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Apocalypse (video game)
Encyclopedia
Apocalypse is a 1998 third-person action
game for the PlayStation, developed by Neversoft
and published by Activision
. It is notable for featuring actor Bruce Willis
, who provides the main character's likeness and voice, as well as being the first game by Neversoft
, prior to launching their blockbuster "Tony Hawk" franchise.
", War, Plague, Beast and Death, in order to ensure this comes to pass. His former colleague, Trey Kincaid (voiced by Bruce Willis), is the only man with the know-how to stop the Reverend, but is locked up in jail and must escape in order to save the world.
classic Robotron
, and also comparable to modern titles like The Red Star
and Dead Nation
. The character is moved using the DualShock
controller's left analog stick, and shooting is handled independently by pressing the right stick in a given direction, which automatically fires the current weapon in said direction. Alternately, movement may be controlled through the directional pad and shooting performed by using the four face buttons on a typical Playstation controller (which lack analog sticks), where the buttons' placement on the controller correspond with the fire direction. Using the shoulder buttons it is also possible to duck or jump, and a selection of different weapons are available.
and a few brief lines of dialogue in story sequences. Willis' face was photomapped onto Trey Kincaid's character model, but he didn't perform any motion capture
work for the game.
. Technology developed for the game allowed live-action music videos from these artists to be projected on large screens within the game's environments.
was reworked for use on Neversoft's next title, the seminal Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
, as discussed in a Gamasutra postmortem article. Already having in mind that they were going to begin work on Tony Hawk following completion of Apocalypse, the team said they had developed rough in-house playable demos of Trey Kincaid skateboarding
around Apocalypse's game environments in order to experiment with the way they wanted Tony Hawk to feel. Even though Neversoft continued to develop and evolve the engine primarily to suit the needs of the Tony Hawk series, it was also put to use in another action title by the team, the popular Spider-Man
game they released in 2000. The aspect of the engine that allowed for the live-action music videos to be displayed within Apocalypse's game world was also utilized in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater as well as other subsequent Neversoft titles.
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
game for the PlayStation, developed by Neversoft
Neversoft
Neversoft Entertainment is an American video game developer, founded in 1994 by Joel Jewett, Mick West and Chris Ward. Neversoft is best recognized for their line of Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk skateboarding games, known as the Tony Hawk's series...
and published by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
. It is notable for featuring actor Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
, who provides the main character's likeness and voice, as well as being the first game by Neversoft
Neversoft
Neversoft Entertainment is an American video game developer, founded in 1994 by Joel Jewett, Mick West and Chris Ward. Neversoft is best recognized for their line of Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk skateboarding games, known as the Tony Hawk's series...
, prior to launching their blockbuster "Tony Hawk" franchise.
Plot
A brilliant but evil scientist named "The Reverend" has created a powerful theocracy based on the idea of a rapidly approaching apocalypse. He uses his expertise to create four powerful "Horsemen of the ApocalypseFour Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in the last book of the New Testament of the Bible, called the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ to Saint John the Evangelist at 6:1-8. The chapter tells of a "'book'/'scroll' in God's right hand that is sealed with seven seals"...
", War, Plague, Beast and Death, in order to ensure this comes to pass. His former colleague, Trey Kincaid (voiced by Bruce Willis), is the only man with the know-how to stop the Reverend, but is locked up in jail and must escape in order to save the world.
Gameplay
Apocalypse is a 3D multidirectional (sometimes referred to as "twin stick") shooter very much in the style of the arcadeArcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
classic Robotron
Robotron: 2084
Robotron: 2084 is an arcade video game developed by Vid Kidz and released by Williams Electronics in 1982. It is a shooting game that features two-dimensional graphics. The game is set in the year 2084, in a fictional world where robots have turned against humans...
, and also comparable to modern titles like The Red Star
The Red Star (video game)
The Red Star video game is an action game consisting of constant close and far range combat, based on the The Red Star graphic novel.-Gameplay:...
and Dead Nation
Dead Nation
Dead Nation is a shoot 'em up video game for PlayStation 3 developed by a Finnish video game company Housemarque. It was released on November 30, 2010 in North America, and December 1 in Europe, on PlayStation Network. Dead Nation takes place in a fictional world afflicted by a zombie apocalypse...
. The character is moved using the DualShock
DualShock
The DualShock is a line of vibration-feedback gamepads by Sony for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. The DualShock was introduced in Japan in late 1997, and launched in the North American market in May 1998...
controller's left analog stick, and shooting is handled independently by pressing the right stick in a given direction, which automatically fires the current weapon in said direction. Alternately, movement may be controlled through the directional pad and shooting performed by using the four face buttons on a typical Playstation controller (which lack analog sticks), where the buttons' placement on the controller correspond with the fire direction. Using the shoulder buttons it is also possible to duck or jump, and a selection of different weapons are available.
Involvement of Bruce Willis
Willis' character, Trey Kincaid, was initially meant to be a non-playable sidekick character, but his role was eventually changed to that of the main playable character, thus reducing the necessity for him to have as much spoken dialogue as was originally intended as the scope of Willis' involvement decreased as development went on. In the finished game, Willis' vocal contributions are limited mostly to the occasional one-linerOne-liner
One-liner may refer to:*one-liner joke*one-liner program, textual input to the command-line of an operating system shell that performs some function in just one line of input...
and a few brief lines of dialogue in story sequences. Willis' face was photomapped onto Trey Kincaid's character model, but he didn't perform any motion capture
Motion capture
Motion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics...
work for the game.
Soundtrack
Apocalypse features several songs from various artists including Poe and System of a DownSystem of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
. Technology developed for the game allowed live-action music videos from these artists to be projected on large screens within the game's environments.
Game engine
The Apocalypse game engineGame engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
was reworked for use on Neversoft's next title, the seminal Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
-Reception:The game was very well-received by most critics, scoring an outstanding 92 on Metacritic based on 18 reviews for the PS1 version. IGN gave the N64 version of the game a 9.1 out of 10 praising the gameplay for "genius control, combo system and design" despite little criticism with sound...
, as discussed in a Gamasutra postmortem article. Already having in mind that they were going to begin work on Tony Hawk following completion of Apocalypse, the team said they had developed rough in-house playable demos of Trey Kincaid skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
around Apocalypse's game environments in order to experiment with the way they wanted Tony Hawk to feel. Even though Neversoft continued to develop and evolve the engine primarily to suit the needs of the Tony Hawk series, it was also put to use in another action title by the team, the popular Spider-Man
Spider-Man (2000 video game)
Spider-Man is an action video game based upon the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is loosely based on the 1990s Spider-Man: The Animated Series. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. Released originally for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 in 2000, the game...
game they released in 2000. The aspect of the engine that allowed for the live-action music videos to be displayed within Apocalypse's game world was also utilized in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater as well as other subsequent Neversoft titles.