastresortboxart

Developer: Tribeca Interactive
Publisher: GT Interactive
Platform: PC – Windows 3.1, 95, Mac OS

For every Myst, there are at least twenty forgotten point and click adventure games. 9: The Last Resort had everything going for it in 1996. It was the first game developed by Tribeca Interactive and produced by Robert DeNiro. Alongside stunning visuals was even more star power with Aerosmith (Steven Tyler and Joe Perry), James Belushi and even Cher lending their voices to the game.

Unfortunately, adventure gaming fans have the uncanny ability to smell a stinker when they see it. 9: The Last Resort drops players off at “The Last Resort.” Apparently your uncle devised a retreat for artists to go and get their creativity back. However, weird undulating shrimp aliens came and destroyed the Muse Machine, rending the resort useless. You must rebuild the Muse Machine, solving copious puzzles along the way.

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This title definitely looks great. Artist Mark Ryden provided a distinct visual aesthetic (as well as framing his paintings throughout the resort). Most puzzles don’t feature this level of artistry. Expect a lot of routine music-based memory matching puzzles that quickly wear out their welcome. No puzzles generally prove too obscure to require a walkthrough.

There’s also the matter of a pipe organ which plays a massive piece in multiple puzzles. Historically, people look upon the organ and its cryptography-style puzzles annoying. I actually enjoyed deciphering them – except for the point at which my game became locked in an un-finishable state. Beware: Absolutely do not use the coins to talk to Isadora (Cher) until you’re ready to play all songs.

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There are just too many annoying moments in 9: The Last Resort to recommend it. For example, a shooting sequence occurs late into the game. The whole thing drags on way too long and is pretty tough to win. The game is humorous at times, but mostly meandering. If you’ve never played 9: The Last Resort before, feel secure in your decision to continue avoiding it.

Score: 2

2 out of 5 alpacas

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October 23rd, 2014 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Blood: One Unit Whole Blood Review

Blood: One Unit Whole Blood Boxart

Developer: Monolith Productions, 3D Realms
Publisher: GT Interactive, Atari
Platform: PC – GOG*, Steam

Blood: One Unit Whole Blood might just be a game with the most redundant title around. It also happens to be a classic FPS from the 90s. Well, classic to some. I’d always heard murmurings of Blood alongside Doom and Quake but never got around to playing it myself – until now. I’ll tell you one thing, it certainly lives up to its name.

Of course a game called Blood is full of bloodstained nastiness but is there more to it than that? There’s a storyline, although it doesn’t seem to convey very much of interest. The scenes instead seem focused on showcasing awesome 3D models and lighting (awesome for the time, that is). Once you get beyond that it basically devolves into your standard older-style FPS.

Blood: One Unit Whole Blood Featured

Areas are all enclosed, although some are much larger than others. Movement is incredibly fast, almost as if the protagonist is wearing roller blades while decimating enemies. Said weapons are brutal although so are enemies. Even on the easiest difficulty the pace of Blood is fast and never lets up. If you can survive then there are a good deal of “episodes” to play. This is further enhanced by both the GOG and Steam versions including the Plasma Pak and Cryptic Passage expansion packs.

When compared to other games of the time period I feel that Blood was attempting to thematically outdo other games while maintaining a classic aesthetic. It has a neat Gothic feel at times, sure, but otherwise fails to stand out. Blood: One Unit Whole Blood is one of the many average shooters that have graced PCs over the years.

Score: 2.5

2 1/2 out of 5 alpacas

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