Absolute Zero is a science fiction themed first person shooter that was made for a single player. Both produced and published by Domark and released in the middle nineties. It was created specifically for play on the personal computer running the DOS operating system, but was also ported to the Macintosh, as well. While it is primarily a first person shooter, it does have elements of flight simulation within it. It is a difficult but rewarding game to master.
The premise of Absolute Zero sees a colony of miners working on the moon of Europa.
Having learned the art of cold fusion, the colonists have become self sufficient and peaceful, and the nearest other colony is many light years away. Much to the miner/colonists’ dismay, their excavations have produced more than just the coveted ore. They seem to have unearthed a hibernating race of aliens, who are not very friendly. With no help near them, the colonists have to use their wits to defend themselves from attack until reinforcements who are better equipped for alien battles can arrive. The miners will alter their mining machines…sky bikes, maglocks, and hovercrafts…into weapons of war, and will use them against the raging aliens.
Absolute Zero is a mission driven game, and there are thirty total
missions for the user to partake in. There are seven different characters to select from and each one of them comes with his or her own uniquely altered mining vehicle. There will be both land and air missions to complete, changing up the pace of the game a bit. This is a very fresh concept in a genre that has likely seen its fill of plain old first person shooters where the hero simply flies the space craft at the enemy and saves the world.
However, Absolute Zero is not without its challenges. A thorough read of the instruction manual is highly recommended, as the game is complex with complicated controls. The user interface, known within the game as the VR Tunnel, is also challenging and difficult to learn how to use without the benefit of instructions. Once these challenges are mastered, however, Absolute Zero can become a very entertaining game.
Overall, Absolute Zero introduces a concept that does wonders for the genre of first person space shooters. It is not without its difficulties, but gamers who are patient enough to learn the system should be handsomely rewarded by this unique and interesting science fiction shooter.
