Classic action
The downside of getting old is that whenever a game makes a return that I fondly remember playing only to realize it was nearly 20 years ago, it can be depressing. If you grew up playing PC games in the 90s the name Terminal Velocity is likely to ring a bell. It was a time when 360-degree shooters were pretty common. The popularity of the genre spawned several titles. Terminal Velocity was developed by the same team that brought us Bloodrayne and it is pretty familiar if you have played titles like Forsaken and Descent. Still there is something about these types of games that just work no matter the decade.
Originally released in 1995, Terminal Velocity takes place in the super future year of 2704. Members of an alien alliance have turned against Earth and the game takes place during your mission to figure out why. It is a thin plot that does little more than serve as a catalyst to roam open environments and shoot down other vehicles and stationary objects. This is a short game consisting of nine missions with a bevy of boss fights. These types of games were built for replay more than substance. Still I had a lot of fun and jumping in was no issue at all.
MSRP: $11.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $11.99
Controlling your ship feels good. The controls are fast and responsive. It took me less than one level to get the hang of how it played. Even with a controller I was taking out ships with ease. If there is one gripe it is the design of the levels. They are pretty large for the time the game was built and the mini radar doesn’t do the best job of explaining what to do next. I spent a lot of time flying around looking for that last power station to take down. Still even with these issues this is a fun game that never tries to be anything except a reason to shoot down alien bad guys.
The visuals hold up better than I thought they would. PC games in the mid-90s were experimenting with polygons and open worlds to a degree that some have not aged gracefully. Titles in this genre still work though thanks to the perspective and design. Sure, it is blocky, but I could make out everything in the world and it hits all the right notes of nostalgia. This looks and feels like a PC game from that era and still manages to feel like it could have come from an indie developer today. The spot-on controls also don’t hurt its cause.
As I mentioned this is not a remake and instead just a remaster of the original game. The original menus and FMV cutscenes are presented in their pixelated glory. They are fun to revisit, but man, they are rough to watch. The game itself gets a boost in resolution but the chonky pixels are still here. The game is dripping with classic PC vibes, and I loved it. This reminds me of the games I used to test the benchmark of my 3DFX card with.
Terminal Velocity is a nice trip down memory lane. I enjoyed revisiting this as much as I did Forsaken when Night Dive Studios remastered it a few years back. These types of games are not as common today and I sometimes forget how much I enjoy them. If you grew up with the likes of Descent this is a must purchase. It holds up surprisingly well in the game play department as long as you can deal with the pixelated polygons plastered all over your fancy high-definition screen.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
