Chain Reaction

Copyright : Durell | Reviewed by : Malc Jennings

Since Batman arrived on the CPC (the 3D adventure game) the genre took off in a huge way, Durell is just one of those software houses that noticed this and began releasing there own adventures. In this one your are inside a secret and extremely hostile lair full of toxic barrels which are all pointing towards a huge chain reaction that could kill the entire planet within seconds, your mission is to stop the enemy before such a tragic event takes place. Grab your radiation suit and gun, you are the only person for the job.

Graphics

Most of the 3D adventures we have reviewed at CPC Zone have been given great marks for the graphical side of the game, these games usually display a pretty nice amount of colour and great detail on the game itself. Sadly Chain Reaction does look like it was ported from the ZX Spectrum (it has to be said guys) with very basic colours on show throughout the game, this probably helps the game maintain a suitable speed but it isn?t very pleasing on the eye, those with a green screen monitor on the other hand would probably not notice the difference.

Having said that there is a large amount of detail in each of the rooms you walk into throughout your adventure, Durell have added shading to 3D objects to give them that extra bit of depth and even added movement to otherwise static objects such as the shower in screen grab 2 below. There is a downside to this though, the game performs slower in rooms with this amount of detail and can become frustrating when you are trying to avoid the enemy.

Sound

Sound is very nice indeed, the introduction music is absolutely brilliant and fans of music from Ocean Software games will be over the moon with this one. It sounds a little like the theme tune from Robocop (CPC game) but a little slower and with more of a kick, very nice indeed. In-game sounds are kept to the usual minimum in this kind of adventure but there are more than enough surprises in the game to keep you interested, very well done I would say.

Gameplay

If you like 3D adventures that is is highly likely that you will like Chain Reaction, maybe not fall in love with it but it certainly doesn?t let the genre down too much. The control system is the same as all other adventure games of this nature so if you don?t like the controls in Batman then you probably won?t be very happy with these either.

Chain Reactions only down points are the colours on offer in the game itself and the slight slow-down when high detail raises its head, other than that this is a cracking adventure game that simply deserves to be played at least once before you add it your "don?t play again" pile. Grab it!