Review: Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:This depends on the source port you're using. Most allow you to save wherever and whenever you want, and you can easily pause the game by pressing ESC to bring up the game's menu. Time needed per session:You can make decent progress in as little as fifteen minutes, but I'd plan on longer sessions to allow for the complex level design and the end of mission boss fight.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | Yes Like other First person shooters of the era, blood and gore is frequently seen when enemies are killed. In this case, some of blood is green or yellow, and there's much less gore than you'd see in Doom, but it's still present. |
Screenshots
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/blake_stone_aog_0.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/blake_stone_aog_1.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/blake_stone_aog_2.jpg)
Game Overview
The success of Wolfenstein 3D led to many other studios producing games like it - often by using a licensed copy of Wolfenstein's engine. Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold also took this path, but added some new features and mechanics to the popular First Person Shooter formula.
Let's start by setting the stage with a quick recap of the story. In the 22nd century, the mad scientist Dr. Goldfire has cut off ties with Earth, and is starting to build his own private army of mutant creatures and aliens. Once his army has grown large enough, he plans to use it to conquer the world. To protect the world from this insanity, Agent Blake Stone has been sent to find and defeat the madman before he can launch his attack.
In order to do that, Stone will need to explore many heavily fortified areas and defend himself from armed guards, killer robots, hungry aliens, and horrible mutants. But, not everyone on Dr. Goldfire's payroll is happy to be there. Some of the researchers are on Blake's side and are willing to help him. If you interact with them, they'll quietly pass you some spare ammunition, Credit vouchers, or useful information. The catch is that there's no way to tell which side a researcher is on until it's too late. Pick the wrong person, and they'll sound the alarm.
Now, the Credits themselves are an interesting idea. Most of the FPS games from this time period had you heal yourself by picking up medikits or other health boosting items found around each level. Since you couldn't return to a previous level, you could run out of supporting items very quickly and needed to use them sparingly.
In Blake Stone, the environments you're exploring are meant to function as research stations where people live and work, and that means there are areas set aside for people to sit down and get something to eat. These break rooms or cafeterias often have vending machines installed in or near them, and you can use the Credits you've collected to buy something from them. What you'll get is random, but it'll always restore some of your health. Importantly, Credits are kept between levels, allowing you to refuel whenever needed. Aside from the researchers, there are a multitude of unique enemy designs in this game. Some of them are human and use traditional hitscan weapons, but there are also a lot of different aliens and mutants that use slow moving (but quite powerful) projectile attacks. One enemy is even able to "play dead", faking defeat in order to trick players into thinking that an area is safe! I'd also like to draw your attention to the stationary turrets. They're mounted on the ceiling and rapidly fire on any intruders they are able to detect. Some rotate, giving you an opportunity to either slip by or attack them from their blind spot, but more than a few are set up in special rooms designed like traps - wander carelessly into the wrong place, and you may find yourself becoming swiss cheese!
The last special feature I'd like to highlight is the level design itself. Unlike most games of this era, all of the maps in an episode are linked together as "floors" in a building. At first only the first floor can be accessed, but by finding and using red keycards that are hidden throughout the different floors, you can unlock more of them and work your way towards the highest floor where the episode's boss is waiting for you. The cool thing here is that once you've unlocked access to a floor, you can freely move to and from it using the elevator whenever you want. This can be handy if you start running low on health or ammunition and need to backtrack a little.
Overall, this classic FPS is definitely worth looking at if you're a fan of older games. It's a great improvement over Wolfenstein 3D, but unfortunately for its developers, another first person shooter was released shortly after their game, and overshadowed it to the point where it almost got lost to history.
Let's start by setting the stage with a quick recap of the story. In the 22nd century, the mad scientist Dr. Goldfire has cut off ties with Earth, and is starting to build his own private army of mutant creatures and aliens. Once his army has grown large enough, he plans to use it to conquer the world. To protect the world from this insanity, Agent Blake Stone has been sent to find and defeat the madman before he can launch his attack.
In order to do that, Stone will need to explore many heavily fortified areas and defend himself from armed guards, killer robots, hungry aliens, and horrible mutants. But, not everyone on Dr. Goldfire's payroll is happy to be there. Some of the researchers are on Blake's side and are willing to help him. If you interact with them, they'll quietly pass you some spare ammunition, Credit vouchers, or useful information. The catch is that there's no way to tell which side a researcher is on until it's too late. Pick the wrong person, and they'll sound the alarm.
Now, the Credits themselves are an interesting idea. Most of the FPS games from this time period had you heal yourself by picking up medikits or other health boosting items found around each level. Since you couldn't return to a previous level, you could run out of supporting items very quickly and needed to use them sparingly.
In Blake Stone, the environments you're exploring are meant to function as research stations where people live and work, and that means there are areas set aside for people to sit down and get something to eat. These break rooms or cafeterias often have vending machines installed in or near them, and you can use the Credits you've collected to buy something from them. What you'll get is random, but it'll always restore some of your health. Importantly, Credits are kept between levels, allowing you to refuel whenever needed. Aside from the researchers, there are a multitude of unique enemy designs in this game. Some of them are human and use traditional hitscan weapons, but there are also a lot of different aliens and mutants that use slow moving (but quite powerful) projectile attacks. One enemy is even able to "play dead", faking defeat in order to trick players into thinking that an area is safe! I'd also like to draw your attention to the stationary turrets. They're mounted on the ceiling and rapidly fire on any intruders they are able to detect. Some rotate, giving you an opportunity to either slip by or attack them from their blind spot, but more than a few are set up in special rooms designed like traps - wander carelessly into the wrong place, and you may find yourself becoming swiss cheese!
The last special feature I'd like to highlight is the level design itself. Unlike most games of this era, all of the maps in an episode are linked together as "floors" in a building. At first only the first floor can be accessed, but by finding and using red keycards that are hidden throughout the different floors, you can unlock more of them and work your way towards the highest floor where the episode's boss is waiting for you. The cool thing here is that once you've unlocked access to a floor, you can freely move to and from it using the elevator whenever you want. This can be handy if you start running low on health or ammunition and need to backtrack a little.
Overall, this classic FPS is definitely worth looking at if you're a fan of older games. It's a great improvement over Wolfenstein 3D, but unfortunately for its developers, another first person shooter was released shortly after their game, and overshadowed it to the point where it almost got lost to history.
Points of Interest
Life is better with source ports
Although there's nothing stopping you from playing this game the way it was originally packaged, you'll probably have a better time if you play it using a fan-made source port like BStone
. At the very least, upgraded controls are definitely worth the switch.
. At the very least, upgraded controls are definitely worth the switch.
6 Missions to Conquer
Throughout this adventure, Blake Stone will be traveling through six of Dr. Goldfire's heavily defended lairs, starting with the Star Institute (a front for the doctor's operations), and ending at his orbiting defense satellite. Each location features ten floors of enemies, puzzles, and secrets for you to discover.
Automap and Tracking Info
This game's developers are on record stating that they didn't like how easy it was to get lost in Wolfenstein or games like it. To prevent their own customers from getting frustrated, they ensured that Blake Stone came with its own automap system. It's not as detailed as the automaps you'll find in source ports of Doom or other games, but it's more than enough to see where you've been, where the doors are, and where the elevator is located.
This screen also provides additional information about the current floor, such as the number of enemies and informants that are wandering around.
This screen also provides additional information about the current floor, such as the number of enemies and informants that are wandering around.
Concerns and Issues
Graphic violence
While this game came out before the ESRB was created, there was enough of a public outcry over violence in games for the developers to feel the need to have this game display a warning message before the title.
It's there for good reason: even though you're using science fiction ray guns, they still make holes in people large enough to give you a glimpse of their insides. The only real difference between the human and alien enemies is that the latter have yellow or green blood.
It's there for good reason: even though you're using science fiction ray guns, they still make holes in people large enough to give you a glimpse of their insides. The only real difference between the human and alien enemies is that the latter have yellow or green blood.
Body horror
Very late in the game, you'll start encountering the monstrous results of Dr. Goldfire's experiments. The zombified guards and mutated humans are both in agony, which is bad enough, but you'll also need to explore some of the laboratories where these pitiful things were made. Many of the gurneys are still occupied, with bloody sheets pulled up over the bodies. It'll get a little freakier when the gurney's occupant decides it's time to get up and come after you.