Pod and GEX add new lifeto hackne Yed arne format 9
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BY COR DO N C O BL E
Two of the latest developments to help in the fight against slow computing are the 3D accelerator card and the MMXbased Pentium processor. This month we' ll take a peek at one of the first games designed specifically for these new technological breakthroughs, Ubi Soft's Pod. Then we' ll get a little reptilian with Microsoft's ultra-cute scroller, CEX. Pod From: Ubi Soft Entertainment System requirements: MMX 166 MHz / Pentium 120 MHz computer or better, 16 Mb of RAM minimum, graphics card capable of displaying 640 x 480 in 16
standby seat on the last shuttle. Hey, what better way to decide who's worthy? man, really f a st, Anyway, the rest of the game is spent with colors, details behind the wheel of your vehicle, one of seva nd f r am e r a t es eral land-locked space-age craft that give new t hat' ll k n ock t h e definition to the word traction. You' ll comsocks off a n y one pete with other drivers on more than 16 l ucky enough t o tracks in an environment that is oh-so-remiown an MMX-bolniscent of Mindscape's pinballing Megarace 2. stered Pentium with With one exception, that is — the darned a 3D a c c elerator thing looks and sounds awesome. If you' re a fan of fast frame rates, Pod is c ard. I t ' s p r e t t y mundane stuff for anyone else, but if you' ve the ticket, Ubi Soft claims up to 80 frames per second on a 3D-accelerated system, and all I got the latest gear, Pod is simply a great show. can say after hours of real-world testing is that they' re probably right. This thing flies, baby, The plot (for what it's worth) goes something like this: a planet-eating virus by the and will make you forget there's such a thing name of Pod is doing what planet-eating as individual frames in the first place, an viruses do, namely consuming planets. Your absolute blessing in a genre where the frame rate issue has always been a sore spot. And in home turf is gonna be next, and in order to get off the thing before it's nothing but a case you think Pod's speed has anything to do galactic belch, a series of car races have been with sparse scenery, you' re wrong, 3D breath. organized to determine who gets the last Pod is a true 3D world, one that comes :«4
bits. 200 MB hard disk space for full install, 16 bit sound card, 4x CD-ROM player or faster. Optional: stereo system or decoder to get Dolby Surround TM sound,network card,28,800 baud modem. link cable joystick / joypad / wheel. Street price: $65
ver the last year in particular, anyone who's anyone in the computer gaming biz has produced at least one arcade racing game. It took developers a while to figure it out, but they' re finally waking up to the fact that people like to drive really fast, and what better way to do it than in the safe confines of their own PC. Pod is another in this seemingly endless stream of arcade racers, and as a game, it' s only abitabove average. So why even both-
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jammed with visual amenities. Each track is an individual environment, from open air sunshine to dark and mysterious underground or night racing, all with distinctive features and most often with a splendid and animated sky or r o of. M oveable trackside objects, flashing lights, monstrous whirring fans, light sourcing and shadow effects, and a tremendous attention to detail help make this one graphically stunning exercise. The game absolutely refused to run on a Pentium 90 and looked much less impressive on a Pentium 133 without acceleration, but for the high-end crowd, this is one high-end spectacle.
CEX From: Microsoft System requirements: Pentium 75 processor, Local bus SVGAvideo, 256-color display, 8 MB RAM, 2x CD-ROM drive, Windows 95,10 MB hard diskspace. Recommended:Pentium 100 processor,Localbus SVGA video, high color display, 16+ MB RAM, 4x CD-
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