Armorines

Summary

Genre: Shooter
Number of players: 1-4
Rumble Pak: Yes
Controller Pak: Yes
Expansion Pak: Not used

Review

The story behind Armorines is quite a simple, and overused one. Giant alien bugs have invaded the earth, and have to be wiped out. Of course, normal human beings are no use, apparantly, and so enter the Armorines - a couple of people in special armour which makes them strong. And provides them with a few good weapons.


Gameplay: The controls are very different to what I'm used to (me being a Perfect Dark person) and took quite a while to get used to. That said, the first level is easy enough to get through, which means even if you do have trouble you have time to get used to them.

In terms of gameplay it's actually quite good. The action is always fast and furious, and you always have to be on your toes. Bugs can leap out of eggs, attack you from the air, from the ground, from an ambush and so on. Some of the later bugs provide quite a challenge, especially those who fire the missiles at you, but on the whole, they're not that bad.

One of the more interesting aspects of the gameplay is that the armour suit will always lock on to foes, and remain on them, despite where they may roam. As a result, you never ever have to aim at enemies. While some may feel this takes away from the game somewhat, it's actually very well done, and if anything, gives the game a bit of character.

The bosses are all giant bug Queens, which make for quite a challenging experience. They're quite intelligent, and really pack a punch when they land a hit!


Challenge: The final couple of stages are really tricky to complete. The bugs become very very intelligent, and the final Queen is extremely tricky. As you would expect. It would take you some time to complete Armorines, but it's one of those games that you actually really want to complete, no matter how long you're there. Well, I thought so anyway.


Graphics: Pretty good. The bugs are especially worthy of a mention. They look and move very well indeed, as do the humans. The scenery I think could have been just a touch better, but that said they're still far superior to your average N64 game, especially when you include the likes of Clayfighter.


Sounds: Not too impressive. Some of the bugs sound pretty good with their cries and death noises, but the human grunts and shouts are quite dull. The music isn't very good either - very bland.


Multiplayer: The battle mode is for up to four players, including games like King of the Hill and so on. It's not too good to be honest, but the real multiplay experience you should try out is the 2 player co-op mode. For the first time on the N64 - well, the first that I'm aware of - you and a friend can go through all of the 1 player missions, covering each other's backs, and so on. By the way, Jet Force Gemini doesn't count. Its 2 player co-op was crap. No one wants to be a flying robot.

But this time a developer has done it right, and this version is really something to be proud of.


Summing up: A pretty good game with a great 2 player mode, a decent 1 player mode and a naff battle mode. It provides quite a challenge, and is certainly worthy of your collection. Oh, and the end sequence is truly dire.


Gamesmark: 83%


Reviewer: Tangycheese



Maverik's opinion: Armorines was a fine stop-gap until Perfect Dark arrived, but nowadays it just doesn't measure up. The annoying Turok control method is present, and can't be changed to the far-more intuitive control-stick movement method; graphics and sounds are just okay; but the two-player mode, as Tangy points out, is great fun, particularly since both of the playable characters are so different from each other.