The co-op experience seems to be out of favour in recent years, which is why I love good old games like this. We happened up Judge Dredd only because GOG brought it up before us, and my son has taken to some of the charatcers instantly (Dredd and Death in particular). I've even had to buy some of the Big Finish audio dramas! The game shares more in common with the Big Finish audios than with the original comic creation IMHO - both having smaller casts caused, presumably, by budgetary concerns (and of course it is a good OLD game - PCs were less capable back then). Having said which, not being flooded with ordinary citizens that you should ignore does not hurt the game at all as far as I can see. My only REAL complaint is the brevity of the game - it is only 11 levels long. vaguely similar games like the Dooms, Heretics and Quakes of this world are typically 3-4 times this size I beleive. I really wish there were add-on packs, third-party levels, or even a sequel - it's been fun to play this, and we'll be returning to the world of Heretic far too soon simply because we run out of Dredd fun :(
There might be a great game behind the highly amusing animations, but it's unlikely that I and my son will ever find it because the Windows-based interface is so INCREDIBLY limited. We are coming to this after LEGO Chess which, despite it's juvenile nature, is a far more pleasant experience. This game has obtrusive "panels" (information windows) all over the place and feels clunkier than the older BattleChess. I was hoping this would be "even better" than BattleChess - but it doesn't cut the mustard. very dissapointed indeed! :(
This is THE de facto "fun" chess game - great for the casual gamer or indeed for young minds that otherwise might be prone to wandering. The interface is a little dated (it IS a DOS program, after all) but the sound and charm of Battle Chess and BC 4000 more than make up for that. A bargain.
