Video games back in the 90s may not have been as flashy as the 3D, ray-tracing, open world games of today, but I'm sure a lot of folks will remember that the feeling of excitement and enjoyment remains the same. Thanks to a growing trend in the gaming industry, we're seeing remasters and revivals of some of the most influential titles in gaming history, and this time around, it's Commander Keen that is getting the revival love, coming soon to iOS and Android.
Commander Keen is a modern take on the decades-old series of side-scrolling platformers that featured a young boy and his adventures through space. This time around, Commander Keen has been promoted to the rank of "Dadmiral", and is succeeded by the game's main story characters, the twin geniuses Billy and Billie. The resemblance alone is enough to let fans of the franchise know that these are Keen's kids, and when Dadmiral Keen gets kidnapped, it's up to the twin duo to rescue him using all manner of gadgetry and gizmos.
In addition to the described Story Mode, Commander Keen will also feature an online multiplayer Battle Mode which includes player versus player action. Instead of utilizing their genius to rescue Dadmiral Keen, Battle Mode will let players equip their gadgets and gizmos to combat other players from around the world.
While Commander Keen still remains a fun, side-scrolling platformer at heart, it also introduces new features and gameplay mechanics to better adapt the 30-year old game franchise to modern platforms and audiences. Another key difference that most fans will notice right away is that Bethesda has done away with the retro 8-bit graphics style completely, and replaced it with a more cartoony aesthetic.
The Commander Keen franchise was a series of gaming titles developed and released around the 1990s originally from id Software, the same folks behind the Doom franchise. Now, Commander Keen is being remade and brought to modern mobile devices from Bethesda Softworks, one of the biggest video game publishers in the industry. Bethesda Softworks is also the publisher that currently releases the Elder Scrolls franchise, the Fallout franchise, and more.
