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 In the far off year of 1990, John Carmack, along with Tom Hall, John Romero and Adrian Carmack formed id Software, on the terms that they still made a game for Apogee Software every two months. So, they set to work and in the month of December, released the first three Commander Keen games, Marooned on Mars, The Earth Explodes and Keen Must Die, with a very simple premise. "Billy Blaze, eight-year old genius, working diligently in his backyard clubhouse, has created an interstellar starship from old soup cans, rubber cement, and plastic tubing. While his folks are out on the town and the babysitter is asleep, Billy sneaks out to his backyard workshop, dons his BMX bike helmet, and transforms into... COMMANDER KEEN--defender of justice! In his ship, the Bean with Bacon MegaRocket, Keen dispenses justice with an iron hand!" They were a huge success, including their Apogee contracted game, Keen Dreams, a beta for the games that would follow in late 1991. The games we are covering now. AT LAST Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle, Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine and Keen 6: Aliens Ate My Babysitter! are hands down the best Commander Keen has to offer, they improve on both the original titles and Keen Dreams in basically every single way. They look okay for very, very early games, control really well, HAVE ACTUAL MUSIC and still scratch that platforming itch so many gamers need in today's starved market. These were the first games I ever played and I definitely started well. The first game, Keen 4, was developed around the same time as Keen 6, which would be available in stores only, via FormGen Corporation, which explains why you can't find it anywhere. It also hyped people up for the release of Keen 5, released one month after Keen 4 and 6, in mid December. Unfortunately, it would be the last Keen game as id moved on to other projects, more specifically Wolfenstein 3D, and the cliffhanger ending was never resolved. Unless you count fan games. Which we will, because unresolved cliffhangers are THE WORST. But we'll get to those later, maybe. So, with my planet exploring partner, Dirty Deeds Done, let's play through some really good games. I have been waiting for these babies.  NO SPOILERS  Part 1: A Good Game At Last Part 2: Spelunkeen Part 3: The Hills Have Villes Part 4: Illusion of Inebriation Part 5: Through Fire and Fish Part 6: im not mad  Part 1: Cruisin' For a Bruisin' Part 2: Amorphous White Blobs Part 3: Cheeky 1-Up Part 4: Git Tae gently caress  Part 1: Appetizing Pizza Part 2: One Keen Enters Part 3: Cult of Verticality Part 4: The State of Gaming Part 5: Molly's My Bloogbae  Part 1: Start of Something poo poo Part 2: This Kills the Keen Part 3: They Hope It's All Over Crosspeice fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Jun 20, 2015 |
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May 11, 2015 14:40
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| # ? May 4, 2024 22:24 |
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 Part 1: Pogo to the Stars Part 2: Shrine Time in the Cities Part 3: Secret City and Commander's Castle  Part 1: Brought to You by ACME Part 2: Mind Control My Bullet to Yo Face Part 3: Limp Back to Your Own Planet  Part 1: Start of Something Swell Part 2: This Video is a Real Dick Part 3: Oh For Fort Sake Part 4: The End For Commander Clown  Part 1: You've Got to Eat Your Vegetables Part 2: Boobus Bombs Near! Part 3: More Bang For Your Boobus Buck To any of those curious, here's a mostly full run down of the series' development And the development of Keen Dreams And here's how the sequel trilogy was developed And to anyone that wants to learn the Standard Galactic Alphabet Crosspeice fucked around with this message at 16:55 on May 20, 2015 |
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May 11, 2015 14:40
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My childhood leaps with joy. 
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May 11, 2015 15:04
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Hurray, the good games are here!
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May 11, 2015 16:25
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Oh my God - I haven't seen this game in YEARS.
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May 11, 2015 17:15
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Keen 4 is my definitive version of Keen, as the element of exploration is full blown in this one. I've always linked the Keen games with Autumn due to childhood memories, but also Calvin and Hobbes for its obvious viewpoint through a genius boy's eyes. Also Spaceman Spiff. This is one of the very few, dear games that always makes me shake with excitement when discussing it, let it be with people in the know or newcomers to the series, and I know we'll be in good hands seeing how you handled the previous titles. 
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May 11, 2015 18:28
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I still refute any claims of these games being 2.5d
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May 12, 2015 16:19
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This is some pretty deep nostalgia. I can remember playing this well over 15 years ago.
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May 12, 2015 19:13
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Part 2: Spelunkeen
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May 13, 2015 18:40
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Jesus Christ, I just got that when Keen enters a level, the icon is counting down the load time.
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May 13, 2015 19:19
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What's the point of those water droplets? They don't even seem to increase your score.
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May 13, 2015 22:09
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Carbon dioxide posted:What's the point of those water droplets? They don't even seem to increase your score. 100 of them give you an extra life.
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May 13, 2015 22:13
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Whoops, I forgot to mention them, but that's probably because I knew I would be showing off parts of the Help menu anyway.       This isn't all of them, since we haven't seen some of the creatures yet and not all of them are in the help section, like the Blue Bird.
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May 13, 2015 22:41
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Glad to see you guys back!
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May 13, 2015 23:56
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Oh God, that music. I can't believe they stuck in a track that quite literally loops every eight seconds. And had it playing constantly in the background of like half the levels in the entire game, including most of the hard ones. That right there is monotony something fierce, although Keen 1-3's sound effects are... divisive... as well. Still, the game is such an improvement over Invasion of the Vorticons. The controls are vastly better, there's actual backgrounds with detail and animations, monster behavior is more varied and complex, in-level saving means the levels are larger and worth exploring... practically every facet of the game has been changed, and usually for the better. One thing, story-wise (I know, I know): you can watch a demo from the main watch screen, which just shows off some of the game's levels, etc. After a level or two, though, IIRC you get a shot of Billy's house and a Star Wars-style text crawl explaining the game's backstory. Guess what music is playing in the background. 
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May 14, 2015 00:39
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Man, those blue birds used to scare the crap out of me as a kid. Third scariest monster in the game. Probably because you couldn't keep them down. We haven't seen the second and worst yet but the second functions just like the birds (except it doesn't fly). The worst is actually now my favorite and it's probably the most iconic monster from this game, and even more unstoppable than the others since you can't even shoot them at all. But it'll likely be a few updates before they show up. I won't spoil anything however.
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May 14, 2015 09:46
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Poil posted:Man, those blue birds used to scare the crap out of me as a kid. Third scariest monster in the game. Probably because you couldn't keep them down. We haven't seen the second and worst yet but the second functions just like the birds (except it doesn't fly). The worst is actually now my favorite and it's probably the most iconic monster from this game, and even more unstoppable than the others since you can't even shoot them at all. But it'll likely be a few updates before they show up. I won't spoil anything however. I agree entirely with this post.
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May 15, 2015 00:12
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Yeah, "fun" that is totally the word I would use to describe when I discovered that enemy  (I think everyone knows which one I'm talking about)
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May 15, 2015 05:10
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If you don't show off Keen mooning the player I'm voting this thread 1.
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May 15, 2015 05:33
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Part 3: The Hills Have Villes
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May 15, 2015 19:36
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Aww poo poo, those guys terrified me and my friends back when we were kids: Keen 4 was the only one we could play too because 5 cost money!
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May 15, 2015 20:05
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Does anyone else see the black platforms with pink bars on them as either printer cartridges or VHS tapes? Oh, and you use the impossible pogo trick a bunch, especially in Crystalus, you should explain what that's about next time! E: Tapes, too! EE: Oh, and it's pretty sad to get to the exit sign in Sand Yego, and realize you're out of bullets. THE BAR fucked around with this message at 22:18 on May 15, 2015 |
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May 15, 2015 21:56
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Good to see you back, and with the Keen games I actually remember! I don't remember finding any of the Oracles during my childhood playthroughs. 
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May 16, 2015 03:34
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THE BAR posted:Oh, and you use the impossible pogo trick a bunch, especially in Crystalus, you should explain what that's about next time! I did talk about it in Keen 3, but I'll talk about it at the start of Keen 5, since it's very relevant.
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May 17, 2015 19:13
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Crosspeice posted:I did talk about it in Keen 3, but I'll talk about it at the start of Keen 5, since it's very relevant. Mea culpa, it's been a while! Which of the three's your favourite, by the way?
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May 17, 2015 19:36
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5, definitely. Then 4, then 6, but they're very close. They're all good games and I'll get into why when we're done. And for the original trilogy, I think I slightly prefer 1 to 2, since 2 can get a bit samey. 3 starts off well, but is just terrible, it's my least favorite one. Dreams is okay, but it feels unfinished and is more or less a beta, so it's below 1 and 2, but above 3.
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May 17, 2015 19:44
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oh god arachnuts were so terrifying as a kid
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May 17, 2015 20:44
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Captain Foo posted:oh god arachnuts were so terrifying as a kid
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May 17, 2015 21:06
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Crosspeice posted:5, definitely. Then 4, then 6, but they're very close. They're all good games and I'll get into why when we're done. 5 feels the same to me as 2 did for 1; not enough organics and natural places to explore. Poil posted:Yeah. And it's easy to see why. The white part with red dots on their "stomach" is supposed to be their eyes! 
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May 17, 2015 23:16
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THE BAR posted:5 feels the same to me as 2 did for 1; not enough organics and natural places to explore. Definitely, but the difference being that Keen 4 has some levels I don't like, but they're all memorable, while Keen 5 is good throughout, but I couldn't tell the areas apart.
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May 17, 2015 23:26
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Crosspeice posted:Definitely, but the difference being that Keen 4 has some levels I don't like, but they're all memorable, while Keen 5 is good throughout, but I couldn't tell the areas apart. Sounds pretty apt. I just value atmosphere over good platforming, I guess.
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May 17, 2015 23:56
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Video's up tomorrow since I'm visiting family that doesn't appreciate a huge internet bill and squashes my passion, but I did do some recording and my 7 year old sister noticed and wanted to play this 'Keen' game. So I thought why not and got up the first level of Keen 6 on Easy and see how well she'd do. She's never played a video game, not really her thing, likes to go outside and play and other weird things like that. And she's definitely not used to a keyboard, but once she knew the controls (I didn't tell her about the pogo to keep things simple), she managed to get through the entire level pretty handily. There was a lot of saving, yes and she doesn't like the big Bloogs she encountered and fumbled with firing (she's only got little hands), but she really got the hang of it and got quite good at jumping. She's not used to pressing two keys at once to do stuff. And it was only during dinner that I realized I could've recorded her playing her first ever video game. Rats.
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May 18, 2015 21:23
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Part 4: Illusion of Inebriation
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May 19, 2015 14:23
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Don't drink and LP.
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May 19, 2015 14:43
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I had no idea there were so many secrets in this game. By the way, did that other guy's voice suddenly change during the Isle of Tar or is it just me? Uh oh, scariest monster coming up in the next video. 
Poil fucked around with this message at 14:53 on May 19, 2015 |
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May 19, 2015 14:51
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It's called the Three-Tooth Lake! As to why it's called that could be the three isles.. ..Or something far more diabolical.
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May 19, 2015 15:18
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I'm part of the audience!!
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May 19, 2015 23:27
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Part 5: Through Fire and Fish
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May 20, 2015 15:57
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And from this video, we have seen every enemy in the Help section. There's still more to see, more specifically one, but that'll be on Friday.   
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May 20, 2015 16:08
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| # ? May 4, 2024 22:24 |
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Dopefish!
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May 20, 2015 16:14
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