Eradicator is a game I really do respect (mostly mechanics-wise, the unlocked FPS, the lack of even a single ranged-hitscanning enemy type, the flawless - compared to other 2.5 FPS games - implementation of mouselook, the drones gimmick, that makes you want to play without being hit even once, the hit detection, all the inventive weaponry, which trumps something like Blood like it wasn't even there, the how neat the game manages to look despite running only at 320x200, etc.), but for which I just cannot really say, that I happen to really
like it. Because, ugh, the monotony, ugh, the platforming, ugh, everything being the fucking same over and over again. It's like "it shows its hand" in Episode 1 almost completely - and there is almost nothing to justify the existence of other two episodes (or were there not two, but three more? I don't even remember how much episodes were there, despite completing the game only half a year ago). And it's not like they didn't
try - they very obviously did put a very considerable effort in making the game as good as it could possibly be (all the secrets, all the attempts at level scripting and varied mission objectives, the attempts to "aesthecize" the gaming experience through tidy visuals, moody ambient soundtrack and desolate surroundings) - and somehow, at least in my case, all of this apparent effort went sideways, with everything just mixing in one continuous blur.
Also, yes, mid-1996 was way too late. Late-1994/early-1995, alongside Dark Forces, System Shock and Marathon (all of which this game curbstomps as a 2.5D FPS game, mechanics and even leveldesign-wise (System Shock excluded)), this game would've been a blast as a sort of "this is how WE fix DooM". But, well, it happened the way it happened, I guess.
Also, thank you for linking that article. I haven't read it before, and it was an interesting and somewhat illuminating read.