The Wish Granter: Rise of the Triad 2

Recently I wrote a piece about the plans that 3DR/Apogee has to resurrect Rise of the Triad.

Now, Rise of the Triad, or ROTT, is one of my favourite games of the 90s. It used an enhanced Wolfenstein engine, and not the Build engine that some thought it did, seeing as it was developed just down the hall from where the Duke 3D team, which became known as 3D Realms, was working on Duke Nukem 3D.

Tom Hall, in retrospect, wishes the DIPs, or Developers of Incredible Power, who made ROTT, had used the build engine instead.

So, recently, I've actually been thinking, before I read this interview with Miller, that there should be another ROTT game sometime. But I was plagued by nightmares of what it would be like- probably some title for one of the handheld consoles like the Wii, DS, or PSP, and that it would be utterly rubbish- which I hope isn't the case if it ever sees the light of day. And I'm actually kind of thankful that it will be Apogee LLC and not 3D Realms doing it, because, well you know the whole story of DNF by now...

As bigdownload says, there's no real word yet on what form this game will take, and whether it will come to the more "hardcore", big boy consoles like the PC, 360, and PS3.

When I think back, ROTT was a mix of action with some humour- in a sick sort of sense. In fact, I don't have to think back- I have ROTT on my PC right now, and I've even written an article on my Classic Games Resurrected series about it.

ROTT was supposed to be Wolfenstein: Part II at one point, developed by Apogee, until id shot down the whole idea. The game has a dark atmosphere and all, but there was also the dev's trademark humour which made it into the game as well, a lot of which were inside jokes- you had to be there to understand, and most of us weren't. I always thought it was completely wacky and addictive. Think of the jump pads, and the elevators complete with elevator music or "muzak", the EGADs, (levitating discs) and some of the wicked weapons.

I don't know enough about the game yet, since it's only just been revealed or hinted at by Scott Miller, but I'm not sure what direction would work with the game. ROTT wasn't completely serious, as it had some dark humour in it. True, a lot of the levels were bloody irritating. It was a first person puzzle game that was of course similar to Wolfenstein 3D, with its secret floor plates and push walls, but not overdone like in Spear of Destiny.

Miller said "reboot", and when you think of Doom 3, and how it was a reboot of Doom, I suppose it's logical that ROTT 2, or whatever it will be called, will be inspired by ROTT and not just a remake with fancier graphics- I hope. I'd like to see several things return, like the excessive gore, and the outrageous missile-based weaponry, perhaps with a little more conventional weaponry too like that big machinegun that the Triad Enforcer carries. It'd also be interesting to see how playing as different characters would pan out in this game, and it might be good if you can interact with them and complete missions with their help. It would make for a good co-op type multiplayer.

ROTT was literally DOOMed from the start though, despite all this. It didn't receive as much attention as Doom, or even Wolfenstein 3D, and the year the shareware version was released, Doom II had all ready been out for a while. Then when the full version of ROTT surfaced the next year, in 1995, The Ultimate Doom, with the fourth Episode, Thy Flesh Consumed, which even got a radio advert which I found on John Romero's website, was released shortly afterwards.

ROTT may have been overlooked and forgotten by history, but it did introduce a few features in to the (at that time) blossoming FPS genre, and it would be foolish to skip it and go straight from Doom to Duke Nukem 3D as if it never existed, when taking a look back at the evolution of FPS games.

ROTT did receive a few addons over the years and developed a cult following of El Oscuridos. And it's this cult, of which I am a member, or monk, that's probably thrilled that ROTT might make a comeback after all these years, whether it's Rise of Triad 2 or known by some other name, it's about time.

The Wish Granter: Rise of the Triad 2