A port of PowerSlave
Powerslave is a first-person shooter featuring an arcade-style level progression. The game comprises 20 consecutive single-player levels and 12 multiplayer deathmatch levels. The storyline unfolds in the city of Karnak, which has been invaded by unknown alien forces, isolating it from the rest of the world. The inhabitants are subjected to torture or injected with a substance, transforming them into servant mummies. Not even the mummy of King Ramses is spared. As world leaders' attempts to send armed forces fail, you are selected among a few of the world's best special forces to infiltrate Karnak and eliminate the invaders from within. However, the mission takes a dark turn when your helicopter is shot down, leaving you alone to navigate through the chaos, aiming to complete your mission and survive. In contrast to later console adaptations, the game's 20 single-player levels are played consecutively. The player searches for keys and secret areas to progress to the next level, akin to other games of the time, such as DOOM. The game employs a single save slot for each playthrough and incorporates a checkpoint system, enabling players to resume from the latest checkpoint they have discovered. Levels encompass ancient cities, temples, sprawling lava-filled caverns, and alien Kilmaat ships, each riddled with traps and keys concealing multiple pathways.
Reviews View More
You should play literally any other version besides this one though
Let's start with the arsenal, one of the most important parts of any FPS. Though Powerslave has some cool looking weapons, most of them end up being very situational, if not outright useless, and that's not even considering that it's already got a smaller arsenal than most of it's contemporaries. The grenades have a pitifully short throw range, the flamethrower always burns you when you try to use it, and the gauntlet has so little ammo you'll only use it a couple times before it's empty. The M60 ends up being the only consistently reliable gun because of how much ammo it has. The enemy roster is also a bit lacking, as most enemies even during later levels feel like they take the same amount of hits, meaning there's really not much variety to the combat, and the entire game just becomes shooting everything with the M60 (which, to be fair, is still fun! It just grows a bit tiresome after a while). The only enemy that really stands out is the flying insects, but for all the wrong reasons. They're hard to hit even with the auto aim on and they make the most obnoxious flapping noise I've ever heard, and this noise can be heard through walls! It legitimately gave me a headache after a while, I'm not exaggerating. Fuck those things.
I think the best thing this game has going for it is the level design. Even though it can be a bit confusing and overwhelming at times, the way the game has you constantly looping back around, combined with some clever environmental puzzles, is not only a lot of fun, but also fits great with the games temple setting and atmosphere. Unfortunately, the final level of the game takes this all WAY too far and ends up being a massive, confusing clusterfuck. You have to shoot a bunch of towers as you make your way through this alien ship, but a lot of them are hidden, and if you miss one you'll never know until the very end of the level, at which point you can't go back! What a terrible note to end on. To be honest, despite getting stuck at the end, after checking with a walkthrough I'm fairly certain I got them all. So why did the game not end for me? Honestly I think it may have been an issue with the source port I used, Raze, and not the game itself, but I'm not 100% sure, and after already having to redo the level because of crashing I'm not about to play it all a 3rd time.