VALLEY WEEKEND : VIDEO GAMES : Killer Instinct Offers Fast and Furious Fight : Released for Super Nintendo, game is a visual treat with a story a few notches above the norm.

Someone tell me again why 16-bit machines are headed for the junk heap? With the release of Killer Instinct for Super Nintendo, the argument for dropping four Ben Franklins on a next-generation machine has been severely undermined.

Rendered by the same folks who brought us the stunning Donkey Kong Country last year, Killer Instinct is one of the tastiest fighting games on any 16- or 32-bit platform. On its first day of release, Killer Instinct reportedly sold 150,000 games, a record for Nintendo.

Like the hugely popular arcade version, the Killer Instinct cartridge packs a killer punch. Unlike fighting games that require players to furiously tap the A-button to bloody their opponents, Killer Instinct actually requires a fair degree of finesse to master.

There are Danger Moves, Ultra Combos, Openers, Linkers and End Specials, all of which makes for a fast and furious fight. I recommend playing this game against a friend of equal skill for a while until the basic moves are learned. Playing against a master right off the bat could be, as English philosopher Thomas Hobbes once said, “nasty, brutish and short.”

Visually, the game is a treat. All 10 fighting characters--11 if you count the big boss Eyedol--are clear and sharp. Arena backgrounds scroll nicely from side to side, giving players plenty of room to strategize and spar.

Even the story is a notch above the norm. The fighters are pawns of the sinister Ultratech corporation and fight for glory, hope and their lives. All in all, a very cool game.

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Deja Doom: About an hour into Robotica for Sega Saturn, I got that eerie feeling of having gone through this all before. A first-person seek-and-destroy mission, Acclaim’s Robotica is one of the many games that owe their inspiration to Doom.

From power-ups to weapon progression, Robotica follows the tried and true course established by Doom and copied again and again by lesser games. This is not to suggest that Robotica is any less of a game because of its heritage, but it does take some of the edge off its beautiful presentation when you remember that it is just another Daughter of Doom.

The short course is that 900 years in the future Earth is ruled by a single off-world government. Rebels equipped with robotic attack suits decide they don’t like it and attack. Pretty standard stuff.

Far from standard, though, are the cinemas that lead the game. The Saturn can pump out video and audio like a champ and these opening sequences are breathtaking. And once the game gets under way, it does a nice job of creating atmosphere by draping corridors in a disconcerting half light that makes it easy for attackers to sneak up.

For what it is, Robotica is fine. Just don’t expect the splendor of the opening to carry through umpteen levels of very similar looking secret bases.

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Tempest Temptress: cf,px,8.5 Don’t be fooled; most games on Atari’s Jaguar suck. But every now and then, a game comes along that puts the Jaguar’s resources to good use and delivers some pretty fine game play.

Tempest 2000 is just such a game. If Atari made more games like this, the Jag would be a contender instead of being relegated to the netherworlds. It’s everything you remember the original arcade Tempest to be, plus a hip new soundtrack, some stellar 3-D manipulation and a slew of new levels.

For traditionalists, there’s the old Tempest, complete with the familiar blue web and creepy crawling bow tie bad guys. But there is also a completely enhanced version that sends the web dancing through space, a nice touch that makes play seem like it’s moving at warp speed.

In a way, games like Tempest 2000 make me sad because they point up clearly that Jaguar can support some great games. The problem is that no one is writing them.

* Staff writer Aaron Curtiss reviews video games every Thursday. To comment on a column or to suggest games for review, send letters to The Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, CA 91311. Or send e-mail to Aaron.Curtiss@latimes.com.