Corridor 7: Alien Invasion
Corridor 7: Alien Invasion is a first-person shooter video game developed by Capstone Software and published by IntraCorp and GameTek. It was poorly received, largely due to its use of the outdated Wolfenstein 3D engine, which was technologically surpassed by Doom at the time. A sequel, Corridor 8: Galactic Wars, was in development, but later cancelled.
| Corridor 7: Alien Invasion | |
|---|---|
 CD cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Capstone Software |
| Publisher(s) | IntraCorp GameTek |
| Engine | Modified Wolfenstein 3D engine |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release | March 1994 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Multiplayer |
Plot
The staff of a top-secret research laboratory, Corridor 7, inadvertently open an interdimensional portal known as the Vortex while experimenting on an alien artefact recovered from Mars. Shortly after, hostile alien creatures emerge from the Vortex and kill all of its staff. The player, as a lone Special Forces soldier, enters the base to kill the aliens and destroy the source of their power.
Gameplay
Corridor 7 consists of 30 floors (plus an additional 10 in the CD version) and 6 bonus floors. The player is tasked with killing a certain number of enemies before the exit to the next floor is accessible. There are four difficulty settings, which modify the percentage of enemies that need to be eliminated and how much damage the player will take from enemy attacks and traps. In the CD version, there is a fifth setting, which randomly scatters enemies and items throughout the game.
The player can activate the proximity map in one corner of the screen. This function shows a small section of the current level with all active aliens as yellow markings and can be expanded by finding the floor plan. The player is equipped with a visor capable of both infrared and night vision. Infrared is employed to detect invisible traps, while night vision enhances the player's vision in dark areas of the game. Ammunition and health are not scattered around the levels as objects to pick up, but rather as dispenser bays encased in the level walls. Health is also available in special rooms called "health chambers", where the player can obtain up to 100 hit points. There are two ammo types which power human firearms and alien firearms.
Locked areas require a color-coded (blue or red) passcard to be opened, which are granted by interacting with special computer terminals.
Multiplayer
The immense success of the multiplayer modes in Doom is believed to be the reason behind the addition of LAN and modem gameplay modes in the CD release of Corridor 7. The only multiplayer mode featured is deathmatch, and an extra set of 8 multiplayer maps is included. Players can play as either the Special Forces soldiers from the single-player mode or as one of the aliens; playing as an alien results in possessing the distinctive abilities of the creature chosen (e.g. speed or endurance).
Legacy
Corridor 8: Galactic Wars was the planned sequel to Corridor 7. The game was in development and used the Build engine, though it was never finished because the developer, Capstone Software, went bankrupt along with their parent company, IntraCorp, in 1996. The game only made it to prototype stage. In 2005, Les Bird released the Corridor 8 prototype and source code to a Corridor 7 fan, who put it onto his website as a free download.
Reception
Corridor 7 was not well received on release. Chris Anderson of PC Zone stated that the game offered "nothing new and what is there isn't very exciting", and largely criticised its use of the Wolfenstein 3D engine.[1]
References
- Steven M. Schafer, Corridor 7 Official guide - Brady publishing 1994
- Anderson, Chris (July 1994). PC Zone 16 (July 1994). Future plc. pp. 62–63.
- Anderson, Chris (July 1994). "PC Zone Review - Corridor 7". PC Zone. No. 16. Future plc. p. 63.
External links
- KBW's Corridor 7 Page Corridor 8 prototype and source code download
- Corridor 7: Alien Invasion at MobyGames