Review
Originally conceived and even partially developed for 3DO's ill-fated M2 console, Warp's D2 has been in the works for more than three years now. While the name would indicate a sequel to the eponymous D (originally released for the 3DO, Sega Saturn, and Sony PlayStation), the only relation it bears to its predecessor is the main protagonist, Laura. While the original concept for D2 put Laura's unnamed son in the lead role, it is Laura once again who basks in the game's limelight. According to Warp impresario Kenji Eno, D2 is to be Laura's last appearance as the main character in one of Warp's games, and what a game it is: part CG, part FMV, part real-time third-person adventure, and lastly, part first-person shooter. While Warp's previous games (with the exception of Real Sound) all touched on these various features, D2 makes the ambitious leap into combining all of these disparate elements into one highly anticipated stew. In this pseudosequel, Laura is a passenger on a plane flying high above the Canadian mountains, which, as fate would have it, is moments away from being skyjacked. Once the onboard terrorists reveal themselves, all hell breaks loose - conveniently displayed in computer-generated FMV. As if the chaos wasn't enough, a meteorite blows a hole through one of the plane's wings, causing it to plummet to the ground, making a wreckage of the plane and its passengers. Of course, Laura survives, along with Kimberly Fox and young Jannie, two other passengers on the plane. After a short opening sequence, which sets up the plot and introduces Parker Jackson, another pivotal character, the game begins. Strangely, despite every character having loads of things to talk about, Laura herself says but three words throughout the entire game. The bulk of the gameplay revolves around a few basic functions: walking around and exploring, watching extensive chunks of FMV, and shooting things. The walking around parts can get rather tedious, because unlike the shooting parts, the exploratory bits are handled via a third-person (think Tomb Raider) perspective. While this was probably an aesthetic decision based on the desire to bring Laura into full-on 3D, it adds almost nothing to the gameplay. Since you spend the majority of the game walking or running from place to place, but have no other abilities except using items (first-aid spray) and rudimentary hunting (shoot bunnies for food), you get all the foibles of 3D gaming (awkward control, bad camera angles) without any of the benefits. The control is awkward because D2 adopts a Resident Evil method of control (push forward to move forward, press left and rotate left, etc.). While this may be of use in a Tomb Raider type of game where alignment and positioning are important, in a game where running is your main task, it proves virtually useless. A Super Mario 64-like movement scheme would have solved many a headache in this game. Another source of extreme annoyance is the random battle elements. For every ten to fifteen virtual feet you walk, anywhere from one to three monsters will pop up out of the snow-covered landscape and "surprise" you. These monsters are all plant-mutated folks who have caught something a bit worse than influenza and as a result would like to kill you for breakfast. While these appearances may come as something of a shock when you first see them, nine hours later they are merely predictable and aggravating. While each successfully completed encounter adds a few more points to Laura's experience meter, and in time raises her levels, the only effect this has is to raise her hit points and steady her aim. This could have been better achieved by fewer random encounters that were a little more challenging and worth more points. When these creatures appear, you automatically switch to a first-person mode that allows you a better, more detailed view of the monsters. This is one thing that initially seems to work well since it provides an easy aiming interface. You can't move or strafe but instead you must keep your opponents in view by pressing the X or B buttons and then shoot with the X. The monsters fly around, burrow in the snow, or just move around, making it necessary to pivot on the spot. Shooting these guys up close results in green blood being splattered all over your face, making it difficult to see, so you must keep your eyes open for the X or B prompts that indicate where the enemy is at all times. Another thing that D2 suffers from is back-and-forth syndrome. Instead of giving you a clear-cut idea of what you're supposed to accomplish next, much of D2 is spent running back and forth to various locations on the map (a building here, a cabin there), all seemingly at random. Rarely does anyone say, "Go to the cabin with the old woman in it," and this makes your success in D2 an exercise in trial and error. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that almost all of this is done on foot. Sure, there's a snowmobile that you get to use, but you only really get to use it at length on disc two (D2 spans four discs). For about 75 percent of the game, Laura is found hoofing it through 30 virtual miles of barren snow-covered Canadian landscape in stockings and heels. Even when you get to use the snowmobile, all that does is speed up the random monster battles. --James Mielke
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