HYPERVIOLENT

System Shock seeks Doom for old-school shooter shenanigans

-  Tom Charnock

Another day, another outbreak of zombifiZombication among an asteroid mining colony’s workforce. It’s a story as old as time, and Terminist Arcade’s crack at the horror first person shooter genre looks to meld elements from some of gaming’s greatest hits with a suitably retro visual style.

First-person shooters that take inspiration from ’90s stalwarts are all the rage, and there’s certainly something appealing about the latest crop that combine modern mechanics with visuals that wouldn’t appear out of place running on a 486. Hyperviolent is the latest release attempting to bring this mix of old and new to contemporary systems, and does a decent of job of setting the scene for what developer Terminist Arcade is no doubt hoping will become the genre’s next hit. Hyperviolent has stiff competition in the form of titles such as Prodeus, Project Warlock and Ion Fury though; all of which inhabit the same ‘sprite shooter’ sphere; and if you’ve played any of those, you’ll be familiar with what Hyperviolent is offering.