Who's played this game and what do you think of it? I'm really thinking of getting it cuz it looks pretty cool. Gamespot.com has a ton of cool screenshots of it.

Its really quite good. You get big guns and just shoot anything that moves.
I won't do the usual quote of it being like Doom as you'll probably of read that in any review you've read.
Saying that what I will tell you is that it can be /Really/ (It deserves the capital R) frustrating and difficult on anything but easy, almost to the point of making you give up. It also has problems with VooDoo3,4 & 5 graphics cards. Nothing that'll stop the game from working, you'll just seem some "well funky" colours in some of the textures. This is supposedly fixed by using WickedGL but I haven't tried it myself (I have a V3 3500 that's about as stable as I can get it. I don't want to go fiddling).

Final Verdict - Good Game

Yes, the few reviews I've read of it online invariably compare it to Doom. Man, you create one original game and then everyone's either gotta compare it to other games in the same genre or else other games are compared to it. But then I guess there's little originality left in the world. Or else it's just a matter of finding it, I suppose. Not that I'm calling SS original, mind you.

> But then I guess there's little originality left in the world. Or else it's just a matter of finding it,

Yep. The trouble with the Gaming industry is that there are few people left who are willing to take a risk now, There is too much at stake in terms of money for them to take a chance. Which is why I admire people like Peter Molyneux so much. Anyone willing to leave a company and fund a game with their own money in these times deserves a heck of alot of praise. Even more so when its a game like Black&White.

But don't make the mistake that just cuz a new game comes out that its creator and/or developer will make only more great games. Some will be, some won't. Like a lot of debut albums that are good or great, at least one followup sucks; likewise movie sequels. Of course, there are always exceptions, thankfully.

Yeahs there is that. But if you look back at Peters' career from starting up BullFrog to releasing Black&White most people would probably agree he is one of the exceptions. I certainly wouldn't mind working under him if I could. I seriously envy those that got to work on B&W. I think Ion Storm would be the best example of what your saying though. All those highly regarded programmers and the game turns out rather rubbish.

Saying that, what I like about SS is that it does get back to the roots of the FPS genre in that you just run around blowing stuff away with big guns. It's at the opposite end of the spectrum from something like B&W in that it requires as little thought as possible. Games like Half-Life upped the bar somewhat in what people expected from FPS games but on the other hand they also made them less fun in certain areas. H-L I found was not a game you could play when you had ten minutes to kill and nothing else better to do. I either found myself immersed in it and forgot what I was originally going to do or I wasn't in the mood to sort out some of the puzzles there in. Whereas Doom/Quake and its ilk were great for loading up, having a quick blast and then going off to do what you wanted to do. That's what SS is.

PCZone and probably many other reviewers said this was about average as a FPS game, with the major difference being this one is being released at a mere £20 rather than £30 to £35. For that reason, the game was given a higher score as its value for money increased. And what did the makers of the game immediately do after seeing favourable reviews like that? You guessed it. If you want this game, you now must pay £30!

I think Ion Storm would be the best example of what your saying though. All those highly regarded programmers and the game turns out rather rubbish.

I assume you are talking about Daikatana, which certainly was terrible. However, please do not forget that same studio made Deus Ex, one of the best PC games ever created, and something I have never heard seriously criticised. Very much unlike Black and White, which seems to be your great example of gaming, DE has is not loved and hated in equal measure, but praised universally, does not have a campaign where one-fifth of it is bugged, and does have tremendous depth, something I can't believe anyone would think about what is essentially a cyber-pet game with bells and baubles.


Peter.

Well, Spotted Kitty, I've now got a new Dell P4 system (in fact, this is my first Nitcentral post on it!) with a 32mb GeForce2 MX 4X AGP and I've tried this game only once on Tourist (which is just basically being in godmode, for those who haven't tried it yet) but so far it rocks! I was laughing at the monsters. I didn't get to see all them yet but most, I think. Games look so much better now. I may get the GeForce3 later when it goes down a lot more in price. In the meantime I hope most games will play just fine with this G2 of mine.

I'm looking to update my system as well, just wish I had the money.
Most games should be happy with the GF2 for now, yessss. On the other hand I'm needing to replace my VooDoo3500. The suckers never worked properly due to driver problems from the get go.

Getting back on topic for a second, if your trying it on Tourist you ain't seen nothing yet.
The worst enemy I find are those Skeleton/Beastie things that can not only claw you to death but can also chuck stuff at you from afar. Get a heard of them after you and its tough going.

I made a boo-boo. I thought I had a GeForce2 but in fact I have a Radeon DDR 32mb card. I'd gotten a confirmation email for it with everything on this system but cuz I was mad at Dell at first I deleted the email, thinking I'd send this machine back, so I could only remember a few things on it. I'm thinking of asking them to send it again and if they do then I'll post my machine's specs if you're interested. I'd actually I'd gotten two emails, cuz the one was sent twice. Anyway, I thought I was getting the G2 card, but games for the most part still run pretty good, although Rogue Squadron acts a little funny, and StarCraft won't play at all. Maybe it's due to the patch I installed, I dunno.

As for this game it plays and looks just great. I'm trying serious mode but with godmode. I'm too chicken to try it without, and moreso seeing how many enemies attack you at once, although it doesn't seem (so far) to be as many as some reviews report. I'll try it without godmode some time. Anyway, those skeletons you mentioned are the Kleer Skeletons. You can hear them coming by their galloping sound. One fun cheat is invisible mode. You can walk amongst the enemies with no worries of them detecting you unless you either bump into one or shoot at one. Either way you'll give away your position, and then they'll all come for you. It took me awhile to figure out who's throwing those black balls with chains and that come flying towards you, end over end. It's the Kleer Skeletons.

I don't remember the name of the one temple I got up to but it's the one with two giants that appear on the steps after you've gotten to the top of them and they're very hard to kill. Then I went inside and had to lower that column with the ankh key on it so that you can open that one door that had some other creature in front of it. It's been a couple days since I played it and I'm not quite sure just where I am after going thru that door. I've read online that it's a short game, so how many levels is it and roughly how long does it take to play it?

OK, Still a better card than I have. We (meaning the Europeans at the now dead 3Dfx Messageboards) had to fight tooth and nail to get 3Dfx to even admit there were problems with the European 3500s. :P And now 3Dfx is dead I think its time for a new card.

Anyway, thanks. Yes the Kleer Skeletons are a tough bunch. Not so bad in singles or small packs (double barrel usually sorts them ot) but wait till you get the huge hordes that come in the latter half of the game. Trust me on this one, you WILL need your 32Mb DDR. Then there is the sorta "Final Furlong" level...oys. Hint: Practice Rocket Jumping. You'll need it.

I'm trying to remember how many levels there were...about 9 I think. Including a few secret levels. But each of those levels had, if you like, Sub-Levels to them and I don't remember how many of those there were. Personally playing it on "normal" it took me at least a week to get through (totalling up the hours) due to a few hours of frustration and the fact I was a bit rusty at FPS after a long break.

Thanks. I've read a bit of a walkthru that mentioned secret places for extra ammo, health and I think weapons. I don't look for secret places right now. I'm just playing the game to get a feel for it for when I replay for real, and then maybe I'll look for more hidden places and items.

Oh, and I have had hordes of them coming after me in one or two temples. I gotta tell ya, I'm glad none of the creatures that have ever been created for PC games ever have, do, or will exist. We'd all probably be dead or enslaved in no time otherwise. *S*

Ion Storm were also responsible for the excellent Anachranox.