A Reminiscence
I still remember scaring the bejeezus out of myself playing this when I was seven. Despite that initial experience, I tried again and got a lot better; today, it's one of my favourite games of all-time, and I still try to go back (when Windows will let me) and relive the magic. I still remember the light blue "Voluntarily Rated PC-13" screen, the diagnostic "lights" screen, the cries of "Mein Leiben!" from the blue-uniformed guards, "Let's See That Again!" with the Kill-Cam, and of course, the all-weapons code (ILM, baby!). I still remember playing it through to collect 100% everything--kills, treasure, and secret rooms--which was only possible if you could get the Episode 6 boss to leave his room, run around him, and collect the treasure before killing him. It's a game you could, and were encouraged to, play from E1L1 to E6L9 in an afternoon, and it's one that I've lost track of the number of times I've played over the years, on all four difficulty levels. For its day, the graphics were really something, too--VGA allowed it to be colourful, with distinctive wall patterns, enemies, items, and of course, as much blood as you could reasonably get away with in 1992. Before this, id was known for their kid-oriented Commander Keen platformers, but after the impact of Wolfenstein 3D/Spear of Destiny and their successor, Doom, they were often-controversial shooter developers, who raised the bar in graphics, gameplay, and subject matter with each game, blazing the trails that their imitators inevitably followed. This game is an important landmark in the history of PC gaming, and still immensely enjoyable, even thirteen years removed from its release.
