Reviews / previews
Ever fragged an angel? You will. Think of 3DO's
Requiem as Touched by an Angel meets Scarface.
Apparently, things aren't well up above. The
all-seeing, all-knowing Lord suddenly realizes a
mutiny is afoot. The
seedier angels are
trying to start
Armageddon without
him. (Picture Pulp
Fiction's Vincent
Vega with wings.)
These fallen angels
fly down to earth to
commiserate with
the humans, and get
their wings into
everything from social unrest to world-class tyranny.
The Lord isn't having any of this nonsense and
dispatches an angel named Malachi to do his bidding.
His bidding just happens to involve some cool
automatic weapons, a few angelic powers,and lots of
gruesome
explosions. (The
Lord must be a
vengeful Lord, or he
would never have
sent Menudo among
us.)
Malachi sets out to
re-educate the fallen
angels with the
usual assortment of
combat shotguns, assault rifles, missile launchers,
and rail guns in 16 levels of desolate industrial streets
and techno environments.
But what sets Requiem apart are the offensive and defensive angel powers,
which allow you to set a plague of locusts upon your enemies or smite them
with a hail of brimstone. You can use Heal, Deflect, and Banish powers to
keep the throng of non-believers at bay.
Insist turns evil ones to the side of good, and
Resurrection brings dead sidekicks back to
life.
So, you've got the hosts of heaven on one
side, lots of hellish knuckleheads on the
other, and the human race between. Who
wants to fight for the human race? Boring.
Requiem's
use of
religious
themes
isn't shocking enough to create a
controversy that will move the game in retail,
but don't let something minor like the
boundaries of good taste deprive you of a fun
game.
As a solo game, Requiem has heavenly
moments (like watching guards twitch and
scream as the locusts descend upon them), and a hellish side as well (like
the garish cut-scenes).
But it's a blast in multiplayer
mode--especially if you're turning a buddy
into a pillar of salt. As new skins are created
for the angels to inhabit, the game should
get increasingly popular. However, 3D card
conflicts clipped Requiem's wings. Before I
swapped my ATI Rage Pro for a Voodoo3,
the game crashed or locked up on almost
every level.
But put that all aside and forgive-because if
you've ever been a fan of Quake II or SiN, Requiem's got the wings to fly with
you.-- Lawrence Neves / GamePro
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