Planet Fun: The Best of MVP Games

MORE NOT ALWAYS BETTER

A Review of Planet Fun: The Best of MVP Games

by Aaron Tarvin

Since the conception of the CD-ROM, it has been used as a cheap medium to market “software packs”, or many software titles on one CD. One such conglomeration, Planet Fun from MVP Software includes 10 highly varied games.

Labeled as “The Best of MVP Games”, it is nothing more than below

shareware-quality entertainment. The strongest point of this software is

the low system requirements. This package could be ideal for a person with

a low-end 286 or XT that would otherwise remain gameless.

Probably one of the best games in this package is Poker Galore, a simple

but challenging card game. Players can choose between six different

variations of poker, including double down, deuces wild, and joker poker. Graphics and

sound are extremely minimal, but so is the rest of the CD.

Corncob 3D sounds promising being MVP’s most popular game and recommended by several reviewers, but it resembles games seen on an Atari 8-bit. This WW II simulator is stomach churning to look at for any length of time. The entire screen flickers as it redraws itself over 10 times a second to provide accurate instrumentation. The sound is minimal and graphics look like they are in CGA. The flight model is actually decent, including stalls and a good feeling of control of the plane.

Fans of mind games such as Lemmings (by Psygnosis) may discover Arcy 2 to be a delight. The premise may sound basic, but that’s because — it is.

Merely guide the smiley face to the exit after obtaining all the keys and proceed to the next level. However, there are of course many creatures

attempting to stop you and hazards to be avoided.

The other games are mildly entertaining at best. If you feel like trying your luck at shooting 3 pointers while standing still, 3 Point Basketball is for you. Strategists may enjoy the simplistic wargame, Desert Storm Command. Fastrack Racing clones the ever popular Atari Pole Position. Probe space in

Galaxy Trek, shooting UFOs in the Jurassic Atari Asteroids style. Anyone who has played Interplay’s Castles II will recognize King Arthur’s KORT,

but won’t give it more than 5 minutes before going on to something better.

Those that fantasize about killing large, terrorizing pickles might enjoy

Pickle Wars. This arcade-style game is somewhat entertaining, but probably

appeals more to the ‘nintendo’ generation, with its mindless, endless play.

Destroy a barrage of non-stop enemies in True Blood, but don’t stop to

insert coin, this arcade game will have you snoring before you’ve fired a

shot.

The documentation is non-existent and I was unable to successfully maneuver through the main CD menu. I discovered that running the games manually without using the menu was fairly easy. Most of the games include instructions, but

don’t plan on using the main menu to run them.

Overall, I would say to definitely avoid this software. If you have access to the internet, you can find many similar but superior games out there for free. But if you own a computer made in the 80’s, you may find some of these

titles amusing. That is assuming you have a CD-ROM, which is used merely as a means of distributing the software. Once loaded to your PC, the CD is no longer accessed. Be very leery of multiple games found on one CD. Just because they

are slapped together in a bundle doesn’t mean you are getting a better value.

Gamer’s Zone Scorecard

Product:	Planet Fun: The Best of MVP Games
Company:	Most Significant Bits 1508 Madison Avenue Lakewood, Ohio 44107 (216) 934-1397

Cost:

$10

Any speed IBM or compatible, VGA Graphics,
640k RAM and a Single-speed CD-ROM drive.