Video review: https://youtu.be/kQuky3hjvYs You may have heard of Doom clones but there was a small pocket of time between Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM's release where Wolfenstein clones should have existed and really didn't, except for the Blake Stone series. The first game Aliens of Gold released a week before Doom and was totally overwhelmed by that title's popularity. Its sequel Planet Strike in 1994 did little to change that. It is charming looking and feeling though, and the presence of NPCS and backtracking for what was perhaps the first time was pretty cool.
Video review: https://youtu.be/vWGLFZV3PTI Super shotgun aside and the new enemies, there's a lot to dislike here. Game feels like a near reskin of the first game but with jankier level design.
Video review: https://youtu.be/vWGLFZV3PTI 1993 was the year of DOOM. Wolfenstein 3-D may have staked a claim to first person greatness but DOOM put the genre and id software on the map. Its incredibly addictive gameplay loop, catchy soundtrack, punchy sound effects, and campy but chilling atmosphere won over gamers the world wide and still does to this day, winning my vote for the most well-aged game ever made.
Video review: https://youtu.be/Iqu0RTE5gaI After several experiments with design in Hovertank 3-D and Catacomb 3-D, id software would finally nail their particular brand of fast rendering technology, bloody action, and trademark edgy style in 1992's Wolfenstein 3-D. It would usher in a renaissance for the fledgling first-person shooter genre and inform the success of their next big hit in 1993's Doom. Check out how the game came to be, whether it's still worth playing, and the impact it left on the industry.
Not necessarily the original but plays the most like a Resident Evil and not like its awkward first 3 outings, which while charming, were a true test of patience. For a breakdown of New Nightmare and the rest of the series including the films, check out my review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH02NK1l6j0&
It's unfortunately been outclassed by nearly everything it inspired, but man, is it a different type of horror game than you see these days with a decidedly normal protagonist. Great that the series is being revived soon! For a fun, full series breakdown, check out the rest of my thoughts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH02NK1l6j0&
My full thoughts exceed the character limit so check this out if you want a fairly comprehensive review of the 1st game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u5tAYnW6yA&t=1s
(my video review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baXuB5VyUnQ Catacomb 3D was the first 3D or technically 2.5D iteration of John Carmack’s Catacomb series, a 2D maze crawler similar to Gauntlet (insert OG Catacomb footage here). Carmack essentially used the Catacomb 3D development cycle to supplement ray casting with his take on texture mapping, a technique he’d been inspired to perfect when he saw a demo for Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss. Carmack promptly said “I can do that, but faster.” And he did! So is Catacomb 3D fun or is it mostly a technical novelty? It’s a bit of both, actually. You are Petton Everhail, an accomplished sorcerer who descends into the catacombs to rescue his friend Grelminar from the evil lich Nemesis, the classic mansel in distress story. Like the previous Catacomb games, you’ll be killing monsters, finding treasure, and unlocking ways forward by finding keys or blowing up faux walls. You get four separate attacks, all of which are accompanied by Petton’s hand rising into frame as you fire, the first time the genre ever acknowledged your avatar’s body on screen (insert “I’m a pretty big deal” meme). The attack you’ll use most is the Magick Missile which fires as fast as you can click and has unlimited ammo. The second unlimited ammo option is a charge attack that’s far too weak for how long the mushroom cloud animation takes to finish but at least it looks cool, right? The other two attacks that you’ll have to find ammo for and those are the Zappers, a rapidfire barrage of high-damage projectiles and the Xterminators, a powerful but inaccurate AOE. When not attacking enemies, you’ll use your magic as a battering ram to break through weak walls to find keys or the way forward. What sucks is how walls that can be broken--(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baXuB5VyUnQ
