Quarantine - Driving simulation and FPS action from 1994, a DarkwyndPT review!

Everybody knows that one of the most influential videogames ever to be released for the PC was Doom. So much so that shortly afterwards a bunch of games with very similar gameplay and graphical engines were released, which became known as “Doom clones”. I’ve already reviewed one of these clones (and one day, I promise to review the original Doom), but today we’re going to take a look at one of the few Doom clones that dared to add something extra. I’m talking about Quarantine.

Quarantine is a FPS/driving simulation game developed by Imagexcel and published by Gametek. It was originally released in 1994 for DOS and the 3DO. In 1996, it was re-released only in Japan for the Playstation (as Hard Rock Cab) and the SEGA Saturn (as Death Throttle: Kakuzetsu Toshi kara no Dasshutsu).

But as always, before looking at the game, let’s look at the cover:

I confess I’m not a big fan of simplistic covers because usually they don’t convey much. But this one I must confess I like. A lot. It’s just a windshield wiper cleaning what appears to be blood (the single drop in the upper part suggest as such). It simply conveys vehicles and violence in a way that intrigues everyone. It’s graphic but not explicitly so. Some versions add the tagline “driving a cab in this town… is murder” which makes said violence slightly more explicit.

But it’s time to boot this sucker:

First, I must confess that I love this intro. It’s so insane and at the same time, it pumps you up for the game. It looks like a sort of dystopian and violent future but you only see the cab, its driver and the passengers (and tons of guns). Then we have a proper exposition that’s further expanded in the manual: you play as Drake Edgewater, a hover cab driver in the dystopian city of Detroi…uhh, KEMO City in the year 2047. Around ten years prior, the city was exposed to a virus that turned its inhabitants into psychotic killers by a company called Omnicorp (whose logo looks suspiciously like the OCP logo from Robocop). Edgewater, who’s immune to the virus, must carry out his job while finding a way to escape the city.

Fortunately, your cab is equipped with a machine gun mounted upfront in the hood and your initial objective is to drive around the city dodging and shooting at other cars, armed pedestrians and mines while picking up passengers and dropping them at specific points of the city within a limited time. But every now and then, you’ll get an assignment to drop a package within the aforementioned time limit and if you succeed, then some mysterious bloke will be impressed by your driving and armed combat skills and promises more undercover missions. Do enough of these missions and you’ll get a code to move to another (and harder) section of the city, where more missions and richer passengers await you.

Extreme road rage!

The main screen is quite detailed with all the information you need in the upper and lower part of the screen with the main view on the center. I have to say that I’m impressed in how the developers were able to cram every information monitor and counter (like weapons, radar, compass, etc) without sacrificing none of the main view. And you also have two side views (where you can shoot at enemies on your left or right).

With enough money gained from your fares, you can also repair and upgrade your cab with more weapons, shields and other gadgets to make the gameplay easier. And believe me, you’re going to need it because apart from the passengers, everything is gunning for you: crazy, armed people in the middle of the road (which is always a joy to run over), other vehicles, tanks, mines, etc. But the biggest difficulties I’ve encountered while playing were the time limits and the navigation.

Picking up a passenger.

The passengers you pick up are seemingly random (apart from the undercover missions) and entertaining in their own right, but some of them want to be dropped off on some distant spot on the map within a small time limit. And if you drop him/her past the time limit, then the fare they pay is pitiful, especially if you received a lot of damage and said fare isn’t enough to cover the repair. Luckily, you can refuse passengers and/or eject them from your cab if you believe the fare isn’t worth it (the eject option even becomes essential during a story mission). Even with the help of your map (which is probably your best tool), navigating through the city isn’t easy because sometimes you might encounter a narrow passage that you believe it’s possible to go through (and the map confirms as such) but ultimately it isn’t possible.

Controlling the cab can be quite a chore (and the time limits don’t help) and it’s mostly due to the engine used. Imagexcel developed a game engine more towards FPS action than driving simulation (which is why there weren’t many hybrids of the two genres back then) and it shows while playing it. It’s easy to forget you’re controlling a vehicle, until you try to go through a narrow passage that a person on foot could easily go through and other driving related actions. But with time and patience, it’s possible to master the driving controls enough to start enjoying the game.

Repairing your cab.

The graphics and animations are quite good, especially the design of the city with a dark and industrial colour palette that fits the game’s dystopian aesthetic perfectly. The sound effects are equally good with several digital samples that enhance the action. And I recommend the CD-ROM version just for the cutscenes and the fantastic Alternative Rock themes that, in their majority, fit the dystopian setting and the action quite well. Although the cab can be hard to control, it’s not due to the keyboard controls, that are actually quite responsive.

In conclusion, Quarantine could have been a fantastic game if it wasn’t for its steep learning curve in mastering the driving controls and the repetitive nature of the game. Because everything else in it it’s great. If you have the time and patience to master the game, then I recommend it. But if you’re looking for a simple driving/action game, easy to get into, then I can’t really recommend it. And if you want to try it in your own browser, then go here.

“Die scum!”

Quarantine had some critical acclaim but it was so well received by the public that it became a cult classic, despite its flaws. And although it wasn’t the first of its genre, it was one of the first games that mixed driving simulation and FPS action and therefore, inspired subsequent hybrid games that would surpassed it, like its own sequel, Road Warrior Quarantine II, and the Carmageddon and Twisted Metal series.

So, do you like these types of games? Which is your favorite? Tell me in the comments below or on our social media. Next time, we’re going the final frontier again. Until then, keep on driving and shooting. See ya!

Links :1) Game Reviews

- Review by DarkwyndPT