Rise of the Triad: Dark War

"A great game with a few minor flaws..."

Rise of the Triad is an old, under-rated, and an excellent first-person shooter. It was created by Apogee years ago.

The story isn't much. Like all first-person shooters the story is barely anything. You are part of the HUNT. The HUNT is basically a group of commando's. Your unit travels to some island that is occupied with a cult. They're threatening to fry Los Angeles unless their demands are met. They spot you at the island and the only way to escape is to fight through the cult. This game has many levels. They are all filled with over 2 dozen secret walls. There are dozens of traps in each level. Anything to boulders, to fire pits, slicing little machines, etc. You can get special bonuses to increase your score. There are also 5 different characters. They are basically the same just the height is slightly different. Also in the multi-player games you see different people.

The graphics are pretty good for the time that it was released. You see everything you need to see. There is a nice level of gore for this game. Multiple blood spurts out when using any type of weapon. If you blow the enemy to pieces by a bazooka (or a door closes on them) then blood and guts fly across the screen. You might even see an eyeball! The enemy units all look different and have their own special abilities. The ones in green have the ability to steal (and use) your weapon and also beg for mercy when almost dead. Other units can dodge bullets, throw boomerangs, have machine guns, etc. Plus there's one type of unit that is a robot and can only be killed by missile type weapons.

The sound and music are great. There is slight voice acting such as groans and moans and enemy shouts when spotting you. The gun sounds are all decent.

The game's difficulty is medium. Some missions are a pain because they include puzzles or too many types of hard units. Others are extremely easy.

There is a good replay value for this game. There's lots of secrets to be uncovered and many bonuses. Also there are secret levels that can be obtained by finding a secret door. Note: not all levels have a secret door.

I suggest to get this game. Since it's old it can be found online somewhere. It's a shame this game wasn't exactly as popular as it should've been...

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/23/03, Updated 01/23/03