Blake Stone

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The year is 1994. Wolfenstein 3D has been a huge hit, a landmark in the continuing evolution of computer technology. Wolfenstein's creator has been working on a sequel rumored to blow away Wolfenstein as much as Wolfenstein blew away previous attempts at 3D games. However, the release date keeps getting pushed back, and users (there was no role in life called "gamer" back then) were getting anxious. What to do in the meantime?

Enter Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold! This shareware game from BBS favorite Apogee used licensed Wolfenstein 3D technology to implement a different game.

Like Wolfenstein 3D before it, it featured six episodes, of 11 levels each. The first episode was available as Shareware. It had a few innovations like being able to talk to people instead of just shoot them, and slightly greater world interaction in the form of switches to deactivate barriers.

It was entertaining for a while, but was only intended to fill the gap until Doom came out. It came out a week later. Oops. Nonetheless, much like Wolfenstein 3D before it, it got a single-longer-episode sequel Planet Strike released in October 1994.

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Tropes used in Blake Stone include:

• 100% Completion: On each level, kill all the enemies, find all the items, and leave all the informants alive. On that last point, they are indistinguishable from lab techs that are loyal to the Big Bad until you talk to them, and in heated firefights they tend to run around at random. Very easy to make this side quest Unwinnable.
• BFG: The Plasma Discharge Unit. Like a grenade launcher with the fire rate of an assault rifle.
  • The Anti-Plasma Cannon in Planet Strike. Takes twice as much ammo per shot as the Plasma Discharge Unit, but blows up just about any non-boss object in one shot. Including doors. And informants. And ammo packs.
• Bottomless Magazines: The Auto-Charge Pistol has infinite ammo, but requires a second or two to recharge between shots.
  • Universal Ammunition: All the other weapons in the game run off of energy packs, which can be found in the levels or dropped by enemies.
• Direct Continuous Levels: In the sense that all the levels are accessed from the same elevator.
• Enemy Summoner: A device that creates the floating plasma-ball enemies.
• Everything Trying to Kill You: Slight Aversion: some of the Lab Technicians in the game are informants that can give you advice, ammunition and food tokens. They won't try to shoot you, and killing them penalizes your mission rating.
• Evil Laugh: Dr. Goldfire. "Hahahahaha, you'll never succeed!"
• First-Person Shooter: Like Wolfenstein 3D before it.
• Highly-Conspicuous Uniform: Imagine the officers aboard the Death Star. Now imagine their uniforms in magenta and lime green.
• Hit Scan: Everything but the Plasma Discharge Unit.
• Hyperspace Arsenal: Agent Stone can carry a number of increasingly larger guns.
• Inexplicable Treasure Chests: Sometimes a weapon or points item will be inside a cardboard box, with THIS END UP printed on it. That you will need to shoot to open.
• Innocent Bystander: The informant Bio-Techs.
• Mad Scientist: Dr. Pyrus Goldfire.
• No Snack for You: The Food Units require Food Tokens. And even if you have them, they will run out if you use them enough.
• Not Quite Dead: The troopers in green will occasionally play dead, then get up and start shooting at you again.
• One-Man Army: Blake Stone, natch.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Robert Wills Stone III. Entered the British Royal Navy as Robert Wills Stone III. Entered the British Intelligence afterwards as 'Blake' so the records couldn't be matched up.
• Recycled in Space: Wolfenstein 3D IN SPACE!
• Shareware
• Space Base: Numerous.
• A Space Marine Is You: Well, Blake is in British Intelligence, so more like A Space James Bond Is You.
• Standard FPS Guns: Unlimited-ammo silent pistol, more powerful limited-ammo non-silent pistol, automatic weapon, bigger automatic weapon, grenade launcher.