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Croc 2

Score: 80%
ESRB: Everyone
Publisher: Fox Interactive
Developer: EA Games
Media: CD/1
Players: 1
Genre: Miscellaneous

Graphics & Sound:

For fans of the many console type games of the past from Nintendo 64 and PlayStation, the graphics are nothing new. One advantage to the PC version of Croc 2 is the controllability of the various graphics options to make Croc 2 playable on slower machines. If you have the machine for it, turn all the options on and witness some extremely detailed graphics. You have various sound options as well. Turn each sound element (music, ambient noise, etc.) up or down, or what impressed me were the numerous speakers configurations to choose from. You can choose from Mono, Stereo, Quad, or 5.1 Digital (my favorite). I also enjoyed the Caribbean flavor to the music that played throughout the game. One thing was a little annoying though. The asinine voices of the characters. Their dialogue is typed out on the screen, but they make these highs pitch noises that kind of sounds like a small lap dog in pain. I almost got to the point of turning my speakers off during these sections.

Gameplay:

I will admit that I am not the world's best at console games, and most of them I find down right boring. Not so with Croc 2. This game is definitely a challenge. You control Croc, who is looking for his lost parents. Along the way, he receives help from his friends, the Gobbos (little fur ball looking things with eyes). You will ride mine carts, swing on vines, participate in boat races, and cross many pits full of spikes. Some pits that you will cross are bottomless, so watch your step. Croc looks so pitiful when he is plunging to his death.

Croc can also use two different attacks. One is call a Tail Attack and it's good to use against the Dantinis (big, spiked, ugly looking dudes). The tail attack is also useful is whacking gongs. The other attack Croc can use is called the Stomp. I think this is self-explanatory. A stomp can also be used to open some boxes and other hidden areas. So if you see a box and no Dantinis are looking at you, stomp on it. Go ahead, knock yourself out.


Difficulty:

So you think that this is just a platform game - that it is going to be easy. It's marketed towards kids, so it's going to be a piece of cake. Think that if you like, but you couldn't be more wrong if you start Croc 2 with that attitude. Just imagine having to make a sideways double jump off of a moving platform above a bottomless pit - with only a second and a half to do it. How about having to jump between stone islands to cross a lake of molten lava and as soon as you land on a stone island, it starts to crumble under your feet. Yep, sounds easy to me! I have heard that Croc 2 might be a little too difficult for small kids, but kids have a tendency to do better at these things than we big people, so I wouldn't let that be a concern.

Game Mechanics:

It would not be a platform game if you could not control it with your trusty gamepad. For those of you with the digital gamepads that respond to your movements, turn it off. It makes it harder for you. You can also use the keyboard, but who does that these days when you have a choice? Using a joystick is also an option, but make sure that it is a multi-button joystick with at least eight buttons. Croc 2 also has a feature called Omniplay. This is where you can have two people (one using a keyboard and the other the gamepad or joystick), control Croc at the same time. One person can concentrate on navigating Croc and the other can concentrate on attacking the bad guys. This can be a little distracting during actual gameplay.

-Wickserv, GameVortex Communications
AKA Eric Wickwire

Minimum System Requirements:



Hardware Accelerated Graphics - 200 Mhz Pentium or faster running 95/98, 32 MB RAM, Voodoo (3Dfx) or DirectX compatible video card with 4 MB of RAM, DirectX compatible sound card, 4X CD-ROM drive or better Software Rendered Graphics - 266 Mhz Pentium or faster running 95/98, 32 MB RAM, DirectX compatible video card with 4 MB of RAM, DirectX compatible sound card, 4X CD-ROM drive or better
 

Test System:



GX-450xl running Windows 98, 256 RAM, Creative Sound Blaster 64CPCI with Boston Acoustic Digital Media Theatre, STB Velocity 4400 with RIVA TNT chip, DirectX 7, 32 Mb RAM, 6X24 DVD-ROM.

Windows NFL Blitz 2000 Windows Devil Inside

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated