The Final Word game review

Omega Boost -- Polyphony Digital/Sony Computer Entertainment

R.I.P.
Ok, and here I was just a few days ago complaining about the lack of shooters on next-gen systems. Oh sure, there have been a few decent games, I can pretty much count them on both hand... let's see... Viewpoint, Darius Giaden, In the Hunt, to name a few. Oh yeah, and the 3-D shooters have been ok, but while games like Philosoma, Colony Wars, and G-Police have been visually stunning, I'll have to admit, that they really haven't done all that much for me as shooters. As well, the last real 3-D type shooters that really hooked me were Star Fox on the SNES (the sequel while cool, was a disappointment -- being such a complete re-hash of the original), and Red Alert on the Virtual Boy. It's been so bad that I had almost begun to think that there was maybe something wrong with me...

Then Omega Boost came in the mail. Wow, this is what I've always thought a 3-D shooter should be. The game kicks ass, and I was honestly hard pressed to put down the controller and write this review. One of the coolest things that I noticed while fighting a boss on the second stage was the weapon shot patterns coming off of the enemies. Let's put it this way... Ever watch any anime? Or even "Batman the Animated Series" (second art styling), or "Batman Beyond"? Do you know what I'm talking about when I refer to an anime style missile barrage? Ever wondered what it would be like to be flying in the middle of one, at high speeds, and having the missiles homing in on your ass? YEAH... if you know what I'm talking about... just nod and go buy this game.

The music is really good and in line with classic shooter music, really put me into a groove in combat, and all of the audio effects are very well done.

The bottom line is, if you've been looking for the tops in a 360° shooter, then look no farther. Cool weapons, awesome special attacks, high-speed air-to-air combat, and tons of levels. Don't miss this one!

Now, with that said, I'm going back to my game!

>>>>> 24.5/25 <<<<<		R.I.P.
Graphics		5.0
Sound		5.0
Gameplay/Control		5.0
Longevity/Playability		4.5
Overall		5.0
Total		24.5

(09/99)