GameSpot - /features/3d/monster.html

Latest & Greatest:

ON BNET: 5 classic computer pranks

GameSpot.com

Theme:: Light; Dark



Ease of Installation: 7 Features: 8 Performance: 9 Value: 8 Reviewer's Tilt: 9

There is no question that this card, along with the Orchid Righteous 3D, is absolutely the best 3-D game card on the market today.

It isn't even close, really. The Monster 3D, based on 3Dfx's Voodoo chipset, provides absolutely breathtaking performance. Even a slow Pentium 100 cannot stop you from engaging in the fastest, most texture-rich gameplay you've ever seen on a PC.

From the start, the user's experience with this product is a pleasant one. After inserting the board and connecting it to your graphics card (it's an add-in product, and therefore requires the presence of a graphics card), installing the drivers, including DirectX, is a snap. Once that's done, go straight to Descent II. You won't be disappointed.

We've never seen this game look or play better. The textures jumped off the screen, and flying through the maze-like interface was as smooth as silk, without a single graphics hiccup. We couldn't have been more impressed.

The other titles that shipped with the product were equally impressive: Whiplash and VR Soccer both played smoothly and beautifully. MechWarrior 2, another title ported specifically to this chipset, played better than on any other non 3Dfx board.

The stellar "straight-to-hardware" performance is one thing, but how would the Monster 3D perform under Direct3D situations? We weren't at all disappointed. This board boasted the best Direct3D testing numbers of the entire roundup. As a simple taste of this board's speed, it rendered a ridiculous 60 fps in our Tunnel test. Overall, it was even an eyelash better than the Orchid Righteous 3D product. As for Direct3D game play, Monster Truck Madness performance was pretty much the best, although the Rendition boards weren't far behind.

All in all, the amazing gameplay, coupled with the large array of titles that ship with the board, make the Monster 3D the best product in our roundup. Expect to pay a bit extra for this card, however, as the price tag is a bit higher than the rest, and that doesn't include a graphics card that you already have to have in your system.