D/Generation Download (1991 Adventure Game)

It's hard not to like D/Generation. It presents a cartoonish world of threat and peril, puts a very tried and true premise in front of the player, and accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. It's a goofy little game, but it's internally consistent, the gameplay is fast and furious, and the puzzles are pretty good, too. All in all, D/Generation is a tough little action game that presents a true challenge beneath its colorful and cartoon sensibilities.

The plot is pretty simple. You are a courier, charged with delivering a package to a scientist named Derrida in the Genoq building in Singapore. Unbeknownst to you, Derrida has been hard at work created a series of bio-genetic creatures intended to be used as weapons. Also unbeknownst to you is that these creatures, called A/, B/, C/ and D/Generations, have taken over the building. The most powerful of these, the D/Generation, is planning to escape. If it does, the world will quickly be taken over.

So, your task is now not only to get to Derrida but also to stop the creatures and ultimately, save the world from horrible destruction.

The four enemies are quite different, and require different strategies to kill. A/Generations, which appear like giant red balls, can be shot. When they spot you, they turn "invisible," which makes them a little harder to see. They kill be engulfing you into themselves, but any stray laser shot that hits the A/Generation before it kills you will rescue you.

B/Generations are more dangerous. While they can also be killed by a laser shot, they are much faster. These large blue cylinders kill by accelerating to top speed and smashing you flat. Once this attack hits, there's no recourse.

The deadly C/Generations don't appear until about mid-way through the game. Not only are these creatures immune to your laser fire, they also have the ability to camouflage themselves as virtually any other item in the environment, making them hard to see. When they attack, they decapitate their victim.

There's only one D/Generation, and you only run into it at the very end of the game. It appears like a glowing, more angry version of the natural form of the C/Generation. It's immune to virtually everything.

While you start unarmed, you will quickly gain the use of a laser pistol. But this is no ordinary pistol. Not only are you immune to its shots, the shots are capable of reflecting off walls, doors and other objects, allowing you to set up ricochets that can kill enemies or trigger door switches. Additionally, you can find grenades, bombs, freezers (which stop the action for a few seconds), personal shields (which make you immune to damage) and more.

As you travel from the 80th floor to the 89th floor, you will run into increasingly difficult puzzles. Trickier banked shots, more enemies, and more vicious hazards will confront you. Mines have been placed in the floor at points, electronic floor plates will electrocute anyone unfortunate enough to step on them, barriers will fry anything that crosses their path. Worst of all are the trackers, green tubes set into the floor that fire grenades at whatever passes in front of them.

While the sound and graphics of D/Generation aren't anything special, the gameplay really is. The game is set in an isometric view, and uses the numeric keypad or joystick for movement. Learning the abilities of the laser takes a little time, but once learned, anyone can make wild bank shots to slaughter a few nasties. Better, the controls aren't overwhelming--important for a game that relies on fast reaction times.

Ultimately, D/Generation is a nearly perfect blend of both action and brain power. Many of the puzzles require both ability as an action gamer and thinking on the fly. This becomes especially true on the 87th floor, when it is revealed to you that a bomber is coming to destroy the Genoq building, giving you a 20 minute time limit to get to the top and destroy the mad creation.

Don't let the look of this game sway you. It's a tough one, and it's well worth playing.

Graphics: Cartoonish and goofy, but sort of endearing.

Sound: Nothing special

Enjoyment: Difficult without being frustrating. It's near perfect in terms of getting you to want to see what's next.

Replay Value: Every time you play, you'll find more secrets.

Something has gone horribly wrong at Genoq Biolabs, Singapore. You're just a courier, sent to the building to deliver a package. Now you're trapped inside, the security system has gone crazy, genetically engineered organisms are on the rampage and things look like they could get even worse...

Make your way through 10 floors of isometric action and puzzles, trying to stay alive and discover what's going on. Talk to and rescue survivors, pick up armaments and log into computer terminals. What caused the Genoq disaster? What's inside the vital package you've got to deliver? What is the D/Generation? And what is really waiting for you on the top floor of the building?

How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

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