Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold

The Good
What I like...no...what I love about this game is that it transcends its FPS roots to give you an experience that you cannot find anywhere else! Gone is the level-grinding, bone-smashing tedium that is Doom! Return to a simpler time and enjoy the Wolfenstein 3D-like search for Dr. Goldfire to seek revenge for your family's untimely death! Yeah, it's kinda cheesy, but in a good way this time.

The Bad
What's there not to like about this game. Sure...it LOOKS cartoony compared to games like Wolf-3D and Doom, but in reality it's just as serious. It's a pity that it came out in the same year as Doom, since Doom naturally and completely overshadowed it in nearly every way.

The Bottom Line
This may look like nothing but a Wolfenstein 3D clone, but looks can be deceiving. Much more vibrant than its predecessor of sorts, the overall presentation and backgrounds are much more appealing to the general audience despite its somewhat gory overall content. Taking features like saving scientists (or in other words, the ones you don't want to shoot), playing "cat and mouse" with Dr. Goldfire, and throbbing music by Bobby Prince of Doom and Wolfenstein fame and combining that with a good overall story (you have to read it to believe it), you may find here what you couldn't find in Wolf-3D or Doom - charm! It's just that plain and simple. And if you're lucky enough to find a copy of the game that still comes packed with the comic, you're in for a special treat!

The Good
Poor Blake Stone. How he tried. Although the game features a decent engine (an enhanced Wolf3D engine), with cool effects like light sourcing, texture mapped ceilings and floors, and switches you can actually flip, there was just a punch that it lacked...don't get me wrong! The game isn't all THAT bad! It is fun for a while to grab a few weapons and blow a few hundred alien beings to Kingdom Come, but...something's just....WRONG.

The Bad
Maybe this is what's wrong with this game: for the most part, it just tried TOO hard to be the so-called "DOOM killer", and ended up flat on its face. It tried creeping us out with eerie alien and mutant designs, but most of these "mutants" and "aliens" look more like they belong in the "Captain Action" or "Zapf Brannigan" crowds. They tried giving us ambient music with a low, slightly mysterious feel, but most of the music is rather dull and uninspired. They tried creating a cool futuristic environment with metallic walls, blood splattered organic tiles, and other touches like alien holding tubes and such, but the graphics look (at times) even worse than those of Wolf3D. They tried making smart enemies that would chase you, steal ammo, and maybe go jibaku (suicidal) on you, but most of these enemies just do one thing: stand there and let you kill them. If not that, they'll just fall into a predictable pattern of move, fire, move, fire...you get the idea. They tried making everything that would kill DOOM, but what this all did in the end was kill the game itself.

The Bottom Line
It's so sad...Blake Stone is the tragic tale of engineering a DOOM killer gone terribly wrong. The creation went mad and tried having itself sold for love and attention. But no one cared. Being stuck between Wolf3D and DOOM didn't help, either. If you wish to adopt this little freakish creation, be warned: it may one day snap. Get the cattle prod ready...

The Good
Generally good use of the Wolfenstein 3D engine, with a few minor enhancements. The manual is full of lovingly-drawn comic book art and backstory, suggesting that the producers of this game truly appreciate the old-fashioned action hero genre.

The Bad
The plot/setting is kind of silly, yet not at all humorous--so don't expect an Austin Powers-style romp. There really isn't much here that wasn't done in Wolfenstein 3D, so this game lacks the impact of that classic.

The Bottom Line
Although not terrible, this game is really only worth buying if you need to play every FPS out there.