Quake Mission Pack: Scourge of Armagon
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| Quake Mission Pack: Scourge of Armagon | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Hipnotic Interactive |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Release date(s) | February 1997 (NA) |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (M) |
| Platform(s) | PC |
Quake Mission Pack #1: Scourge of Armagon is the first official mission pack for id Software's first person shooter, Quake. Developed by Hipnotic Interactive, later renamed Ritual Entertainment, Scourge featured 15 new single player missions, a new multiplayer arena, as well as three new enemies, weapons and power-ups, and a more conventional soundtrack by Jehun Hwang combining electronica, orchestral, and heavy metal styles.
New features were also added to the engine technology, including rotating brushes and destructible walls.
Scourge of Armagon went on to win several Add-On of the Year awards.
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[edit] Facts
- Scourge was the first id Software title published by Activision. Since then Activision has published nearly a dozen more id titles and several more using id’s various game engines.
- The financial success of Scourge directly led to developer Ritual Entertainment being able to secure funding for their next game, Sin, from Activision.
- The original title of this add-on was Quake: The Rift. This subtitle was abandoned to avoid confusion with the pre-existing Rifts line of games.
- The subtitle “Scourge of Armagon” was conceived of by id’s then-bizguy, Mike Wilson. Many of the characters found in id’s games from that era are named after characters from their internal Dungeons & Dragons sessions.
- Several concepts from Scourge found their way into future games in the Quake series. The bio-mechanical design of the Strogg (the enemies in Quake II and Quake 4) are very similar to that of the character Armagon. The rapid-fire laser cannon appears in Quake II as the hyper-blaster. And the “islands in space” design of the multiplayer map “hipdm1” became a staple in Quake III Arena (and many other deathmatch games).
- Scourge was also the first of many mission packs to open the door for a new game development studio working in the first-person shooter genre. 2015 developed the mission pack for Sin, and then went on to develop Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Gearbox Software developed the first mission pack for Half-Life, and later created Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30. Splash Damage developed Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, and is now developing Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.
[edit] Game Information
[edit] Monsters
- Gremlin
- A small bipedal creature with a greenish skin, somewhat akin to a less muscular fiend. This creature possesses several abilities that make it an interesting (and sometimes annoying) enemy to fight. Get too close and they have a chance of stealing certain of the players weapons and using them against their original owner. The player may recover the weapon by killing the gremlin (using some other tool) and collecting the resultant pickup (which is in the form of a backpack similar to how grunts and some other monsters drop ammo). Gremlins can also bolster their numbers in real time by reproducing. To do this they must first feed on the corpses of fallen monsters. After a few seconds of feeding a new gremlin will appear in their place. If a player is not careful about clearing one area of the level of gremlins, they may have to return at a later point and find it swarming with this unique enemy.
- Centroid (also known as Scourge)
- A giant black scorpion possessing twin nailguns for claws. In addition to this, players getting too close might well find themselves on the receiving end of a powerful tail sting attack.
- Spike Mine
- This strange and disturbing entity appears as a large floating sphere of fused metal and flesh, from which protrude numerous sharp spikes. It appears to be less a creature and more a hellishly engineered automaton of destruction. Its behaviour is limited to homing in on the player until it is within a close range, at which point it will self detonate with a powerful explosion, capable of killing even healthy and well armored players. Despite its apparently non-existent or extremely primitive intelligence, it can be a dangerous and insidious foe for the unwary as it drifts down from a dark corner or from behind. Those more experienced will know how to identify its characteristic bubbling sound, and upon hearing this quickly scan the environment for approaching mines that can be attacked and detonated at a safe distance.
[edit] Bosses
- Armagon
- The final boss, from which this mission pack gets its name, is described as a high leader in Quake's legions. The final showdown occurs in a large circular room dominated by the huge overhead portal (presumably being used by Armagon to launch the invasion). Upon entering, the player sees only a large metal cube at the center of the room. As they approach the cube begins to spin. Lightning arcs between the portal and the spinning cube, which then explodes. Armagon now strides from the rubble and promptly attacks. The creature is a towering cybernetic humanoid. Its lower body and legs are purely mechanical. Its torso, head and upper arms (presumably belonging to the original creature) appear to be that of some beast alike to a giant and much more stocky gremlin. Armagon's forearms have been replaced with its primary weapons: lethal twin rocket launchers.
- Fighting Armagon is very reminiscent of Doom's Cyberdemon, from which the design of this boss has clearly been inspired. Armagon even stops to launch three-rocket volleys (actually six rockets, given that it has double the firepower of Doom's most powerful enemy) in the exact same manner. The combat is a similarly simple affair though quite intense, the player having to simply destroy the creature with the normal weapons (there is ample ammunition and health scattered around), while avoiding those devastating rocket salvos. The obvious tactic is to use large pillars around the circumference of the room as cover, though care must be taken to avoid splash damage from walls and floor. For a very different and somewhat amusing method, be sure to watch the most well known (and arguably most impressive) speed run of this mission pack, Scourge Done Slick.
- After killing Armagon, the creature explodes in a shower of gibs, and a hidden portal in the wall is exposed. An in-game cinematic sequence (unusual for the Quake series) shows the player running through this portal and ending back on Earth (actually the beginning of the Start map). The typical game ending text explains this aspect of the storyline in more detail.
[edit] Weapons
- Laser Cannon
- A three barreled weapon that fires lasers at a rapid rate which bounce multiple times, and thus can be used to damage enemies from around corners.
- Proximity Bomb
- Using a modified grenade launcher skin on the existing mesh, it launches a small bomb which attaches to surfaces and after a short time will arm itself. After that point if it detects anything within its radius it will detonate with about the force of a normal Quake grenade; explodes on impact. Though it had tactical potential in deathmatch, it was of lesser use in singleplayer due to the lack of roaming behavior in the games artificial intelligence.
- Mjolnir
- A large hammer with a thick bone as the handle, without cells it could be used as an alternative melee weapon, but had the main attack of striking the ground conjuring bolts of lightning from the point of origin to enemies in sight dealing significant damage. Good against groups of monsters of any strength and illustrated as a potent deathmatch weapon in the game's demo reel as wielded by ParadoX.
[edit] Powerups
- The Horn of Conjuring
- Upon contact the horn emits a mighty tone and summons a random Quake monster to fight by your side, though severely lacking in intelligence, it will never flee a battle. The monster can be identified for its bright glow.
- The Empathy Shield
- A timed powerup that blocks 50% of the damage the owner would normally receive, and returns that share to the attacker. Excellent against high powered monsters and players alike.
- Wet Suit
- A timed powerup that greatly extends the players breathing time while underwater and also boosts player movement underwater.
