Abomination (PC)

CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
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Gamespot editors' review

• Reviewed by: Erik Wolpaw
• Reviewed on: 12/16/1999
• Updated on: 04/29/2000
• Released on: 10/31/1999

A developer really has to have some confidence in its product to call it Abomination, a title just begging to be exploited for a cheap joke if the game stinks. Lucky for Abomination's developer Hothouse Creations, the squad combat game, while flawed, isn't bad enough to warrant much name-calling.

References to the classic turn-based strategy game X-COM appear several times in Abomination's box text and press kit. In fact, the game's lead designer worked on the X-COM sequel, Terror from the Deep. Pedigree and hype aside, Abomination has more in common with Bullfrog's acclaimed action-strategy hybrid Syndicate than it does with X-COM. Abomination's a real-time tactical action game with very little underlying strategy.

The game's premise is that a plague has swept through the United States causing widespread death and panic in the streets. The physical result of this virulent disease will not surprise anyone familiar with fictional plagues: mass zombification. Tossed in with the zombies are some hideous mutants and a religious sect called the Faithful, whose purposes are vague but absolutely diabolical. Eight healthy agents, each with a superpower such as telekinesis or toughened skin, are released from an isolation ward in the headquarters of Project Nemesis. They are accompanied by eight normal agents, and your mission is to help them find a solution to both the plague and the Faithful.

The game is presented through a strategic interface that leads you into a series of tactical battles. Though such a structure makes it seem otherwise, Abomination has virtually no underlying strategy or resource management. Within the strategic interface you can monitor your 16 characters, manage your equipment supplies, and read detailed documents covering virtually every item, personality, and concept in the game. As in X-COM, time passes while in the strategic overview, and missions appear as hot spots on a scrolling city map.

The problem with the entire process is that it contains very little strategic decision-making on your part. Most of the activity involves routine busywork, such as reequipping characters. Often, there is only one eligible mission at a time. On higher difficulty levels and toward the end of the game, you'll have multiple simultaneous missions available, but it's generally very clear which one needs to be dealt with first. While there is a research and development component to Abomination, it is essentially out of your control; specimen requests automatically appear, you fetch the specimen within a mission, and are then simply informed when the research is finished.Abomination's tactical missions are played out on 3D isometric-perspective maps. Each mission and its corresponding map is randomly generated. The missions have various goals ranging from brute-force assaults to various covert ops, such as theft and assassination. According to the manual, more than 1.2 million different combinations are possible. Although random content generators can't compete with a specifically designed level, the developers have done an excellent job with the one used in Abomination. It's the game's best feature, and it adds significant replay value.

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