Volfied

The Good
Well, the graphics are very well done (especially for the XT), the music/sound effects are OK as well and the level design is way cool.

But the gameplay - this is one of the games which constitue my definition of the word "addictive". It rocks! It's got too many stages to beat and it's simply incredibly addictive. Even nowadays I occasionally copy it back to the good ole' hard drive and have a few rounds.

Oh, and it runs just fine on newer machines.

The Bad
Frustrating! God damn, is this game frustrating. It's so damn challenging you just can't leave it alone!

The Bottom Line
A real classic, one which you should be playing right now.

The Good
The PC version adds many bonuses and extras to the original from the early 80's. The game is very similar to an early game called Qix: you take control of an object whose purpose is roam the screen, closing rectangles and removing them from the playfield. The goal is to clear 80% or more of the screen, and each additional percent adds more points to your balance.

The Bad
Volfied features 1- or 2- player games in three difficulty levels but no passwords or saved game feature. It is much more difficult than the original arcade version, although there are three levels of difficulty to choose from.

The Bottom Line
Overall, as fun and addicting as the original, with dozens of levels to ensure that you'll keep coming back to it for a while.

The Good
Volfied has to be one of the first addictive games that were made in the nineties. It is a lot different to Qix. You see, you control a marker that must draw rectangles in order to claim your territory. Getting in your way are small enemies that follow you around no matter where you go, and kill you if you come in contact with them, or they touch the line that you draw, causing a fireball or something to head your way. There are sixteen levels in the game, all of them containing a huge boss that have their own ways to destroy you. Once you claim at least 80% of the screen, you will defeat the bosses and move on to the next level. These bosses are quite interesting, and will have you fight a giant hand, lobster, and fly, killer ladybird, and several others.

You won't be able to complete the level properly without the help of some power-ups, which include time freeze, speed up, and laser shot. All of these power-ups are useful. The time freeze, for example, temporarily halts everything for ten seconds before returning back to normal, and the laser shot allows you to shoot enemies, except the bosses. I enjoyed using power-ups to my advantage because each of them helps to complete the level faster.

The graphics are excellent, with every bit of graphic consistent with the coin-op version. The backgrounds for each level are excellent, and consists of pictures of the moon surface, alien landscapes, icy areas, underwater areas, right up to pictures of brains, and these picture serve as backgrounds. There isn't any music while you are playing, only on the title screen and in intermissions. There are futuristic sound effects, such as lasers being fired and explosion sounds, which are quite awesome.

The Bad
Volfied gets rather difficult as you progress through the levels, and without power-ups, you could be forced to draw tiny rectangles just to avoid getting killed. To make matters worse, you will not be able to collect these in later levels.

The Bottom Line
In conclusion, Volfied is an excellent game that can get challenging at times, especially if you are no expert in finding a way to win every time. As stated before, The game is a lot different to Qix, but that should not put off Qix fans.

Rating: ****½