14 DAY TRIAL // 
Rise of the Triad in 2013, as envisioned by the development team at Interceptor Entertainment and by publisher Apogee Software, is a rather classic take on the first-person shooter genre that keeps most of elements of the classic game from 1994 on which it is based.
That means those who have been missing a fast-paced shooter with some punishing difficulty and a little bit of weirdness in its level design will find much to like here.
Just as in the original game, the player is one of the five members of the HUNT team (High-risk United Nations Task-force, and no, that does not make sense) who are sent to investigate an island which is being used by the Triad organization as a launch pad for a terror attack.
Gamers can choose from five characters, each of them with slightly different focuses on accuracy, speed of survivability, but the overall experience is pretty similar regardless of the choice.
Rise of the Triad is a straight up shooter, with mostly linear levels where the player needs to shoot all enemies, collect coins and do it all as fast as he can while remaining alive.
The idea is simple, but the 2013 revival serves to remind us how hard titles tended to be almost 20 years ago and how much gamers loved the challenge that they offered.
I died a lot in Rise of the Triad, mostly because I lack the twitch instincts I had when I was younger.
Fortunately, the weapons a player can wield are also pretty impressive, capable of turning enemies into fountains of blood. The amount of gore included in the game was impressive in 1994 but is no longer out of the mainstream in 2013.
Rise of the Triad also has jump pads, which often open up secret areas and are sometimes used to get past environmental hazards.
The developers are clearly aiming to create a replayable experience, introducing leaderboards and time runs in order to encourage an ever improving performance level.
The checkpoints are a little infuriating and it’s often easier to restart a level altogether when death occurs repeatedly.
Rise of the Triad also has a problem with its overall theme and design and there’s a clear disconnect between the supposedly near future setting and the look of the weapons.
The experience started life as a Wolfenstein project and the levels resemble a German fortress more than a terrorist hideout on an island, while the enemies are clearly using Nazi uniforms and weaponry.
For those who are simply looking to get through the levels and shoot as many players as possible, this will not matter but even the lowliest of modern shooters is expected to offer a little more coherence than that.
The graphics often make it hard to actually spot enemies, which can be a drawback for those attempting to get a high score, and it might actually be hard for gamers accustomed to the quality of Far Cry 3 or the beauty of BioShock to enjoy Rise of the Triad.
The sound is better designed, with an option to listen to the classic soundtrack or a modern take on it, both of which are suited to fast-paced shooter action.
The multiplayer in Rise of the Triad is equally frantic and filled with movement and explosions and it is best experienced in small, intense chunks.
It’s a pure experience where only two things matter: solid knowledge of the levels and solid reflexes.
I lacked both and I got repeatedly killed, but the speed of Rise of the Triad, the solid level design and the power of most weapons make it easy to surprise and take out even the most experienced and skilled player.
Rise of the Triad is an interesting remake and it will certainly appeal to those who like stripped-down shooter experiences, but the revival of the classic experience is not as successful as that for Painkiller that happened in 2012.
