PC CD-ROM minimum system requirements: 486DX/50mhz; DOS 5.0; 8MB RAMP 13MB hard disk space; Double speed CD-ROM drive, VGA.
£34.99
SOME military experiments have gone disastrously wrong and every living organism in the complex has been transformed into bloodthirsty genetic mutants. You, surprisingly enough, are the only one who has not been affected by this catastrophe and the responsibility for confining these beings to the base crests with you.
The storyline is not very original but who cares? Abuse is simple to get into and thanks to the on line help facility you may never have to refer to the manual - unless you decide to start building your own levels, that is.
Not unlike Super Metroid on the SNES, Abuse takes the player through a labyrinth of caverns and tunnels. Scrolling horizontally through the levels the first thing to strike you is the fact that while you direct the character with the cursor keys you have to use the left mouse button to fire at your enemies. Mouse movement also dictates the whereabouts of the cross hair for targeting.
While this can be awkward initially, the 360 degree movement gives the player the freedom to annihilate enemies from almost any angle.
As one would expect Abuse includes a host of power ups for you to collect. Coupled with that you also have seven weapons to add to your arsenal.
Abuse is not, however, just another arcade shoot em up. There is an abundance of puzzles to solve as well and often there is a easier way to destroy your foes than first meets the eye. Secret floors, walls and ceilings are a great source of firepower and if you decide to tackle this truly addictive game on the higher difficulty settings, you will need to discover them.
Certain games lend themselves well to a 10 minute spurt of action when your need arises, and while Abuse falls into this category its sheer addictiveness means that limiting yourself to 10 minute sittings requires a very disciplined mind.
If by some chance you do become slightly bored by the action, the comprehensive level editor included means you can design and ultimately play your own creations. If that's not enough and you are fortunate enough to have access to a network you can turn your frustrations on a friend. Indeed the game allows for up to eight players to take part.
The bottom line is that Abuse is easy to learn but tough to survive.
Graphics: 88%
Sound: 87%
Gameplay: 92%