Wanting to test the Minimig core for the MiSTer, I turned to Black Dawn Rebirth, of which I got a nice boxed version. The game plays just fine and I’m a little bit intrigued by it. But not enough to continue playing at this point. What annoys me are a few design decisions.

The fact that I’m starting out with no gear is only somewhat strange. Ensign Bren is entering a facility where a communications blackout has occurred. You would think that he would be somewhat more prepared.

Enemies don’t drop gear. The first enemy immediately starts shooting at me. At that point I desperately want something other than a sword to defend myself. But when I kill him, he explodes – which is weird enough of itself – and his gun is nowhere to be found. Very weird. Also, why would there be a sword in a high tech base on another planet?

The button/passage and card/door mechanics feel too much like a gameplay mechanism and isn’t believable enough from a real world perspective. Why would there be a card in a locker to a certain door. Wouldn’t it make more sense to find them on a person? And why would there be an obscure button in a passageway that opens up a passage in another set of corridors?

I’m just not buying it.