Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition

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4/5

( 30 Reviews )

30 Reviews

English & 4 more

Overall most helpful review

Posted on: August 2, 2023

data5x

Verified owner

Games: 187 Reviews: 54

Triad Rises AGAIN

What can I say? 'Rise Of The Triad -- Ludicrous Edition' IS generally that game vastly improved to run on modern machines. It will please the fans I think... It runs much more smoothly and quickly at the default settings than the original did, even in it's time; you will now be able to reach the goodies at the end of some of the long-jumps you once had to try multiple times, and often still could not reach. As someone else here said, though not for everyone it's now the BEST version of the original game. I believe this is what NightDive and company were shooting for, and they have succeeded; congratulations on another win in this regard! Again, the fan-base should especially be pleased; and for any wanting to play it for their first time this IS the best version of it to date. One final thing I noticed, though, for any purists out there, is that aiming is more standard to regular shooters; no angling up at above enemies as in the original. That I actually missed this, is my only mild complaint: I would not be surprised if a later update restores this as an option but it still rates five stars and is worth the price: another great classic restored! GREAT JOB, all! :-)

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Posted on: August 10, 2023

GilesHabibula

Verified owner

Games: 1352 Reviews: 9

This is the best ROTT has ever been.

Sure, this game was running on a highly-modified but outdated engine. Sure, it suffered from lack of features for that era because of that engine. Sure, the 90 degree walls made the all of levels look same-y. But the one thing that ROTT had that no other FPS game of the era had was pure, unadulterated ATTITUDE. And furthermore, despite the limitations of its older engine, it managed to be a lot of fun, partly due to that attitude, but also because of the clever (sometimes too clever) use of environmental puzzles. But those puzzles, while clever, could also be infuriatingly difficult and unintuitive. Thus, while I did finish the shareware episode (The Hunt Begins) multiple times, try as I might, I never finished the proper game (Dark War). The frustration level got to be too great for me, and I bailed out after many, many hours of effort. So how is the "Ludicrous Edition"? It brought back ALL of those wonderful and vivid memories in spades. And it's all here: The shareware episode, the full game, expansion packs, and even a huge new episode with over 20 levels designed by a host of classic and current FPS level designers. And it looks great without going overboard. Widescreen and 4K no problem. But best of all, it FEELS great. It uses modern controls out of the box, with every key re-definable and mouselook enabled. And the gameplay is super-smooth. You've got a choice of four different soundtracks, and the SFX sounds are better than they have ever sounded before. I don't know if I will ever have the patience to finish the game (I'm currently only a few levels into it), because according to my memories, the later-game puzzles could be downright devious at times, but now that it finally looks and plays right on modern equipment, I'm sure gonna give it a try.

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Posted on: August 3, 2023

Red_Avatar

Games: 722 Reviews: 37

A good port of an OK "classic"

I've played tons of classic FPS games. While Doom & Duke Nukem 3D dominated, there were plenty of others who often used their engine. Strife for example is an underrated classic which uses the Doom engine. Rise of the Triad however isn't quite so lucky ... . Let's start from the start. I loved Wolfenstein 3D back in 1993. I had a blast completing shareware version but when I got hold of the full version, I never really played it that much. Why? Because it was just too much of the same. Every wall was 90°, every room looked the same, only a limited amount of enemies & weapons, no real tactics to use and worst of all: the maps were a maze. RoTT uses a modified Wolfenstein 3D engine and suffers from many of the same problems: flat, samey levels, limited weapons, limited enemies, poor AI. They did try to add some spice to the game though with moving platforms, jump pads, improved graphics, special powerups, traps, etc. but is it enough? No, it wasn't. Remember: this game was released two months after Doom II and a full year after the first Doom! While the different rocket launchers are fun and the powerups are very amusing, the game is just ... repetitive. It does get a little better later on but it's identical area after identical area with identical enemies - open door, shoot enemies, jump on pads to collect coins, next room, ... . The game makes levels less maze-like but this also makes them more boring in a way because there's little else remaining. I've always been surprised by how many enjoy this game because, while it's above average, it was hopelessly outdated at the time of release and even other Wolfenstein 3D "clones" such as Blake Stone were more fun for me. I think part of it is the long big open areas where you shoot at enemies from afar. While this was relatively novel at the time, it's dull. There's no tactics in rounding a corner and just killing 4 enemies across the hallway with no cover. As a port it's very competent. As a game ... it's OK.

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Posted on: July 31, 2023

MikiRoss

Verified owner

Games: 538 Reviews: 16

Years waiting for this...

...and yet I still see a margin for improvement. Don't get me wrong, this is ludicrous! BUT...honestly speaking who cares about 4K, 144hz, etc etc....if the game still looks the same? I was not expecting a remake, but I was definitely expecting something more like what we see nowadays with classic DooM mods. Anyway...if you know the game and you played it during the 90s, go for it! This is the best version so far.

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Posted on: August 6, 2023

Verified owner

Games: 0 Reviews: 52

Great remaster

This is probably the best "remaster" I've ever seen short of Capcom's classic Street Fighter collections. Bare minimum aside (widescreen, mouselook), it's really got everything. Alternate HUD, cut features (more enemy sprites), improved lighting, the arranged soundtrack from Rise of the Triad 2013, all official levels plus a new set of levels, balance changes, a conversion mod made for Doom... All the changes to the source material are optional and tweakable to your preference. If you are interested in the game this is certainly the definitive edition. The game itself though... well, there's a reason it's a bit of a cult game. I honestly consider it more of a platformer than an FPS and it should be played with that perspective if you want to enjoy it. The levels are basically Wolfenstein 3D with more enemy variety plus environmental hazards... Lots and lots of environmental hazards. The level design is all over the place even with such a mindset though. Some are good, but more than a few are quite bad, including a trio of levels in episode 2 (The Room, Spiraling In, Rocky Plateau) that caused me to drop this game years ago. Reading Masters of Doom really gave me context as to why the levels in this game are the way they are - Tom Hall seems to be the "random" one of the three id Software developers the book mainly covered. If nothing else the game's design is unique and its humor adds a certain charm keeps the game from feeling unmemorable. If you grew up with old FPS I think it's worth a try. Otherwise I would only pick it up as something of a museum relic. Otherwise if you're still interested I'd try the 2013 reboot. Lots of people seem to dislike it, but I think it's because it's viewed without nostalgia goggles like this one. It's pretty faithful and has the same flavor as the old games IMO....

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