Rise of the Triad: The HUNT Begins first playthrough (Ludicrous Edition)
0I'm finally getting back to FPSes on weekends, and picking up with yet another entry based on the Wolf3d engine, and possibly the most impressive one to exist.
Rise of the Triad came out a full year after Doom released - and as a result, was reviewed rather harshly in some cases - and yet ROTT managed to do some things that even Doom didn't, such as horizontally-moving platforms and vertically-stacked surfaces. It also cranks the movable-wall antics up to 11, not only via direct pushwalls, but also some controlled by switches and even pressure plates on floors. Even the original 1994 DOS version of the game was technically impressive, having far more flexible keybinds than Wolfenstein 3D or Blake Stone, and including a full-screen built-in map complete with texture previews.
I definitely remember playing parts of Dark War (the full commercial release) as a kid, but I'm not sure I ever played The HUNT Begins, which is a completely unique shareware episode (or episodes, if you count the super-secret and warp-only maps), intended to give players a wider view of the overall experience, including glimpses of enemies you wouldn't see in episode 1 of Dark War. Some parts of THB fare better than others... I'd argue that a couple of its levels risk putting people off of buying the full game by being too heavy-handed with particular aspects, and it definitely feels like it throws the player in the deep end quicker than Dark War.
I'm playing through Dark War immediately after this, and will probably at least also try the new episode included with Ludicrous Edition. I'm unsure whether I'll try Extreme ROTT.