Following the success of 3D action adventure DOOM ( I or II), both id and Interplay release new offerings.
id released Heretic, a game written in co-operation with Raven Software, who are renowned for their spectacular graphics. The game has a nice magic/dungeons and dragons type feel to it, with some lovely animated monsters and entertaining humourous touches. Definitely for someone who wants more of the planar action of DOOM.
Lucasfilm released Dark Forces. This is another game using the DOOM engine, based on the immensly popular Star Wars films. It again has some really nice graphics, particularly of animated Storm Troopers. However its major flaw is the strange absence of any networking support. Weird.
Interplay went one further and released Descent. Descent is awesome. Descent kicks DOOMs ass. In fairness to id, they were first out with DOOM, and are working on what is expected to be the mother of all games, Quake.
However, Descent is definitely the game of the moment. Dazzling 3D action with full 3-dimensional movement, Descent is sure to confuse, confound and utterly amaze all gamers. Even the 3D map takes a while to grasp. Network support is a definite improvement over DOOM, with 8 player games, themes, the ability to join in and leave games on the fly. If you have not seen Descent, get a copy now!