GameSpot editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Mediocre
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 03/20/1997
- Updated on: 05/02/2000
- Released on: 02/28/1997
- Originally published on GameSpot: Professional Underground League of Pain (PlayStation) Review
Professional Underground League of Pain by Psygnosis represents video gaming's latest trend: beautifully shaded graphics and lush stereo sound contrasted with poor game play. It's a sad trend in video games today; the output improves at an incredible rate while the input stagnates. In other words, you can see millions of colors and hear incredible music, but the gameplay is limited to pressing a couple of buttons.
The story goes like this: It's late in the 21st century and the sporting industries of basketball, hockey, and boxing have collapsed (I don't care what happens, hockey will only disappear over my dead, national- sport-playing, Canadian body!). The athletes now compete in the "Professional Underground League of Pain," or PULP, where the games consist of two teams competing to throw a plasma ball into a hoop above the court's center. Before scoring, however, players must charge the plasma ball. This wouldn't be so difficult, except that each team's charger is centrally located deep in the opponent's territory. Think basketball meets Blast Chamber on steroids! There's little doubt that this game could have been fun....
League of Pain boasts myriad camera angles; unfortunately, most of them are ineffective. In fact, I found the game very difficult to play until I started using one of the (significantly less attractive) overhead views. If you stick with the default camera setting you'll get the snot kicked out of you while you're figuring out what's going on (as I did the first few times through). Adding to that confusion, it's very hard to tell your teammates from your opponents - each player is silver, and only team color accents differentiate them.
Continue reading
Professional Underground League of Pain (PlayStation):
%20Legacy%20game%20platform%20reviews%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/legacy-game-platforms/professional-underground-league-of/4505-9882_7-30971674.html){kind=small}