Descent

Descent is one of the most involved titles in the FPS genre in terms of gameplay. Although Descent is clearly inspired by DOOM, it takes influence from the space shooter and flight simulator genre as well. The basic plot is that you control a space fighter-ship (?), you fly around blowing up evil robots, and at the end of almost every level, you trigger a chain reaction and blow up the place. It is satisfying once you get used to navigating with the controls.

Descent will leave you spinning, literally sometimes. Basically, take a DOOM level and remove gravity, and you have a Descent level: there is no gravity, and you can move in any direction on the X, Y, or Z, axis. You can rotate on the Z-axis (I think I am describing that correctly) and play the entire level upside-down if you want. There is a high learning curve for the controls, especially using the joystick which was the only really effective way to play this game when it came out, but the controls offer surprising precision when mastered. That precision is very important both for the tight corridors that levels take place in, and for the much-need precision to take out enemy robots.

If you thought DOOM had the maz-iest levels in the genre you would be wrong, because that award goes to Descent. Individual levels in this game take the form of intricate mining tunnels. Like I said earlier, there is no gravity in Descent, you can move in any direction, and rotate in any direction. Just imagine there being doors, enemies, powerups, and paths everywhere. On the ground, in front of you, to your right, left, and on the ceiling. There are narrow corridors that can spiral downwards, upwards, forwards, and backwards. The levels can be completely non-linear as well. and they usually are. There are tunnels everywhere. and you will never be able to tell which path is the correct one; whether each path goes to the same place; or whether a certain path leads to a secret. Navigating would be impossible if it was not for the mini-map. Of course, navigating the mini-map has a difficulty curve all of its own, because the mini-map is 3-dimensional.

Finally, we have my favorite component of the game, which is the shooting aspect. This part is very complicated so bear with me. Like I said earlier, Descent takes influence from DOOM, but the shooting is not at all like DOOM in several key areas. No weapons fire hit-scans, there is no auto-aim, and all weapons fire projectiles. In addition, Descent adds an element of realism in that weapons fire not from the center of the screen, but from the sides of the ship itself. This creates an inherent parallax problem, and to rectify this, there is a finely-tuned cross-hair. The parallax problem, the lack of hit-scans, and the lack of auto-aim provides a challenging twist to the gameplay in that you must properly align every shot in order for it to hit. This free aiming system was unprecedented in the genre for 1994, and is one of the most advanced applications of circle strafing in the history of the genre. In another interesting twist, Descent separates its arsenal into two categories: primary weapons and secondary weapons. Primary weapons are fast-firing directed-energy weapons or conventional weaponry, and missiles are powerful, large projectiles that are highly devastating and exist in short supply.

One last cool thing about the game is the instrumental, electro-industrial/metal soundtrack that was only available on the Mac version. It was weirdly appropriate for the subject matter.

All that said, I give this game an average rating because the action is too slow for me. Enemies are bullet sponges, energy is limited, and the control scheme is far too slippery. This is as far from the run n' gun trend in FPS games you could get in 1994.