Windows

Hellbender

The gameplay is very fast and furious, the baddies will dog you until you either blow them out of the sky, or vice-versa. There's not a boring moment to be had here. One noticeable improvement here is that your new craft can hover, something previously not possible, at least in Terminal Velocity. I do still miss the extra-long range scanners of that game, though. If you are a fan of either Terminal Velocity or Fury 3, this game is for you. You have some more maneuverability here, as well as some incredible new weapons and a plot. Lots of fun. Bottom Line: If you liked Fury3 and Terminal Velocity, this game is for you. If your video card supports DirectX, all the better. Fast action, and lots of it.

Had I only played Hellbender as a single-player game, I probably would have left it on the shelf with the many other decent, but not remarkable titles. Fortunately though, I played it multiplayer, and while it still doesn't crack the "legendary" ranks, it certainly moves up a notch from ordinary. Of all the Microsoft titles I have played, this one is at the top of the list; of all the flight combat sims I've played in the last year, this one is just the most fun and the smoothest fly with minimal archaic ALT+5+SPC+M keyboard combinations to get you killed in the thick of battle. It's a benchmark title for a company that many thought would be left for dead in the gaming realm by its more experienced elders. Wrong again. Hellbender rates a solid 87 out of 100, and Microsoft shows no signs of dying out of the gaming market anytime soon.

In fact, unless you are a huge fan of Fury 3 and Terminal Velocity and just have to have more of the same, I can't recommend HellBender in non-accelerated systems - it plays poorly on even high-end Pentium systems and just isn't compelling at all. The exact opposite is true if you have an accelerated PC. If you don't, Hellbender may make you take the fast step.

Microsoft verpaßte Fury3 schönere Grafiken und durch interessante Missionen eine spannende Atmospähre. Allerdings wurde das Rad deshalb nicht neu erfunden. Der Multiplayer-Modus ist ein nettes Gimmick, kann aber kaum zum Spielspaß beitragen. Daher ist Hellbender zwar ein solides Spiel, in der gerade anrollenden Spiele-Offensive von Microsoft aber nur ein weiterer Titel.

Det nye er, at din computer snakker med dig med Gillian Andersons stemme (Scully fra X-Files), men det gør jo ikke spillet bedre (hvad bilder du dig ind? -red.) Er du den heldige ejer af et 3D-grafikkort, sker der selvfølgeligt ting og sager med grafikken, men Hellbender er ikke i sig selv værd at købe et 3D-kort for.

So the company spent tens of millions to create its own high-tech game division, and the result is discs like Hellbender — a futuristic, heavy-on-the-weaponry air-combat simulator that approximates the level of Wing Commander III (released two years ago). You can't blame Microsoft's programmers for trying, but I'd rather they applied their talents to stuff for which they seem to have more of an affinity, like kids' activity titles and word-processing programs.

So, Hellbender, the third in the Terminal Velocity Saga, is just on par with Terminal Velocity itself. Not a heck of a lot has changed, and that's a bad thing. Hellbender is a mediocre shoot em up with dazzling but slow graphics and Gillian Anderson's voice. If you liked Terminal Velocity and you've got the horsepower to run it, you might like Hellbender. If not, I wouldn't recommend the frustration.

Grafiken i Hellbender kan man få riktigt snygg, fast då gäller det förstås att man har en svinsnabb dator och helst även ett grafikkort med 3D-chip. Annars får man hålla tillgodo med ganska halvmuggig grafik om man vill att det ska röra sig mjukt och smidigt.

Even with these new elements, as well as the expected new arsenal of weapons and enemies, Hellbender is beginning to creak with age. The graphics tend to be blocky, and are often more bland than those found in Fury3 or Terminal Velocity. Frame rates are pretty poor on most systems even in low-res, and in hi-res they're just appalling. Some new effects, such as rain and lightning, clutter the screen without being effective. This game engine is getting old, and it's about a year overdue for retirement. Microsoft should have let it fade into the sunset - maybe get it a nice condo in Boca Raton - but instead we get another tired retread of a system that's outstayed its welcome.

Overall, Hellbender is a schizophrenic product, one likely to polarize gamers. Those with fast machines and/or 3D accelerator cards are likely to derive some enjoyment from it, while those on the bottom end of the system requirements will dislike it. It's a bit tough to keep from straddling the fence on a judgment of the game, which is perhaps the clearest review one can give. It's just not that inspirational - equally hard to love or hate.

Ein zweites Descent ist Hellbender nicht gerade. Obwohl das Spiel das Zeug dazu hätte: Interessante 3D-Gelände mit kombiniertem Landschafts/Tunnelflug, nette Beleuchtungseffekte, unterschiedliche Waffen und Gegner und Kampfaufträge. Obendrein hat Hellbender auch noch eine knackige Musik und eine mit Videoclips extrem stimmungsvoll in Szene gesetzte Story. Das alles genügt mir aber nicht, wenn ich beim allerersten Level rund eine Stunde benötige, um überhaupt herauszufinden, was ich tun soll.

1996 marks the first year that the Microsoft Corporation, famed for its operating systems, programming languages, and office utilities has decided to make a serious appeal to the gaming market. Some of these titles, such as MS Golf, Monster Truck Madness, and The Neverhood have been good approaches to the entertainment genre. Other titles, such as Full Court Press and this particular title, Hellbender, have not been so good.