Recoil - Nuke and Missile Launcher Pickup

You know which part gives me the greatest rush in the first level of Recoil? It's the spot on the beach towards the end of the level, where you get to pick up a Tactical Nuke and a Lock on Missile Launcher in quick succession. Seriously, isn't it exhilarating to realize that you have picked up the highest damaging weapon in the game, in the very first level?

I have never used the nuke, though. Even on the Hard difficulty setting, Recoil cannot pose that much of a challenge to anyone! :)

Recoil - Secret Level - Nude Beach

In the first level of Recoil, there is a secret level called Nude Beach. You can access it by shooting at a pair of pink flashing lights at the bottom of the missile command core. That's the building where the lights from the SAM sites converge. Once you shoot out the two lights, you will get to hear the sound of a door sliding down. Turn around, and go down the basement of the building directly in front of you. You will find a corridor blocked by a rather fragile door. Shoot it down, and you will be on your way to the secret level.

When you arrive at Nude Beach, you will find the place deserted. There is, however, a sign on top of a small hill, which states that the beach is closed. Shoot that sign down, and two naked women appear - one on top of the hill, and the other in the water. So, is that all this area has to offer? 

Hardly!

Get in the water before you leave the area. It holds a secret of its own, in the form of a sizable ammo cache. You will constantly lose armor while you are under water though, so don't take your eyes off that ticking meter. 

Check out a video of the secret level here:

Recoil - Opening Sequence

Recoil, developed by Zipper Interactive, is the first ever PC game I played. I was still in school when I got my hands on this title in 1999. Since then, I have played through this game multiple times, and on all three difficulty settings. 

The paper-thin plot of Recoil can probably be jotted down on the back of a business card. Apparently, the world is ruled by an evil corporation, which uses an enormous biological supercomputer (built by installing electronic circuits inside hundreds of human brains) to spy on everyone at all times. Their plan is to turn every human being on the planet into robots (for whatever reasons). However, resistance forces have designed a highly advanced Battle Force Tank (BFT). As their hero, you are tasked with the responsibility to drive the tank through six different areas, killing adversaries, destroying enemy structures, and finally blasting the supercomputer to oblivion.

Check out the intro sequence of Recoil here:

As for my impression of the game - well, I would say Recoil is a pretty enjoyable shooter. I particularly love the starting point of the game, where the VTOL drops the BFT straight on the pier. Besides, the title also earns major brownie points from me for offering me 18 different ways of laying waste on my adversaries. Yup, that's the number of weapons you can collect in the game, including the rather unique Sonic Burst Cannon, Arc Saber, Laser Saber, Laser Designator, and even tactical nukes! And the fast-paced arcade style gameplay ensures you are never bored. If you haven't played this game yet, I would certainly recommend giving this a try.