Centipede

"Fun and boring. Good, yet snoring. Interesting and dull. This game is no ball."

This is one of those love/hate type of games. You start out loving it (as much as anyone can physically love an '80s arcade game without getting perverse), and about six hours after playing (a lot less for some people, I'm sure), you begin to see that it's not that great of a game afterall.

Sure, it's fun. It's considered to be a classic by... who? Every game mag out there bashes it. Oh, and it's retro! Interesting, indeed. But does that make it a great game? Not in the least bit.

Incase you didn't know, the original Centipede is a 2D left to right scrolling shooter. You move accross the screen as quickly as you can, shooting enemies that don't move and annoying, four-legged spiders that hop. Your goal is clear the screen over and over again, until you've burned your eye balls out from playing way too long.

A combination of Galaga (one of my favorite shooters) and Galaxian, it seemed to be the most perfect game, right? Maybe... the second most perfect game? The third? Not even close.

What really got me into the game at first, however, wasn't the classic element of this dated game (other than Mario and a few Namco titles, I can't remember too many good arcade games from that era), it was the all-new 3D action/adventure shooter.

While the controls are silky smooth (very sensitive, something that's always a plus to me), fast and responsive, the gameplay iyself is rather... dull. Repetitive is the perfect word to describe this entire game, including the original.

Gameplay: 6
Episode I Racer, eat your heart out! My pod can shoot bugs! And uhhh... it can jump too, through a ton of boring worlds and stages (there's even an ice world! Imagine that?). Everything is fun at first, especially since it's a semi-new experience. And even after it gets old and repetitive, it's still kind of fun to play... but not really.

As for the original, if you have a Dual Shock PlayStation Controller, you'll be able to move around much faster. And that is a whole lot better than the using the D-pad (which is very slow).

EGM calls it "arcade perfect." How can ANY version of this game be arcade perfect, when the arcade version wasn't even perfect?

Sound/Music: 2
The music is unbearable. Although the sound is somewhat useful when you're not paying attention to your radar in the Adventure mode (for listening to spiders creeping up on you), that's as minor as Nintendo Power saying that the Rumble Pak is a "necessity" and is needed to survive in Star Fox 64 (so that you can "feel" the Pak shake when enemies are behind you).

Graphics: 5
Poor enemy AI and horrible sound are bad enough, but when you mix all that with even worse graphics, what do you get? A dull gaming experience with bad graphics! Don't buy this game for eye candy, you'd be better off getting a Dreamcast if that's all you're into.

Haven't PlayStation games come farther than this in the last six months? Centipede is more than ten years old, and Atari still can't get it right! The polygonal backgrounds and characters leave a lot to be desired.

Story: 1
Every few thousand years or so (or whenever Atari needs some extra pocket change), hundreds of dark, horrifying beasts known as "insects" cover the earth and destroy every living thing it.

You play as a young, unadventurous boy who is given a pod and forced to go on a mission he'd probably rather not go on, killing all the bugs he can in a mission to... (drum roll please)... SAVE THE WORLD!

Replayability: 4
The replay value in this game depends on what type of gamer you are. Yes, the game is fun, but how fun is it? Not fun enough to keep me playing for months, and since it's my review, I'd have to say: you'll like it for a very, very short time, but I honestly doubt you'll be playing it after a couple of weeks from the purchase date, if you're foolish enough to spend more than the $5 rental on it.

Should I buy/rent Centipede?: Maybe.
What kind of gamer are you? Do you care what other people think of the games you play? Are you a leader, or a follower? Do you buy games based on what your friends recommend? If so, then you'll probably end up getting this game, whether you truly want it or not.

--If you're a hardcore gamer who is considering buying this game for some crazy reason, rent first.
--If you're a casual gamer who is considering about buying this game, maybe you're not sure if you'd like it, or maybe you think you'd love it, rent first.
--However, if you're a HUGE Centipede fan (and actually sold your arcade machine of it), then you mine as well just go buy this game the next time Best Buy has a sale.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99