Rise of the Triad: Dark War

"Heroin-induced hell that's...fun?"

I loaded this game onto my hard drive and suspiciously clicked on the small icon with a triangle on it. I was greeted by a ridiculous opening sequence (involving more triangles), and a warning that this was ''Mature Content: Violence and Gore''. No kidding...

Gameplay
Simplistic, repetitive, ultra-violent (more on this later), but amazingly fun. You go around shooting, decapitating, blowing up, or in any way possible, killing people, demons, and...monks?...but anyway, if you're a crazy psychotic, this game will satisfy you forever. If you're like me, you will still enjoy it for a while before it sinks in that these people have nothing to do with the story and therefore, why are you killing them?

Some of the modes are also fun. You can fly, be on drugs, be a dog, the obligatory avatargod mode and all other sorts of bizarre things, all the while killing things.

Ultra-Violent Factor
This game was made in the period where graphics designers were discovering a new art form: graphic violence. This game pales in comparison to some, where severed heads would sit on tables, arms would haphazardly fly around, and people would explode into pools of blood.
This one has a small amount of blood until you start playing with fire. The explosive guns are many, and blow people into flaming walls of blood, flying arms, heads, and eyeballs, all at once.
The violence is done with a sense of campiness. Every time you hit something at close range and the eyeball thing happens, a small, happy sign in red lettering comes up saying ''Ludicrous gibs!''

Graphics
Good, but pixelated. The characters have good facial expressions, from laughing at killing you to begging for your mercy on their knees. The environments are spectacular, adding a very distinct surreal feel to the game, and a sense of mystery. The backgrounds are all the same though. =(

Story
You are a UN ambassador sent on a mission to rid a small Caribbean island of terrorist occupation. Sound grand? It's not.
The game throws in demons and random monks, apparently, just to hold your interest. The story has little to do with the game, so don't bother to read it.
There are different characters, but I forget what the difference between each one is...sorry.

Sound/Music
The music...doesn't work. This seems to be a common complaint. I suggest listening to the Velvet Underground. It agrees with the mood of the game.

Overall
This game plays out like a hallucination from a bad acid trip or heroin overdose. It is the ultimate surreal shooter. Doom took the sci-fi approach, and, while good, never equaled the pure fun of this game.
Unfortunately, you'll never find a copy so I suggest trying to find someplace to download it or wait till you're lucky on Ebay.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/12/03, Updated 03/12/03