Zax The Alien Hunter

Imagine Diablo with guns. Imagine a multiplayer Diablo with Deathmatch and capture the flag. Imagine the bastard son of Diablo and Quake. Meet Zax the Alien Hunter.

The single player game is a Diablo clone, with gun toting action. Fast and furious. Isometric arcade action. Reminds me of Alien Breed a bit. You are a space hunter, who crashed on a planet, having to help your ships computer rebuild the ship. Meanwhile you take part in a natives vs robots conflict, salvaging what crystals and ore you can - so that your computer can help you manufacture better weapons and shields and equipment.

There are simple puzzles, lever switching, laser light bending and key collecting along with plenty of mowing down robotic cannon fodder and having a bash at some bosses. The levels are nicely rendered, colourful and lead you through the story. Zax himself can run in all directions whilst shooting his guns in any direction the mouse is aimed. He has laser pistols, beam spray weapons, grenade launchers, and rocket lauhchers along with proximity mines and triple dart guns. Its simple, its arcade carnage, its fun. The storyline unfolds gently, but soon has you dispatching many wild creatures and robot guards. They spawn from generator pads which have consoles that need taking out to prevent the metallic horde from descending. The currency is crystals and ore, collected from the planet surface. You return to your ship and craft bigger and better weapons as your ships computer researches them. I don't think there is any way to influence what your computer researches in the form of a tree - she just gathers more and more information as the game progresses and you are then able to buy/craft the new weapons.

Its the multiplayer game where the real fun begins. Arcade blast em action all the way. Three multiplayer modes are supported: Deathmatch, Salvage King and Capture the Flag. Only Salvage King requires any explanation - you collect as much crystals and ore as possible - the one with the highest amount wins. These are strewn across the levels floor, sometimes easy to reach, sometimes strewn around controllable electricity beacons that zap anyone who tries to get them. Players can turn these electric traps on and off. If you take a bullet too many and become a pile of gibs, then you drop all your stash in a pile for the next salvage queen to come along and steal your crown. The multiplayer levels are well thought out, and have weapons and power ups spread around to keep everyone topped up with killing hardware. Doors and traps serve as interesting mechanics to be used against your enemies, coupled with well placed proximity mines or a couple of correctly bounced grenades gives you a lethal but effective blast chamber to dismember your opponents.

It's not too deep, it's not even that clever, but what is does, it does good. Fast paced action shoot em up, for the Diablo generation. It's refreshing to play a fragfest game in an isometric view, instead of the predictable first person.

Worth it for some therapeutic zapping and killing.