Disruptor

Developer - Insomniac
Publisher - Universal Studios
Players - 1
Extras - Memory card

The bit on the box

"Your mind is the ultimate weapon. As a new recruit of the elite LightStormer Corps, you possess the latest in hi-tech weaponry and training to unleash incredible amounts of firepower on the enemies of United Earth. Environments of the future...race through 13 unique levels of heart-pounding, high-speed action with 20 real-time 3D interior and exterior environments. Awesome firepower...Battle over 20 intelligent and deadly enemies with a wicked arsenal of 9 big guns. Also, use "psionic" weapons of the mind to blast the bad guys to oblivion! Enter a universe of intense action in Disruptor!"

Graphics

Disruptor has the most crisp and smooth graphics of any Doom clone so far. The 3D levels are alot brighter and more colourful than Alien Trilogy and fits more of a Dark Forces futuristic look, but is much better than that title. All enemies are done as sprites rather than polygons, and although this look is getting rather dated now it works well and keeps the action very fast.  The varied levels look great, from a training facility to an ice world, to the planet Mars, and even a prison facility. There was no slowdown that I noticed even when there was alot of explosions going on, but the designers appear to have taken care to make sure there isn't too much happening on screen at once, and also use fogging and darkness techniques on some levels to disguise polygon popup.

Sounds

The sound effects in Disruptor are pretty good, but nothing amazingly special. The thing that really enhances the almost movie feel to the game is the orchestral music that plays on each level. It sounds like something out of an epic Star Wars film and does alot to make you feel as if you are in such a movie. The music is also interactive in a way in that when you are attacked it changes to a much more dramatic score and really gets the heart pumping if it does so when you can't see the enemies around you. There are also small amounts of speech used in-game, but stays farely simple with enemies calling out "there he is" or "stop right there". Also worth a mention are the FMV scenes between levels using real people, they are well acted and inject a storyline into the proceedings.

Gameplay

If you have played Doom or Alien Trilogy then you already know what to expect from a first person shooter, and things are no different here. I did find that you could turn slightly faster however which is a bonus if you get attacked from behind and need to spin around quickly. I still miss mouse control which would greatly enhance these types of games, but no one seems to want to include mouse compatibility into games these days. There is also alot more platform jumping elements in Disruptor but nothing too frequent or frustrating. There is one level where you have a very strict time limit in order to complete it, which can get annoying because you can't jump over creatures very well and so can get hooked to them while trying to rush past. Overall though a good control system.

I feel a verdict coming on

These types of games are still lacking a good multiplayer mode which would enhance the replay elements greatly, but as a single player game Disruptor is one of the better first person shooters around. It could have done with a few more levels than it has but for a first outing for Universal Studios it is a highly respectible title. The difficulty level does seem a little high on later levels (probably to compensate for the lack of them) and the final boss isn't very spectacular, but the plot is good and the story keeps it fairly interesting with a twist near the end. If you are a fan of these types of games then this will no doubt find a cosy place on your software shelf, but if you don't like them then I doubt Disruptor will do anything to change your mind.

Review by D.R.T.Barrett