Few people have heard of it, yet John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 was the first commercially available personal computer.
Retrospective: The Sentinel Returns for PC and PSX
By TideGear (Adam Milecki)
There is beauty in the abstract or bizarre. The very idea that something can be like we've never seen before sparks curiosity and the intrepid human spirit. Beyond our parameters lies infinite possibilities, the possibility of alternate dimensions, a different way of thinking, feeling, acting and being. Such a spirit is found in countless stories, countless dreams, countless games... games like The Sentinel Returns for PC and PSX.
The Sentinel Returns is a fairly direct remake of the abstract 3D puzzle/strategy game game known as The Sentinel for Commodore 64 (not to be confused with two other similiarly titled games). This remake adds a dark Jules Verne steampunk look with bizzare organisms to the already abstract and dreamlike atmosphere of the original. The game stands well apart from others, set in eerie rocky landscapes seemingly floating through space while the player lurks nervously under the searching gaze of the titular sentinel.
The gameplay itself is based in an almost 3D realtime one-against-many chess-like game. The player takes control of a "robot" aka "synthoid". Starting in the lower parts of a rocky landscape, you must quickly spawn boulders on any flat surface you can see, spawn another robot on top, and transfer into the newer robot. Once in your higher position you must repeat the process always mindful of the terrain surrounding you. Old items previously spawned or various things found around the landscape can be absorbed giving you the ability to spawn more. This would all be quite dull if not for the sentinel, a slowly turning eye high upon a peak somewhere on each landscape. When caught in it's line of sight you will soon be drained of your power and ability to spawn your necessary items forcing you to escape quickly or perish. The ultimate goal in each landscape is to make you way to a spot higher than the sentinel, absorb it, and take it's place, allowing you to "hyperspace" away. Other abilities and enemies are present but I will let you discover them yourself.
There are 651 landscapes in the remake unlike the original's 10,000 procedurally generated landscapes. This may mean they were actually designed by humans rather than generated, though I'm not certain. Completion of a landscape allows the player to skip ahead slightly. This allows skipping some of the landscapes the player may find frustrating.
The soundtrack is actually composed by John Carpenter but I'm not impressed. While it's dark and moody and fits the game's atmosphere quite well, it's just not the kind of thing I want to have to listen to for extended periods of time. They could have easily done better and gone with something more lively and enjoyable while still fitting the game.
I have a theory that this game is actually vaguely symbolic of the corruption that always befalls communism. I can't prove or disprove that but if you think about it enough you might find yourself agreeing. The important thing is that you try this game if you haven't already.
