Zero Tolerance

"an under-appreciated game"

Intro - This game seems to be overlooked in the Action department. Yes, maybe it is a Doom clone, and it came out a year after Doom, but considering what platform it was for, this game is very good. The 16-bit version of Doom has nothing on this game where graphics are concerned.
The game has 3 areas, with 12 to 14 levels in each.

Gameplay - 9/10 The control is pretty good. One button is used with the directional arrows to slide from side to side, one button fires, and one button scrolls through your item inventory. Movement is smooth, and fairly quick. The display shows a first-person view, the enemies remaining on the next sequential level (not necessarily the level you're on), and your current health. Your character can be knocked around a bit when hit by enemy fire, which can be a little frustrating since the enemies do tend to gang up on you.
Early on, the elevator ''skips'' certain levels, making it necessary to find another elevator and backtrack. There is some strategy later in the game, as one of the items is a fire extinguisher and you don't have enough to put out every fire area. You must check the map and figure which fires are in your way and which are not. Also later, you get more than 99 enemies per level, so you must keep plugging away awhile before your enemy count goes under 99.
One of the things I liked in this game is the ability to backtrack all the way to the first level of an area, as long as you haven't killed the boss yet. This lets you pick up medical packs that you didn't use earlier. Each level allows you to see a map of the whole level, but doesn't display any monsters, just your location.
The lower levels are quite extensive and require some planning to complete.
If you die, you resume as one of the remaining characters, and must complete what is left.
This game offers a 2-player option, if you have a patch cord, 2 consoles, 2 TVs, and 2 copies of the game.

Story - 7/10 You are on a team of 5 people, each with a different specialty, that are dropped onto a space station to investigate what is going on. You find it to be infested with various baddies, requiring you to shoot your way down to the bottom. From there, you are dropped on the roof of a building, and must make your way down to the bottom basement level (2 areas of 12 - 14 levels each).

Graphics - 10/10 For a 16-bit system, the graphics are excellent. There is almost no pixelation, even when you are right up against something. The enemies are actually identifiable as, say, humans, dogs, or spiders, and they look pretty decent. Your movement is also fairly smooth, with no jerking around, like in some other FPS games I could mention.

Sound - 9/10 Each weapon has a different sound, each enemy has a different sound, and when you pick things up a voice tells you what you picked up, at the same time that your monitor displays a message. When you have killed all enemies on the current level, the same voice encourages you to move on.

Replay value - 7/10 This game is just plain fun! And, because you can start with one of 5 different characters, this game has more replay value than most of its kind. Each character has a different skill - for instance, the default one is the best shooter, and one of the others gets twice as much health from medipacks as the others do.

Buy or rent - If you can find this game, buy it. I got it 4 years ago for $10, which I consider a bargain.

Overall - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/11/01, Updated 03/11/01