Posted on: December 12, 2024

psytrakked
Verified ownerGames: 42 Reviews: 7
Just replay Descent 1 instead
I love 6DoF shooters, so this one has been on my wishlist for the last 25 years or so. Unfortunately, it's a disappointment - IMO it hasn't aged as well as the original Descent, which predated it. The enemies are uninspiring: ugly tanks and tiny NPCs who are trivial to bait from a distance. The weapons are from an unfortunate era in game development, when particle effects were used for everything. They feel toy-like after Descent's legendary loadout. Sound effects are grating and repetitive. Level design is OK - it has the claustrophobia I'd expect from the genre, without being a labyrinth which constantly requires the map. There is a variety of missions and puzzles, which sets it apart from others in the genre. It's a pity the uninspiring shooting makes them a grind. The other standout is the 3D map view, which is one of the clearest of any in the genre. It's hard to get lost here. The remastering is flawless: everything runs smoothly and glitch-free. The low-res textures are a mess on modern hardware - I'd recommend playing with no texture filtering. I dind't play multiplayer; couldn't comment on that. I'd recommend picking this up on special only once you have already played all the Descents + Overload to death.
Is this helpful to you?