Breathless
| Developer: Fields of Vision | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Power Computing | Sound: |
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| Year: 1995 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: First person shooter | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
8/10 | |
Another Doom clone, utterly devoid of originality. Wander through a futuristic base, blasting everything in sight—robots, monsters, aliens… Occasionally, pick up a key or flip a switch; that’s about as far as the brainpower goes.
That said, it executes its modest ambitions well. The frenetic action and the simplicity of the level design mean you spend most of your time fighting rather than getting lost (in that sense, it’s reminiscent of Gloom).
Technically, Breathless sets a benchmark on the Amiga, thanks to its smooth 3D engine and its polished, finely detailed visuals (within their cold, clinical style). There are even some particularly striking outdoor sections. The soundtrack is equally solid, with sound effects that stand out—the “pew pew” of your weapon and the guttural screams of enemies ramp up the battle atmosphere.
Let’s also applaud the thoughtful “quality-of-life” features like reconfigurable controls (further improved in version 1.1), password implementation, and an automatic map (“Tab” key). Another noteworthy element is the weapon upgrade and purchasing system via computer terminals, borrowed from Alien Breed. Finally, you can tilt your view up or down, though personally, I prefer the classic auto-aim for vertical targeting.
In summary, expect no subtlety here—just raw, efficient combat. One might critique its lack of originality or distinct “flair”, but for my money, it’s the best of its kind on the Amiga, even outpacing Alien Breed 3D 2 and Genetic Species.
I recommend the pre-installed (and patched) hard drive version available on the WHDLoad site, which, among other perks, allows mouse control (note that your Kickstart 3.1 file needs to be renamed “kick40068.a1200”).
Bear in mind that this game demanded a powerful setup at the time (Amiga 1200 with an accelerator card). If you’re emulating the disk-based version, make sure the speed is cranked to maximum—either by checking “Fastest possible” in the “CPU” tab or sliding the “Quickstart” bar all the way to the right to “Low compatibility”.
Incidentally, this is the first first-person shooter I’ve come across that doesn’t include a secondary weapon for when you inevitably run out of ammo.
(Found out later Nemac 4 did it too … and Citadel… Alright, forget I said anything!)
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