Powerslave Exhumed boomer shooter supreme - This thread covers all versions of the game

[BrunoMattei]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1678430/PowerSlave_Exhumed/

What is Powerslave? An Egyptian-themed boomer shooter that is radically different between the console versions and the DOS version made on the Build Engine.

Why is it called Powerslave Exhumed or sometimes just Exhumed? The fear of legal action from Iron Maiden made it to so the game has two titles and was called Exhumed in the European market (similar to how Star Fox was called Lylat Wars in Europe for retarded reasons). To avoid the possibility of a lawsuit, the re-release of the game was called Powerslave Exhumed. See: Ion Maiden AKA Ion Fury: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Fury#Lawsuit

What are the differences between the DOS version and the console versions? Shillman does a good job here (for once):

The console versions were a Metroidvania that BTW predated Symphony of the Night. The DOS version doesn't have special abilities and is much more straight forward in terms of level design. I was initially indifferent to the DOS version but I think it's a very good shooter it's just kind of dwarfed by the titans on the Build engine such as: Blood, Duke 3D and Shadow Warrior.

Should I play the re-release called Powerslave Exhumed? Fuck yes, especially if you like Metroid Prime.

What's the best way to play the DOS version? Either through BuildGDX or Raze.

BuildGDX with JRE (JRE essentially means you don't need to download Java to get this to work): https://m210.duke4.net/index.php/downloads/download/8-java/53-buildgdx

Raze:

https://github.com/coelckers/Raze/releases/tag/1.4.1

I had a weird issue with BuildGDX where mouse movement was moving my character around and I couldn't disable it despite going into the menu. I tried to disable it to no avail so your mileage may vary with BuildGDX.

Raze works fine but you have to drag all of the Raze files to the directory where Powerslave is in order for the program to recognize it. You can't just click on the executable and define the source folder to select the games like with BuildGDX. I personally just extract all the Raze files to the source directory of the game and it works fine.

Isn't there ANOTHER version of this game? Technically, yes. There's Powerslave EX made by the same guy who was behind the recent re-release. The same guy (Kaizer) who did the port of Doom 64 back in the day followed by the official re-release when Doom Eternal came out. The neckbeards got all upset over this version because it's based on the Playstation version. The PSX version has different level design which is much more noticeable during the last couple levels of the game. The Saturn version relies much more on the player using the grenade to destroy walls to move forwards, has red spiders instead of blue scorpions, and a weapon powerup that lets you fire faster.

https://archive.org/details/powerslaveex
This version requires fan made patches in order to work and there's no guarantee.

 

[Genesis Does]

Old school fps that references Iron Maiden and plays like a Metroidvania? Where has this been all my life, thanks op

 

[lemme ASS you a question]

Why does this read like an advert? Why would i want to play your stupid home 'o sexual retard game that just a carbon copy of every other nu wave boomer shooter? Whats stopping me from just booting up Wolfenstein 3d and shitting myself for free compared to buying into a new stupid trend?

 

[ChucklesTheJester]

Why does this read like an advert? Why would i want to play your stupid home 'o sexual retard game that just a carbon copy of every other nu wave boomer shooter? Whats stopping me from just booting up Wolfenstein 3d and shitting myself for free compared to buying into a new stupid trend?

I Guess if you got some kind of Egyptian kink I assume.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Good to see this finally get an official release. I think this game was re-mastered ages ago by that one guy that does all these old school ports, but for whatever reason it wasn't allowed to be released. I think I have the leaked version somewhere in my archives that I never got around to playing.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole]

I really like that there's currently enough of a market for things like this that it's not financial suicide for a smaller studio to do these kinds of restorative ports. It's like Vinegar Syndrome for games, taking on projects that big publishers will forever have zero interest in.

 

[Auntie Fester]

I think Iron Maiden are just sad that their own boomer shooter sucked ass (I say this as a fan of theirs).

 

[Chaos Theorist]

Civvie review when?

 

[The Penultimate Warrior]

I still have my Saturn copy, completed it several times back in the day when I had the patience to retry an entire level if I died (although late on you could skip entire sections by grenade jumping). Really need to give the new version a try now.

 

[Dojima's Dragon]

copy of every other nu wave boomer shooter?

This released in 96

 

[BrunoMattei]

I still have my Saturn copy, completed it several times back in the day when I had the patience to retry an entire level if I died (although late on you could skip entire sections by grenade jumping). Really need to give the new version a try now.

Bomb jumping is back in this re-release.

 

[The Penultimate Warrior]

Bought it on Xbox and played 3-4 hours, it's just as good as I remember. Smooth controls, good gunplay, a great soundtrack, and some useful QoL improvement such as checkpoints before the platforming sections. Only downside I've found, aside from the annoying mechanic of hiding traps in some pots, is the hitboxes feel slightly off, especailly in narrow corridors it often feels like I should have dodged something but got hit anyway.

 

[BrunoMattei]

Bought it on Xbox and played 3-4 hours, it's just as good as I remember. Smooth controls, good gunplay, a great soundtrack, and some useful QoL improvement such as checkpoints before the platforming sections. Only downside I've found, aside from the annoying mechanic of hiding traps in some pots, is the hitboxes feel slightly off, especailly in narrow corridors it often feels like I should have dodged something but got hit anyway.

Yeah, the player has a fat hitbox which wasn't a thing in the EX version and definitely not a thing in the DOS version. It's been forever and a half since I played the Playstation version and can't confirm. You get used to it but it does make the hardest difficulty (Pharaoh difficulty) feel a little unfair at times.

 

[The Penultimate Warrior]

Completed the game on standard difficulty, fairly straightfoward although muscle memory carried me quite a lot (quite how I had the patience to complete the Saturn version several times with no checkpoints I don't know). One area later on seems to require grenade jumping, and given how much damage you take I'm half surprised they didn't add a Game Journalist difficulty. Did have to restart 2 different levels though since traps didn't reset after reloading a checkpoint, but that aside experienced no other issues.

Will try a second run in hard mode, but think the achievement for not picking up the health ankhs is a step too far for me, since that means dying in 2-3 hits. But with this and the recent Doom 64 & Quake remasters, it shows some FPS games have stood the test of time. Now please do Alien Trilogy.

 

[BrunoMattei]

Completed the game on standard difficulty, fairly straightfoward although muscle memory carried me quite a lot (quite how I had the patience to complete the Saturn version several times with no checkpoints I don't know). One area later on seems to require grenade jumping, and given how much damage you take I'm half surprised they didn't add a Game Journalist difficulty. Did have to restart 2 different levels though since traps didn't reset after reloading a checkpoint, but that aside experienced no other issues.

Will try a second run in hard mode, but think the achievement for not picking up the health ankhs is a step too far for me, since that means dying in 2-3 hits. But with this and the recent Doom 64 & Quake remasters, it shows some FPS games have stood the test of time. Now please do Alien Trilogy.

That spot where you grenade jump is a thing in the Saturn version. You have to walk on those piano looking keys to deactivate the lasers and go back. It's a very poorly designed spot in an otherwise brilliant game. Grenade jumping wasn't really an option for me when I beat it on Pharoah difficulty.

I wouldn't mind an Alien Trilogy remaster especially if they use high resolution sprites.

 

[Billy_Sama]

I still have my Saturn copy, completed it several times back in the day when I had the patience to retry an entire level if I died (although late on you could skip entire sections by grenade jumping). Really need to give the new version a try now.

I looking forward in playing it it once its on sale. I played it on the Saturn as well and the fact that I died a lot falling into pits with the platforming didn't age with my current patience in video games.

 

[The Penultimate Warrior]

I looking forward in playing it it once its on sale. I played it on the Saturn as well and the fact that I died a lot falling into pits with the platforming didn't age with my current patience in video games.

This version puts a checkpoint before pretty much all the difficult platform sections

 

[Mr. Duck]

There's a mini-episode for the DOS version of the game, in where they discovered that the game did had support for sloped surfaces, but never got used in the final game, the levels themselves are pretty good, worth checking out.