I always remembered this story growing up
Before I go right into the review, a quick childhood story. Some of you may recall seeing a game in a game store or advertise in gaming magazines. I went to a local game store, a couple miles away from my childhood house. I remembered seeing a game that quickly caught my attention for Sega Saturn.
I never owned an Sega Saturn console, I did play some games ported from it though. This sick cover had a bloody chef, I didn't recall the title from my memory. It also doesn't help the Saturn version of Killing Time got canceled. I might've seen an ad for it in a gaming magazine before. Eventually I got to play the game all these years later through GOG.
Review
I also need to point out it originally was an 3DO game. When they brought the game to PC, it was completely redone. I never got to play the original version. I can honestly say it's hands down the best of Retro Shooter Rampage Bundle by far. This is a famous Doom clone, yes this again. Killing Time is essentially Doom with aspects of The 7th Guest while packing in enemies.
Yes I do mean areas filled with enemies, it made the later Doom levels look not as intense. The story of the game is a rich woman named Tess became obsessed with Egyptian magic. She wanted to live forever, this ritual caused the entire island preventing time from floating again. There isn't much to go on who you're actually play as.
Not even enough information from characters talking to your protagonist character either. You get a couple of weapons with most being decent. I think my favorite ended up being the flame thrower. This weapon saved me from some bad situations. It's great to quickly wiping out a room filled with enemies.
Unlike Doom, the game is one big map that's all connected. Sorta like metroidvania style games before that's a thing. The original 3DO version predating Castlevania: Symphony of the Night a few years. A shorter time gap bringing in the PC version of Killing Time. Instead of cutscenes, it's more like The 7th Guest franchise.
You wait for these Tess ghosts saying Help Me!!! You get digitalized actors replaying several moments that reveal more of the back story. There's a huge variety of enemies with the most recurring type being insects. I do need to point out a lot of enemies are also presented in the 3DO version.
Majority of them looks notably different especially clowns. Yes a Doom clone you take on killer clowns. Originally, the enemies were also done by digitalized actors. Man they look absolutely amazing in the 3DO version. Now I'm not trying to say they look bad by any means. They simply don't come off as being nearly as good or as effective in comparison.
I think the perfect example what I'm talking about thanks to Killing Time: Resurrected trailer. You can actually see some enemy designs from both versions in the same trailer. I would recommend watching for chefs. As much I did enjoy their appearance in the PC version. OMG, in the 3DO version, chefs looks absolutely amazing!!!
Especially how some enemies attacks you in the 3DO version, it's almost as if the enemies attacking you. I will say I liked majority of the locations. You may get lost a lot where to go at times. You need to collect ten keys as well as ten vessels. Obviously, the keys unlocks areas either inside the estate or particular buildings around the island.
The vessels are required for the endgame, I'll discuss more on that later. You can run out of ammo if you aren't careful. Sometimes enemies can hit you before you can. It also depends on exact placements of the characters too. Either you can still attack but they can't or in vice versa. There's not many bosses either.
Mostly Duncan who acts more of an obstacle to delay the game ending than an actual boss fight. He will constantly attempt to stop you. You can take him out but he'll keep respawning. He does deal damage too not to mention he's faster than you're expecting. If you go for the 100% completion, you have to face Tess in the end.
Duncan almost came off being like Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat series. He taunts you almost every single time you take him down. He also teleports with a loud sound effect. Thankfully a handful of spots he can't show up in. This is critical for destroying six mirrors. You need to find three similar style doors that all leads to these mirrors.
Among destroying the last mirrors. You have to return to the area you first met Duncan as an enemy at. You destroy the water clock triggering the final boss. Personally I liked this concept just wish it was done a little differently. You also have to wait until Tess is done speaking before the fight begins.
Tess is kinda like The Mother Demon from Doom 64, I think that's the perfect comparison. Both are female final bosses that deals serious damage. They also can summon enemies to help screw you over. If you win, you'll get the good ending. But if you lose, you get the bad ending instead. Maybe it's my copy of the game, not many spots the digitalized actors looked good.
I think majority of the original voice acting got pulled from the 3DO version. Thankfully for such a huge map, you got access to an in game map. There's some sections hidden within other locations. Yeah get use to that as you're playing the game. The more you explore, the more you realize what an impressive game this was for it's time.
I would say the music is notably better than the sound effects. Of course, it still has some good sound effects. There's the not great sound effects you hear often that kinda annoy you a bit. You also can save your process. I always welcome that in an FPS game from the 90s. I got a major tip if you wanna give either version of this game a try.
Don't go in thinking it'll be another Doom clone. I think it does just enough to differ itself from that. The music style is vastly different too. It's more like The 7th Guest soundtrack. Neither were heavily rock theme soundtracks. You also have some enemies attacking similar to some Doom enemies.
Killing Time is very true to it's name. This game is literately packed with content, it's mind blowing. There's a handful of spots you can change hands on clocks. This actually triggers different past moments to play out. I also liked how Killing Time is more about exploration than just kill em all.
On your map screen, you got slots for key items. This is very helpful when you need to figure out which ones you need. The length can determine depending on your playing style. A cheat run is obviously much faster. But you also missing out on what made this game a classic too. I was even amazed I missed out on this much from cheating the game.
All of a sudden, I was much happier to revisit the game. Not only that, I beaten it for the first time without using codes. I came to realize this is among my favorite Doom clones. If anyone wants to know which one is my favorite, it always has been Blood. Killing Time is a story driven game above everything else.
I really don't recommend rushing any section of the game. Some areas has enemies that can quickly kill you without warning. Thankfully not even the bosses can one shot you. Probably get use to getting over whelm a lot too. This will help you through the enemy filled sections. I mostly got positive stuff to say.
I do have some criticisms I felt I should share. My first problem is why did it take this long for an remastered version to happen? A more serious problem is jumping, you actually can jump in this. It's among the worst I seen in an FPS game. For me seeing an decent jump in them is rare. This is critical for reaching the light house.
You have to carefully navigate this path to the light house. After you explored it, you got to go back the way you came. Which ends up being a little easier than expected. Another major problem I had is some areas were difficult to see due to lack of lightening. Sadly there's no option in the game to increase brightness.
This is important because some areas you navigate through lacks lights. But also so filled with enemies with the surrounding layer making it easier to get lost. There's also parts of using the map that can be confusing because the map layout being much bigger. It's a lot smaller in the 3DO version, I seen from YouTube videos.
Also considering how some sections connects makes it frustrating to tell. Where do you need to go at times too. Unlike the 3DO version, enemies doesn't show up on your map screen. Which would've been helpful having something to tell which enemies are in the area. Instead of on purpose rushing forward then quickly move back.
Some enemies can hit you much easier from a distance often too. Despite that, Killing Time is an underrated FPS game. I don't think it's the strangest among Doom clones coughs PO'ed. I do think this offers much more than simply ripping off Doom's style. Killing Time is a game that truly deserves to be remastered, thank god that version coming soon.
This felt like a perfect merger of Doom and The 7th Guest. It may not be filled with as many puzzles as The 7th Guest. At least the voice acting was better. The 7th Guest had some cheesy moments. You could even say games like Doom 2016 wouldn't happened if it were for this game, I know a huge statement.
I think everyone can agree Doom, The 7th Guest and Killing Time all better than The 11th Hour. The 11th Hour is a follow up to The 7th Guest. Before people start getting the wrong idea. I actually felt from what I seen, The 13th Doll. A fan game that got backed by the same company for that franchise was notably better than that too.
Killing Time is almost like let's make Doom an metroidvania experience. But make it happen on an island lost to time. I do enjoy the animations in the PC version. I think it's obvious I do strongly prefer the animations in the 3DO version more. Even with the PC version, you really couldn't go wrong.
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