Overload Playable Teaser 3.0
There have been many attempts to rekindle the magic of Descent, the venerable progenitor of the entire 6DoF genre. Some have been bug-ridden trash, others have been moderately acceptable if lacking polish, and a couple have been well-made but lacking in important features like multiplayer. But the true look, feel, and pace of the Descent originals have only ever been rivaled by the equally-venerable competitor, Forsaken. Even the recent entrants to the field, Descent: Underground and Sol Contingency, pay homage to their forebears while not quite adequately delivering the full experience.
– Real player with 27.9 hrs in game
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ORIGINAL: When I first saw Overload I was a little skeptical (as other 6DOF games left me a tad disappointed, even the better ones), but when I saw who was developing it (the original creators of Descent) and after 30 min of playing the TEASER I immediately dropped down a TON of money to fund this game. It is everything I’ve been wanting from a descent game since Descent 1-3 came out, and even if it doesn’t carry the name, after playing it you will understand. This game has the heart and soul of descent. The atmosphere is created by the levels, music, and robot sounds. The bots dodge, flank, and run away from you. Controls felt perfect, and that was at the default settings. Very well done, and this is just the playable teaser. It’s free to try, and you should. I love every bit of this.
– Real player with 20.9 hrs in game
Overload
Overload is a Six Degrees of Freedom first person shooter with a single player story mode, replayable challenge modes with leaderboard, and online multiplayer. If you enjoyed Descent, you will enjoy this. But why? What about this game is special?
- The Nostalgia
The moment you teleport into Ymir Outpost and start moving around, you already begin to recall the feeling of the original series. The first secret you discover. The first robot that pops out of a secret room after you trigger it. The first time a Scorpion surprises you. The first cryotubes you rescue. The first secret level you find. You will remember everything you loved about the original game as you get introduced to some of the new concepts that Overload brings to the table.
– Real player with 942.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Action FPS Games.
The crew from the classic Descent games returns for a modern incarnation of the 6-degrees-of-freedom games we all know and love. There are three primary game modes available:
Single Player Campaign
Much like the old-school shooters it draws influence from, the biggest draw in this game is easily the single player campaign. The Cronus Frontier campaign is no-nonsense, fast-paced action. While a little bit shorter compared to the classics of old, the overall level design and difficulty balance is much more polished. With five selectable difficulty levels, both directionally-challenged newbies and challenge-seeking veterans should be able to find some enjoyment here. The upgrade system offers a nice bit of flexibility to your playstyle and nicely rewards those with a keen eye for secrets. My only criticisms are that I found most of the boss fights to be somewhat underwhelming, and that some players might find the lack of mission variety to grow a bit repetitive by the end.
– Real player with 745.2 hrs in game
Descent 3
Third and last title of Descent series. After release of the second one Parallax Software broke into Outrage Entertainment and Volition Inc. The former made the last chapter of Descent series and the latter created not less interesting Freespace series.
Despite quite a big development in contrast to the second title, the third one was not accepted by all fans. The main reason is leaving simple shooter behind and changing it with narrative and complicated locations with alternating vast spaces and narrow corridors, and also kind of cartoon graphics. And though I understand what fans do not like about Descent 3, I don’t understand why they don’t like it. Yes, third title moved away from its origins but is it bad? I don’t think so: levels are now really complex and rich. And though developers tried to diversify maps even in the previous titles, the mines remained mines, but here we have mines and caves, industrial structures and planets’ surfaces, and even night city with a subway. Yeah, graphics became cartoonish because of engine change but game’s seriousness and difficulty didn’t vanish. The same can be said about gameplay. Though every mission now has its own goal, the main aspect of it is still shooter with simple spatial puzzles.
– Real player with 30.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Action FPS Games.
While I do have fond memories of this game, it has not aged well. There are issues with the graphics implementation of both OpenGL and Direct3D, with only a Glide wrapper offering good, non-glitchy visuals (on is included in this version). That said, many graphical niceties aren’t present if you don’t have a Pentium 3 or better also includes AMD CPUs. Many audio APIs that D3 can use have been deprecated and/or removed from later versions of Windows, making the only good audio choice be DirectSound. The game wasn’t designed with widescreen displays in mind, meaning that setting it to, say, 1080p is a pain and the graphics will either be squished or parts of the HUD will be cut off.
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
Descent 2
Download the DXX-Rebirth source port to play in 1080p without dosbox!
Vertigo expansion with its own redbook audio is available here.
The base D2 metal Redbook audio soundtrack is already included in the steam release, but you will have to download and set it up as an addon if you use DX-Rebirth.
As for the game itself, 1st Descent remains the best imho. Here you get the most overpowered weapon on lvl 3 (Gauss) and never switch to anything else, unless you run out of ammo (you don’t, not even on higher difficulties), shich kind of ruins the nice variety in weapons that D1 had. In D1 every weapon had it’s use, which was nice.
– Real player with 24.3 hrs in game
My childhood games have returned. Descent 2 and Descent: Freespace were the #1 hits of my day on the Windows 98 and finally after many years I get to relive these experiences. It’s taking me a while to get reacquainted with my old joystick but I’m totally loving every minute of it.
Descent 2 requires some definite tweaking. It took my about an hour to figure everything out, including my joystick issues, but it all functions properly and took no additional patches to work. Using the mouse could be an issue unless you really know how to modify the game. I however do not know this, but I feel the joystick is the only way to properly relive the experience.
– Real player with 19.2 hrs in game
Desecrators
OK, first off I was a big Descent fan and more recently a fan of Overload but it didn’t have coop. For me, I thought that was a mistake.
Then along comes Desecrators. It seems to be a cross between Forsaken mostly, and partially Descent. The graphics look cool but are somewhat retro looking. The tanks remind me of Forsaken and the rest, Descent. And best of all, it has coop!!!
The most critical aspect of a 6DoF game is the ship control. The ship control is spot on with the default settings. It feels perfect and very neutral. You can also toggle auto ship leveling. The game allows you to rebind keys and has full controller support.
– Real player with 39.8 hrs in game
Another great indie 6DOF game ! 🙂
Desecrators is really promising and already pretty damn good despite being early in development, there’s lot of potential here to create a one of it’s kind 6DOF game.
Good controls, it’s fast and responsive, really nice feeling piloting the ship with just the right amount of inertia.
The weapons are satisfying and there’s many different to use.
Desecrators also have great retro graphics style which remind me of Forsaken.
The levels are procedurally generated so we get a new experience each playthrough and that’s pretty nice !
– Real player with 13.9 hrs in game
Retrovirus
Updated now that I have a powerful enough PC and have completed the game
A brilliant little game (although quite demanding on your PC) if you have the specs to run this game it’s certainly worth getting
Pros:
It’s simple, virus-blasting fun
it has a suprisingly in-depth Storyline (if you take time to collect all the E-Mails)
Combat is straightforward and easy to understand, same with upgrading and new weaponry
there aren’t any forced tutorials, you’re free to charge in guns blazing if you wish or to take it slow and be tactical
– Real player with 25.1 hrs in game
I bought this game on a whim after having the opportunity to watch a friend play a bit of it.
I am really enjoying it. :)
I never played Descent so this style of game is completely new to me. I like the visuals of Retrovirus and the music (would buy the soundtrack). The story is nicely presented in a way that isn’t intrusive but not overly vague either. There is enough concrete information given to me to follow along, while enough is left unsaid to keep me curious and exploring for more.
I have been playing on “Admin” (medium) difficulty. The gameplay has been challenging in certain areas but not to the point of making me want to break my computer. I’ve died frequently but instead of making me frustrated, it’s caused me to reconsider my approach to the room and strategy. In other areas I have the freedom to take my time and really absorb the visuals. Certain levels “deeper in the machine” were pretty impressive and I like how the interior of the computer has been portrayed. Some optional areas are so well hidden that I couldn’t find them. There is replay value in exploring to find all those hidden gems.
– Real player with 21.9 hrs in game
Terminal Velocity
Terminal Velocity is a game that I didn’t get the chance to play when I was younger. I ended up playing Microsoft Hellbender when I was younger instead and later looked to play the earlier games by TRI. Finally I played both this and Fury3 years later.
This game is extremely nostalgic to me and have plenty of great memories. It definitely would be hard for many to get into it since this comes packaged with DOSbox and does not have the same resolution settings that we are accustomed to today.
There is an attempt at a game engine rewrite called Terminal Recall which seems decent, however it is very slow on the laptop I usually use. I even made an attempt to dig into creating an engine to play the games but only ever got as far as opening and reading the game’s data files.
– Real player with 16.6 hrs in game
Great game, even to this day. Controls are perfect using the 360-Controller - firing with the right trigger is extremely satisfying! The levels however are a bit pale from a game design standpoint - you pretty much do the same all the time.
Note: I’ve played using the Microsoft 360-Pad and the Saitek PS3200. For some reason, the controls using the MS-Pad are a bit stiff in that the Analog Stick doesn’t seem to support diagonal movement. That means you can either move to the X- or Y-axis, but never both. The Saitek-Pad however works just fine and lets me do vertical movement. I don’t know if this is a problem with my PC but I thought I’d share this with you.
– Real player with 16.2 hrs in game
AS+CEND
AS+CEND is a space shooter where you pilot powerful combat ships in ferocious clashes against other players in a fully 3D environment. Fight in complex arenas with six degrees of freedom using different ships, weapons and abilities. Each match in AS+CEND is a deliberate battle of deadly intent that can quickly become a frantic fight for your life, or resolve into a satisfying kill when all goes according to plan.
Think in all directions! Each side of an AS+CEND ship has a shield which protects you from attacks from that direction. Some of these facings also have weapons mounted. Attacking with these weapons will let you strip the shields from you enemies, but it will also drop the shields on that side. Claim victory by exposing your opponent’s hull while protecting your own weaknesses.
We’re working hard to bring more tools of destruction to the table. New ship frames will offer different movement styles and ultimate abilities to confound your enemies. New weapons will impose a variety of deadly threats in your conflicts. New abilities will create more opportunities for you to trick your opponents.
Regularly Updated Content
Ship Frames
We plan to introduce new ship frames each with a unique layout of equipment slots, movement power and ultimate ability.
Weapon Modules
We’re going to regularly add new weapons to the existing weapon types as well as introduce brand new archetypes.
Ability Modules
We’ll be adding new and interesting abilities to the game to mix up the combat formula and keep fights from getting too comfortable.
Combat Arenas
We’ll be developing more maps, generally timed against other major feature releases. Maps will be introduced in sets of combat arena that are all similarly themed and will be used in most of the game modes.
Upcoming Features
Patrols
Patrols are single player activities designed for players who want to challenge their combat skills but don’t have the time or desire to compete directly against other players. This game mode will features progression and randomization for a different challenge each run!
Battles
Battles will be 3 vs 3 matches that will give players the chance to emphasize their teamplay in more goal-oriented game modes.
Customization
Everything from cosmetics to custom ship layouts, we’re planning on allow players to tailor their equipment to their own desired play style.
Ranked Play
We’re planning on having seasonal ranked options for players who wish to play with and against similar skilled players and challenge themselves to rise through the ranks.
Descent
I played this game like crazy when I was young. It’s really hard until you get the hang of it, and then you become basically unstoppable. The most scary part of the game for me was level 7, the first time I encountered the first boss. I went out into this big lava room and the boss made such a horrible scary sound when he appeared, and it killed me. Then I would hide inside the tunnel leading to the bosses' room, and it would appear nearby. My heart would nearly stop when I would hear the sound effect he would make, because then I knew he was nearby. The boss would fire missles into my tunnel I was hiding in, and the little green balls would lock onto my ship and destroy me. After trying countless times to beat him by shooting at him from inside my not-so-safe tunnel, I made a bold and daring move. I left the tunnel. And amazingly, even though I played only with the keyboard, my little fingers would move so fast I could slide up, down, right, left and spin in all kinds of crazy circles, the little green balls would try to lock onto my ship but I was able to dodge them all. The funnest part of this game for me was its built-in replay recording feature, which will record a replay of your game. Once I got good at beating the boss, I increased the difficulty level to “insane”, and recorded countless epic replays of me beating the boss on insane. He would shoot missles as fast as a machine gun on insane difficulty, and every one of those missles would explode into a cloud of green balls. Hundreds of green balls would be in the air at once. Shoulda been impossible for me to dodge them all. Even just one or two of them hitting me would destroy my ship at that level of difficulty. But I would dodge them all. I would do loop to loops around the boss, zig-zagging through all the green balls, all the while shootting at him and throwing his own green balls right back at him, destroying him with his own green balls! It was so much fun. Some of those replays were so insane, I wish I still had the recordings, but that was a long time ago. This is one of the few games where you will often be turning both up/down plus turning right/left plus sliding up/down plus sliding right/left plus moving forward/backward plus shooting –- all at the same time!
– Real player with 51.1 hrs in game
Descent is the kind of games which are hard to write a review about. No, not because it is kinda tricky and complicated or controversial. No, it’s quite opposite actually. The problem is else… Modern player will hardly pay attention to it and fans will buy without need of any reviews. So there is no audience for the review and a question, whether I should write it at all, rises. And that’s a pity because the game is quite unique and it still doesn’t have proper rivals (apart from its other titles). So, I am going to try to describe it shortly in hope that at least one rookie will pay their attention to it.
– Real player with 49.7 hrs in game
Forsaken Remastered
Note: This game unfortunately does not have joystick support. Still fun as hell to play though
Forsaken was my favorite 6DOF title back in the 90s, and I was elated to see it finally was remastered, and even managed to include content from the N64 version which I grew up with, making it more complete than the past PC/PSX/N64 releases. It looks fantastic in full HD, you can finally adjust your FOV properly, and when you find opponents, the multiplayer is absolutely mental. Also, the addition of a much needed map system was also added, which makesthis game MUCH less frustrating to play, I remmeber losing my mind as a kid getting lost in some levels. Nightdive, you guys rock, love that you did this for your Turok remasters as well.
– Real player with 71.4 hrs in game
When a legend was FORSAKEN
Nightdive worked its magic to revive that which had been
FORSAKEN.
Do yourself a few favors:
-Buy the game if you’re even considering it, at least as a fan of the 6DOF genre- because while both this and Descent couldn’t be more different thematically, both games were (at least in my biased opinion) leaders of a new genre that has only recently seen some new life since the very inception of it back in the ’90s. The remaster does not stray from the original formula, instead only facelifting the long-since-abandoned PC version, which has been left to be remade by the fans (producing a version without the memorable sountrack, and stylistic HUD elements.)
– Real player with 52.2 hrs in game