Requiem: Avenging Angel
| Requiem: Avenging Angel | |
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| Developer(s) | Cyclone Studios |
| Publisher(s) | 3DO, Ubisoft |
| Distributor(s) | Retroism |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release | March 31, 1999 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Requiem: Avenging Angel is a first-person shooter developed by Cyclone Studios and published by 3DO and Ubisoft in April 1999. On April 14, 2016, it was re-released on GOG.com and in July 7, 2016 on Steam.
The game begins in the realm of Chaos, a limbo world between Heaven and Earth. It is here that, without the use of secular weapons, the player must resort to his angelic powers to defend himself. These angelic powers were an innovative feature of the game, working similarly to the Force Powers of Jedi Knight, and adding an extra dimension to the gameplay. It was also one of the first games to feature a bullet time feature, slowing down time to allow the player to dodge bullets, and highlighting the game's then advanced animation system.
The game's weaponry mirrors those of many first-person shooters, featuring many "stock" weapons as found in other games; from the humble pistol to the rocket launcher, and ultimately, the railgun One of the player's powers is the ability to possess an enemy, and to have complete control over him. This allows access to various other weapons which could not be used via the player character. Requiem was the earliest first-person shooter game to utilise a bullet time effect (first seen in the coin-op vertical shooter Astro Blaster) whereby the player can slow time down for a brief period making it easier to avoid bullets and kill multiple enemies.
Like Half-Life, Requiem did away with explicit mission scenarios, and instead placed the player within a seamless interlinked world, without the discontinuity caused by long level-loads. The majority of the game is set in mid 21st century Earth, and thus many of the locations visited in game are stylised versions of everyday locales, including a bar, a hospital and a power plant, among others.
Requiem draws heavily upon the Bible and Christianity for its influences, as well as the more usual sci-fi sources as found in other games. The background story to the game is set in Heaven. Looking down upon the Earth, upon his creation, the Lord was not entirely satisfied. The angels could see this, as they could see how his creation was ravaged with greed, corruption and stupidity. And although most angels decided to wait for God's guidance and wisdom, some did not, and took it upon themselves to descend onto Earth and interpret God's presumed desires. These rebellious angels became known as The Fallen.
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