For the primary time ever, there may be an official Windows model of Blood, Monolith Software’s traditional horror-themed FPS. Blood: Fresh Supply is out at present, and a delicate remaster produced by Night Dive and their porting maestro Samuel “Kaiser” Villarreal, brains behind their Turok, Strife and System Shock updates. It’s an virtually surprisingly easy port to fashionable techniques, retaining the previous look whereas including widescreen, high-refresh and variable FOV help, mouse-look that doesn’t warp perspective and split-screen for as much as eight gamers. Take a take a look at the fancied up trailer beneath.
If you’ve by no means performed Blood earlier than, this can be a nice excuse. While it shares a lot of its code-base with Duke Nukem 3D, it’s a radically totally different game, and performs fairly in contrast to every other FPS earlier than or since. There’s no pinpoint correct sniper rifles or dependable assault rifles right here. Instead you’ve bought a sawn-off shotgun with a variety of about six inches, a tommy-gun that sprays wildly, a couple of magical weapons equally able to hurting you and enemies and an entire lot of dynamite. Enemies are twitchy and responsive, so lobbing explosives right into a room earlier than you poke your head in is a good suggestion.
Its enemies have a variety of harm resistances, too. Don’t anticipate to realize a lot in opposition to fats zombies with bullets, and fish-men appear to shrug off improvised flamethower-spraycan assaults. Conversely, a mob of standard zombies could be whittled down shortly with only a fast spray of fireplace, and the tommy-gun’s bullets are fast and deadly in opposition to residing cultists. You’re continually compelled to modify weapon relying on the enemy encountered and at what vary, though the (plentiful) dynamite is nice in opposition to all the pieces – together with your self. Mastering throwing it’s half the game.
This launch consists of each official expansions – the multiplayer Plasma Pak, and the solo Cryptic Passage – in addition to Blood’s brooding, often-ambient CD music included as a substitute for the default MIDI. It seems to be good, runs good and doesn’t require a lot faffing round to tweak to private choice. It’s a serious step up over the earlier official launch, which was the previous DOS version emulated by way of DOSBox. On prime of not working too nice, it had management enter points, together with mouse-aiming that might solely ballot one axis at a time. Finally, the nightmare is over.
Blood: Fresh Supply even has mod help, which I examined with the large Death Wish (available here on Mod DB). While it largely behaves itself, the engine-straining first stage of the second episode crashed me to desktop throughout my testing. For the second, the unofficial BuildGDX port is the easiest way to play mods, however I’d not be shocked if Fresh Supply overtakes it earlier than lengthy.
Blood: Fresh Supply is out now on GOG and Steam for £7.19/€8.19/$9.99, with a 50% low cost on GOG in the event you personal the unique One Unit Whole Blood launch. Atari have co-publishing rights on this one.
