Grolier, publisher of various educational titles and reference materials, has broken into the game market. With Virus 2000, they join the ranks of the good effort publisher. Virus 2000 is not a cult classic, nor is it a run-out-and-buy-it the instant it hits shelves title, but it is a worthy effort.

Pretty standard alien invades Earth and you're the last hope idea. These aliens are hell bent on spreading a deadly virus wherever they go while they try to find themselves a new friendly habitat venturing from world to world via their hives. Virus 2000 is made up of thirty unique levels from six different worlds.

Each level is supposed to be another world, but whatever concept they were shooting for was beyond me. One level, people are in huts and the next they're in igloos. Some levels are medieval while some are modern. It makes each level unique, but it's hard to tie them together. For the most part, the aliens are huge insects that eat people and spread the virus around.

One interesting thing that struck me right at the beginning was the game is non-linear. Your performance determines where you go. If you tear up a level and get a good rating you go one place and if you take your time and get a bad score, you'll go someplace else. The game is very dynamic too. The levels may be the same, but the creatures act independently. The alien modeling was pretty well done, since the insects looked like real insects and tended to move like them. For example, the lobster-like enemy would scoot backwards when it was under attack and try to defend itself with its claws. It doesn't really make the game more realistic, but it does add a nice level of detail to it.

Graphically, it's not the greatest game I've ever tried, but it's not too bad. The software rendering was done extremely well, probably one of the smoothest software games I've played. However, I'm not sure if I ever got the Direct3D to work. It said I was running it in 800x600 in D3D, but my screen shots all came out in 640x480, so I'm not exactly sure if I was doing something wrong or not. It does support D3D and resolutions from 640x480 to 1024x768. It uses some of the nicer 3D effects including some nice water transparency. The underwater graphics are very impressive. The seas are full of tons of different fish and they each move randomly. Explosions are decent, the color is good, but the shapes are a little off.

It has adequate sound for the style of game. The laser noise is a little annoying and there isn't a different sound for each type of laser, but each different style weapon has its own noise. The ambient noise is a little lacking, but it is there. The game isn't hindered by poor sound, but it could use a little more work to really flavor up the game.

I was very frustrated at first with this game. It has the control from hell until you get used to it. After that it, it lessens down to about "control from East LA". The camera doesn't swing around to be behind you so it makes it a hell of a hard concept to aim and hit something while you're vectoring around the countryside. Your ship has two modes which, as long as you have fuel, you can switch between. One is more of a hovercraft, with guns that you can raise and lower. This tends to be more useful for attacking nonmoving targets or trying to pick up items or drop off things at your base. Your second mode is more like a helicopter. You're allowed the freedom to fly around and not be locked to the ground. It's much more useful for attacking hostiles that want to fight back and zipping in and picking up, The control is little complicated since your momentum carries you past where you want to be going until you get the controls down. One gripe I have here is that you can't configure your keys/buttons. I definitely needed to use my gamepad in order to have decent control, but I wasn't able to assign any of the keys to my gamepad. The gameplay is pretty smooth although it did bog down a little bit if there were a lot of explosions on the screen.

Virus is similar in idea to Incoming although with the semi-fixed camera it seems very 80's era console-like. It does sort of incorporate some strategy game ideas. Like Battlezone, you do some resource management. You need to save the natives from the aliens, not just to beat the level, but to be put to work in your factories. You will deposit rescued natives off at your training building and then they will be trained as scientists to go to work in your factories. Your factories will produce all your upgrades through the game, including improved weaponry and ship boosters.

It does feature a nice deathmatch style multiplayer for up to 8 players. It seems pretty fun although it's hampered by the same flaws that are evident in the game, but those flaws should be easily mastered for by experience.

Virus 2000 is far from a terrible game. The use of the semi-sidescroller view is disorienting to the player, I wonder why they didn't see that themselves. The engine and concept behind the game is pretty solid though, and the game is pretty challenging and a little bit non-traditional. I thought the Underwater world levels were pretty cool looking and show attention to detail on behalf of the developers. All in all, it's a decent game and if you're into the arcade style games like Incoming or maybe Nuclear Strike, it might be worth a look.

Highs: Some nicely done graphics, smooth software rendering
Lows: Some not so nicely done graphics, very hard to master control, poor camera angle makes targeting hard.

Graphics: 14/20
Sound: 9/15
Gameplay: 20/30
Fun Factor: 15/20
Multiplayer: 5/5
Overall Impression: 7/10

Virus 2000 is a sequel to an old game 'Virus', from the 1980's, (which, unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of playing) in which Grolier's has tried to take the concept from the original title and work it into a top notch 90's 3D engine. The gameplay is fairly simple, skimming around in your hovercraft, snatching as many power-ups as you can find, all in aid of your defeating the persistent horde. Controlling your hovercraft is easier said than done. Although not overwhelming, mastery of your ships takes time so don't get frustrated if you find yourself floating through the oceans every once in a while. (As a matter of fact I recommend it as a good place to start looking for secrets)

The aliens manifest themselves in the form of bestial warriors. Everything from spiders, ants, beetles, and even dragon type of opponents can be found, each with their own strengths and weaknesses to hinder you in your task. The levels quickly get progressively harder as you move through the game, leaving little time to get bored or admire the D3D scenery. Transporting as many of the people as you can to your base is your initial concern as they help you by producing powerups and such for your ships. But this task is quickly overshadowed by the need to fight back the alien aggressors who also require the local population for their bases. Unfortunately for the local natives I don't think they will be used so much as an alien workforce as they will be to stock larders.

Graphics: 15/20

There are 2 modes of display available from the setup options, D3D and software. I highly recommend a D3D supporting card for this one as the software rendering will leave you with a framerate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. In 800x600 using D3D, the game played super smooth on a P200 with an FX card. The terrain is smooth and textured, much like the playing fields of Myth. With a diverse mixture of both water and land, hills and buildings, you can spend a lot of time just appreciating the settings of the 6 different worlds as you make your way through the levels. Smooth texturing and detailed animations all add up to make the presentation of V2K very enjoyable.

Sound: 12/15

Great use of environmental sounds to alert you of various goings on in your immediate area is the key here. The overall sounds of the game like thrusters, guns and explosions are good, (well okay the different weapon sounds weren't great, but they sufficed) but the way the sounds of your immediate vicinity constantly changed to inform you of approaching baddies, super powerups and such was great. A good balance was achieved here between providing as many effects as possible and not cluttering up the gameplay.

Gameplay: 23/30

My initial impression with the interface for V2k was mediocre. It took a while to grasp the intricacies of steering the hovercraft from a set, 3rd person, perspective. Think of it as a chase view, about 100 feet away from your ship, always looking North no mater which direction your craft was headed. The physics of the gaming engine were good (dare I say great?) as control of your vehicle was subject to diverse changes depending on factors such as wind, water currents, amount of cargo and even the weight of slime buildup from enemy attacks. The computer prompts you various mission objectives at the beginning of each level, and offers tidbits of advice throughout the game as you acquire different powerups and stronger weapons. AI of your opponents doesn't really come into play as it is pretty much a kill-quickly or be killed type of situation. Each of the over 50 enemy denizens have their own strengths and weaknesses which you must figure out in a hurry if you wish to survive for any length of time.

Fun Factor: 14/20

I can honestly say that I was pleasantly surprised by the entertainment level of Virus 2000. For some reason or other I did not have a great feeling about it before I started playing, but after somewhat mastering control of the hovercraft, V2k becomes enjoyable on both the visual level and as an action / strategy adventure. Replay value is so-so as the level missions do not vary from game to game, but according to Grolier Interactive there are over 50 secret or hidden exits from each level, each holding their own rewards and bonuses.

Multi-Player: 5/5

The entire spectrum of multi-player is available in Virus 2000. Everything from modem to serial, TCP and Internet for Direct Play are supported. Multiplayer missions consist of 6 unique battle arenas with support for up to 8 players. Get on the net, meet people, kill them.. sounds fun.

Overall Impression: 7/10

Virus 2000 can be described as a well packaged, well presented, and uniquely different game that offers you a break from the hum drum of sci-fi shoot'em ups on today's PC entertainment market. A visually enjoyable interface metted with a well developed storyline and demanding mission objectives puts V2k on my list of 'glad I played it' titles. I hope you find it as refreshing as I did. For a publisher known more for its encyclopedia releases than it's games, my hat goes off to Grolier Interactive for injecting some new blood into the sci-fi gaming market.