Retro|Spective 110: 3DO and Those We Left Behind

[Asura]

Wow, Crash'n'Burn actually looks better than I remember.

Was it all FMV? It can't be surely, because the car can move left/right on the track with the camera (unlike Megarace, which was probably around the same time). The cars are certainly 2D but how are the racetracks done?

[Team Andromeda]

Wow, Crash'n'Burn actually looks better than I remember.

It was all real-time and looked amazing, the only trouble was in run at like 17 fps, but back then that didn't really matter (given how low frame rates were for racers even on the PC). It did what a launch game should do really show off the hardware and showed a leap. I was always impressed with the track that went completely transparent

It's a shame we never got a sequel as it was a fun game and a sequel could have addressed the game short comings

[Team Andromeda]

Hang on, Return Fire is on the PS1? I must have my wires crossed. I thought there was just a follow-up called Mass Destruction.

Return Of Fire started life on the 3DO very much D or Policenauts. Mass Destruction is nothing to do with Return Of Fire a different IP made by a different developer. Just plays and looks very much alike.

[Neon Ignition]

It's a system I was fortunate enough to spend a good amount of time with and another that sits somewhat in a bubble of being at its best when it was active. Most everything of value was ported to other systems sharpish but at the time SSF2TX, Return Fire, Need for Speed and even stuff like Gex were decent or at least curiosities that were interesting to play. The Panasonic original model is easily the best looking and it's always left a bit of a soft spot even if the system doesn't really have much left to call its own to be worth revisiting.

[Leon Retro]

Wow, Crash'n'Burn actually looks better than I remember.

Was it all FMV? It can't be surely, because the car can move left/right on the track with the camera (unlike Megarace, which was probably around the same time). The cars are certainly 2D but how are the racetracks done?

It's not FMV -- the tracks use polygons and the environments look to be using voxels(think Comanche Overkill). It did a good job of creating a post apocalyptic looking environment, even if you could say it was a bit bland overall. But I thought there was something nicely gritty about the look of the game -- and the draw distance was impressive.

Mega Race is totally FMV, probably because it also had to run on machines like the Mega CD.

the only trouble was in run at like 17 fps

I did a bit of research and it looks like it runs at 24fps, so not too bad. I think Total Eclipse runs at the same frame rate.

It's such a shame that Crystal Dynamics didn't create a more refined sequel, because as much as Crash 'n Burn is a good game, you can tell it was an early release and rushed in some aspects.

[JazzFunk]

I never wanted one because I could just tell it was gonna die. It just stank of death, no ****er with any sense in his brain would've invested in THAT.

Ironically, ended up buying the CD32 when Rumbelows was shutting down back in 95/96 for like £60.

That was a terrible console but it at least had a PERSONALITY and an indie sense to it, my favourite games on it ended up being those weird compilations where you got loadsnloads of PD games and gfx demos n' stuff.

And I thought LIBERATION was really good. Never clocked it, mind.

[Leon Retro]

I never wanted one because I could just tell it was gonna die. It just stank of death, no ****er with any sense in his brain would've invested in THAT.

I had a bit of sense back then -- but only a very little bit.

I didn't buy the Jaguar, which really felt underwhelming with bland rubbish like Cybermorph. The Jaguar, despite ending up with a handful of decent games, really stank of "death".

I also contemplated buying a CD32 for £299, but after playing Diggers and Oscar, I realised the machine wasn't going to get much respect from publishers. Commodore dropped the ball by not releasing a console that could truly deliver next gen quality 3D games.

The 3DO was actually pretty good tech for its time[1993] -- but it was always bound to fail for various business reasons. The hardware never got pushed like most consoles are, so there was only a couple of waves of games, with most being far from professional products.

The 3DO's best games -- Crash 'n Burn, Slayer, Road Rash, Need for Speed, Star Fighter etc.. -- really show off some of the machine's good points. When you look at the PlayStation, it was pushed further and further over a 5 year period, but the 3DO only saw around 18 months of proper games development.

I had a great time with my 3DO(it's still running today) for a couple of years. It really did usher in the 32-bit generation with some truly good games. It's just a sad fact that it was destined to be a failure for various reasons. Not because the hardware was crap, but because the business side of things went against it.

These days I have a soft spot for the Jaguar, mostly because of AvP and Super Burnout. The CD32 is also a nice machine because you can play loads of old Amiga games on it. The 3DO is my favourite of the bunch, because some of its games are still worth playing, and I also have nostalgia for how much fun I had with it back in the day.

[vanpeebles]

Starfighter on the 3do, wasn't a patch on the proper acorn version that came out first.

[Leon Retro]

Starfighter on the 3do, wasn't a patch on the proper acorn version that came out first.

[Archimedes/3DO]

The 3DO version is more advanced visually. The Archimedes version looks like an Amiga game on steroids; the 3DO version takes full advantage of the machine's 2 video co-processors to deliver a truly 32-bit looking game.

The 3DO version is also better in some respects to the later PlayStation and Saturn ports. The developer obviously knew how to take full advantage of all the features of the 3DO tech. One of the later[1995] 3DO games that really showed that the machine had more to give before it was unduly axed.

[vanpeebles]

[Archimedes - 3DO]

The 3DO version is more advanced visually. The Archimedes version looks like an Amiga game on steroids; the 3DO version takes full advantage of the machine's 2 video co-processors to deliver a truly 32-bit looking game.

The 3DO version is also better in some respects to the later PlayStation and Saturn ports. The developer obviously knew how to take full advantage of all the features of the 3DO tech. One of the later[1995] 3DO games that really showed that the machine had more to give before it was unduly axed.

The gameplay sucked though.

[Team Andromeda]

Starfighter on the 3do, wasn't a patch on the proper acorn version that came out first.

Good old Blighty at its best and giving the world the 1st RISC CPU. I never played it on the Acorn (only seen it on your vids) loved the 3DO version mind and that really was a version that was better than the Saturn/PS version

[Leon Retro]

The gameplay sucked though.

Have you got an Archimedes in your collection? What's better about the gameplay in Star Fighter on that machine?

The 3DO is definitely one of the better games for the machine -- it's polished in all areas.

[vanpeebles]

Have you got an Archimedes in your collection?

Snort!!!

[Leon Retro]

Snort!!!

[vanpeebles]

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUCYqwXd3Xd5NV7vvc-3X6hvZbT_eWXJ-&app=desktop