Windows

Barrage

Meestal ligt bij combatsims de nadruk op strategie en realisme maar Barrage heeft met beide weinig van doen. Toch is het best weleens leuk afstand te nemen van al die trainingen en saaie missie-instructies en gewoon meteen alles wat op je weg komt op te blazen.

Barrage may not advance the 3D-shooter genre by any significant degree, but it does offer some original gameplay packaged in an attractive visual environment. It's just too bad that the experience ends around the same time as you manage to get your seat belt fastened.

Ultimately, the 'against the clock' nature of the game, coupled with the fact that there's no real challenge, cripples its longevity. Bizarrely, completing the game can never take longer than 95 minutes - a fatal flaw in its design. It must only be a matter of time before a 'stop the clock' patch appears on the Internet, which will enhance the long-term appeal. Perhaps recognising this inherent weakness, Activision are releasing Barrage at a competitive price. Coupled with the addition of multiplayer support, this will, no doubt, ensure it finds its way into many people's collections - and a few arcade purists' hearts.

Barrage moet het vooral hebben van zijn knappe graphics. Het kleine speeloppervlak, de vervelende tijdslimieten en vooral de hatelijke besturing lieten met het spel meermaals vervloeken.

Barrage hat die gleichen Vorzüge wie ein typischer Spielhallenautomat. Ein paar Runden freut man sich über die Grafik, kämpft sich dann an die Spitze der Hiscore-Liste, und irgendwann reicht’s. Schade nur, daß die Explosionen so schwach sind. Selbst die bei höchster Detailstufe atemberaubende Landschaft kann für dieses Manko nicht so recht entschädigen. Wer zwischendurch wieder mal wild ballern möchte, kommt auf seine Kosten.

Overall, the game does have some strong points in graphics and excitement, but will fall short to gamers wanting strategy and action. The game offers five basic levels and decent multiplayer, so if you want play a little shoot-em-up on a Sunday afternoon, then this is the game for you. However, if you're looking for this to be Barrage to be the next "Incoming," then keep looking.

All in all, Barrage is just your generic shooter. Fly around, blow up tanks, jets, and towers, repeat if necessary. Improved control really could have helped here, though the lack of variety and uninspired weapon design are culprits as well. If you really liked Incoming, you might want to check Barrage out, but don't expect to get wowed by it.

Barrage is most easily compared to the likes of Rage Software’s Incoming; however, it doesn't come close to the number or variety of levels. Barrage has absolutely stunning graphics, but fails miserably with an inadequate storyline, small number of levels and awkward controls. This is a great game to show off the capability of your 3Dfx card, but once you’ve seen the eye candy, there is little reason to keep it on your hard drive.

Barrage sieht wirklich nett aus und läuft auch auf kleinen Computern sehr flüssig. Daß es dazu recht günstig ist, macht es zum idealen Produkt für Einsteiger. Ein ambitionierter Spieler könnte allerdings wegen der üblen Kollissionsabfrage einen extrem hohen Hardware-Verschleiß haben (verknoteter Joystick, ein im Monitor steckender Subwoofer...), der den Preisvorteil wieder aufhebt. Weiterhin sind die einzelnen Missionsziele derart verrückt versteckt, daß ein hyperaktiver Pavian mit motorischen Störungen mehr Aussichten auf die Beendigung eines Levels hat als ein durchschnittlicher Spieleredakteur.

Bottom Line: Barrage succeeds in graphics and music, but falls short of the mark just about everywhere else. Had the gameplay been smoothed out, control tweaked, and more levels added (without time limits), the game would have been much more enjoyable.

Graphically, Barrage is incredible but even if you love arcade style shooters you'll grow weary of it pretty soon. The game definitely could be improved with the addition of new levels and a more realistic flight model. There's lots of action here but it only lasts for a short time before your only option is to try the missions again on higher and higher difficulty levels. Barrage is a great game to showcase your graphics hardware but that's all. Sadly, that isn't enough to warrant a recommendation.