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Mission2-front

The box art for Mission 2: Return to Danger, the first of the two mission packs.

Two mission packs for Spear of Destiny (popularly and unofficially known as the Lost Episodes) were released by FormGen Corporation in May 1994. The titles of the games are Mission 2: Return to Danger and Mission 3: Ultimate Challenge. Both packs were sold together with Spear of Destiny and Wolfenstein 3D as the Spear of Destiny Super CD, which also included a random level generator for Spear of Destiny, similar to Wolf Creator, called Gamegen. They were also sold by Id with SOD on Steam and GOG[1]. They were removed from those platforms when Wolfenstein 3D was updated to come bundled with Spear of Destiny[2], but eventually restored to GOG in 2023.

The games[]

Main articles: Return to Danger and Ultimate Challenge

The games are sequels to the original Spear of Destiny, and follow a similar storyline. The Spear of Destiny, the spear which pierced the side of Christ, having already been retrieved by BJ once, has again been captured by the Nazis. BJ must fight through a 21 level pattern much like the original game, in which he meets old foes and new bosses. The new bosses are as follows:

Differences from the original Spear of Destiny[]

The mission packs resemble many fan-made mods of the original Wolfenstein, in that they take Spear of Destiny and change the appearances and sounds of all enemies, items, and wall features, as well as designing completely new levels. This is similar to Final Doom, which is likewise essentially two remakes of Doom 2 (but which don't re-design the enemies' appearances).

  • The same four weapons exist and function identically, though their appearance and sounds are changed.
  • Basic enemies such as guards, dogs, SS and Officers remain, but wear different colours.
  • All "new" enemies have exactly the same characteristics as the enemies they replace: Even the Bat has the characteristics of the original Mutant. This is due to the fact that the only changes allowed by the engine are cosmetic swaps.
  • The new German phrases that the various guards yell are intended to be more realistic than before.
  • The treasure is replaced by various types of weapon components.
  • The One Up is replaced with a pill.
  • The same 21-level pattern is followed, and the same general storyline, including transportation to an otherworldly dimension.
  • The boss level text is identical to that of the original game, listing the replaced boss and not the new one (for example, on the end screen Submarine Willy is called Trans Grosse).
  • Par times are not changed for each level, whether or not they're appropriate for the level's actual length.
  • The same songs play for each level.
  • The demos use the same recorded movement data from Spear of Destiny demos in the new mission pack levels. As the new level layouts don't match the old ones, this leads to the demo player getting stuck.
  • The end-of-game sequence is identical to that of the original game.

Reception[]

Both mission packs received negative reviews from players. Most of the criticism was aimed at the new graphics and level design. Many players disliked the new textures and bizarre blue color for the weapons. Players also lambasted the level design, which was seen as amateurish and unnecessarily labyrinthian (with its overreliance on pushwalls to progress criticized as well).

See also[]

References[]

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