I had originally found Abuse in one of my random searches for the old dos games that I love. I thought I'd give it a try, thinking it couldn't be too bad.
Not only was it 'not too bad', but it was probably the best sidescroller I had ever played, even beating out the original Duke Nukem sidescrollers.
The first thing I noticed about Abuse were the graphics. For an old game, Abuse's graphics were way beyond my expectations, combining excellent 2D lighting with smooth animations and, for the time, excellent coloring.
Unlike most modern games, however, the graphics were supported by many other well-done elements including the sound and game play.
The sound fits the setting very well: what I am assuming is a low power energy rifle makes exactly the sound I would expect from it. Grenades explode with a loud satisfying crack, and the shrieks of the mutated alien creatures fought throughout the game add to an already creepy sci-fi horror atmosphere.
Abuse features a good number of weapons, which, though lacking alternate fire, have plenty of uses. Explosive weapons in particular have important uses, as this is the first sidescroller I've ever played to introduce destructible walls and floors. Certain areas of Abuse's levels can be blasted completely away, or just severely damaged
by grenades and rockets, and it is often required to pass a level.
Speaking of the levels, there are plenty of them. The game is long enough to keep an avid gamer like me interested for quite some time, and yet, the game manages to hold the interest of other gamers with shorter attention spans.
Another thing Abuse has is plenty of weapons. It's been awhile since I've played, but if my memory serves me correctly, there is, in addition to the basic blaster thing you start the game with, a pulse-rifle weapon that closely resembles the one featured in Unreal Tournament, a grenade launcher, a rocket launcher, a flamethrower, a weapon that functions as an automatic rail gun, a short range electrical burst weapon (almost like a chainsaw), and of course, a monstrous plasma cannon type weapon.
Furthermore, Abuse is entirely replayable. Although nothing changes (with the exception of difficulty), the game is amusing enough that even after having beat the game a few times, the simple, mindless blasting of hundreds of alien mutant prisoners still brings me to start up Abuse every few weeks.
All in all, I would seriously recommend this game to any action gamer, whether you appreciate older games or not. This game is truly a gem, and it's a pity not more people know about or have played it.
