3DO a Grand Dame With Great Potential

In the end, I really hope 3DO makes it to the ball. It would be nothing less than a shame if the 32-bit machine supporting some of the hottest software around were to turn into a pumpkin.

With Star Fighter from Studio 3DO, the grand dame of 32-bit gaming shows off why it’s too soon to count her out in the fight for the fickle hearts of gamers. This is a flight-combat game for players tired of the rinky-dink and ready for some pretty realistic action.

Missions take place on a variety of intriguing and detailed worlds where flight skill and sharpshooting are all but essential. This is no twitch-and-fire joy ride. This is mature, thoughtful game play.

Despite some pretty obvious misses, the 3DO delivers this level of game play consistently. In many ways, 3DO is like the best girl at the dance. She’s not the one with the flashy smile or the pretty dress, but she’s the one you like talking to every day at lunch, the one who knows you--and likes you anyway.

And with 3DO promising the 64-bit M2 upgrade sometime this year, 3DO has the potential to blossom into quite a beautiful machine delivering high-end game play without all the smoke and mirrors dished out by the other guys.

Bad Spot: I like 7-Up. In fact, I’m drinking one even as I write this column. But would I ever base a video game on that little red ink spot on the logo? I wouldn’t. But the guys at Acclaim did.

Spot Goes to Hollywood for Sega Genesis is, believe it or not, a sequel starring the spot from the soda can. Technically, Spot is as nice looking as one would expect at the twilight of 16-bit gaming.

The problem: It’s not much fun. Grab various spots scattered around Hollywood sets while dodging a set of minor-league bad guys. It’s really pretty lame. It was more diet soda: All of the good stuff was gone and it left a bad aftertaste.

See Spot suck.

Tetris Blast: It’s hard to imagine the original Tetris getting any better, although many a game designer has tried to match the addictive fun of the four-square original--a game I consider to be as close to perfect as a video game gets.

Even my grandmother loves it.

Tetris Blast for Nintendo Game Boy tries to one-up the master. It’s fun, but nowhere near as good as the original. It’s essentially original Tetris with the ability to make bombs and blow up lines.

The biggest miss is the fact that the game is no longer based solely on the number four. Remember in Tetris how everything was based on four? Four lines for a Tetris. Each piece composed of four, four-sided blocks. In Tetris Blast, the whole notion has been tossed and pieces come in all shapes and sizes.

Don’t get me wrong: Tetris Blast is pretty darn good when stacked against other games on the market. It just doesn’t live up to the Tetris name.

Staff writer Aaron Curtiss reviews video games regularly. 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.