Rise of the Triad by developer and publisher Apogee Software—MS-DOS retro reflection written by Hamza.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Apogee. Gosh darn it, modern gaming culture will never understand the thrill of booting up a computer, typing an Apogee game's executable into MS-DOS, and seeing that logo fly across the screen with the immortal tagline, "Apogee means action." Damn right! Apogee may have fallen out of style and recognition lately, but their 3D Realms banner is still flying high, responsible for the first two Max Payne games, Prey, and the ill-fated Duke Nukem Forever.
Having grown up playing Apogee games, the company holds a soft spot in my heart and will forever remain one of my many gaming heroes—even if their games aren't exactly ultra-classics, barring Duke Nukem 3D and Rise of the Triad. Despite lacking a consistent one-two punch, several of their games are indeed highly enjoyable, such as the side-scrollers Bio-Menace and Monster Bash. Rise of the Triad was not only the first Apogee game I ever played, but it was also my very first exposure to first-person shooters. That's right, my interest and morbid addiction to all things FPS originated here. ROTT FTW!
Right from their inception, Apogee dabbled in the silly and absurd; with ROTT, they waded deep into surrealism—an unprecedented feat in a then-infant genre that had no guarantee of becoming the next big thing. With id Software being deathly serious about their titles, it is safe to say Apogee brought much-needed humor to the genre. It consists of Shadow Warrior (a parody of Eastern martial arts movies), Duke Nukem 3D (a parody of over-the-top action films), Rise of the Triad (a parody of violent gangster movies), and Blood (a parody of horror films, mostly cheap B-movies). At their heyday, these four were true rivals to id Software, but now they exist solely to provide old-school, over-the-top, violent action for those curious and brave enough to dive headfirst into an era that wasn't yet filled to the brim with dime-a-dozen WWII shooters.
Rise of the Triad follows a strict rule of exciting gameplay and fast, gun-toting action. Mere seconds into the game, you are handed a heat-seeker. After depleting that sweet carrier of carnage, you switch back to your primary weapon—a handgun with unlimited ammo. You never have an excuse for running around wide-eyed trying to find extra bullets. Although it is the weakest weapon, the mere fact that it is bottomless makes it beyond awesome.
One major crutch that has permeated a great many FPSs is the god-mode cheat. Those scared stiff by a Cyberdemon's haunting footsteps to the point they couldn't move have had no choice but to jam in the now-legendary IDDQD code. Those unlucky enough to be prancing down SHODAN's corridors with a sweaty complexion also had no option but to grant themselves invulnerability to protect against her "creations." However, in ROTT, god-mode is neither a cheat nor an unlockable; it is an actual, glorified, free-of-cost power-up weapon. Like I said before, ROTT is crazy and anything goes. With your godly powers, you can smite your foes and mash them down into gory giblets.
If you think that isn't crazy enough, take a bite of this: you get to play as a dog. Once again, your eyes do not deceive you. Getting to play as a hound in this hilarious, gory, and surreal romp is the wackiest concept I have seen since the playable killer rat option in Die Hard: Viva Las Vegas, where John McClane and his enemies are oversized rodents. Though the dog plays only slightly differently than its human counterparts, it possesses the incredibly cool ability to kill foes just by barking at them. Excluding the games by ShinyEntertainment, very few games on the market present themselves as this silly and actually relish in it. ROTT is one of them, and the man to thank is none other than Tom Hall.
As one of the chief founders of id Software, Hall was responsible for some of the company's biggest breakthroughs, including Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and the immensely likable Commander Keen games. He is also the creator of the iconic Dopefish—the unofficial mascot of pre-success id Software. Due to creative differences, he left id Software and joined Apogee, serving as a designer for Rise of the Triad. Though not his absolute best industry contribution (that honor goes to Anachronox), it remains one of his creative high points. Here, he was able to exercise his wildest and craziest ideas. With two creative forces like Tom Hall and Apogee working together, ROTT was bound to be ultra-wacky and insane. And boy, was it ever.
In conclusion, Rise of the Triad is a definite must-try for fans of the genre. As one of my ultimate gaming guilty pleasures, ROTT remains completely satisfying until it wears out its welcome, and engaging for as long as you, the player, decide to call it quits. Don't let its dated, sometimes embarrassing looks deceive you; it is a great shooter. And delightfully gory, too.
Note: Screenshots from all platforms that were available at the time can be found here at Moby Games.
