The Final Word game review

It Came from the Desert -- CinemaWare

In this action/role playing title from CinemaWare, you play the role of Buzz Lincoln, a high school senior in the tiny desert town of Lovelock. Your friend, the Doc, has discovered mysterious activity in the neighboring ghost town of Borax. In addition, a toxic waste truck has been overturned and the contents stolen. In this B-Grade film turned video game, it's up to you to save the town, and maybe the world, from this mysterious, but, of course, obviously sinister threat. It Came from the Desert is for play on the Turbo Grafx-16 CD-ROM.

Ferrari Man
The folks at CinemaWare really impressed me with the amount of full-motion video found in this game. Not only that, but full screen lip-synched full-motion video. The play screens get boring, but the game is a visual showpiece of CD capability. Access time is a bit slow, but is quickly put aside. Topping off the video is a soundtrack better than most of the songs found on today's radio. Enough video here to keep anyone busy for many hours.

????
A must buy for all TG-16 CD owners. This is one of the best games for the Turbo CD. The game is definently an original. The B-rated style of the game is a great change. The story is out of this world. The graphics are good, especially the digitized animations. The music and voice are very well done. There is no real game control and the side view control is a little sluggish. The game is very challenging and is definently an improvement over Sherlock Holmes. I am impressed with this game. I look forward to more games like this.

R.I.P.
Wow! Once again the Turbo has impressed me by handling the fantastic graphics, story, and programming of this game. ICFTD has got to be the best interactive video-videogame to date for any home system. The use of full motion video in this game really brings a whole new aspect to the story. I particularly enjoyed the clever dialog you run across during game play. Also, I like the fact that to this day I'm still running across footage that none of us have seen before! The soundtrack in this game is excellent, although after you've played the game awhile you start to get tired of only hearing the first 10 seconds of songs that play during scene changes. Lastly, my only real complaint with this game is the combat in the tunnel scenes. Your character is just not responsive enough to your commands, and this can get you killed in a tight spot far along in the game. Anyways, this game is a must! The graphics have no equal in their class, and all-in-all this game is lasting fun. Why, if you play it enough, maybe you'll turn into a "blood crazed ant zombie"???

Salamander
This game is hot. It Came from the Desert skillfully combines role-playing and action into one title, along with FULL MOTION VIDEO. The video sequences are excellent, and very smooth. It's almost like watching a real movie! The clips don't get boring, either, simply because of the sheer number of them. The action scenes are decent as well; however, I must note that your character response time is EXTREMELY slow. Play control on the side-scrolling tunnel scenes is rather poor. While this game's B-grade humor is as funny as it is twisted, this title can be pretty violent as well. It also uses some strong language. But, if you don't mind a PG-13 rating, check this one out. It Came from the Desert is a blast to watch and even more fun to play.

>>>>> 84.0/100 <<<<<		Ferrari Man	????	R.I.P.	Salamander
Graphics		5.0	4.5	5.0	5.0
Sound		5.0	4.0	4.5	5.0
Gameplay/Control		3.0	2.5	3.0	2.0
Longevity/Playability		4.5	4.0	4.5	4.0
Overall		4.5	4.0	5.0	5.0
Total		22.0	19.0	22.0	21.0

Originally appeared Vol 1, Iss 2 (06-07/92)