Subject: REVIEW: The Chaos Engine
From: [email-masked] (Gary Bradley)
Date: 14 Apr 1993 17:24:35 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  The original version of this review was posted
	in comp.sys.amiga.games on March 23, 1993.  I have reformatted it to
	conform to c.s.a.reviews standards.  No information was changed.
	- Dan]

PRODUCT NAME

	The Chaos Engine

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	A Gauntlet-style shoot'em up from the producers of such Amiga
mega-games as Speedball I & II and Gods.  One or two players.  Is this the
best Amiga game for a long time???

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		The Bitmap Brothers
	Address:	Renegade Software Ltd,
		   	Unit C1, 
		   	Metropolitan Wharf,
		   	Wapping Wall,
		   	London, England.

LIST PRICE

	25.99 (UK pounds sterling)

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	Runs on A500, A500+, A600, A1000, A1200, A2000, B2000,
	A2500, A3000, A4000.

	1 MB RAM required.

COPY PROTECTION

	Disk-based copy protection.  Not hard-drive installable.

REVIEW

	Okay, I might as well put my cards on the table right away.  This
game is f*cking brilliant.  I have had it now for 72 hours, and I have played
it during EVERY free moment I had.  I want to be playing it right now instead
of typing in this review!  It's been a LONG time since I have felt this good
about forking out #25.99 for a computer game!  I recommend all shoot'em up
fans go out and buy this baby right now!

	Okay, let's begin.  Firstly, the list of compatible machines above is
right out the manual; and since the manual includes statements like "Do not
attempt to 'back up' this data as it may be destroyed in the process," I
don't know how much of it to believe!  Secondly, the packaging (which I guess
should have been "firstly" since it's the first thing you turn your attention
to), ah well.  The packaging is great.  A nice big box ("Wow!" I hear you
cry, "What an innovation!" - just be patient will you?) whose front cover
illustrates 6 unsavoury characters.  "Ah-ha, it's the bad guys, I thought to
myself.  Not so!  These are the heros of the venture!  Beautifully drawn
they may be, but these "bad asses" are UGLY!  The box contains 2 disks, a
multi-lingual manual (complete with addendum, absolutely free!) and a little
wallet thingy which contains 8 beautifully produced postcards (pictures of
the 6 main characters, a description of the 4 Worlds in the game, and a nice
ominous black one with "The Chaos Engine" in cute lettering with the
yin-yang symbol whose devious purpose in the game will be discussed later.

	Do you need to know the scenario?  If not, skip to the next
paragraph!  Okay, early in this century some mad professor called Baron
Fortesque developed a machine called The Chaos Engine using early
engineering and computer technology.  The machine, like all good
Frankenstein monsters, goes berserk and rips a hole in the fabric of time and
space or something and causes Chaos to descend on the land.  Man and beast
alike is transformed into horrific monsters.  You see, although it was
primitive, the Chaos Engine was very powerful.  Oh yes, very.  Your job is
to fight your way through 4 worlds of 4 levels each and destroy the machine
and its creator.

	The game loads happily from 2 drives, meaning I didn't have to think
about anything but KILLING after I've shoved the disks in!  The intro is
typical Bitmap Brothers (henceforth referred to as "BB" to save the ol'
typing digits) and includes a nice Victorian-style picture of a crowd of
people surrounding a Tyrannosaurus, and profiles of each of the 6 characters
(very similar to the 6 postcards, in fact).  You can tell the game has
loaded from the next room as a blaring rave tune typical of all BB games
starts up.  I was very excited at that point, I was dying to play the game
because, quite frankly, all the nice packaging makes it sound like it's going
to be awesome....

	And it is!  The game is a bit like Gauntlet meets Gods (the BB's last
classic).  One or two human players can pick from the 6 main characters to
construct a party for the quest.  If there is only a human player, the
computer takes the 2nd character.  Either way, there are always 2 characters
to be selected from the list which reads:  Brigand, Gentleman, Navvie, Thug,
Preacher and Mercenary.  I would have been disappointed if each character
hadn't had different levels for a number of attributes... and I wasn't
disappointed.  Stamina, Health, Skill, Speed, Intelligence, Weapon Power,
Weapon Spread, Number of Shots... need I say more?  Well, yes, actually;
intelligence only applies to computer-controlled characters and determines
how well they help you (and also how well they help themselves - to all the
goodies lying around that you want to pick up!!).  However, in a 2-player
game, the highly intelligent characters (Preacher and Gentleman) tend to be
a bit weakened, as their intelligence basically goes to waste and they have
limited firepower and stamina.  But, then the Preacher is the only character
with the First Aid skill... etc. etc.  There are several combinations to try
out; so far, I have been most successful with the Navvie (best stamina and
firepower) and with the Preacher as my CPU-controlled sidekick.  I just love
those First Aids!

	A character's attributes are naturally "power-uppable" either by
collecting tokens during play, or visiting the shop every 2nd level to spend
the cash collected from the monsters (who have a habit of throwing it about
in their death-throes).  Each character also has one special ability, such as
First Aid, Map, Bomb, Dynamite, Molotov, Distract Monsters, etc., but more
abilities can be purchased as play progresses.  Special Powers are required
before the Special Abilities can be activated, and these too are collectible
or purchasable.  One nice touch in a 1-player game is that you get to use
the Special Ability and Special Powers belonging to your partner.  Gosh...
love that Preacher!!  Special Abilities are activated by the time-old
tradition of holding the fire button down longer than usual.

	Okay, you've decided which pair of characters you want to use (you
know in your heart you've only picked the Gentleman because his weapon looks
the best when it fires, but what the hell...) and it's on into the game.
The point of view is from above (like Gauntlet) and a little to one side
down the screen (not like Gauntlet) so that you can see one side of all
features.  Got it?  If not, it doesn't matter:  think of Gauntlet or Alien
Breed and you're close enough.  It also features several levels (in
"height") reachable via stairs, ramps or bridges, and you can fire only at
things on the same level as you (though you can drop Molotov cocktails down
on the nasties etc... that'll teach 'em!).  The levels tend to be much more
open than Gauntlet and are beautifully drawn.  The 4 worlds are The Forest,
The Workshops, Fortesque Mansion, and The Cellars, and each has different
graphics for the backgrounds and monsters you will meet.  Backgrounds are
complete with bubbling pools, waterfalls, steam valves, etc.  Gorgeous.
There is even a level well into the game where certain areas are flooded
with water and therefore inaccessible until you perform the appropriate
action (such as shooting a lever) which causes the liquid to drain off and
flood some other area... excellent!

	Gameplay is total addictive fun.  Both players run around shooting at
monsters and collecting items.  Sound simple?  It is!  Initially at least.
There are some areas with "monster generators" like Gauntlet, but these are
rare.  In general the monsters appear at predetermined points (like Gods)
rather all the time (like Alien Breed).  In fact, the whole game plays a bit
like Gods but with more emphasis on the shooting than the problem-solving or
object manipulating stuff.  As a result, the monsters are tough, intelligent
and devious and appear at the most inappropriate moments (their appearance
often triggered by the players touching objects or entering doors etc).  In
addition, the players can learn where the monsters will appear as they
become used to the game.  This latter point is no problem because the game
is so BIG.  I mean huge.  And that brings me on to...

	The puzzle element.  Most of the puzzles require the use of a
certain key or the pulling of a lever to make something happen.  The
"something" is almost always a something that gives you access to shortcuts
or bonus areas.  There are also these things called Nodes scattered around
that are activated by shooting at them.  Shooting the nodes causes the exit
to open.  But since there are multiple exits on the levels, finding the right
nodes becomes important... especially since each exit leads to a different
start point on the next level!  While some lead to "Power-Up Heaven," others,
quite literally, leave you in the shit!  To give an idea of how vast this
game is, I rarely manage to get any more than 60% completion before I leave
a level, and I am discovering new areas/bonuses that I missed EVERY time I
restart and play a new game!!  Naturally the logic problems get more devious
as the game progresses, and there are some real good ones on World 2.

	This game is best played with 2 humans as it becomes competitive!
All the money the characters collect goes into a level total.  In the bonus
screens, the computer divides it according to how well it thinks each human
did in finishing the level, not how much money they collected!  So make sure
you outblast your opponent!  In a one-player game, the money is divided
50/50, so the competitive edge lessens.  The game is FUN no matter how many
humans play!  The computer controls the other player very well.  It gets
better as you boost the computer player's intelligence.  However, not only
does an intelligent computer partner kill bad guys more efficiently, it also
steals all the juicy power-ups more efficiently adding a whole new dimension
to the game!

	Another nice feature is the Deathzone tokens (yep, the yin-yangs I
mentioned earlier).  Collecting these saves the current position and status
(except for stamina, obviously) of each player.  If all human players die,
this is point you return to.  But if one human lives while the other loses a
life, the dead person has to wait until his partner finds another yin-yang
before they are returned to play.  There are loads of yin-yangs about, so
don't worry!

	Finally, the graphics and sound are both top-notch, as you may have
expected.  The game is beautifully drawn and highly detailed.  Scrolling is
ultra-smooth and fast in 8 directions, "averaging" between the human
players.  In a 1-player games, scrolling follows the human player with a
"teleport to me" feature if the computer gets lost or stuck.  The monsters
are gruesome and even frightening in places!  Sound is basically a lengthy
rave track for each level with background sounds of the killing and the
shooting.  There is also lots of speech with phrases along the lines of
"Node Activated!", "Exit Open!", "Players Saved!", "Special Power!", "Power
up!", "Extra life!" etc., being "shouted" by the game at the appropriate
moment.  The speech is also done with a much better tone and accent than the
awful voice in Turrican 2!

DOCUMENTATION

	The game comes with a multi-lingual manual.

LIKES AND DISLIKES

	My likes have already been described above!

	My one criticism is about the sound.  (Yes, ONE criticism is all I
have about this game!!!).  You can't turn off the rave tunes during play.
The tunes are OK but become irritating after a while.  I would like to turn
them off and have FX only, but this can't be done:  you must have both!
This is a shame, since you need to hear the spot effects to know what's
going on in the level out of sight, so you have to put up with the bloody
tunes.  What a bummer.

CONCLUSIONS

	To summarise:  I really like this game.  In my opinion, it is the
best Bitmap Brothers game so far (and I am a BIG fan of Speedball 2), and the
best 2 player shoot'em up available on the Amiga (Alien Breed doesn't even
come close to this game in terms of playability!).  For those who like
numbers, I give this game 96% (in the tradition of UK Amiga magazines, I
chose a percentage figure!!) with the addition that it would have got 99% if
I could turn the rave music off!!  If you like shooting at things, buy The
Chaos Engine.

+---------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Gary Bradley        |   "You receive a love letter from me and |
| ORACLE Corp, UK     |                  you're f*cked forever!" |
| Edinburgh, SCOTLAND |        - Frank Booth ("Blue Velvet")     |
+---------------------+------------------------------------------+

---

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