Pandemonium!

Once in a while, you come across a game that has this feeling all over it from a summer sunday afternoon, when you're eight years old, just watched some cartoons on tv, then go and play a game without anything to worry 'bout in the world. Today is your lucky day, because Pandemonium is one of those games. Pandemonium is a bad game. It's terrible. If you don't have any taste whatsoever and think vinegar is good soup. All the others will surely love this one, as the game deserves.

Pandemonium! war bei seinem Erscheinen schon ein hervorragendes PlayStation-Produkt, doch auf dem PC stellt es das momentan aufregendste Hüpfspiel dar. Die ungeheure grafische Vielfalt und die unkomplizierte Steuerung stellen ein Novum dar. Und die witzigen Gegner kommen fast an die von Genreprimus Sonic heran. Die Speicherung der Spielstände über Paßwörter ist der einzig echte Kritikpunkt, den sich Pandemonium! gefallen lassen muß - alles andere paßt wie angegossen.

Crystal Dynamics have out done themselves by combining games like Gex, Sega's Nights and Bug to bring you a tremendously fluid and fast 3D game named Pandemonium!

Pandemonium! ist die Offenbarung. Von der brillianten Grafik über die superbe Steuerung bis zum einmaligen Leveldesign gibt es auf dem PC einfach keine gleichwertige Alternative. Selbst wer keine Jump & Runs mag, dürfte an Pandemonium! Gefallen finden, denn es erinnert eher an Spiele wie Tomb Raider als an den dicken Mario & Co. Selbst nach stundenlangen Spiel entdeckt man immer wieder neue Überraschungen und wundert sich über den Einfallsreichtum der Designer. Bei einem Spiel wie Pandemonium! fällt es demnach schwer, Kritik zu äußern; einzig die recht hohen Hardwareanforderungen erscheinen etwas unverhältnismäßig, ansonsten ist das neue Werk von Crystal Dynamix ein absoluter Hit.

Pandemonium is het knapste en meest creatieve platformspel die ik ooit heb gespeeld. De levels zijn bijzonder origineel en creatief en volledig in 3D opgebouwd, hetgeen een duidelijk verschil maakt met andere 'platformgames'. Je verkrijgt in Pandemonium dan ook onwaarschijnlijk dynamische camerastandpunten die het gevoel van snelheid en beweging versterken.

In the end, Pandemonium is a very enjoyable action/platform game with some interesting twists and very nice presentation, but it's more tried and true than it is innovative.

Pandemonium är en klockren fullträff.

No Z-axis to speak of. Very two-dimensional. And it's because of this that I just can't help but feel a little cheated. The rest of the game's elements are great. Very jolly little numbers like metamorphosing characters, bonuses that keep the game interesting and fresh, different lead roles with different abilities, well-structured levels that are genuinely challenging. Everything, in fact, that a good game should have, and yet I still feel that it should be so much more simply because of the other titles out there.

The gameplay revolves around mastering the patterns of the obstacles, enemies and jumps, so Pandemonium's action isn't terribly original. But if an enjoyable graphical experience and traditional platform gaming sounds attractive, Pandemonium fills the bill.

Perhaps Pandemonium!'s greatest achievement is that it overcomes a cliche-ridden idiom through the sheer force of its design. The graphics are exceptionally rendered and crisp, giving Pandemonium! an appeal that may extend beyond the standard platform-jumping demographic. Some will take exception to the Windham Hill cum Jethro Tull score and some creepy initial animations, but few will deny the quality of the game itself.

La capitale de l'Enfer vous ouvre ses portes mais s'il est tentant d'y pénétrer, n'en oublions pas pour autant que quelques pièges vous y attendent. Un gameplay possédant des lacunes, une aventure se finissant un peu trop vite et finalement un jeu ayant vieilli. Mais si le bilan peut sembler médiocre, il reste tout de même un titre techniquement surprenant pour une console portable et un bon petit jeu de plates-formes, non indispensable mais très agréable.

It wasn’t even mildly shocking that another 3D-styled platform game would follow so swiftly in the footsteps of Crash Bandicoot – the praise heaped upon Naught Dog’s colourful PlayStation debut proved that searing graphics are still enough to impress most observers of the videogaming scene.

Pandemonium has its shining moments when it comes to fun, reflex driven jumping and fun N-Gage Arena play, but is harbored by its limited field of vision. It takes advantage of the N- Gage's graphical capabilities with its array of colorful levels, but left us unsatisfied in the audio department. Pandemonium would be a good choice for hardcore platforming fanatics looking for a little mindless but fun jumping action, but warrants a trial-rent for others.

Pandemonium has its shining moments when it comes to fun, reflex driven jumping and fun N-Gage Arena play, but is harbored by its limited field of vision. It takes advantage of the N- Gage's graphical capabilities with its array of colorful levels, but left us unsatisfied in the audio department. Pandemonium would be a good choice for hardcore platforming fanatics looking for a little mindless but fun jumping action, but warrants a trial-rent for others.

Pandemonium has its shining moments when it comes to fun, reflex driven jumping and fun N-Gage Arena play, but is harbored by its limited field of vision. It takes advantage of the N- Gage's graphical capabilities with its array of colorful levels, but left me unsatisfied in the audio department. Pandemonium would be a good choice for hardcore platforming fanatics looking for a little mindless but fun jumping action, but warrants a trial from others.

While Pandemonium! may not set the world of fire, and doesn't have the franchise recognition of a Lara Croft or Sonic, it's certainly got potential legs on the N-Gage. Sonic may be faster paced, but Pandemonium! trumps him with pseudo-3D beauty and multiplayer as well. Here's hoping it picks up a few fans, at last, seven years after its PSone release.

Pandemonium's renaissance-style music is very well orchestrated, and a handy password is displayed between stages. If I have one issue with this game, it would probably lie with the two playable characters, who are decidedly uncool. I can tolerate the girl, but that jester in the sneakers looks like a complete dork, and watching him in that corny opening video is almost creepy. Pandemonium has faded into obscurity, but its innovative style of gameplay lives on.

Despite all of its nifty graphics, Pandemonium doesn't have what it takes to contend with the latest 3-D action games, like Crash Bandicoot and Tomb Raider. Ultimately, Pandemonium is a game for run-and-jump junkies who've already beaten those two offerings and are still looking for an angry fix.

Pandemonium didn't exactly set the world on fire when it was originally released, and the N-Gage version certainly won't get things blazing seven years later. While the multiplayer is an interesting addition, the dull gameplay and muddy graphics make this game one to skip.

Maybe a small child can appreciate the candy-coated fantasy world of Pandemonium!, but a kid that age probably isn't going to ask for a N-Gage to play it on regardless. With all the Mario and Sonic games out there, taking the role of a court jester named Fargus doesn't sound very appealing in the face of competition either. Time wasn't kind to this one.