Corridor 8: Galactic Wars

About

Capstone Software planned Corridor 8 as a sequel to their first-person shooter hit Corridor 7 using the Build engine. The project was set for an early 1997 launch but got scrapped when the studio went bankrupt in 1996. A former developer later shared the unfinished prototype along with the source code and design docs online. Players can explore six episodes containing ten maps each where humans fight alongside aliens against a new threat. The game features eighteen playable characters plus six returning enemies from the previous title and offers twenty distinct weapons for combat. What stands out here is how much was cut before release. The original plan included network play for up to eight players and two opposing factions called Allied and Axis. Each side had three episodes with unique storylines involving races like the Rodex and Mechanoid. You can actually run this old build today thanks to the leaked files. It feels like a time capsule of what DOS shooters could have been if the studio survived. Many fans appreciate seeing these unfinished designs come to light after decades. The prototype lets you try out levels that never saw the light of day in stores.

Storyline

One hundred years have past [sic] since the Alien Invasion of Corridor 7. An evil intelligence has once again assembled a deadly army of warriors, bent on conquering the universe. Total destruction of the planets Ailoprobe and Semaj by the evil force has convinced other alien races to fight against them. This has created a chain reaction of events, resulting in the unification of the Rodex, Mechanoid and Human race in an attempt to fight the evil force. Corridor 8: Galactic Wars takes you there! Which side will you choose?