Sunday, April 6, 2025

Mask of Sobek

 


Mask of Sobek | SOBEK.PK3

Mike "Impie" MacDee

In the last few years there's been a bit of a revival for Killing Time, a cult classic 3DO shooter later remade for PC but ultimately forgotten like a lot of also-rans in the mid-90s shooter era. Night Dive dropped a whole-ass remaster on us last year, but in the long years leading up to that, at least one person has kept the faith: Mike "Impie" MacDee, erstwhile Doomworld and ZDoom forums member with some memorable maps and mods under his belt and as of late possessing a reputation for being something of an illiberal raconteur. For years he maintained a now-defunct shrine to the game, and in recent years he's added to his considerable pile of Doom total conversions with not one but two Killing Time prequels, Mask of Sobek and Kiss of the Scorpion. It's the former that we'll be talking about today, so strap in.

Where the original game took place probably in the 1950s, maybe early 60s -- it's not really established, but it's the only timeframe that makes much sense -- Mask of Sobek winds back the clock to 1935, three years following the disappearance of wealthy, Egypt-obsessed socialite Tess Conway and everyone on her private island one hot summer night. You are either Doctor Eugene Blackwell or his cousin Charlie Denver -- which you choose doesn't change much except some differences in gameplay -- and you've been invited (along with the other relative) to old Uncle Abed's resort down in Faiyum, Egypt. When you get there, though, the city seems awfully quiet. As you approach the back gates of the hotel, you're suddenly set upon by gunmen, who aren't exactly human anymore as far as you can tell; the entire resort, and the city surrounding it, has fallen under a mysterious spell, and as you explore the Jewel of the Nile resort and read the various papers scattered around it becomes clear that Abed's obsession with a mask of the ancient Egyptian diety Sobek has something to do with it.

Mod disclaimer: As this is a total conversion mod with a very different aesthetic from the usual, there wasn't a lot of place or need for mods, but I did use Flashlight++ ('cuz I use it all the time) and AshtralFiend's Sunset palette, which had a very subtle effect, mostly on UI elements.

If you've played Killing Time before -- any version -- you know what to expect. Impie has pulled together resources from a variety of sources -- most of it Killing Time, but I see bits from PowerSlave, Realms of the Haunting, Hexen II (namely its Egyptian-style hub) and more, to create a stark Egyptian-Art Deco resort and surroundings. The resort is built over some Egyptian temples and ruins, some of which have been repurposed for the resort. It's quite the aesthetic, bolstered by the largely jazzy score lifted from Killing Time and the bits of real-world pop culture like movie posters on the riverfront plaza and I think I heard a Duke Ellington song playing on a gramophone?

The Jewel of the Nile resort is a sprawling locale made up of nine maps. It's structured in the same Hexen-style hub design, with the maps often connecting to each other in multiple ways. Each map has its own conceit, from the waterfront you begin at, to a casino, to a wine cellar and sewer system built into the old ruins. You'll actually have access to quite a few levels from the jump, but you won't be able to make much progress at first. It's only once you've unlocked the hotel gate that you'll have the run of the whole resort. Like its inspiration, once you've cleared out a given area you usually won't have to do it again, but some levels have a nasty habit of repopulating on occasion as you progress -- the casino, for example, just crawls. Impie's map design is solidly what I'd consider to be Build-style, with an emphasis on creating quasi-realistic spaces (nevermind that some of the map connections are nonsensical.) He likes to populate his maps with ambushes and snipers and big, mixed crowds. If you're playing on Nightmare he replaces several of the low-level enemies with more dangerous ones, so watch out.

Your enemies are mostly the FMV-style transplants from Killing Time, though they're in significantly worse quality than you'd find in the remaster. Hunters, mobsters and evil clowns are everywhere, plus mummies from PowerSlave and more. Very few of them exhibit much classic Doom behavior, and actually most of them move around very quickly, making for frenetic combat. On the plus side, any monster with a gun isn't using hitscan (neither do your own weapons, for that matter) so gunplay feels a little more exciting and random.

Speaking of weapons, you'll have access to a wide range, from more mundane firearms to magical weaponry. Eugene, being a war veteran and accomplished doctor, is quite capable with guns, but is unable to use any magical weapon save the Staff of Ra, which fits the BFG slot (and, incidentally, is accessible before you unlock the hotel gate -- provided you can find the twenty hourglasses laying around.) Charlie, meanwhile, has a stronger connection to her distant Egyptian heritage; her interest in Egyptology has given her the ability to better understand ancient Egyptian artifacts, some of which fill similar roles to weapons that Eugene might pick up. I'm pretty sure I recognize her pistol from Realms of the Haunting, too.

If you're a Killing Time fan, or if you're new to its spooky jazz-age charms like me (I played the original PC version for maybe two hours) then you're in for a real treat. It may interest you to learn that Killing Time, at least the PC version, ran on a heavily modified Doom engine. Maybe someone will go back and port Mask of Sobek to Killing Time Resurrected. Alas, it's probably not likely -- but that's okay, because even as a GZDoom mod, Mask of Sobek is a great way to kill some time.


Jewel of the Nile

Impie introduces the player to the resort. Most of your enemies here will be hunters and their dogs, but if you poke around in the caves you'll run into the giant roaches and a sewer blob or two. Most of the action will be in and around the veranda before the gate, though there will be a couple of places you can't reach directly.

Family Ties

A quiet little manor behind the resort. It's swarming with hunters -- who fire at you from their positions in the upstairs windows -- and house staff, who dominate the downstairs. On your first visit you probably won't be able to explore the whole place, but there are a lot of notes here that uncover more of the mystery.

Without a Paddle

Looking for a back way into the hotel? This probably isn't it -- an ancient Egyptian temple system now used as a sewer, populated by giant roaches and blob monsters, as well as lots of more supernatural beasties. On the plus side, if you can find your way towards some of the switches, you'll eventually find a back way into the communication office back on the surface.

Hostel Attitude

Impie really sends in the clowns for this one. They are everywhere, putting on a show for the mobsters and ghouls. There's a roach infestation in the kitchen but the cooking staff don't seem to mind. The pool is beautiful, but it's also very popular. In general this is a rip-roaring rampage across a well-appointed hotel, but mind the darkness in the parlor...

Dead and Breakfast

A crazy hectic romp among the guest suites at the northern end of the resort. Every corridor is chockablock with bullshit, from a roach infestation to mobsters running riot to death heads and mummies and whatever else. The hallways tend to repopulate as you progress, so it's never a dull moment. And that's not even counting the surprise teleport trap.

Aces and Eights

Take a gamble in the casino. Most of the building is a single large room with a smaller room to the side, but resistance is hot and heavy with demonic cigarette girls, mobsters, skeletons, plenty of death's heads, and a clown ambush (now there's a phrase!) There's not a lot of cover so your best bet is to try and clear things out from one end to the next, but be warned, it has a tendency to repopulate, especially once the Anubis masks get loose.

Which Doctor?

You've arrived in Dr. Youssef's creepy clinic. Much of it is sealed off untl you can find the green key and figure out the clock puzzle, but once you've gotten upstairs, you'll get a good look at what ol' Uncle Abed has been up to and it ain't good. The ambush in the main clinic room is pretty intense, but wait 'til you're stalked by crocmen in the basement.

Sour Grapes

The wine cellar is dark, dank, and overflowing with baddies. Clearly built into some ancient ruins (as most of the resort seems to be) it plays host to ancient-Egyptian-style traps that dominate the central hallway. There's a hint as to how to get past it, but later on you'll be able to unlock the barriers and make sidestepping most of the hallway a little easier.

Crocodile Tears

It all flows into here, an isolated temple along a flowing stream. You can access this area right from the start, but you won't be able to do much until much, much later in the game, when you'll be accessing the map through the underground temples you find elsewhere. Other than the hunters watching the river and a mummy horde just inside the temple entrance, your primary threat here is likely going to be the main villain who at this point will have been hounding you across the entire resort and doesn't stay away long when you banish him.
 
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