Torrente
1999 called, it wants its game back.
Tags: Torrente Categories: PC Reviews, Reviews
Posted by David Hinkle on Feb 3rd, 2005
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Torrente (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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Torrente is a first-person shooter based on a series of Spanish films that center around an ex-cop who is not the kindest person. He likes booze, he likes cigars, and he likes ogling women. The odd thing is that none of his films, which grossed more money than Titanic over there, were released in America. That isn’t the odd part, what’s odd is that the game was released to an American audience who has no idea what the source material holds. Not like it matters though, because this game is pretty darn bad.
It should be noted that while it is a first-person shooter, there is the ability to switch to thir-person mode. Not that it makes the game that much better.
It is never-ceasing waive of garbage is evident right from the initial boot of the game. With no options other than Set Up, Load Game, and Start Game presented, you can imagine there is near no replay value here. That is, if you can make it through the game, which I wish I could say is true for myself. I would really like those hours of my life back.
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This is standard FPS fare here, with lots of gunplay and a few rail-shooting segments. The rail-shooting segments aren’t too bad, but the rest of the game is just so bland. There is nothing here, story or gameplay wise, that makes this title stand out from the rest of the millions of other FPS titles out there. From the low amount of weapons at your disposal to the linear level design, nothing here is very positive. Hit detection isn’t spot on, as a lot of your bullets will be hitting walls instead of their intended fleshy mark. The weapons themselves also don’t feel very lethal or roar with the tenacity of the real firearms they are supposedly representing.
The graphics are where this game suffers the most though. The engine that runs this game(I’m thinking the first Half-Life engine, not exactly sure) is pretty dated and it shows in both the architecture and character models. They all move fine enough, although with a lot of clipping. I guess you can’t expect much from the title though if it can run at maximum on an Intel Integrated Graphics Chip.
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Controls run smooth enough, with no response delay from mouse and button input. I gave it a go with both my optical and normal ball mouse, achieving desired effect from both. The game runs just as smooth, with no freezing or frame rate issues. This is a very small diamond in a whole lot of rough however, as the overall game itself just doesn’t deliver what gamers have come to expect as the norm.
The sound on the game is alright, but it isn’t anything spectacular. Explosions, gunfire, and speech all come through loud and clear. The voicework is pretty bad, but that’s kind of the equilibrium here. You’ll only be getting standard stereo here folks, so don’t expect to enjoy rich audio.
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Torrente was just an absurd idea for American shores. Without releasing any of the Spanish films here, we really have no idea who Torrente is or have any reason to pick it up off the shelf and leave the store with it. So with standard FPS gameplay and no multiplayer support whatsoever, why would anyone want to play this? This was just a boneheaded move and I’m sure the sales numbers will reflect that.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Smooth controls + Runs on most stock systems |
3.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Dated graphics - Uninspired - Wrong audience |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Not a very good game by today's standards. | |
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Tags: Torrente
Posted by David Hinkle on Feb 3rd, 2005 and is filed under PC Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
