The Collection Chamber: WASTED DREAMS

Embark on a gigantic and mysterious alien speech adventure set in a violent reality, the crew of ExplorerFX2 have been searching for a new Earth for years, until now!
100's Hand Drawn Locations
1,000's of Roto-Scoped Character Movements
100Mb Digital Speech
300Mb 3D Rendered Animations
One or Two Players
Fast Strategy Action
Intriguing Puzzle Logic
Loads of Characters
Superb Evolving Plot Line
On-Line CD Manual

~ from the back of the CD jewel case

A few months ago, I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed an obscure Amiga action-adventure game called Codename Hellsquad. Its unfinished source code was picked up and completed by Croatian developer Thomas C. Cvijanović of Digital Dreams Entertainment who had worked on one game previously; Wasted Dreams. This came out just one year before in 1999, so naturally it was going to rise further up my must-play list. And for Amiga CD enthusiasts, this is a must-play.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two share a lot of gameplay mechanics making one wonder how much input Mr. Cvijanović had over the Hellsquad. Both are action-adventures where the auto-aimed gunplay comes second place to traditional adventure-game puzzle design. Both feature nicely animated sprite-work with multiple characters available to control. Both feature a science-fiction plotline where our protagonists crash-land in the jungles of an alien planet. Despite their similarities, both are quite different from each other.

Aiming at enemies is automatic and a little erratic. Best to lure then into the open to pick the off one by one (left).
This health regenerating life pod is a life saver. You will be returning here often (right).

Let's start with how the games look. Going by screenshots alone, the hand-drawn backgrounds Codename Hellsquad could be confused with a mid-90s Sierra adventure. Wasted Dreams sports a nice top-down viewpoint like a more detailed Cannon Fodder. While both were certainly behind the times from a visual standpoint, they each feature an art style that stands the test of time. For a nearly one-man development team - commonplace for the aging Amiga - it's all incredibly impressive. Background maps are quite large, scrolling as you move your character, its animation achieved through fastidious rotoscoping.

To begin with, the plot appears trite and simple. Shoot aliens after crashing onto their home planet, but as the story unfolds it becomes more complex and intriguing. Our nameless hero had spent years on this planet among a group of explorers in search of a habitable planet. Now that one had been found, he and a small crew were to return to the overpopulated, crime-ridden Earth with the good news. Or at least that was the plan until the ship was shot down before it left the atmosphere. Back on the surface, he's met with native intelligent lifeforms he was told didn't exist, and they're pissed.

Tap the context-sensitive 'Action' key here to talk to a curmudgeonly mechanic in need of a navigator (left).
Hold the 'Rucksack Mode' key to highlight an item ready to use, then tap 'Action' here to open the locker (right).

They also speak English. Fully voiced English too, and despite its amateurish nature, the British accented vocals are quite pleasant. As for the scripting, well, it's a little bit lost in translation but not quite as egregious as the meta jokes in Hellsquad. Our hero is sarcastic, and he's very blasé about the many, many lives he takes over the course of the adventure - both alien and human alike. And while I've been talking about the main character in the singular, the second guy is exactly the same. You can play through the game in two different ways; single-player and two-player. Each player controls one of the protagonists which I refer to as "Green Guy" and "Blue Guy". Sadly, Blue Guy doesn't survive the crash when playing a single-player game but from actions to dialogue to voice acting, they're fundamentally the same person.

What isn't the same is their inventories which remain unique no matter what coloured guy you're controlling. At the beginning of the game, you can collect much-needed items from the wreckage but it will be limited to the person holding it with no way to swap or exchange. Thankfully, there are two guns found here, and there's no need for one of you to hog both of them. Other items are reserved solely for inventory puzzles. Highlight one by holding the left Alt key and scrolling through them with A or D (right Alt and arrow keys for player 2). Whatever is highlighted will be used at the point in which it can be used, otherwise the generic action will play out. You can tell if something can be interacted with by the appearance of an icon to the right of your health and ammo bars. A different image will appear depending on what you can do, whether it be look, talk or take. If you've played Codename Hellsquad, it's very similar though the reliance on context-sensitivity does make the puzzles a little easier.

Follow the drunken captain to gain access to his office (left).
Though it will likely lead to your arrest. You've a multiple life-sentences worth of murder after all (right).

What isn't easier is the combat. To shoot, hold down the Action key (either Z for player 1 or Right Shift for player 2) and press in the direction you want to shoot at. While Codename Hellsquad's combat was more about health management, Wasted Dreams is more of a battle of attrition. When your gun is in hand, a yellow reticle will appear on your target if your aiming in his general direction. You will then shoot a flurry of shots hoping enough will hit to kill him before the return fire does the same. Animation frames remove any pretence of bullet-spraying gun battles so you instead learn to rely on a stealthy tactic. Either run past or eek them out of their group where they become more manageable.

At the beginning of the game, they are not. That gun you picked up has only a small amount of bullets left, and the early enemies aren't chosen to randomly drop ammo then you're screwed. And forget about using that health kit you picked up. It's not used to heal you. In fact, there is no pick-up that does. Instead, you will have to find recharger pods. Once you do, combat becomes less stressful as that sliver of health you've been holding on to for the past few screens can be fully replenished with a bit of backtracking. It's a relatively safe endeavour too, as anyone you kill will remain that way, their bodies hunched where they died 'til the end credits roll.

Player 2 can die in multi-player mode, but he's a gonner from the off in single-player (left).
At least when you die, you'll be rewarded with one of many FMV death scenes to look forward to (right).

I should also mention that perma-death means you too. Okay, so in single-player it's remedied with a simple load of a saved game, but in multi-player it could lead to lost relationships. While the save system is still accessible, the living player could potentially continue on without the other - after looting their dead body of course. Disturbingly, the voice acting makes this sound like a cheerful endeavour. Even more shocking is the fact that you can kill the other guy yourself. That yellow reticle isn't reserved solely for evil aliens and corrupt humans. If you want less arguments from your partner, turn on co-op mode from the options menu and from then on no damage can be taken from allies.

Much like its follow up, Wasted Dreams is a forgotten classic for the system. Its storytelling and scripting is better, even if its combat and puzzle design may arguably not be. Regardless, I enjoyed both games immensely. From their cloned protagonists, to that drunk of an NPC, masochistic puzzle design to wonky gunplay, both are - in my opinion - must plays.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses WinUAE with the Amiga Workbench to emulate the Amiga game. Manual included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 340 Mb. Install Size: 494 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

Download