Sub Culture review by Al Giovetti

 

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By Al Giovetti
Price:$50
Genre:Adventure
Release:
Developer: Criterion Studios
Lead Artist:
Programmer:
Producer:
Publisher: Ubi Soft
Phone: 800-824-7638
Website: www.ubisoft.com
Requirements:

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Sub Culture

History

Company Line

Game Play

Movement is less precise but is exactly what is found in the underwater environment. Stopping the sub will allow it to drift. Try stopping dead in the water and you will find that you need to backpedal to keep your location. A realistic physics model was used to simulate water movement making the feel more realistic. The ship does not seem to have stabilizing propellers in its design. But you can move your ship in all three dimensions with yaw, pitch and roll.

Plot

The plot is pretty standard fare with two factions, the Procha and the Bohine, vying for supremacy in the underwater world. You take the role of a mercinary battle sub pilot, selling out to the highest bidder in a mission by mission bid. You can choose what side to fly each mission and choose to accept or refuse them. You can travel from city to city and trade goods from one to the other to make profits to outfit and repair your ship.

Your eventual goal is to keep upgrading your ship until it has the ultimate in offensive weaponry and defensive equipment. The underwater world also allows you to prospect for ore, pearls, and scrap metal to increase your equipment acquisition. The two superpowers have a common enemy in pollution caused by the pirates. Your eventual goal is to clean up the environment and elminate the dirty pirates. A rather unrealistic plot since most of the pirates are in government now.

Graphics

Created with the proprietary version of renderware, The Dive game engine, the graphics resolution includes 320x200 and 640x480 (maximum) with up to 16-bit color. The graphics are 16-bit texture-mapped with gouraud shading and polygon counts of 300 for the sub and up to 2000 for the water environment around the sub. The primary color used are all shadings of a beautiful green blue or sea green shade.

Advanced dynamic lighting includes sunlight breaking though the surface and a full range of light conditions for night to day cycles. Other effects include reflections and lighting from flares and underwater lighting. The dappling effect simulates light refraction which is unique to the underwater world.

Nice touches include the debris from the surface world or cigarette butts and empty soda cans.

Animation

The game suports Rendition Verite, 3Dfx Voodoo and PowerVR and is fully operational within Direct3D.

Voice Actors

Music Score

Sound Effects

Utilities

Force feedback support can increase the immersive experience.

Multi-player Features

Cheats, Hints, Walkthrough

Journalists

Calvin lets us know that "The graphics are just awesome." He elaborates by telling us that "resolutions over 320X200 can get choppy." Calvin writes with a precision that lets readers know exactly what he is talking about.

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References

  1. Paula Reaume, Boot, volume 3, number 2, February, 1998, page 80, 8/10 (80%).
  2. Calvin Hubble, Game Revolution, November, 1997, B+ (85%).

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