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Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons (1990)

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Duration: 9:57

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NOTE: To skip story, go to 2:14

This is a video of the second Commander Keen game, a series of side-scrolling games primarily developed by id Software and primarily published by Apogee Software that is comprised of eight main games broken up into episodes. It was one of several successful DOS action games and the first title to spearhead id Software to fame as it combined tight play control, impressive at-the-time graphics and animations for a DOS game, quirky characters and humor, and the great philosophy of making quality commercial-level games at a shareware price point.

The history on how commander Keen got started is also interesting, the gist of which being id was inspired by Nintendo and wanted to replicate Super Mario Bros. 3 for the PC market, to which Nintendo turned them down, leading a representative of Apogee to take notice and interest in their work and offer to publish their games and for id to make a game like Mario that was also original in and of itself.

In the games, you play as Billy Blaze, aka Commander Keen, an eight-year-old genius who dons his brother's Packers football helmet and goes on great adventures throughout the galaxy in a spaceship he constructed from old soup cans and other household goods (humourously called "The Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket"). In this game, Keen's ship is repaird and all seems well, that is until a Vorticon Mothership is poised to retaliate against the Earth due to Keen's interference by obliterating it with their deadly "X-14 Tantalus Rays". Save the Earth or let them destroy it, effectively getting rid of school... tough choice for a kid, but he makes the difficult decision to stop the mothership by sneaking on board. Now he has to each Tantalus Team from assaulting Earth, armed with his trusty pogo-stick and Vorticon HyperPistol. Here Keen goes again!

While your objective is simple, it's a little trickier than it sounds. You'll have to find various card keys to gain access to secured areas, fend of aliens including the tough Vorticons, jump around on to reach high areas, and even have some fun decripting messages with the game's SGA or "Standard Galactic Alphabet" which reveals quirky messages and even vital details about the series' plot. There are a few more different kinds of aliens in this game, including Vorticons that go down in one hit, as well as more challenging level designs right out the gate.

This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.