RETRO GAME REVIEW: BLAKE STONE: ALIENS OF GOLD (Shareware)

Blake Stone is one of a few games that had the misfortune of being released near the same time as Doom. Being a first-person shooter, and using the Wolfenstein 3d engine, it was fated (doomed, if you will) to fall into almost complete obscurity.  However, here on the retro game review, I like to take these games based on their own merits.

From the outset, Blake Stone bears a lot of resemblance to Wolfenstein 3d, from the self-imposed PC-13 rating for violence to the title card to the way its difficulty settings show the title character with an increasingly more confident expression on his face as you ramp it up. However, Blake Stone trades in the World War II setting of Wolfenstein for a sort of futuristic James Bond – like atmosphere. The title and selection screens are all in the green on black screen lettering like you'd see on old computers, and the tech-base theme of the first level looks like something out of Star-Trek.

GAMEPLAY: Gameplay in Blake Stone is almost identical to Wolfenstein 3d. Each episode is made up of nine regular levels and two secret levels. The player's goal on each level is to find the red keycard and get to the elevator to move up to the next floor. These floors are populated with enemy scientists, soldiers and monsters. Additional weapons, health and ammo can be found scattered throughout the levels. However, Blake also adds vending machines which can be used to purchase additional health packs using tokens found throughout the levels.

Blake Stone also adds in some elements not found in Wolfenstein. For example, some of the scientists are actually spies who will help the player out by giving information, ammunition or tokens to use in the vending machines. It adds a dimension of depth to the game when approaching a scientists and wondering whether or not he's going to try to shoot you. Of course, its possible to just kill them all, but I found it to be sort of depressing when the game told me that I'd accidentally killed an informant.

The level design in Blake Stone is pretty good as well. There's a decent variety of textures to be found as well as some interesting and unique locations that keep things from getting too repetitive and make it easier to navigate around. There are also some interactive environment puzzles like electric fences that turn on and off via wall switches and cages which release monsters. Also of note are the ceiling-mounted turrets which can be a pain, but they do add some tension to otherwise enemy-free areas. The game also features an automap function, which can be very helpful given the maze-like structure of all Wolfenstien engine games.

All good science fiction guns have to be colorful.

Blake Stone's enemies are a sort of standard variety of humans, science fiction soldiers and alien style monsters. None of them stand out particularly much, although the game's mad scientist who serves as the main antagonist does periodically beam into a level and then teleport out again after taking a few shots. Its weapons also look like something you might see on an episode of Star Trek, although I did find them quite satisfying to use. The assault rifle in particular is very fun to use in spite of being remarkably similar to its Wolfenstein 3d counterpart. In fact, that might be why its so fun.

However, the gameplay of Blake Stone is not without its problems. I had some difficulty getting the game to run properly under DosBox, and it took a few minutes of adjustments before I was able to get going. Even once the game is running, it has what I can best describe as a sluggish feel to it. Where Wolfenstein 3d is fast and smooth, Blake Stone is fast but somewhat jerky. The problem is compounded when there are multiple enemies on the screen.

VISUALS: The Visuals in Blake Stone are very bright and colorful, as befits its setting. Even the weapons feature a wide palette of reds, blues and oranges splashed liberally throughout. It might not be the most appealing art style in the world, but it is at least coherent and consistent throughout. Likewise, the textures on the walls and ceilings may look a little dated when compared even to Wolfenstein's graphics, but they are nevertheless pleasant.

The enemy design is also decent, but I found it to be a little bland. The enemies don't all look the same, but none of them struck me as particularly unique or frightening. This can make the game a little less fun later on when you come across enemies that don't really look any tougher than the monsters you've already been killing but which can absorb and dish out substantially more damage. It doesn't break the game or make it not fun to play, but in some ways it feels like a missed opportunity.

FINAL VERDICT: 6.5/10 Blake Stone is a decent game and it adds some things to the simple Wolf3d formula. However, in spite of these additions, it ends up being a fairly unremarkable experience. Not necessarily bad, but there are several other Wolfenstein 3d – engine games that are superior.