Who Needs a Plot When Play Is This Seamless?

By AARON CURTISS

May 25, 1998 12 AM PT

Based solely on the sexy ad campaign for “Forsaken,” it’s easy to imagine the game being sold in a plain brown wrapper. A sweaty, sultry brunet stands in a desolate black-and-white landscape wearing only a tattoo--a heart wrapped in barbed wire and skewered with a dagger.

Various images--all carefully cropped--feature the tattoo in different spots. A cheek here. A neck there. The navel in one. Thigh. Chest. You get the idea. The wording, for those who get beyond the images, is the same in each: “The future is Forsaken.”

That may be true in the tightly wound universe of the game. But if Acclaim’s 360-degree shooter is any indication of the future of video games, no player anywhere should feel forsaken. As game development costs rise and the industry consolidates to a studio model, the result should be more jaw-dropping games like “Forsaken.”

Yes, the danger exists for technically perfect, imagination-impaired games to flood the market. And, to be honest, “Forsaken” is short on true innovation. But when technology blends as seamlessly with play as it does in a visceral game like “Forsaken,” the good times overshadow any complaints about story or plot.

“Forsaken” screams with “Descent”-like action that sets a new standard for clean, fast graphics. Even without an accelerator card, “Forsaken” delivers smooth flight and nonstop combat in beautifully drawn caves and tunnels.

The game begins a year after an experiment goes wrong and leaves Earth a barren wasteland, open to “freeloading scum” who scavenge on its remains. Players pick their scum and set off in search of bounty on some souped-up anti-grav bikes.

What’s the sweaty brunet got to do with any of it? Not a clue.

But who cares? From the first perfectly rendered level, “Forsaken” focuses all attention on itself and the story is reduced to its most basic elements: survival and escape. Tunnels snap into view and enemies--from levitanks and security bots to laz bots and slug turrets--linger in the darkness, waiting to unload on unwitting players.

Within the constraints of tunnels and caves, “Forsaken” permits players a full range of motion. Scenery flows so smoothly on a machine with hardware acceleration that it’s easy to forget this is a computer game. Most folks expect sweet graphics during opening cinematic sequences, but “Forsaken” delivers them during even the most intense play.

Despite its “mature” rating from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, Forsaken permits parents to turn off the most objectionable content, such as strong language. The violence is no worse than in “Descent”--lots of explosions but no graphic human suffering. (Just keep tots away from the box and the sexy “Forsaken” calendar stuffed inside.)

The game requires a Pentium 166 with 16 megabytes of RAM. However, at least 32mb is recommended for smoother play.

NBA COURTSIDE: Although I like sports games as much as the next guy, I have a hard time reviewing them. Why? Because people ought to be outside playing their favorite sports instead of sitting in front of a monitor pretending to play their favorite sports.

Even so, it’s impossible not to acknowledge the fun in Nintendo Sports’ “NBA Courtside.” It’s the perfect game for rainy--or smoggy--days, when a real hoops match just isn’t possible.

“NBA Courtside” features all the statistics that fans appreciate and pairs them with the kind of fast-paced play possible only on a cartridge-based system like Nintendo 64.

The N64 joypad allows for tight control of the players, and everything from passing to blocking is a snap. Using the Rumble Pak allows players to feel passes and bumps. It’s a nice edge.

MIGHT AND MAGIC VI: MANDATE OF HEAVEN: The sixth installment of this PC adventure legend comes with 54 pages of instructions. Anyone who wants to get through even the first quest should read all 54 pages.

Twice.

The “Might and Magic” series swallows players in vast worlds of sorcerers and goblins. “Might and Magic VI” continues the tradition with a huge adventure that, when fully loaded, takes nearly 400 megabytes on the hard drive. Even a standard installation gobbles up 200mb of space.

It’s easy to see where it all goes. Players move in real time through villages and castles, deserts and snowfields as they try to solve the disappearance of King Roland Ironfist.

As with any adventure game worth its price, “Might and Magic VI” demands that players manage the resources of a band of warriors. Food, rest, money, armaments--all must be accounted for and supplied or the party starves or encounters the wrong end of a goblin’s sword.

Unlike most adventure games, “Might and Magic VI” puts players right in the action. Fighting off enemies, for instance, looks more like “Doom” than any adventure game. That marriage of action and strategy makes “Might and Magic VI” the kind of game that kidnaps spouses for weeks on end.

Don’t be fooled, though. This is an adventure game, and players without the patience to spend long hours traipsing from place to place should steer clear. Fast-twitch nerves are necessary to beat the game, but even more important is patience and cunning.

The game requires a Pentium 90 with 16mb of RAM, but runs better on a Pentium 166 with 32mb.

HEADS UP: The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo begins Thursday in Atlanta. I’ll be on the lookout for hot new games, peripherals and hardware. Sega’s next-generation rig, Dreamcast, is expected to show off a few tricks, and Nintendo promises to have playable versions of Zelda 64 and Color Game Boy on hand.

Times staff writer Aaron Curtiss reviews video games every Monday in The Cutting Edge. To comment or suggest games for review, send e-mail to aaron.curtiss@latimes.com.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

ESSENTIALS

Title: Forsaken

Platform: PC CD-ROM

Publisher: Acclaim

ESRB rating*: Mature

Price: $44.95

Bottom line: A scream

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Title: NBA Courtside

Platform: Nintendo 64

Publisher: Nintendo Sports