It came from the Desert
Reviewed by Michael LoCascio
NEC's Turbografx-CD unit was a bit ahead of its time when it
was first released back in '89. Most gamers simply weren't
willing to shell out over four hundred hard-earned dollars
on an unproven medium, especially when NEC dropped the ball
and only produced a couple of mediocre titles for the unit
in its first year of existence. As a result, many people
missed out on the technological achievements of NEC's system
- namely the introduction of Full Motion Video. The use of
live actors in a video game was introduced to the States by
NEC with its Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective CD game.
As graphically amazing as the game seemed at the time, the
fact is that it wasn't much fun to play. Actually, most FMV
games that were created in the early '90s sacrificed game
play for fancy digitized story-telling (Sega's Night Trap
was perhaps most notorious for displaying this syndrome).
Following Sherlock Holmes, NEC tried its hand at an even
more ambitious project, entitled It Came From the Desert.
There was certainly a great amount of effort put into this
title (NEC allegedly spent two years filming scenes for the
game). Unfortunately, it falls into the same trap as just
about every other game that contained FMV during the time
period: it was incredible to look at, but not at all
enjoyable to play.
There's a neat premise behind It Came From the Desert. The
game is essentially a parody of old, cheesy sci-fi flicks.
The action takes place in a small town called Lovelock,
which is right smack in the middle of a desert. The unlikely
protagonist of the game is Buzz Lincoln, a high school
student whose ambitions and rebellious ways make him
somewhat of an outcast among the folks in the town. His only
pal is Dr. Horton T. Pangborne, an elderly scientist who
stays holed up in his laboratory conducting studies on
radiation. What we've basically got here is a rebel and a
lunatic who can only trust one another; the conservative
people of Lovelock are constantly wary of what they're both up to.
The rest of the cast is just as wacky and intriguing. Buzz
lives with his step-mother and step-father, who attempt to
squash his ambitions by forcing him to work at the town's
Atomic Waste Plant. There's the sheriff of the town, who'd
prefer that the rebellious Buzz just follow his dreams and
leave the town entirely. Buzz has a girlfriend named Prissy,
whom he seems to never have time for. He actually seems to
spend more time with a wacky, weapon shop owner named Lud
during the course of the story. Among the other strange
folks that Buzz encounters are the three mysterious
characters that live in Borax (a ghost town) : Clay, Marina,
and 'Man O's teel'. As strange as they are, these are
really the only characters in the entire game who can help
Buzz in his quest to save the world.
And what is Buzz attempting to save the world from? Ants.
Big, mutated, disgusting ants. Flesh-eating ants. The kind
of ants that can squash cars and devour people. Most
notably, Buzz must defeat the evil queen of the ants,
referred to as The Antmind. The atomic testing that occurs
in Lovelock went horribly wrong, and these malicious,
monstrous bugs were the result. These guys are a lot more
intelligent and talented than your every day ant, too: not
only are they building an A-Bomb, but they're also
brainwashing the citizens of Lovelock to aid them in their
efforts. You have to assume the role of Buzz and destroy the
Antmind before work on the bomb is completed.
The basic premise of this game is ingenious, and the plot
gets better and better as the game progresses. It's
extremely creepy to run into an acquaintance who you
suddenly realize has been brainwashed by the Antmind. None
of the folks in Lovelock believe Buzz when he attempts to
warn everyone about what's occurring, and before you know
it, they become part of the enemy army. The game becomes
somewhat of a chess match between Buzz and the Antmind. Buzz
has to anticipate the ants' next move in order to protect
the people of Lovelock and gain the items that will be
necessary to completely exterminate the ants. It Came From
the Desert takes place over an eight-day span; the game
doesn't end until either Buzz is victorious or the ants
build their bomb.
Unfortunately, while the story is quite interesting, the
game is a complete bore to play. You watch one live-action
sequence after another; all that you're required to do
during these lengthy segments is listen and gather clues.
Every now and then you'll be given a choice as to where you
want to go next. It seems that some scenes in the game occur
regardless of the choices you make. This makes it feel as if
It Came From the Desert is just dragging you along through
its story; it really isn't any fun to just sit there and
watch things happen one after another.
Once in a while you'll have to participate in a little
action game. This is where the game really falters; the
controls during these scenes are absurdly poor, as are the
graphics. One game is an overhead battle in which Buzz must
destroy a few antholes by using grenades and dynamite. The
ants that attack Buzz look quite creepy during these scenes,
but Buzz is so poorly drawn that he doesn't even really
resemble a human being. He also moves extremely slowly, but
it usually isn't necessary to run very far; stand next to an
anthole and throw one charge of dynamite after another until
the hole closes up. Another type of game involves
side-scrolling action. Buzz must make his way through a
series of underground tunnels while he is being attacked by
mutant ants and walking zombies (at least I think that's
what they are). These sequences are often a matter of luck,
as the ants seem to possess the ability to just charge right
through your gun shots and capture Buzz whenever they want
to. Not that it matters, of course; Buzz can die as many
times as he wants, but the game won't end until either he
achieves victory or the Antmind completes her A-Bomb.
The one enjoyable action sequence is dubbed the 'Antdroid
Game'. During these segments, a person who has been
brainwashed by the Antmind is basically set down on the
ground, helpless, while multitudes of ants run out and
slowly chew off the person's flesh. Buzz has to destroy a
certain amount of ants before the person's skin is
completely chewed off. The Antdroid Game is not only fun,
it's also incredibly creepy. You can see the person's bones
as his or her flesh is being torn away, and all the while
you'll have to listen to desperate screams for help. This is
really the one worthwhile part of the entire title. Who
needs two years of film footage; just get a few flesh-eating
bugs and you've reeled me right in.
It Came From the Desert was the first game that I had ever
purchased for the Turbo-CD unit. I was quite surprised when
I turned the game on and heard an actual guitar being
played. The headlights on Buzz's motorcycle stared me
straight in the face, and then the words 'IT Came From the
Desert' exploded on to the screen, all while an actual song
is played in the background. Sure, it isn't the best tune
ever, but how many video games back then featured real
songs? Unfortunately, the music throughout the rest of the
game is simple, repetitive, and boring - except for the
chilling track that plays during the Antdroid Game (the
Antdroid game rocks).
While the FMV was quite impressive at the time, today it
looks extremely choppy, and the super-long loading times
don't help any. As mentioned above, the graphics during the
action games are incredibly poor, even by 8-bit standards.
The ants are the only things that look halfway decent in the
entire game.
It's too bad that more effort wasn't put into the action
sequences, because the plot of this game had tremendous
potential. It Came From the Desert only comes recommended to
people who won't mind sitting through one boring scene after
another, listening to endless dialogue with an occasional
action game thrown into the mix. For everyone else: check
out the Antdroid Game. It's the only amusement that's to be
found in this title.
Overall: 4 out of 10
OR
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