Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...
scwiba

Blake Stone and Planet Strike

Recommended Posts

I don't know what the general opinion of the Doom community is on Blake Stone, and actually I don't really hear anything about it ever. So, feel free to bash or praise it here -- I'm a bit curious what other Doomers think of it.

In any case, I am quite like the game for some reason. It seems like it's way more fun than it theoretically should be and I would even rank it higher than Wolfenstein or Duke3D. I planned on ordering it from 3DRealms' online store, but my question is whether I should grab a copy of Planet Strike too while I'm at it. To anyone who enjoyed Blake Stone and got the sequel, what did you think of it? If I'm correct, for the same price, you're getting only a third of the levels, no new enemies (except the reskinned guards, I guess), a single new gun, and a few fresh tricks and gimmicks. Just wondering if it's worth it.

And while I'm at it, has anyone bought old games from 3DRealms? Do they still come in the original boxes and include the manuals?

Share this post


Link to post

I really liked Blake Stone. That, along with Doom, was part of the shareware pack that came with my very first PC back in 1993 or whenever that was. I eventually wound up with the full version, although I don't remember how (yard sale maybe?). I wish I still knew where it was, I've been on a vintage games kick lately (Bio-Menace and Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure mainly).

Share this post


Link to post
Kid Airbag said:

Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure

Oh man, that game is awesome.
I wish that there were expansion packs made for it (no, seriously).

Share this post


Link to post

I liked Blake Stone also, I finished all 6 episodes when I got the full version in 1994 within a day (and yes I had Doom at the same time too)

Dunno why people call it a carbon copy of Doom when it obviously plays completely different.

I still have my floppies (v2.0) but they're corrupt :I

this is the best ending ever though

Share this post


Link to post
Kid Airbag said:

I really liked Blake Stone. That, along with Doom, was part of the shareware pack that came with my very first PC back in 1993 or whenever that was.

Did you have the one with Doom, Blake Stone, Wolfenstein 3D, and some maze game with mechs? That was my first experience with first-person shooters, probably back in '94 or '95.

Share this post


Link to post

Blake Stone is one of my favourite games based on the Wolf3D engine. The secret rooms inside the secret rooms inside the secret rooms I always found funny, and often drove me to try and find all the secrets, and get the highest score. I never played past the first episode, though; something I regret not being able to do, along with Depth Dwellers.

Share this post


Link to post
leileilol said:

Megatron?

(Yes, it was actually called that)

Oh. My. God. I've been trying to remember the name of that game for over ten years. You are my hero.

Blake Stone is the shit too. I beat the game so many times. I have yet to really try Planet Strike. I acquired it a couple of years ago, and still haven't gotten around to it.

Share this post


Link to post
leileilol said:

Megatron?

heh. Yeah, that was it. I remember not understanding what was going on as a kid, and I never really touched it again after that.

Share this post


Link to post
Ryathaen said:

Did you have the one with Doom, Blake Stone, Wolfenstein 3D, and some maze game with mechs? That was my first experience with first-person shooters, probably back in '94 or '95.


I think it had Wolf3d, but it had a ton of other non FPS games, too, like the other games I was talking about, in fact, plus some other classics like Jill of the Jungle and Crystal Caverns. I really should dig that out sometime and see if it still works.

Share this post


Link to post

We used to get these game discs from a local company that came with several games/utils packed onto a 1.44mb floppy. When they went bust we bought shoeboxes full of these discs - once of which had Blakestone. I remember thinking how amazing it was to be able to talk to the scientist and use the food dispensers.

I've been on a vintage games kick lately (Bio-Menace and Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure mainly).


I have fond memories of both those games. I also really enjoy Duke Nukem 3. Yay for DOSBox.

Share this post


Link to post

Aww, Blake Stone. I loved that game. Never played past the 1st episode though, due to never owning the full version. It had guys that got back up after shooting them, all kinds of neat interactive stuff, some guy that you chase through all the levels, and "helpful scientists". I remember when Half-Life came out, everyone praised it for being innovative for having all of that and I was like "what?"

leileilol said:

Megatron?

(Yes, it was actually called that)

Was that the one with the Alpha and Omega mechs? If so I think I might have had that pack too. O_O

Share this post


Link to post

Megatron was a real shitty maze game with robots that looked similar to the ones from Doctor Who, that is if I remeber correctly. I remember it having badly textured walls with no floor or ceiling textures and because of my system it ran extremely fast.

Share this post


Link to post

Ah Blakestone, I have some fond memories of that game. It, along with Wolfenstein 3D were the first first person shooters I ever played. It was probably around 94 or 95, my friend had a shareware disk with both of them on it and let me borrow it. Eventually I ended up getting the full Blakestone for christmas a year or two later, played through all of it. Fun game, although the whole "you only get 4 weapons" thing annoyed me about both of those games. Still, interactive health dispensers, interactive scientists, and enemies that get up after you thought you killed them. Plus all the secret areas made it pretty fun. I've tried playing it a few times since then, but of course every time I spend an hour trying to get the floppies to work to no avail. I've never played Planet Strike though, so I can't say much about it. I wouldn't pay more than 10 dollars for Blakestone at this point, but it's still a fun game in a nostalgic sense, although I think Wolfenstein was the better of the two, but I'm a sucker for things WWII related. At least I was until Medal of Honor made everyone think that whoring it out in new installations twice a year was a good idea.

Share this post


Link to post

I prefer Blake Stone's storyline over Wolfenstein's, because I like science-fiction anytime, over warped history. The game has more enemies, a little more interaction (still no Doom-style switches), no melee weapons, and a plasma explosion thrower. That makes it more varied than Wolf3d.

It would have been all nice and comfy, if the designers didn't put plasma alien generators. Those aliens shoot jets of plasma which are hard to avoid, do totally half of your health worth of damage, take ammo to kill, can open doors, and are generated in indefinite quantity in special rooms. That settles it.

The STAR troopers are also too powerful, compared to any of the hideous monsters encountered by me so far, but I accept it. Why shouldn't humans be the stronger ones? The ceiling turrets can't be destroyed with the pistols, that makes no sense. I also hated the hostile scientists, a more dangerous enemy, because you don't always detect he's hostile. The plasma explosion thrower is way too powerful for just 4 bullets.

Fun game, still, in case the level has no generators... Fortunately, Doom can simulate health replenishers, thanks to voodoo dolls. And thankfully, Doom can't simulate indestructible indefinite monster generators. Maybe lack of such monster generators is what keeps a shooter game popular. I have similar bad feelings for Descent, which also uses annoying generators of the heaviest robots possible.

Share this post


Link to post
alexz721 said:

I'll bet you Secret Agent and God of Thunder were on it too.


Yup, and Raptor!

I actually had forgotten about God of Thunder, but now that you mention it I had a lot of fun with that one.

Share this post


Link to post

Blake Stone is/was really cool. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm guessing it suffered a bit from being a little bit late on the technology curve, kind of like Strife being the last Doom engined game.

Wasn't there a follow up game to Blake Stone? I heard it had a sequel of some sort.

Share this post


Link to post

Yeah, that was Planet Strike. It had better graphics, more weapons and monsters (including one that could transform into inanimate objects) and even weapon bobbing! It was more like one big episode or expansion pack compared to the original, but it was a lot of fun. I would love to see another sequal or even a remake of Blake Stone.

Share this post


Link to post

Ah, OK. In that case, a quick google search turns up these additional details.

20 all-new levels with wildly new designs.
New wall/environment graphics throughout.
Cloaked actors that appear out of nowhere.
All-new alien-like guards (not the same three original guards).
Real-time Automap (multi-zoom: 2x MAG shows actors)
Four new bosses.
A new blaster weapon (anti-plasma cannon, can blast through doors).
Fission detonator blows security cube to unlock teleport.
3 morphing actors (first appear as statues, or other objects).
New hazards, like barriers and spikes.
Improved actor intelligence.
Blastable ammo (you can accidentally destroy ammo packs).
All new music.
Bobbing gun effect for realism.
Darker, more realistic levels (changing light conditions).
New, more realistic weapon graphics.

Heh


Share this post


Link to post
leileilol said:

i think it's funny that blake stone was black in aliens of gold


I'd agree that he has changed a bit (ie a lot), but he doesn't look particularly black to me:

Share this post


Link to post

Ah, Blake Stone. One of the few Wolf engine games I liked. As for the look change for Planet Strike, I would put that down to a cover art fuck up. After all, the title screen of Planet Strike shows older styled Blake with the games new weapon.

Share this post


Link to post
Snarboo said:

I would love to see another sequal or even a remake of Blake Stone.


Time to get cracking on the Blake Stone-for-Doom .wad.

Share this post


Link to post

They're just imitating old pulp fiction mag cover styled artwork, especially the one with the blonde chick.

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×