Breached: First Contact

Breached: First Contact is a first-person shooter developed by Hoodlum Softworks and published by GT Interactive Software (now Atari, Inc.). Released in 1997 for MS-DOS, Classic Mac OS, PlayStation and Nintendo 64 (under the name Breached 64).

The game utilizes 3D Realms' Build Engine, the same engine that was used in other high-profile first-person shooters of the time, such as Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior and Blood. The game itself takes huge inspiration from sci-fi horror films of the time such as the Alien series.

In 1998, an expansion pack for the game was released, entitled Breached: Total Invasion, which added two new episodes, a new weapon, and a new, much harder difficulty level.

In February 26, 2021, a remaster of the game made to run better on modern systems entitled Breached: ReInfested  was released by Night Dive Studios. The updated version featured compatibility with modern operating systems and native support for monitor resolutions up to 4K. Released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Nintendo Switch.

Gameplay
Breached's gameplay plays similar to other first-person shooters of the time, in particular Doom and Duke Nukem 3D. Throughout the game, the player controls Malcom Maraud, a member of the Intergalactic Corps, as he traverses through a series of levels set inside alien-infested landscapes. The player must traverse through the area to reach a marked exit. Levels are grouped together into named episodes, with the final level focusing on a boss fight. Levels are often designed like a labyrinth, and a full screen automap is available which shows the areas explored up to that point.

While navigating through the levels, the player must fight a variety of enemies, mostly consisting of aliens known as "Xenos", while managing supplies of ammunition, health, and armor. Enemies often appear in large groups, and possess simple behavior, consisting of either moving toward their opponent, or attacking by biting, clawing or spitting acidic mucus. The game features four (a fifth difficulty is later included in Total Invasion) difficulty levels which increase the quantity and damage done by enemies, with enemies respawning upon death and moving faster than normal on the hardest difficulty setting.

Among the obstacles scattered throughout the environment are pits of toxic waste, ceilings that lower and crush everything within its vicinity, and locked doors that require a keycard or a remote switch. Also scattered around each level are secret areas that house rare and powerful items, each with their own specific and obscure way to reveal and gain access to them. Like in the other Build Engine games, certain parts of the scenery are destructible using the Bionic Fist or explosive weapons like the Grenades and the Rocket Launcher and would sometimes reveal these aforementioned secret areas.

The player can find weapons and ammunition throughout the game, either by traversing through the levels or by collecting them from dead enemies. Some of these power-up items include first aid kits, armor vests, various bodysuits that each grants the player a specific power or protection, and power pills ("protein" in the N64 version), which power up the player's melee attacks significantly for a short period of time. Some of the more powerful weapons and items in the game can only be found within the aforementioned secret areas, increasing their rarity.

The main campaign mode is a single-player mode, in an episodic succession of missions. Two multiplayer modes are playable over a local area network: Co-Op, in which two to four players team up to complete the main campaign, and Deathmatch, in which two to four players compete against one another. The game also includes cheat codes that give the player instant super powers including invulnerability, all weapons, and walking through walls, among other things.

Weapons

 * Bionic Fist

Max Ammo: Infinite

A punch to the face using Malcom's bionic arm. Default melee weapon.


 * Pistol

Max Ammo: 999

A pistol that is low on firepower but quick on recoil and firing rate. Uses clips.


 * Shotgun

Max Ammo: 99

A shotgun that possesses strong close range scatter damage. Uses shells.


 * Machine Gun

Max Ammo: 999

A machine gun that shoots bullets in an incredibly rapid firing rate. Uses rounds.


 * Grenades

Max Ammo: 99

A bunch of hand grenades that pack incredible and explosive firepower. Uses grenades.


 * Rocket Launcher

Max Ammo: 99

A rocket launcher that fires powerful rockets with explosive damage. Uses rockets.


 * Tesla Rifle

Max Ammo: 999

A heavily modified rifle that discharges powerful streams of electricity. Uses batteries.


 * Cryo Ray

Max Ammo: 999

An experimental gun that emits beams of ice that freeze enemies in place. Uses nitrogen.


 * Atomic Destroyer

Max Ammo: 99

A highly experimental weapon that launches miniature nuclear bombs. Uses bombs.


 * Infernator (Total Invasion only)

Max Ammo: 999

A flamethrower that ignites flames that burn enemies to a crisp. Uses gasoline.

Items

 * First Aid

Heals sustained damage caused by the enemy. Comes in Small, Medium or Large variants.


 * Bullets

Charges up the many weapons in the game. Each weapon has its own bullet pickup.


 * Armor Vest

Decreases the damage that the player can take. Comes in Normal and Super variants.


 * Hazmat Suit

Protects the player from toxic waste damage for a brief period of time.


 * Space Suit

Increases the player's jump height for a brief period of time.


 * Cloaking Suit

Makes the player invisible to enemies for a brief period of time.


 * Protection Suit

Negates all damage recieved from enemies for a brief period of time.


 * Power Pills / Protein

Increases movement speed and powers up melee attacks for a brief period of time.

Story
The space station Antares has been overrun by malevolent aliens, known as the Xenos. All of the scientists have been killed and used as breeding material to hose their vile offspring. Now, the Xenos overrun the place and it seems all hope is lost.

Malcom Maraud, a member of the Intergalactic Corps with a bionic arm and a devil-may-care attitude, arrives on the Antares space station, with one simple task: rid the place of the Xenos as well as gather intel to uncover what happened in the space station prior.

In the expansion pack, Total Invasion, Malcolm returns back to Earth, only to find out that the rest of the Xenos have already invaded Earth, laying waste on every human in their way. Thus, Malcolm has to put an end to the Xenos once and for all, leaving not a single Xeno alive in his path.

Episodes
The base game comes with three episodes, each of which contain 8 maps to explore and beat (with the exception of Uncharted Territory, which only has 7 areas). In total, the game features 23 maps.


 * The First Encounter
 * Spawn of the Unknown
 * Uncharted Territory

Expansion Pack
In 1998, an expansion pack for the game was released, entitled Breached: Total Invasion, which added two new episodes, each with 7 brand-new maps, increasing the overall map count to 37, as well as a new weapon (the Infernator), and a new difficulty level ("Death to All Xenos!!").

New Episodes

 * Xenos on the Loose
 * Earth's Last Stand

Cancelled Sequel
A sequel to the game, Breached II: Metamorphic, was originally slated for a 1999 release. It was to use Epic Megagames' Unreal Engine, marking the game's shift into full 3D, as opposed to the original's 2.5D graphics. During development, tensions between Hoodlum Softworks and the publisher GT Interactive would lead to the game's eventual cancellation.

In 2000, following a full company restructuring, Hoodlum Softworks shifted their focus onto console game development for third party publishers. In 2006, Japanese game publishing company ACS would acquire Hoodlum Softworks, eventually renaming the studio to ACS Production Studios San Jose later in 2007. The studio would later dissolve in 2009.

Source Ports
In November 22, 2005, the source code of Breached was released onto the public, opening up the game for source ports. In December 5, 2005, over a week after the code entered the open source, the first source port for the game, PCBreached, was released.

As of the writing of this article, the game is now playable through Alexander "M210" Makarov's BuildGDX source port alongside other Build Engine titles. Another new source port, BreachedOut, was released in January 19, 2020, which was based on the EDuke32 source port.

Trivia

 * Just like other first person shooters of the time, Breached's difficulty levels are listed as idiosyncratic quotes.
 * I Don't Wanna Die…
 * Leave It to Me
 * Show No Mercy
 * Kill or Be Killed!
 * Death to All Xenos!! (Total Invasion only)
 * Breached was initially developed by Capstone Software, creators of Corridor 7 and Witchaven. However, following parent company Intracorp's bankruptcy in 1996, lead producer Joel "Joe Dick" Radke opted to continue the project by forming a new studio with some of the previous Capstone staff, which soon became Hoodlum Softworks.
 * A prototype build of Breached from around this time period was leaked onto the Internet in 2013, known among fans as "Breached v0.6" or "the Capstone build". It featured many changes from the final build, including cut levels and weapons.
 * Malcolm Maraud's in-game voice is provided by the game's lead producer and Hoodlum Softworks founder, Joel "Joe Dick" Radke.
 * The PlayStation and Nintendo 64 ports of Breached were each developed by different publishers. The PSX version was developed by Eurocom Entertainment Software, while the N64 version was developed by Software Creations.
 * The N64 version of Breached, known as Breached 64, was censored in accordance to Nintendo's censoring policies. Some of the changes include:
 * By default, all blood in the game is recolored to green. The blood color can be changed back to red via a secret option in the Options menu.
 * The Power Pills item was renamed into "Protein", in order to avoid drug references. The pills on the item's sprite were also removed, making the item look more like a bottle of protein powder.