'Of L & D' only has the looks

Almost every time you see a video game advertisement on TV, in a magazine or on the web, the words "incredible (or amazing or any other adjective synonymous with 'really good') graphics" appear.

But what recent releases for the PC, Playstation or N64 don't have great graphics? It's like whenever Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino or Dustin Hoffman star in a movie. Of course critics are going to say they gave an "incredible performance." When don't they? Video game technology is now at the level that praise for graphics means very little.

So it's not much to say that Interplay's new real time adventure, "Of Light and Darkness - The Prophecy," has unbelievable graphics. The game's 3D Art and Environmental design were done by fantasy/sci-fi artist Gil Bruvel. Bruvel was the perfect artist for this game about the end of the world, taking place in a town between heaven and hell. He mixes the organic with the mechanical and inorganic in the same way H.R. Giger (the guy who designed the aliens for the "Aliens" and "Species" movies) does. But Bruvel's drawings can be pleasant and beautiful, fully colored dreamscapes as well as the nightmarish images Giger comes up with (though Giger's are usually more darkly colored).

Courtesy of Interplay Productions "Of Light and Darkness" shows that great stills don't make great game play.

In "Of Light and Darkness," you play the Chosen One, who has to stop Gar Hob, the Dark Lord of the Seventh Millennium, from bringing the Apocalypse and rescue the Prophetess Angel. To do this, one has to redeem the apparitions haunting the town by finding the Hall of Sin corresponding to the sin the apparition committed, the artifact belonging to the apparition and the correct combination of red, blue or green orbs lying about the town. When the right color is flashed with the right artifact in the right Hall of Sin, the apparition is redeemed.

Sound complicated and difficult? It is. Take the game's free tour or customize option to get a feel for the game. Also, this isn't one of these games where pressing F1 for the keyboard controls is all that's needed. Read the instruction booklet, or at least the quick reference guide.

Just moving about in the game is fun because of Bruvel's designs, but "Of Light and Darkness" also features the voice talents of actor great James Woods as Gar Hob and Lolita Davidovich as the captured Prophetess Angel. Davidovich is alright, but Woods has a couple of great and funny lines, especially when the Chosen One fails (which will often happen to you).

While parts of the game are entertaining and the virtual landscape is awesome, the game falters in the most important aspect: game play.

Interplay has created all these awesome graphics, but they're so awesome that the player can't really interact with them.

Basically, you point and click with the mouse in "Myst"-type fashion to move around. But unlike "Myst," "Of Light and Darkness" doesn't offer any great riddles to explore aside from finding the correct combinations of room, colors and artifacts. So even "Myst" fans will become bored. Furthermore, the game's time limit to is too short, especially when starting out.

"Of Light and Darkness" sacrificed a lot for a great look, but game makers everywhere should keep in mind that while no one really knows what those little mushroom things are in "Super Mario Bros.," the game offers so much that people still break it out and play. Everyone has great graphics; few games have great game play.

07-06-98