Hellgate

Wait, what? Is this DOOM?

Hellgate is a first-person shooter for the Atari ST/e created in 1997 by David Walters of Smartsoft. It's an impressive attempt to develop Doom using STOS. Of course, it'll take more than a humble 68000 processor to deliver decent framerates especially when I remember a friend's 25Mhz PC not being that impressive.

Wait a moment... Hold your horses, Marine!! Did I just say that Hellgate was developed using STOS?? That is something else!! Okay, don't get me wrong, this is a brilliant tool that has certainly proved itself more times than I care to mention, however, can it actually handle a 3D engine running at a decent framerate?

Please remember that this is shareware and I have only found an 'unregistered demo' which may not compare to the completed product. This is also missing a few bits 'n' bobs like a rocket launcher and extra episodes. Sadly, after scouring the internet, I failed to find the registered version so I'm praying the full game isn't lost? Please, can anyone help me find the full game?

Okay, enough of my boring blabbing (for now) because we have a couple of screenshots to view...

I like the iWatch menu. Apple, you need to learn from this!

A familiar screen after romping through the first level and successfully killing everything!

I'm getting a Doom vibe!!

The year is 2196 and we humans have somehow terraformed the ice giant Neptune. The planet's largest city is plagued with extremely high crime levels so our mission is to investigate this. Now, I'm no military expert, but I think that means we grab a weapon and kill everything in sight. Well, I'm sold so count me in!!

Firstly, we need identification so enter your name into a simple but sweet screen. The audio is great but I'll say no more to risk spoiling it (I thought it was cool). Next, there are three difficulty levels to choose from:

Dead Easy: which the documentation hilariously says is for kids and your granny!
Well 'Ard: which is kinda like an equivalent of Doom's "Hurt Me Plenty".
Suicide: is for those with Godlike skills but even the docs advise against this nightmare!

Pssst!! Hey, you... Do you fancy a couple more sexy screenshots of STOS Doom...

The pistol is good and does its job as something just to get you started.

Nothing compares to the shotgun. Just ask Doomguy, he'll tell ya!

Let's play...

Once you begin, everything is familiar to ID's iconic shooter (cough...ripoff). The episode screen displays where you are in Neptune's city complex and the in-game status bar shows health, armour, ammo, keys and even your ugly mug in the middle. Well, there's no shame in using a tried and trusted format? (I like it!!)

The controls are performed using the mouse: pushing upwards to walk forward and pulling back on your chunky tank does the obvious. Left/right allows our marine to look around the city - unless holding the right button to strafe. The keyboard is used to flip between your weaponry and open doors.

Yup, you're stuck using the mouse which is incredibly frustrating at times, especially during the first few games. Well, nothing is perfect and it does work quite well but I cannot help but wonder why David didn't implement the alternative WASD. Anyhow, the mouse only works well once you have practised.

Hardly a crushing blow is it but not ideal so let's take a gander at some screenshots...

Look out for medkits, armour, and ammo to help fight off the hoards.

What? No zombie guys or imps? No, we have these blocky robotic dudes to shoot at!

An honourable ripoff?

Fans of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom will instantly feel at home as we begin the mission with only a pistol. Our armoury can ultimately include a Shotgun, Minigun, Rifle, and Rocket Launcher. However, I never got to see the Rifle as I lost my bearings, which you can see at the end of my video recording (scroll back up).

That takes me onto the automap: there isn't one. As much as I tried hitting the TAB key - nothing!! Perhaps it was me but I got lost and desperately needed to find where to go, especially when recording my video!

Look out for pickups to boost health/ammo and there are hidden rooms just as in Doom and Wolfenstein! This is how I found the shotgun on the first level, a fantastic find! Also, some doors are locked and need a specific key to unlock. There is nothing shockingly new but Hellgate's familiarity is no bad thing whatsoever.

Righto, let's not get sarky and just introduce two more flourishingly sexy screenshots. Ahem...

Always keep an eye out for secret rooms just like we did in ID's Doom and Wolfenstein.

Yep, that provided me armour, health and the shotgun. What a find!!

486 Aesthetics?

Graphically, things are poor in comparison to Doom (which is understandable) but also to ST shooters, like Wolfenstein, Destruction Imminent and Substation. Everything looks crude, with a sluggish framerate, and more than a few glitches. Interestingly, the robotic enemies are made from polygons, which is kinda cool and not what I was expecting. However, they are a bit thick and I would have preferred demonic monsters!

The sound effects are sparse using fuzzy samples for firing, pickups, doors, etc/etc. The robotic enemies scream when dying - freaky but cool!! Sadly, there's no music for ST dudes but STe owners can enjoy gorgeous Mad Max chiptunes alongside the effects. This actually works incredibly well and suits the mood and style.

Two more screenshots before the much-anticipated opinion that you're eager to read...

Two missing episodes lost? I hope we find the registered game one day :(

Here ends my game... the screen turns red and I fall to the ground. DEAD!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Hellgate was interesting but it's not good enough compared to the other FPS shooters for the Atari ST. A faster computer, like my Mega STe, compensated for the poor framerate but couldn't fix the wonky mechanics, bugs, or the psychic robots who always seemed to know my movements before I did. Ultimately, the mouse controls are the real game killer because it desperately requires a keyboard. What a shame.

Hellgate is fun for a few hours but I doubt I'll return to it anytime soon. However, let's remember this is probably unfinished and developed by one guy using STOS and that fact alone blows me away. All credit to David.

Download Hellgate and give it a playtest. Let me know what you think in the comments.

- Download Hellgate -