Exhumed (computer game)

Exhumed ( English for exhumed ) is a first-person shooter developed by Lobotomy Software and published in Europe in 1996 by BMG Interactive for PC and Sega Saturn and in 1997 for PlayStation . In the US , the game appeared under the title PowerSlave through publisher Playmates Interactive.

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Exhumed is set in the ancient Egyptian city of Karnak in the late 20th century . The region has been overrun by mysterious forces and the player is sent out with a special command to clarify the situation. However, the helicopter that is supposed to drop the team is shot down and the nameless hero is the only one who survives the crash.

In this role, the player must now comb through the temples and catacombs of the Egyptian city on their own and discover the secret that surrounds Karnak. With the help of both conventional and magical weapons such as an M60 machine gun , flamethrower and the cobra rod that fires targeting projectiles, he has to defend himself against numerous supernatural creatures such as Anubis warriors, lava worms, mummies and giant spiders and overcome different trap systems.

history

The game was originally intended to be released by 3D Realms under the title Ruins: Return of the Gods to demonstrate the power of the build engine .

The game was published under different names: as Exhumed in the PAL regions by BMG Interactive, as Seireki 1999: Pharaoh no Fukkatsu (English AD 1999: Pharaoh's Revival ) in Japan and as a PowerSlave by Playmates Interactive Entertainment for the North American market. It was released for the Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation and DOS platforms between late 1996 and late 1997.

Versions and special features

Exhumed was first published for the Sega Saturn, followed about a year later by a revised version for the PlayStation (mainly for technical reasons), which included partially or completely different levels and various other changes, for example in the opponent design. The complexity of the game sections and the architecture were reduced, but the PS version delivered a higher frame rate on average. Both versions were developed with the in-house SlaveDriver engine specially developed by Lobotomy, which was already able to display a real 3D environment, such as the Quake engine . This means that Exhumed can be counted among the pioneers in the history of the development of 3D graphics in computer games, even if other representatives, above all id Software's Quake , were granted more success and attention.

Another special feature of the time was the structure of the game world. You can switch back and forth between the levels you have already discovered using a map. This is also necessary because objects are found in the course of the game and skills are gained that allow access to previously inaccessible level sections and even entire levels. With the breathing mask, for example, it is possible to dive through water channels in which one would have drowned beforehand. Due to this game design, which was very unusual for first-person shooters at the time, Exhumed is sometimes also counted among the Metroidvanias .

The PC version had little in common with the two console versions, apart from setting, plot, and most weapon and enemy designs. The socket was not developed with the SlaveDriver engine, but with the build engine, which was also used in Duke Nukem 3D . Furthermore, completely new, partly larger and more complex levels have been designed for the PC, which have to be completed one after the other. A return to already completed levels is not necessary, as the Metroidvania elements of the console versions have not been adopted.

Republishing and Ports

On May 24th, 2015 an unofficial remake called PowerSlave EX was released as freeware based on the PlayStation version and using the Kex Engine . In February 2015 it was announced that the publisher Nightdive Studios had acquired the rights to the game and was preparing a re-release in digital distribution after a long period of non-availability . As of March 2020, however, no corresponding publication has taken place. For the PC version, a port using EDuke32 was published in November 2019 in order to enable the most problem-free use possible on modern systems.

Web links

Exhumed at MobyGames (English)
PowerSlave aka Exhumed at Home of the Underdogs - Review of the PC version
PowerSlave at Gamespot.com - Review of the PlayStation version

Individual evidence

↑ Powerslave EX released , powerslaveex.wordpress.com.
^ ^A ^b Perry Ruhland: An Interview With the Man Rebuilding Powerslave . techraptor.net. May 4, 2015. Accessed May 31, 2015.

[PowerSlave_EX_release-1] Powerslave EX released , powerslaveex.wordpress.com.

[interview-2] A ^b Perry Ruhland: An Interview With the Man Rebuilding Powerslave . techraptor.net. May 4, 2015. Accessed May 31, 2015.