WiiWare Takes a Descent Into Gaming History

[John Funk]

WiiWare Takes a Descent Into Gaming History

Do you have a hankering to play classic 1995 not-quite-space shooter Descent these days? If you do, you ought to keep an eye out on WiiWare.

1995's Descent was quite a few things. It was (and is) a beloved retro classic, held up as a member of the heyday of space shooters. It was a nausea-slash-vertigo simulator for some, who found themselves getting lost in the endless mine tunnels of the Solar System. It was the beginning of a franchise that led to what is considered by some to be the finest space shooter ever made: Descent: Freespace.

Oh, and it's also coming to the Nintendo Wii as WiiWare.

That's right, you'll be flying your MD1032 Material Defender through the series' six degrees of movement (up/down, left/right, forward/backward) with the Wii Remote. "Descent remains the most popular 1080 degree 3D blasting game. Translating its 3D worlds and gameplay to WiiWare is an exciting move", said Herve Caen, CEO of Interplay.

I don't disagree with Caen's statement, but isn't "1080 degree 3D blasting game" kind of, er, specific?

"Descent will pair perfectly with the motion-sensing Wii Remote controller and we can't wait to show players how intuitive the gameplay and control can be," said Scott Hawkins, founder of G1M2, the developer that will be working with Interplay on the project.

I know I can't wait to get lost in a dizzying series of tunnels all over again! Who's with me?

(Via IGN [http://wii.ign.com/articles/108/1084002p1.html])

Permalink

 

[khaimera]

I used to love that game, when I was 14. I had an uncle who had it and had a balst with it. I don't think it will age well though.

I was one of those players who would get lost and turned around every two minutes though. Then I get shot by something and just chase after it.

 

[DrunkWithPower]

Playstation 1 nastolgia AHOY! But the Wiimote might take away from that. I don't know, we'll see.

 

[randommaster]

I remember this game being hard as balls. The hardest difficulty would usually kill you in the first room. The coolest thing about it was the utilization of all three movement axes, though. I wonder what the control scheme will be.

 

[Caliostro]

Unmentioned is the fact that the Wii will be strained to keep up with the 1995 sci-fi classic's graphics and fast paced gameplay.

 

[Aura Guardian]

Playstation 1 nastolgia AHOY! But the Wiimote might take away from that. I don't know, we'll see.

Not all WiiWare games use the Wiimote. Some use the Classic or the Gamecube Controller

 

[Jonci]

Descent was a wonderful game back in the day. I remember trying to raid my cousin's computer anytime I could to play his copy. I still remember the level 8 boss that would spank my butt all the time.

 

[Andy_Panthro]

I found the controls difficult enough with a keyboard (numpad ftw), dunno how it will translate to Wii controllers.

I'd recommend people to head over to Good Old Games, where you can get Descent 1+2 for less than $6. Then, you can go look over at D2X-XL [http://www.descent2.de/index.html] for a look at a hi-res overhaul.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

[HEADING=1]SHIT TO THA YES[/HEADING]
FUCK, NOW I HAVE TO BUY A WII!

I found the controls difficult enough with a keyboard (numpad ftw), dunno how it will translate to Wii controllers.

I'm very curious to see how they do it. As far as the original game goes, the ONLY way to play is with a Thrustmaster joystick! I remember dropping $80 on one of those bad boys just for this one game!

 

[Baby Tea]

Oh man!
I LOVED Descent! It was so freaking good!
It was my favourite Modem game to play with my friends!

"Hey, ok I'm ready. I'll hang up, wait 20 seconds, and call you. Don't answer the phone, ok?"
"MOM! I'm expecting a call! Don't answer the phone when it rings!"
Cue modem sounds!

Awesome. I loved that game.
We need to get this on XBLA!

 

[Jared]

That is so cool! Ill be D/Ling this on my friends Wii as it will be epic!

 

[AboveUp]

Descent is coming back?!

The only other game that could ever top this is Oddworld, and that's saying quite a lot.

 

[VGCATZ]

This brings back bad memories of getting completely disorientated and forgetting which way was out when escaping the levels after the boss fight. That and keeping all of the missiles vulcan cannon ammo and bombs for situations in which I never used them because I always figured there would be something worse around the corner. That and Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold are the games that are responsible for my hoarding of weapons in games

 

[ffs-dontcare]

Ah, Descent. Brings back memories, it does.

 

[Keava]

I was always scared of this game. So many times i crashed into walls or other objects... and yet i kept playing...
But not really excited about Wii-remake. First i dont have Wii, second it would probably ruin the beutifully frightening memories i have from this game.

 

[Little Duck]

I've been looking for this game for ages. BUY BUY BUY!!!!

 

[More Fun To Compute]

I didn't play Descent that much. I actually played Forsaken more on the N64.

 

[4484448444844484]

I can play Descent on my DS.