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Game Review
Vigilance
on Talos V for OS/2
Review
by: Craig Miller – 05/15/11
OS Reviewed on: eComStation
2.0
Audio: Uniaud16 V1.9.25 & Uniaud32 V2.1.2
Video
Card Driver: SNAP, version 3 (eCS 2.0 package)
Year:
1997
Version: 1.00
Game Type: Side Scrolling
Developed
by: PolyEx Software
Published by: PolyEx Software
Homepage
Link: None
Wikipedia
Link: None
Manual – None
Download
Vigilance on Talos V for OS/2 now!
This
is the full version: 6.1 Megs
Download
Vigilance on Talos V for DOS now (Tested on DOSBox .74 for
eCS)!
This is the full
version: 7.2 Megs
(1)
Introduction:
Story so far...
3021 AD: Killian Jaraad, a starship technician and single parent boards a colonial transport with his 5 year old daughter Colesce. In route to the colony on Sur 4, the colonial transport was attacked by biological ships belonging to the Xenos, a highly organized collection of hostile alien races. Jaraad and Colesce were separated, and Jaraad watched from his escape pod as the Xenos ships fled the wreckage of the colonial transport. Convinced Colesce had died aboard the transport, Jaraad devoted his life to destroying the Xenos once and for all. For three years Jaraad trained as a mercenary and weapons expert, tracking down and destroying Xenos ships and bases.
3024 AD: A mercenary known as E. Red gives Jaraad a crucial piece of information; the xenos have been collecting human slaves and are holding them on a planet in the Talos V system. With the realization that Colesce could be one of the prisoners, Jaraad heads towards the Talos V system, prepared to investigate each of the three planetary bases in that system in order to find his daughter. And so it begins...
Your objective: Find, and destroy the evil Drektor. He is the leader of the Xeno's. He is a tough, and worthy opponent. His brain hides in different forms, so he'll be hard to find. You'll know him, when you see him though.
(2) Installation:
Download the file above (OS/2 Version) and unzip it. Then I suggest you place the file in your games folder, or where you normally put your game files. This folder will be the “CD” so you do not have to burn this data to a CD (I hate when you have to use the CD). Once you have it placed where you want it, click on the install.exe icon. The install.exe will take you to a full screen (where I cannot take screen shots for some odd reason). It will ask you where you want the install files, this time I suggest to put them in the same directory as where you unzipped and place the first folder...but NOT in the same folder, name it something like TalosV.
I tried to take a screen shot in both PMView and Gotcha! And was unsuccessful in each.
Yes, it's a pain in the ass.
(3) Startup:
There are two Icons: Vigilance on Talos V DIVE and Vigilance on Talos V Full Screen.
When I clicked on the DIVE version the window opened and froze, I was able to do a Ctrl+Alt+Delete and run Top, I had to manually close the app down. I ran the full screen and it ran fine.
The problem is that when I tried to take screen shots in full screen I would just get a black picture again as was the problem in the installation part of this review.
Vigilance on Talos V was actually a DOS game ported to OS/2 so in an ironic turn, to take my pictures, I am running the DOS version of Vigilance on Talos V in DOSBox .74 in a window. I will run the full screen version of the OS/2 game though to make sure it works correctly and it plays the same as the DOS version. Now, everyone's millage will be different since your eCS video drivers might work different from mine. When you run the game I would suggest trying the DIVE version first. Just don't be surprised if you freeze up.
In full screen mode you will see a intro video that you can jump past and go right to the options screen:
|
|
|
|
Intro, now with crappy voice over! |
The only difference in this screen (DOS vers OS/2) is it says Quit to OS/2 |
The
only things in the configure window is how loud you want the music
or sound. Surprisingly the sound works perfect, not that I really
want to listen to it.
When you are ready to play, hit enter on the Play New Game
(4) The Program:
If you have played old Metroid series, then you will instantly see similarities. In fact, it 's a dead ringer "clone", for good or bad. You will explore non-linear areas in an attempt to find upgrades such as extra weapons, (such as missiles), which are not only used for combat, but also to open locked doors. You will also find power-ups that will give you extra abilities to go further into the world (like the Saturn Ball, which lets you roll into a ball to squeeze through gaps). Also much like Metroid, you will find energy tanks which will increase the maximum health you can hold.
Bombs
will also let you get to secret areas
The graphics are nice in a window, although they aren't very original, there is some very “blocky” looking visuals when in full screen though. There's a 3D rendered intro at the beginning of the game that explains the story, nothing special. The backgrounds and the sprites look good, such as the main character and the flip he makes when he jumps. The bubble doors that lead to different screens look almost exactly like the ones from Metroid, as well as the alien statues that hold the extra upgrades. There's some voice acting in the intro and when you talk to friendly aliens, but it's all done by one person and isn't very good.
The
color pallet can make someone have a seizure
Controls are hit or miss, I found jumping at times to be madding, especially when you get hit, Killian Jaraad gets pushed back, making you fall, usually into something painful. Firing, changing weapons, and turning into a ball were normally fine. When you get hit you blink for a second in which nothing can hurt you which is good but expect to be hit two or three times when in close quarters with enemies.
Because
of the controls, platforms like this,
will make you want to
punch your computer.
It is not an overly hard game if you take your time. The enemies are easy to kill and it's more that you just have to pause before running into a room. Health is also easy to come by as most of the enemies you kill will give you a small health boost. It does take some time to finish this game, though not really from a lot to do, more running around not remembering where to go next.
Your
play field will be both horizontal and vertical
Since there is no auto map you have to rely on memory, which, while playing the game is fine, but if you put the game down for a day or three then come back thinking you will remember where to go, well, you have a better memory then me.
(5) Final Thoughts:
Like most older games, it takes awhile to warm up to this game. I'm not sure if it's because I am now used to games from the PS3 or that my attention span is shorter. But what I found with Vigilance on Talos V, is that the more I played it, the more I liked it.
Sound works well (but as stated above) and I never had the game crash on me. I was not able to play the game in a window, but only in full screen. I'm sure everyone's mileage will very so even though I would personally knock it, it might not be the case for everyone depending on what drivers you are using.
If you've played the old NES Metroid game and are looking for more of the same gameplay, then Vigilance on Talos V is a decent choice, though some Metroid veterans may not like the lack of an auto-map. Vigilance on Talos V is an altogether a good action game that any eComStation user should have.
(6) Updates after the review:
None as of yet.
