Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons: The Earth Explodes
released on Dec 18, 1990
Commander Keen's very first adventure, and the debut of id's groundbreaking side-scrolling technology. In the game you play the role of Commander Keen: the alter-ego of an eight year-old genius by the name of Billy Blaze. When Billy learns that the Earth is in danger, he dons his brother's football helmet and his homemade interstellar spaceship to become Commander Keen -- Defender of the Earth!
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The peak of the "Invasion of the Vorticons" trilogy. The additions to the gameplay along with the expanded enemy roster is great, along with the more detailed interiors of the Vorticon ship. It makes the world feel bigger and more lived in. Keen saving different locals from being blown up makes it feel epic in scale. Unfortunately the third game is where this trilogy loses its steam.
On the one hand, this second episode of Command Keen forwards the franchise by adding in new ideas and adding new gameplay influences like the use puzzly mechanics.
On the other hand, this game is hard beyond enjoyment.
The sluggish controls and physics of this first Commander Keen trilogy are forced to lift heavier than they can manage as the dangers of this second episode are fiercer than the first. The Vorticon Elites and Guard Robots are incredibly dangerous and dealing with them requires ample strategy and foresight. Glad I got save states working on DOSBox.
The difficulty was enough to make me enjoy this game less than the first but it does have some things going for it. The usage of puzzly elements– like using the scrubs as platforms and even directing them to places by removing obstacles– adds a bit of thought to the adventure. I like how the optional levels serve as resupply levels with their abundant ammo stores.
Don't know how things will escalate in the third Keen game but hopefully they dial back the difficulty.
On the other hand, this game is hard beyond enjoyment.
The sluggish controls and physics of this first Commander Keen trilogy are forced to lift heavier than they can manage as the dangers of this second episode are fiercer than the first. The Vorticon Elites and Guard Robots are incredibly dangerous and dealing with them requires ample strategy and foresight. Glad I got save states working on DOSBox.
The difficulty was enough to make me enjoy this game less than the first but it does have some things going for it. The usage of puzzly elements– like using the scrubs as platforms and even directing them to places by removing obstacles– adds a bit of thought to the adventure. I like how the optional levels serve as resupply levels with their abundant ammo stores.
Don't know how things will escalate in the third Keen game but hopefully they dial back the difficulty.
Super Mario Brothers-style gameplay with Chuck Jones-style visuals. The Commander Keen formula hadn't quite been perfected yet in this first entry. Keen's movement isn't yet fluid enough, the environments are still pretty bare-bones, and the level design feels perfunctory at best. But, this is still a pretty fun side-scroller that I spent a pleasurable hour or so revisiting (I haven't played it since the 1990s).
A worthy follow-up to a classic platformer.
Last time, Keen was trapped on Mars. At the end of that adventure, a new threat was revealed, and in The Earth Explodes, young Billy Blaze must take the fight to the Vorticons. The entire game takes place onboard their mothership, with many levels centered around deactivating weapons that are set to destroy cities across the globe.
The new aesthetic of the mothership's interior looks much sleeker than the first game, and new enemies provide a much more enjoyable challenge. Though I do still freak out a bit when one of those purple bears starts running towards me. (EDIT: After a recent replay, I have just now discovered that they are NOT bears, and are actually Vorticons with purple masks partially covering their faces)
I'd say this game improves on the first in every way, and just typing this makes me want to go play it again.
Last time, Keen was trapped on Mars. At the end of that adventure, a new threat was revealed, and in The Earth Explodes, young Billy Blaze must take the fight to the Vorticons. The entire game takes place onboard their mothership, with many levels centered around deactivating weapons that are set to destroy cities across the globe.
The new aesthetic of the mothership's interior looks much sleeker than the first game, and new enemies provide a much more enjoyable challenge. Though I do still freak out a bit when one of those purple bears starts running towards me. (EDIT: After a recent replay, I have just now discovered that they are NOT bears, and are actually Vorticons with purple masks partially covering their faces)
I'd say this game improves on the first in every way, and just typing this makes me want to go play it again.
Melhorzinho que o primeiro episódio, mas só zinho.
Unlike how most other shareware games' second episodes turned out, this feels like a true sequel. Totally new areas, graphics, enemies, etc., and a noticeable (but reasonable) jump in difficulty. Goes a long way towards making this humble adventure seem epic.