Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold

[AutoAdmin]

Feel free to rate and discuss this game.

[she's long gone]

Now this is a game that I really wish would get a freeware release or even a remake... I even once started a project to remake it using the Doom engine but gave up.

[strtj]

Blake is definitely underrated. Sure, it used the Wolf engine, but the addition of a map and completion goals made it feel like a totally separate game. My only complaints are that they got really lazy with some of the levels in the later episodes, and the final ending is astonishingly unfulfilling. You don't even fight a real boss, you just walk around blowing up stationary objects.

Planet Strike, which I don't think there is a demo of, is actually worse. There's no way to stop the map from being shown rotated to your current POV, which makes it almost useless, even though it's now displayed in the HUD.

[ThreeHeadedMonkey]

Actually fun to play (it's probably my favorite of the Wolf3D engine games, except for the original), but as other have already mentioned, when you progress further into the game the levels get boring and repetitive. Also, the ending left me completely disappointed (for the real ending, check out the so-so sequel Planet Strike). Graphics/sounds are alright, nothing spectacular here though. The registered version comes with a nice-looking manual that has a little comic strip as introduction to the game's story.

Had this one been released a few months earlier, it might have been more appreciated.

[Jeffpiatt]

The most underrated game at apogee it got rushed out of the gate to beat doom to market and rather than upgrade the graphics engine it upgraded the game play. this kind of shooter would not be tried again until half-life and quake. AOG still used beta graphics the sequel is more finished.

[MrFlibble]

Blake Stone is fun to play, and pioneered quite a few concepts that were used in later games, like ceiling-mounted automatic turrets and self-destruct hover drones, enemies that fake death and lie on the floor waiting to ambush the player, friendly non-combatants, and the ability to return to previously completed levels. Compared to Wolfenstein 3-D, there are more enemy types, and really lots of secret areas. Unfortunately, even with the engine upgrades like floor and ceiling textures, rudimentary dynamic lighting and the addition of the auto-map, there were still huge design limitations that resulted in the game slowly getting repetitive and rather boring as the player progressed. Nevertheless, Blake Stone definitely has its load of fun to offer, and is a must try for any Wolfenstein 3-D fan.

[MrFlibble]

I've just noticed that the release date of v2.1 on the game page here says Jul 15, 1994, whereas the date stamps on the files say Jul 01, 1994.

Also it seems that the shareware v2.1 on the site is not the official online installer version. A "BBS & Online Edition" package can be found here: #1BS21.ZIP