Remember Descent? You know, the crazy zero-g first-person shooter that put you in the cockpit of a small ship and forced you to reenact the end of Return of the Jedi over and over again? Forsaken is, at its core, a Descent clone. The game's great weaponry and above-average graphics go a long way to make it feel fresh, but the control is what eventually brings the game to a grinding halt.
The game's simple scenario is set on a postapocalyptic Earth. Most of the planet is in ruins, complete with loads of goodies, ripe for the taking. You play a scavenger on a hoverbike, and you'll traverse military installations, nuclear reactors, refineries, temples, and more in search of gold and crystals. This may sound like a cakewalk, but Earth's automated defense systems are still intact, littering your path with all kinds of annoying drone ships, tanks, and turrets. Rival scavengers will also pop by from time to time in an attempt to take out their competition. While none of the enemies proves to be a threat on its own, their sheer numbers make the game incredibly difficult. The shaky control also hurts, as it makes drawing a bead on your enemies a bit more difficult than it should be. While most of the levels are of the "just get to the exit" variety, a few are timed. The time given, however, is incredibly generous, so there's never a real race against the clock.
The weaponry in Forsaken is unique. Each weapon has three levels of power, depending on how many power pods you've found. The Suss gun is a spread-fire weapon that quickly shoots a mess of projectiles in your enemy's direction. The Trojax is a charged weapon that gains power (and sucks ammunition) when you hold down the fire button. The Pyrolite is a short-range flamethrower. Transpulse shots can bounce off walls, making them good for surprise attacks in multiplayer games. The Beam Laser simply emits two monstrous beams of death. It requires pinpoint accuracy, but it does insane amounts of damage. Secondary weapons include the Scatter missile, which causes the victim to drop all of his weaponry. The Multiple-Fire Rocket Launcher quickly spits out tons of small missiles. The Solaris homes in on its target. The Gravgon missile creates a vacuum at its point of impact, sucking enemies into its gravitational field and holding them in place for you to take out at will. The Titan is the most devastating weapon in the entire game and will frequently take you out as well if you aren't careful. There are also three different types of mines that will help you keep enemies off your tail and a nitro boost that will allow you to escape from sticky situations.
The control in Forsaken isn't as tight as it should be. Also, the bike moves significantly slower in the PlayStation version when compared with the PC and N64 versions. It moves too slowly to dodge most of the enemy fire effectively. The analog control helps a bit, but it still feels too loose. The graphics in the game are pretty good, with very little slowdown and nice use of colored lighting. The sound effects are very good, although the multiple bike computers of the PC version have been cut.
The PlayStation version of Forsaken is on the bottom of the pile. Both the PC and N64 versions surpass it in almost every category. However, the PlayStation version is still a good game once you get past the control problems, so if you're without a PC or N64, pick up the PlayStation version without fear.
