Issue 4 PDF - Downloads at abime.net

� How's that for some fancy shootin'?
stand, you have to worry about where you're
shooting, instead of simply letting your
sprite's position dictate the direction of your
fire. You'll be juggling the tasks of having to
avoid enemy fire, direct and redirect your own
fire, and be constantly repositioning yourself,
all simultaneously, with your eyeballs flicking
up and down over the screen every second.
“The best way of restacking the
odds in your favour is to enlist the
help of a friend.”
What saves this from becoming too demanding
is that Cabal's gameplay mechanics do
something that has been difficult to achieve
over the course of Amiga gaming history, in
allowing you to properly aim with the joystick.
True, it requires some practice, and your targeting
reticle will still act as if it is perched on
rails, veering sharply from left to right and up
and down - ah, for a mouse! However, you'll
still be hitting targets, either dead centre, or
at other times clipping the edges of enemies.
This reviewer can settle for that, as it gets the
job done.
The game progresses once you have wiped
out all the opposing forces that rush onto the
battlefield. A progress bar at the top of the
screen tells you how long it will be before the
end of the level. With each stage taking some
time to complete, the formula of move, aim
and shoot does begin to lose its charm. The
game engine doesn't even throw any innocent
civilians into the mix to keep your spraying in
check. Taking out enemies quickly turns a
game that should have been an exciting run
and gun into a monotonous screenwide
sweeping of hostile sprites.
Duelling with enemy bosses is
another mixed bag. I found the first
helicopter boss to be quite a challenge,
while I defeated the second boss without
losing a life. Some of the melodies
that accompany the boss battles are
quite memorable, but apart from that, the
sound effects in general are limited to a few
explosions
and bullet
noises and the music is always the same,
more of a continuous riff than an actual tune.
The difficulty can vary from a reasonable
challenge to genuine frustration. On the harder
levels, hordes of enemies, each spouting
shells and shrapnel, are thrown against you,
and there is often no place to hide as you are
ruthlessly dissected by their crossfire. The
bonus weapons and extra grenades that the
game hands you help to correct this imbalance,
but only to a limited extent.
On these difficult levels, the sight of your
sprite dying quickly becomes a familiar one.
Every now and then, you might weave through
a few bullets with a well timed roll, take out a
few of your oppressors,
punch your
fist in the air and
foamily cackle in
victory (yes, I know, back to the therapist for
me). But shortly after you will just end up
dead, and the irritation with this game's difficulty
will mount. The best way of restacking
the odds in your favour is to enlist the help of
a friend. The two player mode guarantees a
very chaotic experience as you both dive
� Breakdance!
� Now you mention it, I
could do with a nap.
� Easy, Candice, there
are mines around
he- oh. Never mind.
rating
51% A
reviews
� This is a boss. Pretty big, nasty cannons
there. The bad guys either really rate me
or they thought I'd bring lots of friends.
about the battlefield, working in tandem to
defeat a screenful of bad guys. With both of
you blasting away, this is definitely the area
where Cabal's gameplay is at its peak.
Enjoyment can also come from the unlikely
pursuit of redecorating. Each stage is dotted
with structures (like buildings, towers, walls,
and so on) and most of them can be
destroyed with concentrated fire. As well as
receiving points for this, you'll find this ricochet
renovation to be strangely satisfying as
you watch structure after structure crumble
into dust at your hands. Another great thing is
that structures in the foreground can be used
as cover, a refuge for when the going gets
tough. Just remember that this protection is
flimsy at best and will not last for long.
I don't think I've ever
reviewed a game that
contained such a medley
of the decent and the not
so decent. The use of
colour is dubious, but the
graphics fulfil their purpose;
the gameplay is
repetitive, yet mimics the
coin-op adequately
enough; the audio is limited
but can also be memorable; the controls
are finicky, yet workable. In the end, though,
it's probably Cabal's high difficulty level that
erodes most of the game's appeal, making it a
mostly frustrating ride for most gamers and
limiting its audience to ultra hardcore shooter
lovers and diehard followers of the original.
This is regrettable, because if the Amiga version
had managed to get the difficulty right,
Cabal, despite its weaknesses, would have
been a worthy arcade conversion.
Summary
decent coin-op conversion
hampered by a difficulty level that
is too punishing. Only for lovers of
the arcade original and/or those
seeking a gutsy challenge. Best
played in two player mode.
apov 4
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