Entered CNET Catalog: 07/12/2004
SKU: 8863416
Manufacturer: Virgin Interactive Entertainment
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 05/30/1996
Are you tired of the same old racing games where you drive around in a circle 500 times? Do you want to blow the hell out of the other cars on the track? Then power up your plasma gun and jump into Zone Raiders for a little excitement. Although this title is at its heart a driving simulation, you won't get bogged down with gear ratios and wind drag. All you have to know is how to drive fast and hit hard.
In Zone Raiders, you're a scavenger whose ultimate goal is to reach the FreeZone. You can acquire goodies such as new weapons, shield regenerators, and jet packs as you speed around 15 different tracks.
The graphics in Zone Raiders are fluid and pleasant, but a great deal more detail could have been added to the tracks and cars. The music is typical, techno-inspired fare which pumps you up to blast away other vehicles.
Zone Raiders' best overall feature is its gameplay. Even though your hovercar requires several buttons to control, you can customize the keys to suit your specific style of play. Before long you'll be zipping down the highway, and even off of it, as you search for new gadgets to add to your car.
Of Zone Raiders' few flaws, its monotony and flat graphics are the most problematic. Although the tracks look different, all you do is speed around and blow up vehicle after vehicle. Avid arcade fans may not tire of this, but others may begin to find it tedious. Also, because the graphics are a bit flat, it's often hard to tell if you are approaching a curve at 160 mph or if that speck in front of you that keeps moving is indeed "The Guardian."
Overall, Zone Raiders is an entertaining game that is fun to play for short periods of time, but don't expect this one to be permanently lodged in your CD-ROM drive. However, considering the cost of many of the games out now, Zone Raiders' price and quality make it a pretty good deal.
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