Independence Day

"I'd rather eat razor-blades..."

Independence Day was one of the first titles that I reviewed for the Play Station nearly three years ago. In that time, I had a moment of thought into seeing if the title for the PC had anything that was worthy of speaking upon and came up short. The Play Station version and the PC version of the game are exactly alike in all ways right down to the glaring problems that you find from the moment you start up the game and take your first walk through the seemingly endless stages. While the different planes and some of the weapon effects are interesting to look at, it doesn’t help the game at all in the way that it plays and handles. If you need a flight simulation game for your PC or your Play Station, then this is the last game that you should ever think about picking up because it’s a simple waste of money.

Flight Simulation Into Hell...

The first thing that you’re going to notice about Independence Day is that the game is a flight simulation title that attempts to capture the action and feeling of the blockbuster movie. However, what you’ll find is that the game offers you very little in the style of action and most of your game play will be spent flying around a simple stage in a plane that is not equipped to work against the computer. Once you’ve gotten this far into the game, you’ll find that the computer is set against you in such a way that you can’t get a shot off without getting yourself blown right out of the sky. This seems to be the case with most games that are based from movies at this time and you see it to be the mainstay here in this particular title.

After the first couple of stages, you'll want to shut this off. It's the same each and every time that you play regardless of whatever plane you happen to be using at the time. The computer enemies can be cheap, and you'll run out of your way for weapons because trying to maneuver your plane into firing position doesn't cut it. The stages don't change much unfortunately save for the ever-increasing problem of the game being difficult to start with. Once you’ve gotten far enough into the game, you’ll see that the constant strafe and fire game play is missing the fair action and overall explosive qualities that the movie had to offer time and time again. The point of having different planes is good, but in the end, it doesn’t make much of a difference because the better your plane, the harder the enemies.

Flying your plane with awkward controls is something that I don't like. You can't get a lock on the enemy half the time, and resort to strafing runs before actual combat. Turning your plane is a pain to perform correctly and you'll end up crashing into something without much of a problem. This will cause most gamers to be put off immediately simply because the game just doesn’t have enough control on the interface to keep your plane on the right track. The overall lack of stability in the game gives way to the difficulty because you can kill what you can’t track and catch, so what is the point? When you take this problem and compound it by the fact that both versions of the game {Play Station and PC} play and handle just the same, there is no hope for control anywhere.

Flying In Oatmeal

It seems as though you’re flying through something that isn’t quite the sky when you’re playing through Independence Day. You’ll find that even with the wide-open territories, the planes that you use as well as the enemy ships really have nothing going for them. As with the Play Station version of the title, you’ll find that the grainy textures and the dark landscapes do nothing to help enhance the overall mood and theme of the game. While the thought of having the game look as though you’re actually fighting in a war is good, the overall result in this case is pretty horrid. Once you’ve seen one stage in the game, then you’ve pretty much seen them all and there isn’t anything new after the first stage other than the way that your plane looks.

Did I Go Deaf?

The audio in Independence Day is non-existent and you’ll find that the lack of music is enough to make you cringe after having to listen to the plane roaring through the sky long enough. To make matters worse, the only music that you have is with the title entry and there isn’t anything after that for you to look forward to. The sound effects are done in good fashion however, but you’ll find that even the gun fire and the missile explosions gives way to a headache when you’re listening to it for too long on the speakers. If you’re smart, you’ll find something else to play in the background so you have something that is worth listening to while you blast through stage after stage of alien ships.

Razor Blades Are Your Friend...

If you’re brave enough to find a copy of this game and buy it, then you are a better gamer than I in most respects. While the thought of playing through the game and having fun blasting the various aliens is both alluring and seemingly fun, the formula here is lost somewhere in the thought process. You’ll find that the lack of visuals and audio as well as the near impossible to control planes and overall repetitive and boring game play base is something that you just can forgive. Even though the game might sell for a couple of bucks at the local video game store, it isn’t worth spending a single dime on, simply because the game is lacking anything that would make it a hit or worthy to have in your collection. PC gamers might as well run away right now just like the Play Station gamers already have and save yourself the nightmares you’ll induce by playing the trash…

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 02/14/00, Updated 02/10/03