Descent

Let's see if I can write this review without using the word "disorienting."

Note: For this review, the source port DXX Rebirth was used, which is how I got widescreen screenshots in 1080p. The game is certainly playable on modern computers using DOSBox, but DXX Rebirth just makes everything a little nicer, (and it works with Descent 2, too) so check it out, punk.

By 1995, FPS games had been pretty well codified: you wander around a maze, get some color coded keys, murderize anything that gets in your way, and generally have a good pick-up-and-play time. In that sense, Descent is no different than the deluge of crap that came out to capitalize on the popularity of Doom and Wolfenstein 3D. In another, more accurate sense, Barney is the winner, and Descent is really, to this day, pretty unique in the FPS genre.

THAT'S ONE DOOMED SPACE MARINE

So, what sets Descent apart from the other FPS games of the day is that you're in a spaceship the entire time, rather than flying around on foot. The ship kind of acts more like a hovercraft than a jet, allowing you to stop in midair and strafe, rather than just being relegated to flying straight forward like a more standard first person spaceship shooter, like Terminal Velocity. In a way, playing Descent is a really easy transition to make if you're comfortable with modern keyboard-and-mouse FPS controls. Assuming you play the game with keyboard and mouse, that is.

The controls were a big sticking point for me with this game. As a kid, I mainly played keyboard only, because I was brain damaged and liked to inflict pain on myself. Really, you're going to want some sort of alternate peripheral. Keyboard and Mouse is what I ended up using, and that really worked pretty well. The only major complaint here is that there's a maximum turn speed for your spacecraft, and after being used to quick and snappy mouse turning, there's a bit of a disconnect when you have to turn 180 degrees around and it takes a couple swipes. The game supports a number of popular joysticks and gamepads of the area as well, but there was some weirdness trying to get my XInput gamepad to work well with it (I assume this can be worked around using JoyToKey, but I was happy with just sticking with mouse and keyboard). I've been told that the SpaceOrb 360 works really well with Descent. I have never seen one of these insane-looking things anywhere, but I guess I can see how it would work.

The automap feature is super duper and looks swell as hell.

Gameplay is pretty much par for the course for FPS games of the day. Like I hinted at earlier, the game is essentially a quest for color-coded keys, with the exception being that you're flying around these weird alien geometries. It's really kind of amazing how well the levels flow, because when you're actually flying through them, they look like confusing spaghetti tunnels connecting giant meatball chambers. Or something. In reality, though, the different sections tend to loop into themselves, and the game strikes a good balance between letting you explore and not frustrating you by making you explore  the many different branches of a level's progression tree in a brute-force style, just going one after another until you get everything you need. That said, the automap feature is immensely handy if you get lost or flipped upside down or something.

At the end of each level is this big red "core" thing that shoots at you and is generally guarded by a few enemies. Your mission in each level is to destroy the core, like in Gradius. After blowing it up, the base will set off its self destruct system and you have to fly back out through an evacuation door located somewhere earlier on the level. Typically this is near the core room, but as you progress in the game, the evac doors get farther and farther away, so you've got to kind of make a mental note on your way down where these doors are.

Not making it out of the base in time isn't the end of the world, necessarily. Unlike most FPS games, Descent actually gives you lives. Dying anywhere normally in the level will cause you to explode and spew all of your weapon upgrades around the room you died in, giving you a merciful opportunity to fly back and get yourself back up to snuff (though you'll lose any hostages you've saved, but they're just for extra points anyway). Dying during the evacuation sequence, however, is a bit more serious, since you'll be passed on to the next level (lives permitting), but you won't bring any of the weapon upgrades with you. It's not game-ending, typically, but it'll definitely make things harder for you.

In this hallway, you do the twist and you like it.

Graphically, the game is really pretty for 1995, and I think it still holds some charm today. The game was pretty technically impressive at the time, featuring actual, honest-to-God 3d models for enemies and fired rockets and things like that. Most other doodads and doors and things are handled by sprites, but it's still neat considering Quake was still a year away. The sound effects are perfunctory, but not necessarily bad, while the music is an upbeat mix of technopoppy MIDIs, most of which are actually pretty good.

With its focus on designing interesting levels based around your six-axis spaceship control, Descent is a great classic-style FPS that really still holds up well today (particularly with a source port). If you're looking for a good key-hunt game that breaks out of the mold of the genre's codifiers, check it out. You'll probably like it. Maybe you won't though, I don't know. I'm a static text document. I can only make assertions based on assumptions. Please, do not be upset.