ADG Episode 92 - Catacomb 3-D Series

Channel:

Pixelmusement

Subscribers:

22,900

Published on March 28, 2015 3:40:52 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtGoGWsCEbc

Game:

Catacomb 3-D (1991)

Category:

Show

Duration: 14:34

6,917 views

155

Originally Released: July 7th, 2012

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Long before Wolfenstein 3D, John Carmack had made a little game called Catacomb. Well, that game turned out to be the perfect candidate to translate into three dimensions and the first Catacomb 3-D game was pretty much exactly that.

Later Catacomb 3-D games were quite a bit better, with stronger controls, better graphics, more balanced gameplay (though still not quite as balanced as it could be), and time travel.

...yes... TIME TRAVEL. o_O

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Additional Information and Corrections:

* The Catacomb games are now available on GOG! For $6 you get literally ALL of them: Both 2D games, the original 3D game, and the trilogy! https://www.gog.com/game/catacombs_pack/?pp=91dfde1d6e005e422f64a59776234f1f4c80b5e4

* Just a quick note that the URL to Flat Rock Software's website doesn't work anymore. At least the games they were selling are still up on GOG!

* I'm not very pleased with the way this episode turned out. It was a bit too ambitious to try and cover four games at once, but they're so similar to each other and so basic it would've been redundant to spread these games out over multiple episodes. :/

* One powerup I didn't mention that are in all of the games except The Descent are the hourglasses. These stop time for a while, allowing you to prep up series of fireballs to hit your targets, though you can't really do much while time is stopped and it lasts for nearly a minute so I don't really like using them.

* Armageddon introduces the concept of doors which don't require keys to open, which can take a little getting used to, while Apocalypse introduces false walls you can walk through, but which block fireballs just like normal walls. The only way you can tell they're there is to walk through them. One of the first levels has these walls and you can't get past the level until you know about them so be prepared!

* I find it curious that the flickering effect that happens at higher cycle counts in DOSBox in these games is the same as in Ken's Labyrinth, considering both games were made by completely different people. I imagine this has something to do with the way the games access video memory. :P

* No, the fire walls can't hurt you. ;D

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