I can only recommend this game to people who like dealing with large futuristic worlds, that are also willing to overlook any of the games flaws. Alas, those moments are few and far between. I did find myself enjoying it at times, when all of the games elements work together it is an amazing thing to behold. I could see how if you were in the right mindset and new what to do, then this game could be very entertaining.

Tekwar isn't necessarily a bad game, but its also not a very good one. My biggest complaint against this game is that the objectives are so mystifying that most of the game is spent running around without any idea as to what you are supposed to do. Not only does this add a lot of frustration to the game, but it also makes being tactful and stealthy almost impossible. Yet your enemies can pull out guns wherever they please. thus whenever you pull out a gun in public, u become hunted and shot at. Also, the game has cops in it that are supposed to look out for the welfare of the citizens. There is a lot I didn't like about this game, the aforementioned buses are just one example of the games many flaws. Anyway, beyond that the game is a typical doom shooter, and I can't be to critical of a style I love so much. The only purpose they have is to shoot at you, they don't ever stop to pick anyone up. For example, on the first stage there are these buses that drive around the city. The huge immersive environments are chocked full of details, but not much can actually be interacted with. As for the game play itself, this is where Tekwar both shines and fails. The sound is fairly grainy and I found myself having to turn it off after a while. Its in there to fill the long distances between objectives ( more on that later ). The music is basic midi, its neither amazing, nor is it very bad. We all know that graphics do not make a game, so rather than ramble on about them I will discuss other elements.

The sprites are all clearly identifiable and even the 3d objects have nice textures on them. The engine can do 640x480 buffered VGA, and it looks pretty good. First off the box made the graphics seem far worse then they actually were. To make a long story short I bought the title and took it home. The graphics looked dated but the promise of a freewheeling universe to journey through at my hearts content seemed appealing. This particular title, however, caught my eye. In it I found a host of games I had no desire to pickup. When I was really bored one day I decided to root through the local electronic boutique bargain bin.

TekWar by William Shatner