Infogrames' Next Attack

Infogrames stopped by our offices yesterday to give us a look at Mission Impossible for the PlayStation/Game Boy Color, Worms: Armageddon for the N64, and the Smurfs for the PlayStation.

Everyone's favorite little blue people are returning to primetime. The Smurfs for the PlayStation is an adventure game being developed with younger players in mind. The game has two types of gameplay: one for children and one for older gamers. The simpler one places gamers in the role of Hefty Smurf as he collects baby rattles and baby bottles through seven levels to give them to Baby Smurf. The more complex version places gamers in the role of Hefty again, only now he fights to save fellow Smurfs, and on the way, he'll cross paths with familiar characters such as Gargamel, Papa Smurf, and Smurfette.

Mission Impossible for the PlayStation is a port of last year's N64 version. The best improvement for the PS version is a quick save that lets you save the game at any point so you don't have to start the level all over again. Interestingly, the quick-save feature doesn't require the player to have a memory card, and since the game uses password saves from level to level in addition to the standard memory-card save, you don't need one. Also added are character voices and mission-briefing narration since the PlayStation disc doesn't have the same small memory footprint of its N64 cousin. Other than that, the game remains relatively unchanged and looks fairly good on the PlayStation.

Mission Impossible for the Game Boy Color is an overhead/side-scrolling action game that, other than the name and basic premise, doesn't really have anything in common with its PlayStation and N64 counterparts. The gameplay consists of fairly straightforward spy-biz stuff, like using gizmos to steal secret files, interacting with other agents, and shooting bad guys. The game does have some interesting features, such as a data assistant that lets you store names, phone numbers, and addresses. In addition, the game uses the infrared communication device on the top of the Game Boy Color as a remote controller for your TV or other remote-controlled device. The game also uses the infrared communication device to send messages from one Game Boy to another.

Like previous games in the Worms series, Worms: Armageddon is a turn-based strategy game, where you control a team of worm soldiers who are all armed to the teeth. The game is similar in look and design to the Lemmings series. The N64 version of Worms: Armageddon lets four players battle it out with each other.