Philips CD-i Reviews A-D

It's hard to get worked up about an arcade compilation with just three games, especially when Arcade Classics was released around the same time as Namco Museum Volume 1 (PS1, 1995). But when I fired up Galaxian I was like wow! I've been playing this game since 1979 but I've never seen it look so good, bursting with vivid color and fluid animation. The default high score of 5000 seemed like an easy target, but these aliens are out for blood! They must have cranked up the difficulty to eleven. Don't even think about escaping to a corner because these mutants will veer off-course right into your ship! And when a purple alien peels off from the pack you'd better hit that son of a [expletive] with your first shot or pay the ultimate price. It took me a dozen tries to top the high score, conjuring flashbacks of playing Galaxian at the local sub shop in 1982. Back in the day it was just man versus machine. Galaga is also challenging, but I noticed its animation and sound quality are a slight step down. Still, it's undeniably fun. Ms. Pac-Man is where this collection stumbles, badly. Instead of emulating the arcade you get a vertically-scrolling version like Ms. Pac-Man (Genesis, 1991). The graphics are slightly enhanced, but at what cost? Not being able to see the entire maze changes the game, and where's the sound of the fruit trudging through the maze? Ms. Pac-Man's two-player modes just add insult to injury. When one player goes off the screen you can't see the other! It's a mess. Exiting any game back to the main menu is difficult because you need to press buttons 1 and 2 at the exact same time. High scores are not saved, and that makes me sad. Still, I'll reluctantly recommend Arcade Classics, if only on the strength of its superb Galaxian translation. © Copyright 2019 The Video Game Critic.

When I read that this was a "shooter" for the Philips CD-I, I didn't expect a first-person "just-aim-the-cursor" experience, but that's what I got. Chaos Control is a perfect example of style over substance - it relies almost totally on pure eye candy to win over the player. Historically, games like this make a splash initially but don't hold up well over time. The premise is your standard alien-invasion storyline, with verbose cut scenes that are not worth watching. Once the action is underway, you'll find yourself gliding through expansive, pre-rendered scenery that was state-of-the-art in 1995. You can't control your direction or viewpoint - all you do is aim a cursor and shoot at targets. There's minimal strategy besides letting off your gun every now and then to avoid overheating. The first stage features an impressive virtual New York City. As you buzz the Statue of Liberty and careen down the building-lined avenues, I must admit it looks pretty amazing. Later stages have a less-impressive, virtual-reality flavor. In one particularly boring one, you fly around a computer circuit board blasting metaphorical "bugs". Chaos Control's gameplay is pretty shabby. You can choose between two cursor speeds, but predictably, one is too slow and the other is too fast. It's very easy to lose track of your cursor with all the activity on the screen. The aliens and their ships are smoothly animated, but when shot they never really explode. Instead, they're obfuscated by some ugly gray "clouds" that are supposed to resemble smoke - not very satisfying. Besides the changing scenery, there's little variety and the challenge is minimal. In terms of sound, a man's voice provides constant alerts and advice, but he's so muffled I can barely understand him. At least the game saves your high score. But in the end, Chaos Control is too shallow, especially now that its once-flashy graphics have faded. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.

You'd expect a murder mystery to take full advantage of the CD-i video capabilities and Clue certainly does! It boasts clear full-screen video with snooty British actors performing dramatic scenes in a stately manor where a murder has occurred. This game plays differently from other consoles versions of Clue. Instead of using cards to weed out possibilities you question characters, examine evidence, and watch clips shedding light on what happened. Expect a lot of red herrings and some really peculiar lines like "I had a lead pipe, but had no idea what I was going to do with it." Some scenes are action packed, like when two suspects are wrestling over a gun. Clue offers three selectable mysteries to choose from. They don't always end the same, which helps the replay value. Clue sounds like a winning formula yet poor controls and a plodding pace render it nearly unplayable. Players need to share a single controller and that is such a hassle! The controls for simply moving your piece around the board are horrible. You have to "point" to the desired space and the cursor is really touchy. Then there's a pause before your piece starts moving, as if the game is running some kind of sophisticated maze traversal algorithm. Navigating the screens is clumsy (no back button) and there are many unnecessary pauses. Why does the video have to fade out so slowly? Too often you'll find yourself inadvertently watching the same video clips multiple times (ugh). You'll need to dedicate at least an hour to properly play this game. In my experience players become so impatient they start recklessly accusing people just to bring the game to a merciful conclusion. Like many CD-i titles, Clue has lofty production values but lousy playability. Looking on the bright side, this makes the Genesis version look like a real hoot! © Copyright 2016 The Video Game Critic.

A lot of people consult the Internet for their information, but I defer to my trusty copy of Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia for the CD-i. It only takes a few minutes to pop it the disk, watch the intro video, navigate the main menu, and methodically type in a subject of interest. Packed with over 100 images, more than 20 video clips, and over 5000 articles, Compton's Encyclopedia is a bastion of knowledge! This is far more information than a person would ever need. The main menu is arranged with tiles providing various methods to navigate the veritable ocean of material. Selecting the "video" box presented me with footage of JFK giving a speech in a small box in the center of the screen. Flipping through the available clips reveals wide-ranging subjects like killer whales, tornados, and Babe Ruth. They're interesting to peruse just because they're so random, but they start repeating way too soon. The "pictures" menu option serves up the same sort of thing except with still images. There's a picture of a rock, a farmer, a fish... um, what is the point of this? The search menu option lets you painstakingly enter keywords, and available topics are displayed as you type. Don't expect much in the way of pop culture. When I entered "Star Wars" my only options were Stalin and starfish. When I drilled down under "leisure and hobbies" there was nothing about video games, although needlepoint, falconry, and ventriloquism were well represented. The articles themselves are terribly mundane, describing the topics in the most general terms imaginable. And the text scrolls so slowly! The atlas menu option would be completely useless if it weren't so hilarious. It's possible to zoom into any location on the earth, but it takes forever to redraw the screen, and you can only zoom into an area about the size of Maryland. But the biggest disappointment is the "time machine". This could have been fun, but instead of recounting interesting events it's limited to boring topics like politics, money, and agriculture. I wasn't expecting Compton's Encyclopedia to rock my world, but they could have at least made an effort. I guess I won't be canceling my Internet service after all. Note: Despite widespread public perception this software was not produced in Compton CA, and is in no way affiliated with NWA. © Copyright 2015 The Video Game Critic.

This platform game is not atypical for the Philips CD-i. Dark Castle boasts superb graphics (for its time), amazing sound effects, symphonic music, and some of the worst gameplay I've ever been subjected to! When you first start the game you're treated to eerie organ music, crashing thunder, and the sound of a drawbridge opening - complete with rattling chains. I can't get over how clear the audio is - it sounds like the bridge is about three feet away! The gameplay involves conquering a selectable set of stages before facing off against a black knight. You'll jump between ledges, climb ropes (ala Donkey Kong Jr.), and toss biscuits at rats, bats, mummies, and executioners. The stage layouts are nicely detailed and the textures of the castle walls look photo-realistic. The crystal clear audio features slamming doors, flapping bat wings, and squeaking mice. Unfortunately, once you start playing Dark Castle, the illusion of quality rapidly dissipates. The deplorable controls had my friends exclaiming, "Are you [expletive] kidding me?!" Your knight tends to take several steps at a time, making him prone to accidentally stepping off narrow platforms. He walks along stairs slowly, making him vulnerable to swarming bats and projectiles. He can only throw while standing still on a flat surface, where you adjust your "aim" by pressing up or down. Not only is the scheme wildly counter-intuitive, but the adjustment is painfully slow, making you a sitting duck for converging foes. It feels like you're fighting the controls the entire time. Touching any object results in you falling flat on your face. The frustration factor is exacerbated by corny animations of your doofus stumbling around and tumbling down the stairs. The game ends with a high score screen and an option to save your negligible progress. Being on the lowly CD-i, I would have been willing to give Dark Castle the benefit of the doubt had it been the least bit playable. Sadly, it's not! © Copyright 2010 The Video Game Critic.