Games

Following the events of the previous game, Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday, N.E.O. the New Earth Organization, has gained some notoriety for defeating the forces of R.A.M., The Russo-American Mercantile. Because of this, the heroes of that mission are sent to diplomatic talks on Venus and N.E.O. stands to recruit a powerful new ally. However it isn't long before trouble starts, and an assassination attempt is planned against the Venusian minister. This is only the beginning of a plot embroiled with the mysterious Matrix Device, which can turn matter into energy. Naturally these adventures will take the NEO agents all over the solar system. Matrix Cubed is an RPG navigated in first person for most places but with an overhead view for combat and ship navigation. Players will create (or import) a party of up to six characters and assign statistics, abilities and equipment. Players move their party in a first person maze of corridors, open area and rooms. Certain encounters will allow the player to make choices based on the party skills. In the case of combat, the player and enemy forces each have a turn, controlled on an overhead map.

This version of Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday retains most of the story and the core gameplay of the computer version of the same name, but differs in several gameplay- and interface-related aspects. The main differences involve reduction of some of the skills and equipment types present in the computer version. Limitations have been imposed on character creation as well: there are only four character classes (Warrior, Rocketjock, Medic, and Rogue) and three races (Human, Desert Runner, and Tinker) to choose from, as opposed to five character classes and six races in the computer release. In the computer version, first-person view and pseudo-3D graphics were used for navigation, while combat was viewed from isometric perspective. In this release, isometric view is used both for navigation and combat, the player-controlled party visible from third-person perspective.

Buck Rogers had once fought in the cold war, a pilot sent into outer space to destroy a Russian weapons platform. He was successful, but his success destroyed the planet, as nuclear war was launched, and you went into a centuries long cryogenic sleep, abandoned by the people who could not retrieve you. In the centuries that he slept, Earth colonized the solar system. There are large groups of people on Mars, Venus and Saturn. The colonies once existed to bring resources back to an Earth that had problems sustaining itself. But the intervening centuries brought a power shift. Now Earth is at the Mercy of the interstellar alliance RAM—formerly the Russian-American Mercantile, but now the superpower, based on asteroids surrounding the planet Mercury. Mercury exploits the Earth for resources, at the expense of Earth's population. Earth has fallen into barbarism, except for one small light—the New Earth Organization (NEO). These "rebels" consider themselves freedom fighters, and they are fighting for Earth's freedom from the interstellar powers. Awakened from centuries long sleep in the 25th Century, Buck Rogers becomes an ancient military hero and symbol of earlier times. As he is brought up to date, he decides to join the the NEO, to fight for his home planet. Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday is a role-playing game similar in gameplay, interface, and visual styles to the Dungeons & Dragons games by SSI, despite the completely different setting and sci-fi scenario. The player's first task is to create a party of six characters from a choice of five classes (Rocketjock, Warrior, Medic, Rogue, and Engineer) and six races (Human, Desert Runner, Tinker, Venusian, Martian, and Mercurian). Then, these six new NEO recruits are trained, and are thrust into the battle for Earth. There are several navigation modes in the game. The player can navigate the space ship on a top-down map of the Solar System, choosing planets to land on. Hostile ships may attack the player-controlled ship in this mode. Landing on a planet usually positions the heroes on a local overworld map. Finally, navigation in individual locations (towns and hostile areas) is done in first-person perspective, with pseudo-3D environments. Combat is turn-based and is viewed from an isometric perspective; characters are represented as icons and can be freely moved on the battle field.

A chemical spill somewhere in rural England has mutated an army of bees into killer insects! Led by their queen, they are out to destroy everything living thing on the planet, including all insects that dare stop them. Only Buck Bumble, the only bee not to be turned evil by the ways of the queen, can save the world, and his fellow insects, from total destruction. Shoot down swarms of enemy bees, while flying and avoiding the hazards bellow or land on the ground and attack the enemies on foot with various weapons. Also included are a handful of two-player split-screen modes, including Buzz Ball, a unique soccer style game.

The plot focuses on a race of fabric-stealing aliens called "Woolies", who have stolen the world's yarn ball supply (especially Bubsy's, who owns the world's largest collection). Naturally, Bubsy does not take too kindly to the theft and sets out to "humble" the Woolies.

Only Bubsy can protect the world's kids from these silly stories and tangled-up tales as he leaps and bounds his way through 15 frantic chapters of fabulous furry fun. In Fairytaleland, Bubsy attends a twisted tea party, climbs a giant beanstalk, voyages under the sea (without getting his paws wet), head to Ali Baba's desert and even meets Hansel and Gretel, who should be up on kidnapping charges.

The game plays very similar to the prior game in the series, as a 2D sidescrolling platformer. The player must still maneuver Bubsy through the level through jumping and gliding, and Bubsy still collects objects, only now they're "orbs" instead of "yarnballs". The game did feature a little more variety than its predecessor. One new feature in the game was the ability to shoot a Nerf gun. A multi-player mode was added as well, where a second player could control one of Bubsy's younger relatives