Descent is a first-person shooter (FPS) game developed by Parallax Software and released by Interplay Productions in 1995 for MS-DOS, and later for Macintosh, PlayStation, and RISC OS. It popularized a subgenre of FPS games employing six degrees of freedom and was the first FPS to feature entirely true-3D graphics. The player is cast as a mercenary hired to eliminate the threat of a mysterious extraterrestrial computer virus infecting off-world mining robots. In a series of mines throughout the Solar System, the protagonist pilots a spaceship and must locate and destroy the mine's power reactor and escape before being caught in the mine's self-destruction, defeating opposing robots along the way. Players can play online and compete in either deathmatches or cooperate to take on the robots.
Descent was a commercial success. Together with its sequel, it sold over 1.1 million units as of 1998 and was critically acclaimed. Commentators and reviewers compared it to Doom and praised its unrestrained range of motion and full 3D graphics. The combination of traditional first-person shooter mechanics with that of a space flight simulator was also well received. Complaints tended to focus on the frequency for the player to become disoriented and the potential to induce motion sickness. The game's success spawned expansion packs and the sequels Descent II (1996) and Descent 3 (1999).
Gameplay
Single-player
Descent is a first-person shooter and shoot 'em up game wherein the player pilots a spaceship through labyrinthine mines while fighting virus-infected robots, using the ship's armaments. They must find and destroy each mine's reactor core, triggering a meltdown that will destroy the mine as the player escapes. For two levels, the reactor core is replaced with a boss. To obtain access to the reactor, the player must collect one or a combination of the three colored access keys for each level. As a secondary objective, the player can also choose to rescue PTMC (Post Terran Mining Corporation) workers who were taken hostage by the infected robots.
Descent features 30 levels, of which three are secret levels. Each level is based in a mine or military installation in various locations in the Solar System. The game demands that players keep their sense of orientation in a fully 3D environment with a flight model featuring six degrees of freedom in zero-gravity. It also provides a 3-dimensional wire-frame automap that displays any area of the current mine visited or seen by the player. Variously colored lines indicate locked doors and zones such as energy stations and reactor areas. These mines may contain hidden doors or robot generators that spawn enemy robots. Flares and lasers light up dark areas of the mine.
Items are available as collectible power-ups. They are either scattered throughout the mines or may be obtained by destroying robots. Weapons are split up into primary and secondary weapons. Primary weapons range from lasers to wide-range Spreadfire Cannons to the chargeable Fusion Cannons whose shots can punch through numerous enemies. They all consume energy as their ammunition, except for the Vulcan Cannon, which uses rounds of explosive shells. Secondary weapons include various missiles (both unguided and homing) including the Smart Missile which upon impact released several smaller guided bomblets, as well as Proximity Bombs that are dropped behind the player's craft to slow pursuing enemies. The player's spacecraft uses shield power as health, and can carry a maximum of 200 units of shields and energy each. Energy is replenished from energy power-ups or recharged to 100 units at permanent energy centers. Shields can only be restored by collecting blue shield orbs. There are also power-ups that modify the ship's status and weaponry. For example, Cloaking Devices temporarily render the ship invisible, Invulnerability temporarily inhibits receiving damage, and Quad Lasers modify the ship's laser system to fire four bolts of energy instead of the standard two. Points are gained by defeating robots, rescuing hostages, and escaping the mine before its self-destruction. If the player ship's shields drop to 0, the ship is destroyed, all acquired weapons are strewn about the area as power-ups, and any rescued hostages aboard are killed. The ship respawns at the cost of a life and the player must navigate the mines to regain the power-ups. Players can record and later view their experiences in the form of demos, both in single-player and multiplayer.