PC Round-Up #1 - Part 2

After perhaps world record levels of procrastination (I started this post two years ago, which was itself some five years since my first 'Catacomb' post!), I've finally gotten around to resuming my coverage of first-person shooters... which never even started to begin with. This is due to my mild-yet-prevalent OCD which dictated I review the first FPS before looking at the later, more well-known ones. This led to a problem: what was the first FPS? My initial research into this subject has yielded several answers. Many might say Doom; oldies like me will remember Wolfenstein 3D; but the answer lies even further back than that - Catacomb 3D and its sequels.

Catacomb 3D: The Descent (1991)

Also known as Catacomb 3 to tie in to the 2D games and also known as Catacomb 3D: A New Dimension to emphasise the added dimension, this possibly first ever first-person shooter by the now-legendary id Software casts you in the same role as before - that of wizard Petton Everhail who must save his friend from the evil lich Grelminar. This seems to involve wandering around various mazey stages shooting lots of monsters with fireballs from your hand as you try to find the portal that takes you to the next such example. I was expecting an ugly, clunky, unplayable mess to be honest but I was pleasantly surprised. I mean, the stages are all flat and there's not much variety but movement is smoother than I thought it would be which includes a helpful strafe button, and there are plenty of scary monsters and stuff to collect, and even some secret areas! Frankly, I was just going to play it for long enough to grab a screenshot and get a reasonable impression of it but I kept playing simply because I was enjoying it. Okay, it's very basic and repetitive (especially the music) compared to later examples, but it's not at all bad, all things considered... 6/10

The Catacomb Abyss (1992)

Since id Software had moved on to Wolfenstein 3D when this sequel was wanted by publisher Softdisk, it was instead developed by a new team using the original engine. You again play as Petton Everhail who has been hired by some helpless townsfolk to vanquish the evil that dwells beneath and around their town. The game basically plays as it did before but there are a few differences - a few little things like the score (there now isn't one) and inventory (easier to keep track of), but mainly a much greater graphical variety (locales and enemies), and also a greater emphasis on searching and puzzliness including far more hidden areas which you now have to find as they usually contain vital keys or other items. Sadly, a consequence of the flashier graphics is slower, slightly more sluggish movement. There is a handy radar/scanner thing now though, which helps to avoid attacks from behind (eep!) and there is no longer music which some may consider a blessing (chortle!). The bottom line though, it that Abyss is slower but more varied, so it's better and worse... 6/10

The Catacomb Armageddon (1992)

It seems Softdisk wanted to make a non-id Software trilogy of games based on Catacomb since Abyss, Armageddon and Apocalypse were apparently intended as a trilogy. It certainly shows at this point as Armageddon is basically the same as Abyss but with new levels and graphics, and the story continues on from Abyss too. Accordingly, the ghastly Nemesis, arch rival to the ultra-heroic Petton Everhail, was sent scurrying away after his defeat in the previous game and has sought refuge in the Towne of Morbidity. Here dwell stumbling zombie oafs from the previous game but plenty of new monsters too, including the hyper-scary giant ants shown above! The emphasis on maziness and puzzliness remains, however, with much game time spent looking for colour-coded keys and their corresponding doors, many of which are in secret areas behind shootable walls. It's pretty decent though, with some sizeable stages and challenging (and spooky) enemies. Armageddon, later rereleased as Curse of Catacombs, is probably the best game in the series yet... 7/10

The Catacomb Apocalypse (1992)

The final game of Softdisk's trilogy, later rereleased as Terror of the Catacombs, and apparently the last game in the series altogether. It somehow arrived in the same year as the previous two games and is again very similar to them aside from the level layouts and graphics used for them. The difference this time is significant, however, as the evil Nemesis has 'discovered how to use time gates' which, yes, does indeed mean stages are set in different time periods. That certainly helps make the stages more varied than ever, and that they are - there are old stoney stages, some futuristic metallic ones, and even a mental (and confusing) stage with walls made of fire! Aside from their appearance, they play pretty much the same as the last couple of games, and unfortunately, the considerably more basic sound effects that debuted in the previous game return but that's about the only gripe really. Each game in the series has improved at least something over the one before it and that's surely all you can ask. I imagine this would've taken up a lot of my time back in its day... 7/10

Final Thoughts:

Well, it has taken me a staggeringly long time to have finally had a look at what many consider to be the first ever first-person shooter and it's sequels, but was it? I guess it depends on your definition of the term: as far as the genre as we currently know it is concerned, I would say Catacomb 3D was where it all began, but if you take the words at their literal meaning, you could argue that something like Battlezone was the first. Whatever your opinion, one thing can surely not be disputed - John Carmack and John Romero played a huge role (amongst others, of course) in the birth and popularity of the genre, being responsible for Catacomb 3D, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake. In any case, I'm glad I've played another game of historical significance, and also glad to find that it's still pretty playable.

It's really difficult to know how to rate games like this though. As mentioned, they are important games from a historical standpoint, especially the first one, and they were very innovative for their day, but of course, greater things were soon to come and everything done here has been done a million more times by now, and a million times better as well, in some cases by the same guys. The popularity of first-person shooters has never dimmed over the years though; if anything they are more popular than ever. Does that mean earlier examples should be discarded?

I don't think so but I suppose I'm in a somewhat unique position on the matter - I almost exclusively prefer older games, and I don't really play modern FPS games. I've therefore tried to rate the games simply by how much I enjoyed playing them in relation to the kind of games I normally play. I have played a handful of newer FPSs and some of their innovations are missed here, but the Catacomb games are certainly much more enjoyable than the clunky, disorientating messes I was expecting, and I'm very pleased to not only have played them but also to have finally finished this post! I guess I can at least review some other FPSs now...