Page 9 - Old School Gamer Magazine Issue #21 Free Edition

together an underground resistance called The Front. You play as a nameless hero for hire who happens to get tangled up in the fight between the two factions and decides The Front is the far less insane of the two.
While players progressed in DOOM and a dozen other DOOM clones by hitting the exit button at the end of each level, Strife differentiates itself by setting up hub sections. Each hub section features multiple locations where the player will complete missions and side quests. This means that if a player wants to stop at a weapons shop or pub before investigating the sewers under the city, they are free to do so anytime. As you complete all of the hub's missions, the next hub will open, providing even more challenges. The story and universe in Strife are easily expanded while you play because you can converse with almost anyone in the game. Everyone is willing to have a conversation, from the creepy hermit lurking around the sewers to even the minor enemies hunting you down. By the time you get to the resistance base, their leader will introduce you to Blackbird, your handler, who will provide helpful hints for completing missions.
While conversing with the characters in Strife, you will have several dialogue options with which to respond. While it appears that some of these could branch out the story, most of them end up with the same result or end up halting the progress of the story. The only actual branching point occurs in the middle of the game, where the player must decide who to trust. The choice you make will ultimately determine what ending you will get after defeating the final boss.
GET VETTED
Original features aside, Strife does a great job of providing plenty of unique weapons and items to complete the game. Machine guns, missile launchers, and flamethrowers will get the job done if you want to go loud. If you'd prefer the stealth approach, your silenced crossbow can take out enemies from far away and prevent alarms from being set off. Yes, Strife even has some bare-bones stealth elements but never forces you to take the quiet path. Along with the variety of weapons comes plenty of enemies to kill, from humanoid knights, robots, cyborgs, and even a fight with the entity that started it all: The Comet.
Originally released as a DOS game, The Veteran edition of Strife works on modern PC operating systems without issue. It does a great job enhancing the textures and graphics of the original version. It still looks like a DOOM engine game, but you can't help but marvel at the fact that it even supports ultra-wide monitors. For those looking to stay vanilla, the GOG. com version comes with the original DOS version that runs just as smoothly on a Windows 10 PC.
After waiting 24 years to try the full version of this game, I can say I walked away satisfied, but not amazed. Age has undoubtedly prevented this game from remaining groundbreaking. I can certainly appre- ciate some of the features like the rudimentary dialogue system and hub level design that would become a staple in future first-person shooters like Deus Ex. I would have enjoyed this game ten times
more had I picked it up in 1996, but I look at it now as a game that helped build the backbone of what would become a massive game genre.
MARCH 2021 • WWW.OLDSCHOOLGAMER.COM 9