Posted September 11, 2008
Descent 3, as the crowning finale of the Descent series, is a wonderful futuristic shooter that involves plasma cannons, mining robots infected by a nasty nanovirus, deception, and a healthy dose of revenge. Veterans and newcomers, alike, will find themselves facing intense 3D combat with robots that will snipe you from long range, get close enough to (literally) rip the guns off your ship, cause the MISSILE LOCK klaxon in your ship to wail, and laugh as your bullets ricochet off. You'll travel from Mercury (where a trip in the sunlight will bake your ship) to the PTMC headquarters on Earth to a CED battle cruiser, each bringing a detailed environment to explore and a few puzzles to solve.
As a beautifully rendered fusion of the old and the new, it brings a sense of nostalgia as you get up close and personal with Dravis and the PTMC, witness the death of the Pyro-GX, and even fly through the ruins of the old Luna base from Descent 1. However, even with the tributes to the old games, there is plenty in Descent 3 that is wonderfully new to the series. Descent 1 and 2 limited your escapades to the interior of a robot-occupied mine, but Descent 3 takes the fight outside, where you'll get to explore the outsides of a few bases. Staples like the Fusion Cannon, Homing Missile, Mega Missile, and Plasma Cannon make their return, but a few new weapons (like the devastating Blackshark Missile and the Mass Driver) insert themselves into your arsenal.
As most of the game involves you fighting against infected robots, AI is particularly important. D3 doesn't disappoint; the game can be anywhere from a nice, easy shooter to a blazing run through hell, and that's to say nothing about the bosses and secret missions. You'll also notice some interesting behavior: some robots don't take kindly to being shot at by their peers and will take it out on them, you might hear a robot or two scream when you bake it with the Napalm Gun, and SWAT robots will pop lights out of their armored bodies and chase after you while shouting "FREEZE!" in a computerized voice.
D3 is first and foremost a 3d action shooter, and it delivers with heart-pounding dogfights and frantic combat. Digging beneath that, you'll find beautiful environments, a cunning puzzle or two, and plenty of places where you'll find yourself muttering "Wow." As the last of the Descent series, D3 is quintessential Descent game; one which I highly suggest checking out.
As a beautifully rendered fusion of the old and the new, it brings a sense of nostalgia as you get up close and personal with Dravis and the PTMC, witness the death of the Pyro-GX, and even fly through the ruins of the old Luna base from Descent 1. However, even with the tributes to the old games, there is plenty in Descent 3 that is wonderfully new to the series. Descent 1 and 2 limited your escapades to the interior of a robot-occupied mine, but Descent 3 takes the fight outside, where you'll get to explore the outsides of a few bases. Staples like the Fusion Cannon, Homing Missile, Mega Missile, and Plasma Cannon make their return, but a few new weapons (like the devastating Blackshark Missile and the Mass Driver) insert themselves into your arsenal.
As most of the game involves you fighting against infected robots, AI is particularly important. D3 doesn't disappoint; the game can be anywhere from a nice, easy shooter to a blazing run through hell, and that's to say nothing about the bosses and secret missions. You'll also notice some interesting behavior: some robots don't take kindly to being shot at by their peers and will take it out on them, you might hear a robot or two scream when you bake it with the Napalm Gun, and SWAT robots will pop lights out of their armored bodies and chase after you while shouting "FREEZE!" in a computerized voice.
D3 is first and foremost a 3d action shooter, and it delivers with heart-pounding dogfights and frantic combat. Digging beneath that, you'll find beautiful environments, a cunning puzzle or two, and plenty of places where you'll find yourself muttering "Wow." As the last of the Descent series, D3 is quintessential Descent game; one which I highly suggest checking out.