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Thursday 24 September 2015

POWERSLAVE (EXHUMED)


Powerslave (or Exhumed as it's know in Europe) looks and plays like a Doom clone with an Egyptian theme. At least it does at first glance. Dig deeper into the 1996 game by Lobotomy Software and you'll find a lot more than you might expect. Even the PlayStation version is not really a port, taking these unique elements and running (and strafing) with them.

Let's begin with a brief history lesson. Lobotomy Software, despite their short lifespan and small number of games to their name, are now highly regarded. They began in the early 90s with some fine-tuning of games ported over to the SNES and designing a couple of mini-games for Microsoft's Magic School Bus series. Throughout this period, the 20-man team were also working on their first (and only) original game.

It first arrived on SEGA's ill-fated Saturn in October 1996, a week after the behemoth that was the first Tomb Raider. Needless to say it was overshadowed by this all-time classic and initially failed at retail. The competition is not all to blame. The publisher's very low production numbers and lack of advertising also played a major part in it's lack of sales. The reviews, however,  were pretty good, earning the unprecedented support from the UK gaming press where it sold far more copies under the title Exhumed.

Then, two months later came the DOS version. This was very different to the console "ports", earning it the misleading Doom in Egypt reputation. It's still a highly entertaining game with some added new features such as platforming sections and minor RPG-like progression. It was also built using the same 2.5D engine as Duke Nukem 3D instead of the true polygonal environments created by the bespoke SlaveDriver engine of the console counterparts. It's unusual for PC games and their console ports to be so different, especially in this era, but what is more strange is that you'll find more fun with a joypad in your hands than a keyboard and mouse.

The PlayStation was the last to arrive in the February of 1997. I found this to be the better looking of the console versions, with transparent water effects being the most noticeable improvement. The Saturn couldn't handle such an effect but many think the game-play of SEGA's machine is better. I can't see much of an improvement in this regard beyond some admittedly impressive lighting effects. The 3D environments and re-jigged level designs do make each console version different and it does showcase the kind of 3D many thought the Saturn was incapable of.

These versions are much more open in their progression. Throughout the game, you'll find items that will give you extra abilities such as the Sandals of Ikumptet for a higher jump or the Horus Feather for levitation. With six artefacts in total, the way the game is played it drastically changed. On top of the fast-paced shooting, there's an added emphasis on exploration and experimentation not dissimilar to Metroid's first foray into 3D with the Prime series. Some levels even have multiple exits which can only be accessed once certain abilities have been collected.

What really stoked fans, and is probably reason why the Saturn version is considered the best, is the inclusion of a bonus game named Death Tank which can be unlocked after finding some very hard to find trinkets known as Team Dolls. Along with Saturn Bomberman, Death Tank quickly became one of the best party games around, allowing for up to eight players simultaneously. It looks like a rather simple clone of Worms but with one very important tweak: real-time attacks. Such a simple design choice made the game a frantic masterpiece, even going so far as making Powerslave a must-have in Japan where it was known as Seireki 1999: Pharaoh no Fukkatsu. In fact, there is more written about Death Tank in Japan than the game that hosted it. Alas, this was only present for the US Saturn release and only for those adept enough to collect the challenging Team Dolls. Do not despair; a remake has been released on Xbox Live, fleshing out this developer side project into a fully-featured game.

Despite the fanboy's cries, each version is definitely worth playing. The DOS version was put into production first, and it being the least favourable of the three does not make it a bad game. The quality of the work shows for itself. The sprite work is detailed with some nice animation giving them life in the interestingly designed levels make it more than a simple Doom clone. The Saturn version has gone down in history, if only for the Death Tank mini-game. Under the surface, it's also a revolutionary adventure way ahead of its time. The PlayStation version is very similar in game-play to the Saturn's but with some minor alterations to the levels making it different enough to be its own game. It's playable on PC thanks to a near-perfect emulation performance makes it a far better than that of the Saturn, which I've yet to adequately get running in such a way that I can share. (EDIT: since writing this review, Saturn emulation has turned a corner. I've now included in the console version below.)

After Powerslave, Lobotomy only released two more games for the Saturn: Duke Nukem 3D and Quake. Both are considered among the best 'ports' of each game, but in truth, they were re-made and re-built from the ground up using their own SlaveDriver engine. This cost a lot more money than they were anticipating having underbid themselves into liquidation. If only their business acumen matched their talent and enthusiasm.

There's a lot of fun to be had with this trilogy of games, each different in their own way. I highly recommend the PlayStation version over the DOS one, but both are very much worth your time.


**UPDATE**
As of 19th November 2020, the PC version of Poweslave is now available to buy on GOG.

Buy from GOG

**UPDATE**
As of 10th February 2022, the upgraded Console version called Poweslave Exhumed is available to buy on GOG.

Buy from GOG


Powerslave (Exhumed) is © Lobotomy Software
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

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17 comments:

  1. Hello,
    Great game, played with it since my childhood.
    how to configure a joystick for the DOS version ?
    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OSBox does emulate joystick support as well as the option for remapping keys. It's rather complex, so you may find an external program like Joy2Key easier.

      https://www.dosbox.com/DOSBoxManual.html#Joystick

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  2. Superb game and has aged incredibly well. Still playing through in 2019! Back in the day I was a big Saturn fan so this was a revelation. Right now I'm into the PSX edition, and though the fans go on about the superiority of the Saturn version, there's not much between them in reality. What you gain with one edition you lose on the other, and vice versa. On either platform, you must play this. Ahead of it's time.

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    Replies
    1. Definitely! It should be remembered in the retro gaming scene far more than it is.

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  3. Hello. If I may ask, is there any chance we'll eventually see the games 'Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure', 'Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain' and 'Claw' here?
    Please consider them for future inclusion.
    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello! I most likely won't add the first two as they can be bought on some systems - Nintendo VC and PS3's online store. I suspect the copyright holders still plan to motetize them sometime for PC. Claw on the other hand is more likely. I've have spent time on trying to get it working and believe it's in a good state. Just need to finish it off, play and review it. Can't tell you when that'll be though.

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  4. Howdy! The DosBox version has odd mouse issues. It feels like it loses it's tracking and stops picking up mouse movement momentarily, then starts up again. Feels a bit spotty and unreliable. Known any fix for this?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello, I've just tested it and the mouse is working. Please note that due to the age of the game, it wasn't really programmed with strafing in mind like modern games. Strafing is slow and you cannot turn when doing so. This is more noticeable if you've rebinded the keys with a more modern control scheme than the original one in the package.

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    2. I have found a Windows source port of the game which plays a lot better. I think I'll add that as a separate version in the near future.

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  5. Hey Biffman, just as a heads-up Powerslave just got re-released on GOG today.

    https://www.gog.com/game/powerslave

    ReplyDelete
  6. I came here for the same reason, to let Biffman know they released it today on GOG. Thing is, the GOG version doesn't quite compare. A couple of friends reported they bought the GOG release already and they said they refunded it because it sucks. They prefer Biff's release over GOG's. They said it seemed like a really lazy job from GOG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't bought it yet, so I can't be sure, but I believe they may have used BuildGDX or PCExhumed to run the game. This doesn't emulate the game like DOSBox and it's still relatively new but both have their pros and cons. I tried PCExhumed earlier in the year, and it tended to randomly crash on me.

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    2. Just as another headsup, Night Dive officially announced that they're making a remaster that will be a fusion of the Saturn and PS1 versions. Should be cool, no announced release date yet though.

      https://youtu.be/hWWY_kf9boA

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  7. At the last person that commented;
    I made my own build of Powerslave, with fixed dosbox settings, a more modern control scheme (minus vertical mouse aiming), much better dosbox settings, and fully patched to fix the strafing, the C key, added subtitles, etc all of that with the dehacker. Then I had it uploaded to their drive (Throwback Entertainment), so hopefully sometime real soon Powerslave should be updated and working as it should be without any of the issues. :) And I also made sure this was "Powerslave" and not Exhumed to prevent further confusion from other people.

    Working on a review for the game on Youtube right now, should be out in hopefully another week or two.

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    Replies
    1. Looking forward to it! Be sure to link the video here so we can all see it!

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    2. Im so sorry, didn't see that till just now, but here's the video!
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkLet0MeiPY

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  8. "buy from GOG" for twenty bucks? lol dang

    ReplyDelete