Underdog 3DO Earns Respect of Imitators
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So despite what people say about the 3DO Multiplayer and its odds for long-term survival, folks must kind of respect the underdog system and its impressive catalog of games.
A healthy chunk of the games hitting the next generation of systems right now may seem new to kids in the Toys R Us aisles, but connoisseurs recognize many as straight imports from the 3DO--some of them many years old.
For all the hype about 32-bit gaming right now, it’s not new. But when 3DO introduced the Multiplayer three years ago, it was priced so high the paper-route crowd was out of luck.
By the time the rest of the gaming world caught up to 3DO, the company was still having a hard time fighting its image as a yuppie toy, even though Goldstar’s version of the multiplayer is the cheapest 32-bit rig on the market right now.
But ever-resourceful software designers such as Crystal Dynamics love the new markets opened up by Sega and Sony because they can now hawk their games to a wider audience. Already, 3DO hits like Shock Wave and Road Rash have shown up on Sony’s PlayStation. Same goes for Off World Interceptor and The Horde on Sega’s Saturn.
What’s amazing is that these games often put newer offerings to shame. They have a certain flair and spontaneity lacking in games that look and feel as if they just came off the assembly line.
So maybe the trick of the 3DO’s game quality was the price of its hardware. When someone drops $700 on a game machine, they expect top-notch experiences--and software developers know that if they don’t deliver they won’t be around long.
I only wish more designers treated the kid who saved up $300 to buy a Saturn with the same kind of respect the 3DO designers showed their older, upscale purchasers.
The Wheel: For someone who considers an $80 pair of shoes a bargain, my wife never misses an opportunity to point out how much I spend on video games. Upon informing her of my need to purchase the Sega Arcade Racer peripheral one recent weekend, her left eyebrow raised almost imperceptibly as if to ask: “Why not just light your money on fire?”
At $80, the Arcade Racer is not really a must-have for most gamers. For one thing, its cost is pretty astronomical for what it is: a steering wheel that plugs into the Saturn’s controller port.
The idea is that it makes racing games like Virtua Racing and Daytona USA easier and more fun to play. Ostensibly, the games become more realistic, but anyone other than a racing nut probably won’t find the change much of an improvement.
For one thing, the cord is too short. Unless you’re sitting a couple of feet from the Saturn rig, it’s more hassle than it’s worth. And unlike real driving, there is none of the critical sense of balance and force that regulates how hard and how fast to turn the wheel. As a result, I tended to overcorrect and spend a lot of time on the side of the road.
Sega has a pretty nice side business pushing all manner of doodads like the Arcade Racer. Extra controllers. Memory cards. Carrying cases. You name it, Sega sells it. For another $80, Sega offers a flight stick that is supposed to make flying games more fun.
I think I’ll buy my wife some shoes instead.
* 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.
