Oh, no! The evil Dr. Pyrus Goldfire has discovered a way to replicate gold. Now, with an unlimited budget, he's created a space-base full of hideous mutated creatures. It's up to you, Blake Stone, to traverse sixty levels full of peril to destroy the evil Goldfire.
Blah. Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold never made its way into the limelight for two reasons: one, because it was going head-to-head with id Software's Doom; and two, because it stunk. Presented from a first-person, behind-the-gun perspective - get the enemy in your sights and fire away, Blake Stone is Wolfenstein 3D on steroids, with a futuristic twist. Instead of mowing down nasty Nazis and finding keys, you have to blast fiendish aliens and find keys.
Littered through the game are a handful of characters that you don't actually want to shoot -- "informants" who will hook you up with useful info (similar to the scientists in Half-Life). Enemy artificial intelligence is a step up from Wolfenstein, with baddies going for fallen ammo or retreating behind corners when low on health. Level design is quite sterile -- and once again, the engine limits itself to ninety-degree walls and simple doorways. Sure, there are a few new scripting tricks, like doors connected together, but it's a poor attempt to hide an aging engine.
Even the enemies aren't that cool, despite the copious amounts of blood used in their death animations. The aliens and various mutants look drawn by a ten-year-old, more silly than scary. Music is standard, jazzy SoundBlaster fare, and sound effects are quasi-satisfying -- mow down a bad guy in the Star Institute and he'll cry out "medic!" as he dies.
Blake Stone also features a somewhat non-linear gameplay. You can hop into an elevator and go up and down floors whenever you want, as long as you have the proper keycard. As always, finding keys and flipping switches is paramount -- after all, mowing down alien after alien gets tiring after a while. Still, Blake Stone is an uninspired bore-fest, with plenty of senseless violence and little gameplay. You'd be much better off playing Doom or Quake -- heck, even Wolfenstein has more personality than this.
Graphics: Despite a new technological trick that draws floors and ceilings, there ain't much here.
Sound: Uninspired background music, but a few good sound effects for enemies.
Enjoyment: Standard, Wolfenstein 3D-style gameplay with few major improvements.
Replay Value: There is actually a lot of secret areas -- plus ten hidden levels.
Aliens of Gold, the first game in the Blake Stone series, pits the space-age British secret agent against Dr. Pyrus Goldfire; a madman bent on world domination. Using a mastery of genetic engineering and a tremendous reserve of wealth, Dr. Goldfire intends to unleash a mutant army upon the Earth.
The first chapter begins in Goldfire's S.T.A.R. Institute headquarters building. Each level has Blake fighting through guards to find an elevator keycard for the next level. Dr. Goldfire will personally appear along the way to fire shots at Blake, and his genetic creations also pose a tough challenge. Each chapter lasts 10 levels, and brings Blake closer to reaching Goldfire, only to have the mad doctor escape to a new installation in his network, and the start of a new chapter.
Blake Stone uses the Wolfenstein 3-D engine to render its levels. Basic gameplay and enemy AI is similar in most respects. Some of Blake's innovations include silent weapons that can kill guards without alerting others. Alerts are given to the player through text messages on the HUD. Health can be gained through use of wall-mounted vending machines, operated with tokens picked up off dead guards. An automap and stat-tracking are both available during gameplay. Finally, there are friendly AI characters who offer clues and powerups when you speak to them - provided Blake doesn't accidentally shoot them first!
In this game you play for special agent Blake Stone who has a task to infiltrate bases of an evil scientist Pyrus Goldfir. Together with Blake you will fight against people and mutated freaks. In shareware version is only one base at your disposal however in full version up to seven. Difficulties are from the easiest (Novice Agent I guess) to the hardest (Veteran Agent). In the very beginning of the game you have just autoreload silent pistol, progressively you'll gain better of course such as laser pistol, machine gun etc. I would place Blake Stone somewhere between Doom and Wolfenstein. Despite that it's acceptable by playbility and also by graphics.
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Blake Stone: Planet Strike, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom 2, Doom, Blackthorne, Alien Carnage (a.k.a. Halloween Harry), Rise of the Triad: Dark War, Epic Pinball
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