by Derek F. Tarvin

Fury3 is Microsoft's gaming product marketed to take advantage of Windows 95 in a fast-paced adrenaline-pumping space arena. Whether or not it truly takes advantage of their operating system is still left to be determined and though the game is entertaining, it's mainly a clone of another 3D action shooter, Terminal Velocity(TV). Calling Fury3 a TV clone isn't as far from the mark as players might think. The game engine used is the same as Terminal Velocity. The Terminal Reality engine was used for both games and is overly apparent in Microsoft's product. The gameplay as well as terrain and target types are quite similar to TV. Gamers shouldn't give up on Fury3 just yet, though. If the player hasn't exhausted too much time in TV, then Fury3 has enough enhancements to provide many hours of entertaining gameplay.

The graphics and sound are almost identical to TV in early stages, but Fury3 has an enormous number of different enemies and ground targets. Though no SVGA option is offered(like TV), the 300x200 256-colored graphics are well done in the various terrain, enemy spacecraft and ground objects. With eight worlds that include everything from barren asteroids to underwater seascapes to ancient Egyptian deserts, the terrain, enemies, and background music in each world are quite distinctive. Knowing that different ships, each with distinctive weapons, will face you in the next world is incentive to press on. The player can fly close to the floor level or pop above the cloud cover to enjoy the stars and avoid a swarm of bad guys.

Up close and personal, the graphics are noticeably pixelated, but with so many air and ground enemies amongst a plethora of building structures for targets, the detail is adequate. All the images for the goodies like 'shield boost' or 'viper missiles' are nicely detailed and easy to interpret. Even the ships show design that is relative to the planet's atmosphere. For example, the enemy craft in underwater regions appear like mechanical sharks or mantas! These enhancements over TV with original graphics from level to level are par for 3D texture-maps but should still evoke gaming interest.

The interface is the typical first-person perspective with six degrees of freedom. The viewpoint can be from inside the craft with or without your cockpit showing or an out-of-spacecraft view. The easiest control was obtained via a multi-button joystick and some minor keyboard commands. From an in-cockpit vantage point your instrument panel provides all the information you need to navigate through each level. Your chosen weapon, current objective, throttle speed, shields, and active radar fill your slim cockpit panel. The radar gives directional information and hostile locators that let you know where the enemy lurks and whether they are above or below you. Once the player gets used to the radar, joystick buttons, and choosing weapons via the numbers on the keyboard, jumping right in for a quick blast session is two clicks away.

One of Fury3's greatest strong points is the ability to jump in and out of a game with ease and not have to be a technical specialist or three-star fighter pilot to do so. The game installs without a glitch and runs flawlessly. Two thumbs up for the lack of crashes with Fury3 running in a new operating system (Win95). Be sure to calibrate your joystick and become familiar with each button's function on the joystick. All the essential control measures can be implemented through a four-button joystick, except selecting weapons, and these were easy to master right away.

Though blasting everything in sight is important, the key is in stockpiling as many turbos and additional armaments as possible while keeping an eye out for your shield level. Take the direct route and keep the compass pointing due North while holding turbo speed or search the landscape for hidden supply bunkers or tunnels. Yes, a nice feature in Fury3 is not only the above-ground confrontations but flying into underground tunnels. These tunnels have their own defenses ranging from moving doors, to rotating cylinders, and finally, each level's "boss." As in TV, killing the bosses requires some skill and technique, but after you've killed one, they all fall from the same basic strategy. This aspect of the game is a bit anti-climatic. Players should note to search thoroughly for the way out after destroying the "boss." The directional compass which usually points to your next objective won't be of much help here. Fear not though, dropping your speed to explore a tunnel or using your turbo to withdraw from one too many enemies in your midst are the best player strategies. The defense forces of the 'Bions' have a fairly aggressive nature but they don't have turbo capacity or the level of weapons at their disposal that you can utilize. The gameplay is quick, easy to start with little preparation and research, while still providing a quick fix to blast away without discretion.

These tunnels have their own defenses ranging from moving doors, to rotating cylinders, and finally the level 'Bosses'. As in TV, killing the bosses requires some skill and technique, but after you've killed one, they all fall from the same basic strategy. This aspect of the game is a bit anti-climatic. Players should note to search thoroughly for the way out after destroying the 'Boss'. The directional compass which usually points to your next objective won't be of much help here. Fear not though, dropping your speed to explore a tunnel or using your turbo to withdraw from one too many enemies in your midst are the best player strategies. The defense forces of the 'Bions' have a fairly aggressive nature but they don't have turbo capacity or the level of weapons at their disposal that the player can utilize. The gameplay is quick, easy to start with little preparation and research, while still providing a quick fix to blast away without discretion.

Overall, Fury3 is a great space-oriented 3D shooter which, with a fairly 'beefy' machine, is sure to provide hours of blasting entertainment. Since this product is far from being original, it might not be worthy of Fury to the third power. Fury squared might be slightly more appropriate while still showing it's a new level of gaming in the Windows 95 environment. If you don't have the preferred system requirements, the weaker systems are probably better off with TV which will run in DOS under less stringent restrictions. Be sure to test drive this product with Microsoft's 5MB downloadable demo of level one. Keep in mind the other worlds have a number of new environments and enemy spacecraft. If you like the demo and it runs smoothly on your system, this game will certainly entertain. Fury3 is a great example of the trouble-free gaming that consumers can only hope Windows 95 will have more of in the near future.

IBM PC Compatible, 486/66, Windows 3.1 or 95, 2X CD-ROM,
4MB RAM, 24MB HD space, SVGA video card(full 256-colors),
Windows compatible soundcard.

This review was from the following website

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