Quake: finally!
Nov 3, 2015 20:00:33 GMT
Post by martiniii on Nov 3, 2015 20:00:33 GMT
I've read about Dank & "Scuz" (the latter renamed from Scud because of legal issues concerning another Saturn game released only in the US, for a clue as to its identity...) before and even seen videos on YouTube of how to unlock this particular secret, but I don't ever recall finding it in the PAL version. Saying that, I've also just had a look at a site loaded with further cheats and easter eggs that are new to me, so either these were exclusive to the American edition or were simply not well documented.
Odd. I can't imagine why Sega of Europe would omit content from a Sega of America games, aside from culture-specific censorship.
I found and completed "Purgatorium". After scouring countless walls and ceilings, and finding an extra secret of two, I finally stumbled upon one of the hidden pits in "The Grisly Grotto" by pure chance. From there it was easy to spot the switch and find the other hidden pit. But then, of course, the unlocked cave was nowhere in sight. After searching all over the end area, I nearly gave up on finding it. Then it occurred to me that the most obvious location of the cave was the most difficult place to search: the underwater area. I briefly contemplated consulting a walkthrough before subjecting myself to that ordeal, but I stuck with it and found the secret exit on my own.
The level itself was a fine treat. The rain and glittering architecture make for very pleasing and impressive visuals. I think Lobotomy did a good job here in that, while graphically the level is very atypical, as one would expect from a secret level, it fits in with the Quake theme. The challenge level is just about right, too. I particularly had fun with the bit where you can rain grenades down on the zombies. Lobotomy and Id are both so good at creating challenges; you need bits like that which are pure fun as relief from all that. I didn't care for how many fiends there are in the level, but otherwise the enemy placement was pretty ingenious and thoroughly enjoyable.
My original thought was that after I'd cleared "Purgatorium", I'd go through the rest of the episode just to prove I could do all the levels in one go. But though "Purgatorium" was a considerable challenge, it was packed with ammunition and, more importantly, the rocket launcher, so I left the level in much better shape than I could ever hope to finish "The Grisly Grotto" in. So instead, I went through the rest of the episode with a mind to having fun with my newly acquired goodies. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't find "Purgatorium" on my first run, because all that extra weaponry made "Gloom Keep" (my favorite level of episode 1, if you remember) a little too easy. It also helped that I remember a surprisingly large amount of the levels. As I've said, hindsight is your best weapon in Doom and Quake.
By "The Door to Chthon", all that extra ammo from "Purgatorium" had really built up; pretty much the only times I had less than full shells, nails, and rockets were immediately after killing a foe. Once again, I remembered most of the level from my first run, so this time it only took a couple tries.
Chthon himself is still remarkably hard for a first boss, though. I'd already forgotten just how tough he is.