It's 2 a.m. and I'm still playing Time Commando, the latest game from the French development group, Adeline. By some stroke of luck, and probably a large sum of money, Activision has managed to publish a ground-breaking title that has enough whiz-bang graphics, environmental, enemy, and weapon variety, and clever twists to keep me and many other gamers awake into the wee hours of the morning playing our hearts out.

The game is a cross between Alone in the Dark, Fade to Black, and (back me up here, old-timers) that old Apple II classic side-scrolling fighting game, Karateka. The basic premise here is that you work in a virtual reality combat training facility where soldiers are schooled in all forms of battle, from primitive to futuristic. As the thin plot thickens, a virus is uploaded to the main computer. Because the future is apparently devoid of anti-virus software, you get sent into the computer to fight the virus and the many, many unique foes it puts in your way. You start in a prehistoric setting throwing rocks and swinging clubs at cave-dwellers, and progress through the game by beating on various human and animal life with every conceivable weapon appropriate for the time period.