DF Retro: Powerslave/Exhumed - A Game Ahead of its Time
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- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- The 2018 season for DF Retro kicks off this year with a look at Exhumed or PowerSlave, as it was known in the US. Created by Lobotomy Software, this remarkable game combines the fast paced action of Doom with the exploration and power-up system of Metroid to create something wholly unique at the time. Powered by Lobotomy's in-house Slave Driver Engine, PowerSlave also pushes the Sega Saturn to its limits offering a level of performance rarely seen on the platform. A later PlayStation version of the game was also released along with a completely different game of the same name on PC. Curious what makes this game stand out even today? Join us on a journey through one of the best shooters of its era.
Hungry for more Lobotomy? Check out this excellent documentary from Tatsu Mainframe which details the history of the company itself.
• History of Lobotomy So...
Whipass Gaming also has a great text interview with members of the Lobotomy team at the time which served as a great source of information in researching this video. Check it out!
www.whipassgami...
![COLOMBIA vs. CHILE [4-0] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 10](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TDjN4W3yy1k/mqdefault.jpg)
One of my favorite games of all time. Good video John
ACG sounds like a buy
definately a buy XD
mine too, loved the saturn version so much
@ Yeah they remember how shit the recent iterations are like Duke Nukem Forever.
Modders are keeping it alive, I just learned about it though their voxel model packs.
I prefer df retro over normal DF
everyone was does
Indeed!
DF Retro is why I subbed to the channel.
Objectorbit thought i was the only one. Df retro is great
Same.. DF Retro is what made me subscribe. It's my favorite gaming show ever.
I was a Saturn owner myself in those days and Lobotomy were gods for the platform. I couldn't believe what they did with these games and how good Exhumed and Quake looked. They were one of the absolute finest Saturn developers, a real killer asset for the machine. It was a huge blow that they got closed.
I always hoped Sega would either buy them or atleast continue to form a working relationship where they contracted them to make more games for Saturn. I still remember buying the game day one,noone knew wtf the game was or cared at Software Etc. It quietly made a name for itself among the hardcore following. But it was just a quiet whisper as all the magazines bandwagoned towards PlayStation. A real shame Sony used their checkbook in those days to keep great games off the Saturn. Blood Omen Legacy of Kain and Resident Evil II were prime examples of Sony's b.s. interference with 3rd party game development on Saturn.
Markis5150 While Sony did have a shady reputation back in the day of paying off developers to either not do ports for other consoles or just do crappy and lazy ports, Resident Evil II for the Saturn was cancelled not due to Sony but due to Capcom focusing on development for Code: Veronica X which truly is ashame.
However I didn't know the other two you listed we're cancelled, again what ashame.
and also duke nukem 3d too on saturn
DF Retro is the best.
DF Retro, then, is the best.
Farshad Barnoos minus the toxic fanboy comments below!
DF retro is now the first reason I'm watching DF! Wish we had episodes more often.
Me not so much.
Mainly because these games are old and we're made before I was born so I can't relate
Dizzy is older than a lot of these.
The Japanese title for Powerslave is quite the Vaporwave treat.
John Linneman is the only reason I subscribed to this channel. His insights aren't only limited to raw tech analysis, but also gameplay commentary. The frame-rate and performance analyses by the other creators are fine, but they cater more to the "justifying my purchase" audience.
jojocapy His content is filled with love. Is as he became what we wanted to be as kids and he is there to show us what we could have been 😁
yep when he comments on the gameplay you really get that retrospective look at the game
José Manuel Benetti es verdad :)
Notifications for DF Retro are the best thing to wake up to.
Watching this again in 2022, eagerly awaiting the release of the remastered version later this week!
What
@@lolmao500 is that a question or a statement?
Got to love some of those little tricks they went though to get the performance they wanted.
very technically impressive
Thanks John, your dedication is seriously appreciated.
DF - There is an Update! Recently it was announced that this game is getting a full release soon. The full game is a combination of both the PS1 and the Saturn games with a bunch of updates to make it look and run great. A legit remaster that a lot of people wanted. With the recent release of the Quake remaster, it is really great to see that the full Powerslave EX remaster is coming soon.
It says that the release is in 2021. It is up on the PC store pages on GOG and Steam so go add it to your wishlist.
About 5 years ago I was playing through Powerslave when I found out from a friend of mine that he played it on PsOne and PsOne version wasn't the same. Doing some research I also found out, that Saturn version was even better. If only that info was available back in 1996...
the ps1 version is 100x better
no
... That info was available in 1996. There were these things called "gaming magazines". They were physcal objects made of "paper". I was fully aware of the differences between the Saturn and PSX versions in '96. It wasn't the dark ages, you were likely just a stupid kid oblivious to these things. Actually, it may have been Richard of DF that mentioned some of this stuff in Saga Saturn Magazine as he was the editor at the time. And yeah, the Saturn version is easily the best.
The beauty of John's passion always comes through, this boyos you cannot buy.
That’s a great Iron Maiden album too
amen
My favorite of theirs. Opens with Aces High, ends with Rime of the Ancient Mariner, how can you improve on that?
Favorite band of all-time, Up the Irons!
i'm looking forward to playing the remaster of exhumed when it's released on thursday for consoles. i played the original ps1 version back in the day and really enjoyed it. tbh am more excited for these games than i am for any modern stuff (i'm looking forward to test drive unlimited solar crown but cautiously so).
Alright, it’s retro vid...surely there won’t be any toxic platform wars in the comm- oh....ok then.
PC is the best
DREAMCAST IS BETTER THEN YOUR XSUCK, PLAYHORRIBLE, SWUCK! (Sarcasm)
Virtual Boy is the best platform!
The gaming community is one of the most toxic communities on the internet. It’s mostly because of the teenagers and alt-right Nazis.
Lol.... alt-right nazis..... there are just "sooo many" of them in the gaming community.
MUST be an Iron Maiden reference!
And of course there is a death metal band named Exhumed!
This is why in some regions game is called Exhumed I guess
Name:powerslave and as you can see the pyramid in the game... of course🤷🏻♂️😄
Keep your cancerous comments about ps4 or xbox one away from DF Retro. One of the best content from DF.
Adam Jensen
Well spoken brodah, you do know de wey
THE BEST
Keep those kinds of comments away from all videos really
Then stop bringing it up. The only thing I hate more than the fanboy wars are comments, commentating about the comments section. Often brought up before the fanboy wars even are, smh.
You're just creating non existent fuss. I didn't see a SINGLE ps4 or Xbox one fanboy comment on this one
I liked a lot the DOS version for the huge and complex level design (even if it's not full 3D and some flaws), big and hard maps so when i played the ps1 version, it was very original and good but i missed the complex level design of the PC version (yeah they removed really a lot of 3D stuff compared to the saturn version).
And then, i played with the saturn version, better level design for some part than the ps1 version, it was all good! :D Saturn version Powa! ^^
I would like a mix between the big maps with a lot of relief of the DOS version with the items/exploration system of the Saturn version, it could be awesome!
Remastered edition is beautiful. Glad you popped up. Instant subscribe.
Dear god, I freakin LOVED Powerslave on the PS1! The gameplay, atmosphere and soundtrack was top notch. So awesome that you guys covered this utter gem of a game. Props!!!
I swear no other youtube has spoken of this game and done it so much Justice as you guys have. A lot of reviewers tend to skip out on a lot of details but you guys went all out on this one.
Well done.
Is it weird that I've watched this like 4 times over the years?
You know, i'm rewatching these videos and your enthusiasm is contagious, it's clear that you choose your content and your choices are always beloved games or themes for you. I always end up hyped after seeing a DFRetro.
In fact i ended impulse buying Ridge Racer V the other day after rewatching the Ridge Racer DFR. Please keep it up, your works become better the more i revisit it.
Digital Foundry, love you for making an episode about this amazing game. This defined my Sega Saturn experience.
I remember renting it for Playstation back then and it was a fun shooter for a few days. But i don't remember anything that stood out except the ancient egypt theme.
Excellent video as always. John i hope you never stop doing this videos, best thing on youtube!
And now PowerslaveEX is being sold for 20$, and it's awesome.
Damn it, John, you just reminded me how much I really wanted to play this game, back in the day, but I never got to! Now I'm positive I would've been enthralled by it, and I still would be. Especially that Saturn version. Great episode, man, thanks for covering this gem!
The 90s were truly gaming greatest period.
Kind of strange to not bring up Heretic or Hexen(released 7 months prior) while talking about this game. Those two titles pioneered the more open ended, power-up based, and level less structure(not to mention the tons of often obtuse puzzles) in first person shooters, and were an obvious inspiration for this game.
Even the concept of universal ammunition is ripped straight from these games, who used mana instead of bullets/arrows for a lot of the weapons.
Interesting
I think this video was a showcase of what the Saturn could do when handled with care, even know they do talk about both the PC and PS versions here.
Heretic was a great Doom Clone, with linear level design, however Hexen has brought more complex design and level connnection-less structures :) Both were great!
Almost cried seeing this. Miss SEGA very much.
They're still alive
Jun Kurosu But not in the hardware console space
SEGA are still making great software though, games like Yakuza and Sonic Unleashed show that SEGA are still very much alive and kicking
Not Sega as the children of the 80s and 90s knew them.
I was born in 98, grew up playing Sonic 1 2 3 Toejam and Earl and the other SEGA classics, I may have been born in the late 90's but I'm still a 90's kid, I think SEGA are still as good as they were in the 80's and 90's, games like Sonic '06 are small bruises on a pile of great games and the worst recent Sonic game is Sonic Forces which is really just ok, Sonic Boom is another matter but that was mostly a third party company
I see Ancient Egypt, I click.
Great episode as always!
Excellent video, but I'm curious as to how you managed to fix the mouse issue in EX.
I didn't even mean to click this video, especially considering I've literally never heard of this game, but this is a fantastic video my dude. I feel like I can go toe-to-toe with any mouth-breathing old timer with my new found, tested and thoroughly bred knowledge of console hardware I never had the chance to experience.
thxbro
I had Exhumed for Sega Saturn and i loved it! Such an underrated game, and a great soundtrack! Very unique as well!
"Then perhaps GT Interactive will see sense and get Lobotomy to do Saturn Quake..." Richard Leadbetter totally called that one.
I really enjoy these retro videos. Provide some really interesting insights to games of times past. Please keep up the great work.
So glad to see more DF Retro being made, this is one of my favourite channels and this series might be the best part of all!
The focus on exploration over combat makes this feel almost like a parallel evolution to Tomb Raider.
The music is strangely memorable! Brings back memories of watching my older brother play this for hours on the Sega Saturn!
I love these. I always watch DF retro the day its uploaded. Such great detail and high quality story telling. Love you guys.
I started collecting for the saturn some years ago, this was one title i picked up. It's great, the progression keeps it exciting and mysterious all the way through
Awesome game. The saturn version is incredible. Everytime someone says the same old "saturn can't do 3d" show them Powerslave and Quake.
Exactly. The Saturn was great at 3D...just Sega didn't released the proper programming libraries to developers...if they did...Maybe we still could have a Sega console in the market....maybe.
This was a bloody brilliant video. Never heard of the game before but remained interested and entertained throughout.
Saturn Version is a hardcore game in terms of the Teamdolls... my childhood horror. At that time I found some without any hint by just bombing walls and examine every sprite. Played again 10y later with the locations found on the net.. the doll in the laserfield and the last one took me hours. As I‘ve collected them all, I felt like a gaming hero... thanks lobotomy and thank you for this upload. I miss these tricky elements, such as playing death tank zwei in another game because of a save state on my memory card😩😍
I happy to see this game is getting more and more love! I loved it back in the day and now!
Wow. Impressive. Can't believe I didn't give this game more of a chance! I'm a huge Saturn fan. Thank you.
The best FPS not only of the Saturn, but of the entire 32bit era, finally acknowledged!
Agreed... since you said 32 bits. Turok and Goldeneye on N64 are better IMO.
I agree 100% in fact it's much better than most modern first-person shooters
Cristián Paris N64 games are still part of the 5th generation of games (which includes Saturn, PSX, 3DO). So no.
Spent countless hours playing this on my Saturn. What a jewel it was. The music, atmosphere, graphics were awesome for the time. Those graphics amazed me that the Saturn could do that. Thanks for the video, as it brings back wonderful memories. Still own this, with my Saturn, along with a copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga also.
Absolutely brilliant. Thank you.
How are we not being given the translation of that Japanese title? Lovely video as always, John!
FINALLY a RETRO episode. this is the only reason I stay subscribed to this channel.
Great video, as usual! A petition: It would be interesting to know more about games that pushed Sega Saturn 3D capabilities. Thanks!
I'd like to see a video on the Panzer Dragoon series, I remember being really impressed with PDZwei
Juan Izquierdo Saturn is an odd machine for 3D. It can tend to get some brutal bouts of slowdown in certain games, yet it's fine in others. The Saturn port of Vandal Hearts can get slowdown in weird places. Then again the PS1 version isn't the smoothest.
Juan Izquierdo Saturn 3D is more capable than PS1 3D (specs wise Saturn is more powerful than Playstation, and games like VF2, Last Bronx, Panzer Dragoon Zwei and Saga couldn't work on a PS1 without some sacrifices like this game). The only thing PS1 did truly better than Saturn high end games was the Alpha Blending (aka transparencies on 3D games mainly). But everything else, Saturn is more capable than PS1 (but only if the developers use properly the 2 CPU's, which is a similar case with the PS3 vs 360 case. PS3 has around 8 proccesors and the infamous Cell, but also comes with a very strong CPU, although it has a slower GPU than 360 and 256 MB of RAM shared with games and the system itself, and 360 has 512 MB for everything. Games like God of War 3, Ascension, The Last of Us and Uncharted 3, are four examples of impossible games to port quickly to the less powerful 360).
David Curry there is one coming on the next episode!
Retrofan 99 The Saturn is alright, but I highly doubt it could do Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy IX, Vagrant Story etc.
Uk Saturn collector and Exhumed is a game I back too many times over the years really enjoy it. Didn't know about the PS cuts to the game. Nice to see Saturn win at some things when talking PS vs Saturn. Great video DF !
I still remember everyone at my school had a PSX, except one other kid in my class, me and him brought in our Saturn's to school on a show and tell day, he brought his copy of Quake on Saturn, I brought Powerslave and Nights into Dreams, everyone in our class was completely amazed, I remember my teacher (who like PC games) saying that had he known he could have played these on the Saturn, he never would have bought them on PC, he didn't care about the extra visual flare on PC, the PC wasn't really the powerhouse it is now.
By the end of that svhool year, there were enough kids in my clas, and the other 6th grade class, that we bought the 6 player adapter and would regularely get together to play games like Three Dirty Dwarves and NHL 98.
There are sooo many deprecated threads and discussions dedicated to the questions that this video answers. Good show!
I remember this as a kid, don’t have many memories with my dad but this is genuinely one of them. It gave me nightmares once as I fell asleep during the day while everyone was playing ps1 and I just remember waking up screaming. I been looking for this game to kinda connect the dots of my childhood for sometime now. Thanks.
Great video as always! You just forget the death animations for our character in the PC version, they are exclusive to this version and awesome!
One of the first shooters with adventure element in it. It was so impressive when I played it back then on Playstation. And thanks to the review I now consider to play the Saturn version.
I just love you DF Retro!!
You have NO idea how much I played this game as a kid! Thank you for this video.
Watching this again after the re-release on Switch. And interesting to hear about Powrslave Ex on the KEX engine... I can't think why they was removed! :)
i loved this game so much, had it on sega saturn, it was the only fps my mum liked at the time, and we found every developer bust hidden throughout the game, spent years playing it.
Seems like Nightdive watched John's video and made the ultimate version just for him! It's great.
In skilled programmers, people could do wonders with the Sega Saturn. Great video John :-) I wonder if any of the guys who worked on Lobotomy are still active in the industry...
I only knew about the DOS version of Powerslave as well. Love DF Retro for covering all these games from the era when a game can have drastic differences from platform to platform.
I bought this for my Sega Saturn thanks to Richard Leadbetter and the extensive previews in Official Sega Magazine. As John commented it was truly amazing for its time. I hadn't played a Metroid game until Metroid Prime on the GC. Thanks for pointing out the similar design features
Came back here after watching the latest video, really glad I gave this game a go!
Truly, thanks a lot for this excellent and in depth video. This is one of my favourite games and set a high standard for me at a young age and love to see more people know about it. One aspect of the game I liked was the development doll collectibles hidden in each stage. There was roughly one in each and were ingeniously hidden that required very sharp observation to find, and also great skill to acquire in some cases (the laser maze one in particular!).
Waiting for the look at the remaster by nightdive now. Awesome video.
Great episode! Kaiser also worked on Strife: Veteran Edition, a fantastic and innovative FPS+RPG combination released in the mid 90s. All games this guy touches turn to gold. I recommend buying all his source-ports under NightDive Studios on Steam!
Love DF's professionalism. Refreshing, objective and informative. Great job
Dammit DF Retro. I get that you guys seem to love the Sega Saturn almost as much as I do, but this video is going to make it even harder to find this elusive title. It's one of the few FPS games on the Saturn I don't own. =( ... Love the video though.
Dalton2K5
Sega saturn is trash.
I love the Saturn version of Powerslave. Very very great game.
I love DF Retro. Never miss an episode. Can't wait for the next one. Keep up the good work!!!
Awesome episode, man. I was a big fan of Powerslave on the Saturn and much like what you described in the video, found myself disappointed with the PS1 version due to all the changes (more inconsistent framerate and trimming of the maps). Still, it's a great game on either system, and I still have a soft spot for the PC version too. It's also nice to see some mention of Death Tank as well. I managed to get some six player action going with friends on Duke 3D's Zwei version and that was one of the best party game experiences I ever had.
Ah, played it back in the day on the PS1, wonderful...just bought it again on the Xbox series on your recommendation, and it's so sweet...my kids are regarding it with suspicion, but are interested!
The funny thing is that the Saturn version uses 320x240, but the devs probably didn't know that using 352x224 or 352x240 increases the CPU clock from 26 Mhz to 28 Mhz, and increases the VDP1 clock as well, also from 26 to 28. So 352x224 pushes more pixels and runs faster than 320x240. Games like Burning Rangers use that resolution as well, but I guess Lobotomy either didn't know or didn't like the different aspect ratio. They could also have used transparency on the scaled sprites, which works well on Saturn unlike transparency on distorted sprites, but maybe they felt it impacted the framerate more than they would have liked.
Another fantastic episode. I've always been curious about the series, and it's interesting that only having heard of it in the last few years that my initial 'book cover' impressions of it were exactly what was described about the DOS version overshadowing the console ports.
Now though, I can't wait to get home and check out the Saturn version. I'm always looking for a good reason to play that system, and now I have a new one.
I loved this game on PSX! I picked it up second hand in a game shop and really enjoyed it.
I played the PS1 demo many years ago. I remember being surprised over how fast the framerate was compared to DOOM PS1. I love the enemy design in this game and how they really pop in the dos version. The way the mummies fall apart when they're killed is just amazing. Stay retro John.
In a couple weeks powerslave is coming to the switch, from night dive. Is it going to be the EX version, or a new remaster?
A-WE-SOME episode! One of my fav fps ever! Sadly I only got the PSX version and with thiz video, Im drooling of all that I missed in the Saturn release (aesthetically speaking).
Funnily, I emulate the game on a modded old Xbox, using psxbox v.13, wich has a frame limiter option, and turning it off, the game manage to run always at a locked 60fps, and the music is not sped up in the process.
Again, great vid as always Johnn!!!!
ps3 console have boost fps on exhumed no singel drop 60 fps and its better than shitty sega saturn.
@@donemansion No. The Saturn version is the definitive version. I say that as someone who has owned every console to date.
3:34 Look at that sweet scanning screen! Now I know why those old games look so realistic when I was a child.
What's the song that plays at the beginning of the video, after the DF Retro splash?
Edit: Track 12 from the game's soundtrack.
Had it for my Saturn and loved it! Great to see you guys do a video on it.
Powerslave was easily one of the best games of that gen. Death Tank Yeah! Lobotomy worked wonders with the Saturn. Duke Nukem 3D and Quake were also good ports. Another great DF Retro vid John. Thank you!
Learned from this video you can back track to previous levels in this game, no wonder it didn't make sense when i played it 20 years ago or so.
Throwback Entertainment posted this on Twitter in Nov 2020. "Worst Kept Secret: We're happy to be partnering with @NightdiveStudio to bring an enhanced edition of PowerSlave to PC and console in the future."
Sigh... Eyup. It is indeed a shame that Powerslave EX project couldn't be done and just got swept off. Would have been really amazing. As a person who still remembers this kickass game, thank you so much for making this detailed review.
Also sadly just realized that Lobotomy Software went bankrupt for a long time ago...Ow well!
Oh how I *loved* this title back in the days. Brilliant to see a DF Retro about that now.
Loved the video and still miss Lobotomy Software a hell of a lot!
It’s still one of my favorite games on the PS1
Stormgazer me too
Retrofan 99 You have great taste!🎉
Any fix for the mouse issue (screen centering) on Windows 10 with Powerslave EX?
Such a great experience. One of two games that were essential for the system. Completing the game and unlocking the God mode was quite a challenge and for the time one of my favourite gaming experiences. Death Tank 7 player with a multitap was a great party experience.
Damn, that game looks actually good if I were to play it right now. Nice video.
Btw, we need a video on Ultima Underworld.
Great vid! I had never heard of PowerSlave before! Which is surprising as late 90s fps games were my jam!
This game actually looks fun
Let’s not forget the music. Fantastic tracks. Really emotive.
Yet another awesome analysis of a great game. Would love it if you did a DF Retro about the games Starbreeze were making on their own proprietary engines back in the day. Games like Enclave, Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness. Then they made Syndicate but I'm pretty sure there was a staff exodus over to MachineGames, who now make the best FPS games around. All of that is ripe for a DF episode.