More of that mindless indoor slugging festivities.
* Exceptional soundtrack
* The zombies
The Bad
* Minimal innovation
* Secrets are more of a chore than a sense of triumph
* Level designs are at times tedious
Gameplay 6
Graphics 8
Sound 10
Value 7
Tilt 5
Ever since the 1996 mega release of Quake, it seems that everyone wants to take a slice of Quake's pie. From Headgames' 'Aftershock' to the wonderfully innovative Hipnotic's 'Scourge of Armagon' to the countless mods on the internet, 1997 Rogue's Dissolution of Eternity is no exception. However Rogue's efforts fails to capture the innovation of Quake as it looks like a collection of previous Quake's official and unofficial mods and places it all into one package.
Time passed considerably for me when I last played Quake (Scourge of Armagon). When the first time I booted up Dissolution, glanced above at the death clouds and listening to the crackling of fires, nostalgia kicked in. I'm sure the 'nameless' hero don't think this way however after the third level I felt just like the hero - that is, the feeling of here we go again. It was starting to get monotonous as the level designs are pretty bland (similar to the original Quake) as it was becoming more of a chore than an adventure through hell...actually it was an adventure through hell.
Thankfully the level designs improved when I witnessed these Greco-Roman columns meshed with Egyptian and Mayan temples however it still haven't captivated me as I still continued to dodge blades, avoid lava pits and collecting countless keys.
The Quake army is back including my beloved zombies and some new ones to spice things up. From the stupid 'phantom blades' (blades that swing by themselves) to the 'electric eels' (how lame) to somewhat impressive wraith, it didn't give me a sense of conquering. There are new weapons (e.g. the lava nails - essentially the same as nails but coloured differently and generating hissing sounds once fired) to the triple explosive rocket launcher, the weapons are much more destructive hence able to polish off any enemy that comes your way. This is a shame as it made the game play a lot easier. However I felt it was designed in mind of the multiplayer option more than the single player.
Graphically, the game engine is slowly showing its age. It seems that Rogue's Dissolution of Eternity was trying to keep the traditional Quake feel however considering the gaming industry is on full speed, the traditional idea is failing. Considering the original Quake engine (1996) wasn't really designed for outdoors environments, Hipnotic's 'Scourge of Armagon' changed all of this as evident in Quake 2. Rogue on the other hand shows little improvement so it was more of the same thing than producing the 'wow' factor.
One thing I was glad was the sounds and soundtrack. Even though the sound effects are essentially the same as the previous two Quake games, it still produces that heart-pounding aggressiveness; however they need to ease down the thumping sounds of dead electric eels.They do resides in the water after all. The soundtrack is something to be commendable as there are eight new tracks and worth listening to as a standalone.
As far as mission packs goes, Dissolution is considerably long. Sixteen levels and if you are willing, discovering secrets and four levels of difficulty shows promising value as each map can take thirty minutes plus (if you include killing every creature as well). To memory I think one took me just over an hour.
Dissolution of Eternity is really for the die-hard original Quake fans or for the newcomers who wishes to experience Quake. However the die-hards will probably find this game a lot easier than Quake owing to the over-powered weapons. Yet true to the word, it has kept to the traditional indoor slogging fest however if you are looking for something new like Scourge or thought Quake as a game (and not as a technical marvel) a little tedious then don't expect Dissolution to spark the dousing flames. Nice at first then boredom will slip in rather quickly. Now I wonder why then Quake 2 was a mega success...