Demolition Man

Based on the 1993 Sylvester Stallone movie (which in turn was loosely based on Aldous Huxley's, Brave New World), Demolition Man was the first big movie game for the 3DO. Sly even shot exclusive footage for this game, which involved a situation that leads to a scenario wherein it takes a "maniac to catch a maniac."

The coolest segments of Demolition Man are the first person shooter stages, which pit you against Simon Phoenix's henchmen. The great level of detail put into the game can be seen from the menus (choose easy skill and Sly will tell mention that "you suck") to the side-scrolling fighting levels, where Stallone must also attempt to catch the baddie played by Wesley Snipes.

Noteworthy is the soundtrack to the game, which must have been lifted from the movie because it is highly immersive. As for the graphics, it is said Silicon Graphics hardware was utilized to produce the astounding imagery. This is one of the best looking 3DO games, an especially impressive feat considering when the game was released.

The difficulty in normal mode is certainly challenging, but it is ultimately rewarding. Like MDK 2 (one of my favourite games), Demolition Man presents you with difficult levels which are a joy to master. It feels like the developers went out of their way to make each of the difficulty settings unique.

The real downside to Demolition Man are the driving sequences ... where there is not much driving involved. With all of this variety it's hard to make all aspects of the game fun, thankfully the good far outweighs the bad. On the other hand, the game over sequence is one of the most memorable I've seen.

I was astounded by the production values. From the packaging to the crisp video, the game excels in trying to make you feel you are inside the movie. Except this time, the game may be better than the movie.