Now, when I say HGSE is like Gauntlet, I'm not just making a facile snap-judgment -- the similarities are so obvious as to cause the player to wonder why the developers didn't bother just calling the game Gauntlet 2: Hollow Ground. The answer is probably tied up in licensing fees, so there you have it. Specifically, you'll find: four playable classes, each with their own strengths and weapons; a top-down overhead view; a constantly decrementing health meter; and an unending stream of enemies that spawn from destructible portals. While you might cast aspersion on HGSE for lack of innovation, there is something to be said for not reinventing the wheel and being able to just jump into an immediately-apprehendable game.

However, there is more to the game than its resemblance to Gauntlet, and this has its own share of issues. First of all, the post-apocalyptic theme is so well-trod it's practically wafer-thin. From the overwrought opening introduction ("A repressed memory suddenly revoked by the ominous shadow of a new threat of extinction" -- shouldn't that be "evoked"?) to the content of the graphics to the stereotypes of the four playable classes, the theme just feels hackneyed and well past its prime.

Second, the game seems to require knowledge of the first Hollow Ground to inform your play of the Special Edition. There are mechanisms that aren't explained, such as why levels are littered with power-ups that your particular character class can't use. The player is left to simply wander around trying things out until some form of understanding surfaces. There is no tutorial mode to speak of, and it's fortunate that the actions are keyboard-assignable, because it wasn't until I looked up the key bindings to figure out if I was missing something that I realized there were bombs to be dropped and special psionic powers to employ.

Third, there are strange movement issues in force, the most annoying of which is the character's variable speed. While there are times that walking speed is hindered by obvious hazards such as moving over water or bunched cables, there are far more frequent instances of the character's speed suddenly increasing for no apparent reason, and decreasing just as suddenly and mysteriously. This is not a deal-breaker, of course, but it is annoying. So, for those of you who haven't played Gauntlet, what's this game about?