Toshinden Turns On the Speed

As the oldest franchise in the Sony PlayStation universe, the Toshinden series keeps hanging on by reinventing itself. In the latest incarnation, Battle Arena Toshinden 3, players take control of new characters in new arenas to whip, kick and slug their way to the top.

Fans of the original, which debuted with the PlayStation in 1995, will note that this sequel comes closest to matching the freshness and originality that made Toshinden a hit. After some false starts with various spinoffs, it’s nice to see Takara and Playmates Interactive Entertainment return to Toshinden’s roots to deliver a game that’s fast, simple and gorgeous.

It’s fun too.

Animation runs at a blistering 60 frames per second for action that’s smooth and seamless. Characters move naturally with very little of the slop-over that marks shoddier games. Unlike those in previous versions, this Toshinden’s arenas are enclosed, allowing players to kick opponents off walls and ceilings to rack up extra points.

Control is instantly familiar, with left and right buttons controlling rolls and special moves. Even for novices, the control learning curve is short. But the fighting learning curve is steep and long. With a variety of difficulty settings--ranging from “stress relief” to “impossible”--beginners and pros alike will find a challenge.

Sadly, the only challenge in Psygnosis’ Thunder Truck Rally is staying awake. This noisy monster truck racer promises mud, madness and mayhem but never really makes good on any of them. Psygnosis has a well-deserved reputation for PlayStation games that rock, but something clearly went wrong with Thunder Truck Rally.

The courses are fine. The control is fine. The graphics are fine. Put together, one might expect a fine game. Not so. It’s all just kind of boring. There’s nothing particularly wrong with any of it, but there’s not much particularly right with it either.

So why bother?

That same question comes to mind before playing Descent Maximum from Interplay and Parallax Software. Descent blew gamers away when it debuted on the PC two years ago, but face it: There aren’t a whole lot of ways to take it in new directions. How many different mazes can a player stand to fly through?

Apparently, quite a few. Playing this PlayStation exclusive, it quickly becomes clear that sequels to good games don’t need a bunch of bells and whistles to keep them fun. What counts are intricate levels, nasty bad guys and smooth control. Descent Maximum delivers all three.

Descent Maximum does incorporate some of the nicer features of the PC’s Descent 2--including the guide-bot, a handy helper that eliminates the frustration of getting blown up simply because you forgot where the exit was. Such things matter when nuclear cores are disintegrating.

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Staff Writer Aaron Curtiss reviews video games every Thursday. To comment on a column or to suggest games for review, send letters to The Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, CA 91311. Or send e-mail to Aaron.C[email protected].