PowerSlave: Exhumed - Trailer

Channel:

Gamer ZoneXF

Subscribers:

46

Published on April 12, 2023 3:00:18 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhXU8XTzq1Q

Game:

PowerSlave (1996)

Category:

Review

Duration: 3:49

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Trailer Index
00:00 - Launch Trailer
01:58 - Nightdive Studio Trailer

PowerSlave, known as Exhumed in Europe and 1999 AD: Resurrection of the Pharaoh (西暦　1999：ファラオの復活, Seireki 1999: Pharaoh no Fukkatsu) in Japan, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Lobotomy Software and published by Playmates Interactive in North America, and BMG Interactive in Europe and Japan. It was released in North America, Europe and Japan, for the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and MS-DOS over the course of a year from late 1996 to late 1997. On May 24, 2015, Powerslave EX, an unofficial remake for the PlayStation version appeared on GitHub. The MS-DOS version of PowerSlave was added to the GOG store on November 19, 2020.

Developed by Nightdive Studios in partnership with Throwback Entertainment, an enhanced port for the PC and modern consoles combining elements of the Saturn and PlayStation versions, PowerSlave Exhumed, was announced on August 14, 2021 and released on February 10, 2022.

Plot
PowerSlave is set in and around the ancient Egyptian city of Karnak in the late 20th century. The city has been seized by unknown forces, with a special crack team of hardened soldiers sent to the valley of Karnak, to uncover the source of this trouble. However, on the journey there, the player's helicopter is shot down and the player barely escapes. The player is sent in to the valley as the hero to save Karnak and the World. The player must battle hordes of extraterrestrial insectoid beings known as the Kilmaat, as well as their various minions, which include mummies, Anubis soldiers, scorpions, and evil spirits.

In the console versions, there are two endings, depending on the player's course of action during the game. In the good ending, the protagonist has collected eight pieces of a radio transmission device, so he can send a rescue signal and be extracted from the Valley. After reclaiming the mummy of Ramses, the Pharaoh thanks him for his effort, and promises the protagonist that he will inherit Ramses' Earthly kingdom, and that the Gods will bless him with eternal life and make him ruler of the world. After escaping the collapsing tomb, the protagonist is indeed rewarded as such, and becomes a powerful and benevolent Pharaoh of the entire planet. In the bad ending, the player has failed to collect all eight pieces of the radio transmitter, and the protagonist is subsequently buried in the tomb of Ramses, only to be excavated centuries later by the now ruling forces of the Kilmaat and put on display as the last human corpse.

Gameplay
Gameplay in both the original PC version and console versions follows the standard first-person shooter formula. Familiar elements from the genre, such as health refills and a selection of different weapons, are present. However, in the console versions as well as the remastered PC version, Powerslave EX, the game functions more as a hybrid of a first-person shooter and a Metroidvania, as the player obtains new weapons and ancient artifacts over the course of the game, providing them with abilities that allow them to explore previously unreachable areas, all of which are connected with an overworld map. Such abilities include being able to jump higher, levitate, breathe underwater, walk in lava and walk through force fields.

Releases Console
The first version of the game to be released was on the Sega Saturn, shortly followed by a release on the PlayStation, with tweaked gameplay, added architecture, some different levels, and other changes. Both of these versions are based on Lobotomy Software's SlaveDriver engine and feature a true 3D world, similar to Quake. The same engine was used to power the Sega Saturn versions of Duke Nukem 3D and Quake.

Reception
The Saturn version of PowerSlave sharply divided critics. GamePro gave it a perfect 5/5 in every category (graphics, sound, control, and FunFactor) and said its only weak point was that the variety of enemies could have been better. The reviewer found that the Egyptian theme, varied and distinctive scenery, light-sourcing effects, and platforming elements set it apart from other first-person shooters, and concluded, "PowerSlave should wake up some people: This awesome Saturn shooter combines puzzles, pyramids, and pulse-pounding excitement into one tight package, all using the Saturn's processors like no game has before." Rob Bright of Sega Saturn Magazine also bestowed it high praise, calling it "the game to set the standard for the first-person shoot 'em up genre." He especially complimented the fast pace, light-sourcing effects, need to unlock new areas by acquiring new abilities and revisiting levels, Egyptian scenery, and sound effects.
The PlayStation version received comparatively little attention from critics. GamePro said it was "not as polished as the Saturn version," but still outstanding in absolute terms.