Citadel
| Developer: Virtual Design | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Black Legend | Sound: |
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| Year: 1995 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: First person shooter | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
7/10 | |
The original version is called Cytadela. It’s a Polish game, heavily inspired by Doom and Wolfenstein 3D.
The plot doesn’t stray too far from the usual clichés: you’re a lone soldier, the last survivor of your unit, wandering through a futuristic complex filled with monsters. That said, the intro scene is well presented, reminding me of the movie Aliens … except for the fact that the narrator kicks the bucket right at the start, if I’ve understood correctly.
Do I really need to describe the gameplay mechanics? One: find a gun, preferably a big one. Two: press a button to tell your character to grab the gun. Three: merrily shoot anything that moves, growls, bleeds, or looks like a barrel. Just be careful, ammunition is limited!
At first, the visuals seem promising. The game is gory, gory, gory, and the tone is a bit off-kilter (just look at the messages that pop up at the bottom of the screen). However, as the minutes tick by, a disturbing feeling creeps in: the developers must really hate us.
To begin with, the choice of keys: “F1” to “F7” to select a weapon (by the way, weapons aren’t equipped automatically, you’ll have to press “F1” after picking up your first pistol, for example); “F8” to “F10” are used to operate a key; the mouse, arrow keys, or controller are all supported for movement, except for strafing, which you do by pressing “4” and “6” on the numpad! How on earth are you supposed to juggle all this? I should mention, though, that you can reconfigure the controls in WinUAE under the “Input” section.
As for handling the keys… Here’s an excerpt from my playthrough: a locked door at the end of a corridor, next to a card reader. I press “F8”, equip the key, use the key, the door opens, monsters come out, I shoot… I shoot? But wait, I’m empty-handed! I scream … and get my head blown off. I was supposed to re-equip my weapon!
And there’s more: the chronic ammo shortage, the lack of a backup weapon, the weapons that wear out and break, the beer bottles scattered all over the floor, which only serve to make you drunk and stagger around; and above all, the contact with walls that causes incredibly irritating screen-wobbling effects, as though you were smacking the camera with a bat. In hard mode (which is the default), you even lose a point of energy every time you bump into a wall!
Hey! Did I mention it’s gory?
I couldn’t get Citadel installed on a hard drive. Anyway, once the intro sequence is over, the rest of the game fits onto the last two floppies, and multiple drives are recognised. Finally, no speed issues were observed while emulating an Amiga 500+ with a memory expansion.
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