Ken's Labyrinth (1993)
Genres:Shooter
Themes:Action
Game modes:Single player
Story:When Sparky the dog is kidnapped by aliens, his owner chases after them to rescue his dog.
Vote to bring this game to GOG and help preserve it.29
Ken's Labyrinth is a first person shooter published by Epic in 1993 and developed by Ken Silverman, the primary designer behind the Build Engine that powered Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, Blood among others.
Originally starting out as a prototype called Walken, which Ken developed to try to match John Carmack's Wolfenstein 3D engine, it was barebones and more of a proof of concept. Slowly fleshed out into a full game and adopting the name Ken's Labyrinth, Epic published the final version in the popular shareware format, giving the first of three episodes for free and payment for the remaining two.
Now, I picked up the shareware version in a Titanium Seal blister pack, complete with a picture that had absolutely nothing to do with the game on the front, and one lonely screenshot on the back, which was enough to intrigue me. One quick install later, and I was dropped into the first level following the cheery voice line "Welcome to Ken's Labyrinth" and while i fondly remember my time in Ken's Labyrinth it's hard not to compare it to it's closest contemporary Wolfenstein 3D, which shows some of it's pro's and cons:
- Wall texturing is far more varied, with the occasional map and a compass item to help you navigate the maze-like levels.
- More enemy variety, however all are front facing, so no patrolling guards or angled sprites.
- More interactive objects - teleports, slot machines and vending machines, water fountains etc, making it closer to Blake Stone in interactivity than Wolf 3D.
- 30 levels split into 3 episodes compared to 60 in Wolf 3D and Blake Stone, but that helps prevent it causing player fatigue in late-game.
- Player Control is a little more slidey than Wolf 3D.
- Only 2 difficulty levels.
- A pet dog follower in Episode 2!
Released as freeware in 1999 on Ken's own website, I feel that Ken's Labyrinth could be also be preserved on GOG and presented to an audience who likely do not even know of it's existence in Epic's publishing back catalogue.
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