Wild 9

for Sony Playstation

Distributed by
Interplay

Price: £39.99

Players : 1

Wild 9 is Interplay's answer to the Pandemonium series of games which effectively has you running from left to right, or vice versa, but turns the screen round as you proceed thus adding a third dimension to the gameplay.

The name of the game is the name of a group of interstellar heroes led by Wex Major who spend their time dealing with the bad guys of outer space. It is Wex who you control, a 21st Century Earthling teenage marooned in the Andromeda Cluster - a far-flung foreign galaxy embroiled in epic turmoil. Fate brings this cocky teenager together with the rag-tag group of eight individual alien teenagers. They must join forces as the "Wild 9", to defeat the evil Karn and his hordes of genetically-engineered freaks and foot soldiers, going from one level to the next, each of which is designated by a planet, collecting items, starting fans, unlocking doors, dispensing of the enemies and sometimes progressing by using them to plug a gap or circumvent a security system.

There are two other types of levels: Jetbike, which resembles the ZX Spectrum classic, Deathchase, and has you chasing the enemy through the forest firing at him until he's dead; and Freefall, another way to kill the enemy which is just like parachuting, except without the parachute!

Playing the Game

Controls :

The controls are very simple and for some of the buttons you need to press there are three alternatives but my choices are listed below :

LEFT: Run left
RIGHT: Run right
TRIANGLE: Jump
L1: Fire the rig
R1: Fire secondary weapon

So, what is the rig? It is a device similar to the ray guns in the Ghostbusters film. When you fire at an enemy, hold down the button and roll your thumb left and right so it throws them around smashing them into the ground. About 4 bangs and crashes should see them off. Alternatively, you can bypass certain objects by throwing them at it, thus giving them a rather grisly end. Also, when your rig turns red it will shoot further, last for a longer period of time, and it can be used to break open certain places.

The rig can also be used as a rope swing allowing Wex to swing to some otherwise inaccessible areas, which is reminiscent of Spiderman and the 80's arcade game Bionic Commando.

Other weapons and items :

Missiles: Fire these, watch them home in on their target and blow it back to their maker.
Grenades: Better than missiles and about three times as powerful.
'9' Symbols: Collect 99 of these and gain an extra life.
Energy: Enemies release some energy when they die, so pick it up and collecting enough will turn your rig red.
Check Point: Allows you to carry on your next life not far from where you left off.
Missile/grenades drops: There are a select few places available where you can wait to get extra missiles and grenades when you've run out. Wait on one of these and a helicopter will be along soon.
Help symbols: These pop up when you encounter something new.

Load/Save game

This requires one block on the memory card.

Graphics, Sound and Playability

The gameplay moves along at a good pace with no slowing down when the screen gets busy, and the graphics are a cacophony of different colours, making the game very pleasing to the eye. The point-of-view of the camera moves around as necessary to show you what's coming up, or present the game from a number of bizarre angles, making it a visual feast. The physics of the game are also quite impressive as you use the rig to throw an enemy about, move something heavy from one side, or swing about like a rope swing.

The sound in the game is excellent. The sound effects are loud, brash and make good use of surround sound, as does the thumping rock soundtrack which trades heavy guitar riffs between the front and rear speakers.

After getting used to the different aspects of the rig, this makes for a very playable game, although it's a bit difficult to control another character, Nitro, known as the Living Bomb. Move him anywhere, in similar fashion to any item, and he immediately starts ticking after you let him go. He can be dropped in front of a group of baddies and left to clear a path, but if you're moving through small areas and having to jump across a series of holes in the floor, as in one of the early levels, it's easy to drop him by accident.

Overall

Overall, if you're a fan of Pandemonium and are looking for something more violent with lots of explosions and a cool soundtrack, this is the game for you.

GRAPHICS 		: ****
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC	: *****
PLAYABILITY		: ****
ORIGINALITY 		: ***½
ENJOYMENT 		: ***½
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OVERALL 		: ****