Abuse (DOS)

Abuse
Developer: Crack dot Com Publishers: Crack dot Com (Version 1.x), Origin Systems (Version 2.x) Platform: DOS Released in US: September 16, 1995 (Version 1.x), February 29, 1996 (Version 2.x) Released in EU: 1996 (Version 2.x) This game has unused text. This game has revisional differences.

Abuse is a run and gun platformer where Nick Vrenna has to fight his way to defeat various mutants overtaking the world.

Unused Text

*******************************************************
This is the final beta before we ship.
Please report any bugs to abuse-bugs@crack.com.  Include
game version number and your system specifications.
*** Finger abuse-bugs@crack.com or check
http://www.crack.com for the latest version number
before submitting any bug reports.
*******************************************************

An unused message that was used during the game's testing stage. This was used in Beta 0.33, but not used in versions after that.

Revision Differences

• Version 1.0 originally had separate red, green, and blue gamma settings for the monitor. This was changed so that only the grays needed to be worried about.
• One of the examples included for modding was a breakout game, confusingly in a file named pong.lsp. This was removed due to changes in the Lisp interpretation with the CLISP interpreter used.
• Completing a level shows the player the box art in Version 2.x.
• A trademark logo is added to Crack Dot Com's logo in Version 2.x.
• A sequence where the player flies from an exploding planet is present in Version 1.x.
• Version 2.0 disabled the ability to play levels at high resolutions, due to revealing high amounts of the levels and not scaling properly.

Original	Update

The texts for the story are different between the original 1.x releases and 2.x onward.

Opening

Original
The Ants were fearless, efficient killers. The Unified Underground's only opening was that the Ant defense systems were designed by engineers too arrogant to consider the threat of an individual. It was enough to justify the covert Abuse Missions. On August 31, 2021, eight bytes were zeroed in a computer, and Nick Vrenna's identity was erased. A suit of armor cradling a smoking auto rifle stood in shadows appreciating the stench coming from the first retired Ant of the day. The armored soul feared the effort would end up as pathetic as the Terran Surrender Terms, but humanity had nothing else.
Revised
You are Nick Vrenna. It is the year 2009. You have been falsely incarcerated inside a high security underground prison where illegal genetic experiments are taking place. Alan Blake, the head research scientist, has isolated the specific gene which causes violence and aggression in humans. This genetic sequence, called "Abuse", is highly infectious, causing horrific transformations and grotesque side-effects. You are the only person to show immunity to it. A prison riot erupts, and in the confusion all the cell doors are opened. Soon everyone, guards and convicts alike, become infected and transform into a horde of mutants which take over the building. Your only chance for escape is to don battle armor and reach the Control Room situated in the structure's deepest level. You must first stop the prison's Abuse-infected water supply from contaminating the outside world. Freedom and the fate of the world now depend on you.

Intermission

Original
Against all hope, the first leg of the Abuse Missions was a success, thought the armor while being wrenched through the site-teleporter to god knows where. But the congratulations were empty. This much was clearly a front. The real action lay ahead..
Revised
You have survived the initial outbreak, but you are still lost deep within the prison. So far it's been suspiciously easy. If you want to break out - the real ABUSE lies ahead.

End

Original
The armor went into it knowing what came next. Even as the solid coolant module was removed, the messy reaction started its jagged growth. Nick died when his identity record was zeroed out. It wasn't bad a second time. The peace was welcome.
Revised
You've survived impossible odds and made it to the Control Room. By pulling the switch, you have diverted the water supply and stopped the spread of Abuse! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'RE HOWLING!!!