Friday, January 29, 2010

Rise of the Triad

John B. Marine | 1/29/2010 09:18:00 PM |
Rise of the Triad may be at least 15 years old, but this DOS game is a very unique first-person shooter experience. You represent a counter-terrorist group known as HUNT exploring San Nicolas Island. You and your team were set to investigate an old monastery on San Nicolas Island. Reports indicated that a cult was hellbent on destroying the world. As you found what you were looking for, the boat was blown up. Now the only way out... is in. So begins your mission to kill the cult leader, El Oscuro, and all of the many minions that inhabit this crazy monastery. Here is a look at the game (NOTE: This blog entry contains links to Amazon products. Please see "An Important Amazon Note" to see more information on any Amazon items shown.):

Rise of the Triad: Dark War



--- "Rise of the Triad" at a Glance ---

There are about 30+ stages consisting of many obstacles, a few puzzle elements, expansive levels, and loads of surprises. You will be faced with loads of challenges. ROTT has about four different episodes to it. The first episode has you taking on lots of the goons defending this monastery. The second episode takes you deeper into the monastery with more complex surprises. Episode three is a mechanical nightmare with lots of automatons not afraid to attack you. The fourth (and final) episode has you dealing with unrelenting monks and ultimately, El Oscuro himself.

Characters.

There are five characters to choose from. Each character has their own advantages and disadvantages. Take a look:
* Taradino Cassatt - fairly average in all departments.
* Thi Barrett - the female equivalent of Taradino.
* Doug Wendt - built like a tank, can take a beating, but is very slow.
* Lorelei Ni - very quick and speedy, but she is very fragile. She is not good at taking beatings.
* Ian Paul Freeley (yes, I.P. Freeley) - fairly average character overall. Can't really tell what makes him much different from the other five.


Weapons.

To save the world, you have a handful of weapons. The coolest aspect of this game is that you don't have to go around picking up ammo from dead enemies just to have enough bullets left. Your bullet ammunition is UNLIMITED! You are armed with simply a pistol to begin with. You can pick up an extra pistol for two-handed goodness. The best bullet weapon is your MP40. It will save you lots of trouble when you don't have any missile weapons. Speaking of which... there are a number of them. Here are some of the missile weapons for you to pick up (others you'll have to find out on your own!):

* Bazooka - a straight-shooting missile weapon. You get ten shots with these. In the hardest setting, some enemies use bazookas that you can pick up if you kill them.
* Heatseeker - a homing missile weapon. You get only seven shots. This can come in very handy when trying to hide or attack from a fixed distance.
* Drunk Missile - a weapon that shoots several heat-seeking missiles at once. You have up to seven shots.
* Flamewall - a weapon that shoots a wall of flames. A heavy missile falls to the ground, leaving a trail of flames upon impact to the ground. You can also fire the Flamewall at the ground to quickly take care of a pack of enemies. You get only five shots.
* Firebomb - a straight-shooting missle that explodes a cross-like pattern of flames. This is by far the most powerful missile weapon. You only get five shots with this weapon. Absolutely NOT recommended for close-quarters combat!


Items and Powerups.

There are a number of items and powerups to help you out. Here are some or all of them:
* Monk Meal - recovers one unit of health.
* Priest Porridge - recovers two units of health. However, there if you find a way to heat up the porridge, you can recover much more health.
* Healing Basin - drink water from these basins to recover energy. However much energy you recover varies.
* Asbestos Armor - temporarily projects you from fire and projectile attacks.
* Bulletproof Armor - temporarily projects you from gun fire.
* Ankh - every Ankh symbol collected is good towards adding extra lives. There are four different ankh symbols- the basic silver one with a ring outside of it grants one life point. A bronze ankh with a granite background grants five life points. A bronze ankh outlined with beated accents grants ten life points. Finally, a red ankh with two rings encircling it grants 25 life points.

Now some (or all) of the powerups...
* Mercury Mode - allows you to float into the air.
* Blue Ankh - gives full health. If already with a lot of health or full health, it grants an extra life.
* Green Ankh - gives full health. If already with a lot of health or with full health, it grants three extra lives.
* Elasto Mode - you bounce around the level! It sounds fun until you realize you're in a room filled with dangerous obstacles...
* Shrooms Mode - your vision shifts wildly, and your accuracy becomes distorted. On the other hand, using this powerup can help you get some hints about getting through a level. For example, some of the columns you can push while in Shrooms Mode will be highlighted to let you know what to push.
* God Mode - temporary invulnerability, and you can fire blasts that home in on enemies and kill enemies on impact.
* Dog Mode - you are invulnerable, and also pretty powerful. Use this fierce power to viciously rip apart your enemies. You can also use this mode to access narrow openings.


Hazards.

Many hazards (besides the enemies themselves) get in your way in kicking El Oscuro's butt. Here are some (or maybe all) of them:

* Fire Jets - flames shoot up from the ground or from the top. Run through it, and you'll become barbequed on the spot.

* Flame Walls - run into these, and you get burned up. Simple enough? Funny thing is, some of these flame walls can be pushed as push walls. Some of these walls even move randomly, making the trail through each level even more treacherous.

* Spear Rack - a rack of spears shoot up from the ground, piercing into you upon arrival. They may also shoot downward from a ceiling.

* Spinblades - run into these to get your own complimentary flesh wounds. Some of these even shoot up from the ground or ceiling.

* Lava pits - avoid these at all costs! Stepping on these hot coals will slowly chip into your health.

* Boulders - rolling boulders fall from the ceiling, down to the ground, and rolling over.

* Pits - running over these areas will cause you to fall in. It takes a keen eye to find the pit areas on the ground. It isn't too hard to find these pits on the ground once you really notice the floor.


Enemies: Basic.

In this section, you will be introduced to some of the enemies in this game. This a description of some of the enemies you will be facing. They will be described by their appearance:

* a basic grunt that carries a pistol, wearing a gray jacket and black pants. Some play dead and awaken when the player draws near.

* an enemy in a dark green coat that carries a pistol. On the hardest setting, some fire bazooka rounds at you. Some may beg when they're about to die. If so, finish them off quickly! Some may drop their bazookas if there is still some ammo left in them (only on the hardest setting).

* a bearded enemy in a dark green coat that carries an MP40. Waste them quickly because their MP40 shots can do some damage.

* an athletic enemy in a beige outfit, carrying a pistol. They can roll out of the way of missile fire and can be pesky to take down. It's best to take them down quickly with your MP40 (if you have one).

* a robot enemy that shoots drones. It can only be destroyed with missile weapons.

* a man in a gray/grey suit with a chaingun. It takes many hits to take him down. He also attacks by throwing grenades. Rely on missile weapons to defeat him quickly.


Here are a few more in the full game:
* an officer in a black outfit. He fires a pistol but also can shoot nets at you. If caught in the net, you'll need to have a knife to cut your way through or find some other way out.

* a gun turret that rises up and quickly attacks you with relentless gunfire.

* a mechanical pillar that fires missiles at you. It is invulnerable to all kinds of attacks.

* a small monk that fires energy at you. Kill them quickly.

* a large monk that steals your life by grabbing onto you. Take these monks down quickly to prevent massive damage against you.


Enemies: Bosses.

You can only damage these bosses with missile weapons. I'll just describe them for the most part. Don't expect any advice on beating them here.

* A boss in a green jacket and white pants that totes a bazooka.

* a man that rides in some sort of motorized chair.

* a formidable and large robotic enemy that is very quick with powerful attacks.

* El Oscuro. Yes- that's all I'll say about him!


A fun fact is that each of the enemies are actually Apogee employees that lend their image as enemies in this game.


Multiplayer.

The game features lots of modes ranging from Deathmatch to various triad-collecting modes. There is support for as many as 11 different players.



--- My Opinions ---
Rise of the Triad is a fantastic game. And from a guy who's played two different Shareware versions, it was a great joy to play this full game after years of not getting this game in the past. A lot of people say that this game wasn't all that spectacular for one reason- 90-degree walls. This game can be thought of as Super Wolfenstein 3D the way everything is executed. Instead of wasting Nazis in World War 2 at Castle Wolfenstein, you're trying to eliminate a religious cult and its minions at a monastery on San Nicolas Island in the future.





Rise of the Triad. It's an oldie, but a goodie. If my opinions of this game help you, feel free to get this game on Amazon by clicking on the image below this paragraph. But before you do, this is a DOS-only game. So you need to download DOSBox if you have any Windows operating system that isn't Windows 95 or Windows 98. Enjoy this classic game! Get it now on Amazon!


^ Rise of the Triad.

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