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This is a port of Forsaken to modern Windows, Mac and Linux by its fans after the source-code and game resources fell into their hands, and boasting support for modern systems, resolutions and controllers. Despite its age, there’s really not much like this outside of the recent Shattered Horizon, hence the community interest in keeping it alive. Anyone who played or remembers Descent knows what to expect here – rather than playing as a generic soldier, you’re flying around labyrinthine tunnels in a small free-flying spaceship, able to move in all directions with equal speed and precision. You’ll be primarily fighting against hordes of robotic defenses, some terrestrial, some flying, some mounted gun emplacements. It’s all very fast and arcadey, and despite the clearly aged graphics, well worth a look if you want something different from an FPS. While Descent was a relatively slow-moving game, Forsaken is a pure arcade shooter. You’ve got lives, hidden caches of point-items that regularly give you more lives, powerups to each of the guns you’ll be picking up, Gradius-like orbiting gun pickups, continues and more, and often a ticking time limit forcing you through each of the ~16 levels. Compared to Descent, the environments are generally quite straightforward, too, with you usually finding yourself in arena-like rooms, fending off a wave or two of flying, driving or stationary enemies before the door opens and you can proceed to the next chamber. There’s also a little additional depth to be found in the character selection screen, as the handling and stats of each of the playable ships (or hoverbikes, in this case) wildly varies from character to character, so if you’re willing to sacrifice turning circle for firepower, that’s always an option. |
