It's obvious KISS agrees with me. They made an album called "Psycho Circus," which is pretty redundant if you ask me. Then Todd McFarlane drew a comic book loosely based on the album.

Enter Third Law Interactive, a company with Nothing to Lose. They sat down at a design session and said, "We know that comic book to game translations have always stunk. Let's go one step further!" And so, Third Law brings us the very first game based on a comic book that was based on a rock album. The kicker? They did it well.

The graphics are very good. The LithTech engine has been upgraded a few times since Shogo: Mobile Armor Division, so the models and skins look infinitely better than the older Lith games. Each of the Kiss band members is modeled in great detail, right down to Gene Simmons' inhumanly long tongue.

Enemies each have a distinct style. From the Headless to the Arachniclown to the Fat Lady, the enemies are quite varied in appearance. For instance, your basic Headless is a small four-legged creature with no head that stands about waist high. The Arachniclown is an obese clown on mechanical spider legs (think Wild Wild West) about five times as wide as the player character.

The level design is excellent. Architecture can range from somewhat modern to gothic. The cathedrals in the game are absolutely stunning. However, the colors seem bland (many stages seem very grey) or absolutely gaudy-a lot of yellow, red and green that will make you wish you were Goin' Blind-which fits in with the theme of a "Psycho Circus."

KISS fans will find a number of in-jokes about the band, allowing them to have a short chuckle during the game. An enormous "Kisstory" can be found in the Library of the Water Realm. Other such "easter eggs" can be found throughout the levels.

The sound in the game is very good, but nothing spectacular. With the music coming from one of the most influential rock bands ever, you know it's going to be good. It will make you want to Rock And Roll All Nite.

The weapon sounds are well done, but not anything to write home about. The enemies' sound effects, on the other hand, are exceptional. The Headless make a very distinguishable chitter that can be heard through walls. That Hard Luck Woman, the Fat Lady, lets you know she's seen you with her instantly recognizable wail. It's really something that has to be experienced.

The gameplay is pretty derivative. It's a lot like every other Doom/Quake clone with one exception: it really can give you a case of the willies. Doom2 was the last first-person shooter to really use the art of surprise to raise the game to another level. Psycho Circus does this as well with a combination of sound effects and surprises. There's one room early in the game where it all seems quiet until you enter the room and a horde of Headless jump out at you from behind crates stacked up against the walls. It's one of those "Holy Crap!" moments where you hope you have enough ammo to last against the oncoming tidal wave of creatures.

The weapons are repeated throughout the game. Each character has his own melee weapon and a unique "super weapon," but the main weapons in the game are the same throughout, which makes weapon selection somewhat boring. However, you might find that no weapon is more effective against vast numbers of lesser enemies than your melee weapons. Sadly, there's no Love Gun.

Multiplayer is your basic deathmatch. However, the Conquer Deathmatch promises to put a little life into the overplayed DM multiplay. In Conquer, points are awarded based on where the player who was killed was in the standings. Killing the top player might earn you three points, while killing the last-place player might earn you jack squat. It should put a little bit of strategy into the previously mindless fragfest.

A lack of real multiplayer features makes the game somewhat bland. After finishing the single-player game, there's no real reason to go back through the levels except to find the numerous secret areas around the levels.

All in all, KISS: Psycho Circus is a relatively good game. It's definitely worth the price if you're a fan of the first-person shooter genre. While KISS fans will find the game Hotter Than Hell. Others might find the otherwise solid gameplay tedious and boring.

· · · The Wok