Duke Nukem II

Duke Nukem II

Platform: PC (DOS)
Developer: Apogee
Release Year: 1993

Basic Plot

It is the year 1998 and the evil Rigelatins are threatening to overthrow the Earth! As part of their dastardly plan they kidnap Duke during an interview (for his new book Why I'm so Great) to use his mind to help them plan their invasion. Instead, Duke escapes, and saves the world once again.

Gameplay

Duke Nukem II is the sequel to the original platform game of the same name and features an enhanced game engine.

For anyone who is not familiar with the Duke Nukem franchise, the game is a parody of itself; it is the quintessential mindless violent 2D platform action game. The character of "Duke" is cheesy and over-confident, and at least initially the whole package of the unashamedly cheesy action game was a hit with fans. The game has a nice blend of humour but is genuinely a fun game to play as well.

Gameplay is fairly similar to other 2D action games:

• Travelling through a series of levels defeating enemies.
• Picking up new weapons:
• A flame thrower was his default, which was able to shoot through walls and boost him into the air!
• The laser gun (my personal favourite) could shoot through anything, slaying multiple enemies in one shot.
• A rocket launcher was the final weapon.
• Also picking up power-ups including rapid fire, health kits for health (or points), and a cloaking device for temporary invincibility.
• Key cards needed to be obtained to progress through levels, which was a very over-used mechanic in platform games at the time.

The ultimate goal is to beat your way through each level and fight the alien boss at the end.

The visuals were smooth and quite beautiful for the era.

The flame thrower could be used not only to attack enemies, but also boost yourself into the air.

Comparisons

Duke Nukem II fits into the "second generation" of platform games, competing alongside classics such as:

• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Alex Kidd
• Super Mario World
• Commander Keen
• Jill of the Jungle

Comparitively, the Duke Nukem series was the one to contain satirical humour - it was an analysis of the genre as a whole and of computer game culture.

In terms of game mechanics it was quite a plain and uninventive game, even for the time. The opposing example would be Sonic the Hedgehog which re-defined a new style of fast-paced platform game which focused on agility and accuracy.

Positives

Light hearted and fun platform game, especially good quality for a PC game (at the time consoles had the pick of the games, and PC games were lagging behind).

Negatives

Linear story, uninventive game mechanics, not a game which made a big imprint on me as a child against a back-drop of other industry-shaping games which overshadowed it. I also never "got" the humour of the game in a way that some other people apparently did, it wasn't my personal taste.

Memorable Moments

I remember clearly the laser gun; it was the most satisfying weapon in the game. Nothing better than slicing a whole line of enemies with a single shot.

X-Men: Children of the Atom

Name: X-Men: Children of the Atom

Platform: Arcade (then PC)

Developer: Capcom

Release Year: 1994 (PC 1997)

Basic Plot

Magneto is on Asteroid M and the X-Men need to... actually just add in any plot from an X-Men game here. Loosely based on Fatal Attractions. It doesn't really matter.

What's its deal?

It's Street Fighter with X-Men characters.

Character select screen

Gameplay

It's a one-on-one 2D fighter from the good ol' days before team tag combos and 3D blah blah blah.

The first thing that struck you was how amazing the graphics were. The look and feel of the game was true to the X-Men 1991 comics run and the characters looked like they'd stepped right out of the comic panels (and animated TV series) and onto your screen. I love how they did not try to re-imagine the X-Men for this game or 'go in a new direction' and most likely fuck everything. No, you love the X-Men? Well here they are exactly how you have come to know and love them. Thank you Capcom. Thank you. The only exception to this was Sentinel, but they needed to make a new 'model' to fit on the screen and they made him badass so no harm, no foul.

Controls were exactly the same as SFII with 6 button attacks – 3 punches, 3 kicks. Special moves were your run of the mill 'fireball' and 'dragon punch' movements. Characters also had a 'rage meter' that would build up mutant energy during the fight allowing more powerful special moves to be unlocked including a powerful X attack. Again, these were all suited to the character so each one had their own unique play style. 

Even regular punches and kicks were suited to the characters eg) Cyclops' heavy punch threw out a small optic blast, Iceman's heavy kick threw up a wall of ice that could be used for offense or defence. The attention to detail was amazing. 

Iceman 'Arctic Attack'. Done real close, it destroys.

The 10 playable characters* were split between 6 goodies and 4 baddies:

• Cyclops: sit back and keep em busy with optic blasts; play to his strengths man. His super X power was (wait for it) a giant optic blast! although he did also have a less powerful one but it could be aimed and moved once initiated; you could also bounce it off the floor. 
• Psylocke: get in close and use those special attacks designed to link on from regular combos. She was a combo queen.
• Colossus: one of my favourites. Play him as a wrestler. His special X attack sucked (just did a big diving head butt) much better to use his alternative 'super armour' power where he took less damage and just walked through attacks. Nothing like seeing the big man charging through and taking a smack in the face just to get in close and pile drive the enemy.
• Iceman: a very versatile fighter. One of the most original special moves in the game was Iceman summoning a large ice boulder to drop down and smash on you. The cool thing about this power was it also could be used to shield you from projectiles if timed right.
• Storm: her punches were laced with lighting and her kicks with tiny typhoons. She could also fly.
• Wolverine: played like the brawler that he is. Lots of speedy hack and slash. His berserker barrage special X power looked pretty gruesome too.

• Silver Samurai: Had one of the coolest special moves where his movements would trail – kind of like he had 5 shadows that would copy all his movements exactly a half second after him. So hitting a guy once would actually hit him 5 times. Very cool.
• Spiral: I'm not sure why the hell they chose Spiral? You know, Mojo's number 2. Why not Sabretooth, Pyro, Toad etc? Oh well, she was the only character that could get a 6-hit combo from just using her heavy punch.
• Sentinal: AWESOME. Every animation for every attack was awesome, he looked like he was transforming all the time with rockets coming out of his wrists and mouth and thrust kicks and shit. His movements were heavy and you really felt like a ton of metal raining down techno pain on your opponents. He could even launch mini Sentinels that did an aerial bombing run. Yes, you read that correctly.
• Omega Red: If you mastered his coils, you were a force to be reckoned with. Having an option of 5 directions to launch a coil from (up, 45, straight, 45 down, down – last two need to be mid-jump) once it hit your opponent you had options. You could either just throw them around, drain their energy or drain a bit of their life.

*Ok, Akuma was also a hidden character but he can eat a dick. Piss off Akuma, you don't belong here. Don't you have like 500 other games to go and hide in?

Optic blasts Vs Rockets. Oh it's awwwn.

There were a few more game mechanics thrown in. Players could move around a little bit before the round actually started to vie for a good starting position. Every character could perform super jumps and dashes. Some stages had destructible floors eg) on Colossus' level you could smash your opponent through the street level and drop down into the sewers. Some characters had the ability to perform attacks on downed players – Wolverine could jump on top of a downed opponent playground-bully-style and punch them in the face with his claws. Colossus could pick people up from the ground and lift them over his head and then decide what to do with them.

There were two bosses. Juggernaut was the sub-boss and Magneto was the main boss. Once you finished the single player mode each character had their own little epilouge animation ala Street Fighter II.

Memorable moments

Probably having epic battles using Colossus. During his hyper-tackle move he is INVULNERABLE. I loved waiting for opponents to unleash their ultimate attacks and have Colossus just charge right through it taking no damage. Muhahaha eat it Magneto. Also Colossus Vs Juggernaut was always a big slug fest and I'll never forget the first time I picked up the Juggernaut over my head and then pile drove his ass. Good times.

Said Hyper-tackle.  Fav move in the game.

Positives

• Was true to the X-Men comics. Everything was honoured, no stylistic raping at all
• Was a damn good fighter, whatever your playing style
• Each character was unique giving you lots of replay value
• Looked amazing. Even the backgrounds were dynamic (danger room!)
• Seriously fun

Negatives

• Not enough characters! What? No Gambit!?

Extra comments

The success of this game lead to the start of the X-Men Vs Street Fighter series (which eventually led to Marvel Vs Capcom 3) Although they never made a strict sequel to this game which I would have loved to see. While these spin-off sequels were fun they lost the immersion into the X-Men universe and made the game more about wanky combos and underpowered special moves.

Unfortunately X-Men: Children of the Atom had a winning formula that no one used again – making it the Captain America of fighting games. Sigh.

Flashback

Name: Flashback

Platform: PC

Developer: Delphine Software

Release Year: 1992

Basic plot

You play as agent Conrad B Hart. Awaking in a jungle having had your memories erased you must regain your past and thwart an intergalactic alien conspiracy.

What's its deal?

It's sci-fi Prince of Persia with a gun.

Level 1 - techno jungle

Gameplay

Like I said, PoP with a gun. It's a platform action game with some puzzles thrown into the mix. You move from screen to screen like in PoP climbing, leaping, hanging and blasting baddies. 

The graphics were nice for the time (especially the backgrounds), the story was a little bit “huh? Whatever” but what was awesome though was the feel of being an action hero. 

The act of simply drawing your gun, having it at the ready, aiming, shooting, readying and finally holstering looked so cool you wanted to slow down and enjoy every battle, not just power through the game. 

Combining human-realistic athleticism and slick, secret agent style movements led to lots of Jason Bourne style kills and level navigation - “I'll leap over this chasm, go into a dive roll whilst simultaneously drawing my piece and smoke this sucka”. I'd find myself humming the Mission Impossible theme whilst clearing screens and even restarting from save points just so I could take out guys and a cooler way.

Memorable moments

Spending way too much time on interesting screens practicing ninja style, gun-fu moves long after I'd killed everyone.

Death Tower had a very 'Total Recall' feel to it

Positives

• Futuristic sci-fi setting is interesting with quirky little details (the subway system on level 2 taking you to 'continents')
• One of the most satisfying games to fire your gun (gun sfx were gritty and loud too)
• Nice mix of action and puzzle.
• You feel like a FBI space ninja.

Negatives

• Too short, only 7 levels.
• Not enough enemies to kill, could have used a climactic fire fight.
• It's French.

Extra comments

This was a really fun and satisfying game. Unfortunately it is tainted by its less successful (lame) sequel 'Fade to Black' where they tried to make Flashback 3D. This ambitious makeover took out all the fluidity of Conrad's movement and slickness. It was clunky and NOT FUN. Urgh.

Blood

Blood

Game: Blood
Platform: PC 
Developer: 3D Realms, Monolith Productions.
Release Year: 1997

Setting

The setting is somewhat ambiguous but contains elements of post World War I Europe and America. The levels contain aesthetic choices from the 1920's - 1940's. This is strangely crossed with retro future-technology (reference to Tesla) as well as classic Western (including the background of the main character Caleb).

Basic Plot

You play a risen (undead) anti-hero from the Wild West era named Caleb. Originally Caleb was the commander of a cult called The Cabal who worshipped the god Tchernobog. He, along with four others, were the highest ranking members of The Cabal and were referred to as The Chosen. However, for an unspecified "failure" all four of The Chosen were betrayed and killed by Tchernobog. The game starts with Caleb rising from the grave. The original game is broken up into four episodes.

• Episode 1: The Way of All Flesh: Caleb awakes from his tomb and immediately begins hunting Tchernobog's minions. Caleb hunts down and defeats the gargoyle Cheogh (one of  Tchernobog's minions), and cremates the body of one of The Chosen "Ophelia".
• Episode 2: Even Death may Die: Caleb hunts down the spider demon Shial and defeats her. There he rips out the heart of the corpse of Gabriel (one of The Chosen) and absorbs his power.
• Episode 3: Farewell to Arms: Caleb takes on the two headed beast (and second in command to Tchernobog) Cerberus and defeats him.
• Episode 4: Dead Reckoning: Caleb fights his way to face Tchernobog himself. He ends up having to defeat his three lieutenants once again, before finally confronting the dark god. He finally learns why Tchernobog betrayed him; he knew Caleb would rise again and come back for him, absorbing power as he went, and Tchernobog wants the power for himself. Instead, Caleb states "It's time to put you down" and defeats the dark god - temporarily ending The Cabal.

The flair gun during the single player campaign.

Gameplay

Blood is a first person shooter based on the Build Engine. Although not true 3D (it used raycasting like technology seen in other games of the time such as DOOM or Wolfenstein 3D, it did include some voxel graphics for weapon pick-ups.

Blood was one of the last first person shooters I played purely with a keyboard (before the mouse + WSAD keys became the norm for PC games).

The single player campaign was interesting. It was littered with references to popular culture such as films, books, television, and various genres. It also featured a lot of blood and gore which makes the game fit into the "slasher" genre.

There were elements of puzzle solving as well.

Multiplayer LAN was one of the highlights of the game. The weapon options were spectacular and interesting, and some of the maps were pretty well designed too. The weapons included:

• Pitchfork; the player's starting weapon, melee only.
• Flare gun; a pistol which fired a flare which could "stick" to an opponent and continually burn them. An alternative fire could cause it to explode on impact.
• Sawed off shotgun; always good at close quarters.
• Thompson's machine-gun; standard automatic machinegun.
• Aerosol can; used with a lighter to become a flame thrower. Powerful but you had to get close to hit an opponent. Could set the enemy on fire.
• Napalm Launcher; fired a gooey projectile of death. When you get this weapon and fire it sometimes Caleb says "I love the smell of napalm in the morning".
• Dynamite bundle; Used like a grenade.
• Voodoo doll; Only in multiplayer, this weapon could either be used for a quick "stab" attack or a sweeping attack which could kill an opponent outright if they were close enough.
• Skull staff (don't know the real name); this weapon was a skull on a staff which fired "hellfire" attacks at the enemy and was easily the most powerful weapon in the game.
• Proximity mine; This mine had a sensor and if you stepped on it, it exploded. There was one multiplayer level called Click! which had a lot of these, was a small map, and often ended up with two players pretty much stuck until someone set off a chain reaction which almost eliminated everything on the level.

Voodoo doll.

Positives

The game was different, interesting. It had a really different feel to it even though it used a similar game engine to many others of the time. It had a lot of thought put into the back story and the connections with popular culture. The story was one of the better first person shooter stories out there, although still pretty linear in nature.

Multiplayer was amazing, it was something we played a lot of up until the age of real 3D games came along (particularly for is Half-Life Deathmatch). Going back from mouse+keyboard to just keyboard is PAINFUL.

Negatives

Having mouse + keyboard as an option would have extended the shelf life of this game for me.

Memorable Moments

Definitely the multiplayer level Click! was the most fun. I loved that... we knew where the spawn spots were and we'd lay mines down on them, so if you died you usually insta-died maybe 3-4 times before the mines were cleared.

I remember another level which had the skull staff, and there was a large spiral staircase up to it with a voodoo doll on the way. Lots of passages and positioning involved when we played that one.

I played this game a lot with DRTsorak (Rowan).