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Dark Earth (video game)
Encyclopedia
Dark Earth is a post-apocalyptic action-adventure game
for the PC
.
To shelter themselves from the dangerous 'dark earth', the people began to form cities beneath the light called 'Stallites'. At the time of the game, most of the citizens of the stallite have forgotten their history and now worship the light as a god. The stalites are run by 'Sun Priests', who maintain order and prevent the creatures of darkness from harming the city. The game follows the story of Arkhan, a "guardian of fire", protector of the stallite 'Sparta' and the Sun Priests.
After an attack on the sun priests, Arkhan has a poison thrown into his face that begins to infect him with the dark sickness. He begins to mutate into a creature of the dark and has to find a cure before his transformation is complete. Along the way, he is treated as an enemy by most of his former friends while he struggles to uncover the conspiracy behind the attack.
game centered around item-collection and weapon-based combat. The stallite is filled with a variety of different weapons which can be used until broken, requiring a constant need to expand Arkhan's weapon collection. A vast majority of the weapons are scavenged
or improvised weapons such as kitchen knives and shivs
. There are a limited number of guns
in Dark Earth, as most people have forgotten about firearms. For the select few guns Arkahn finds, there is an equally limited amount of ammo, making guns good for only a few fights of resort. Arkhan also must scavenge for food as it is his only means of healing.
As time progresses in Arkhan's quest, he begins to slowly transform into a dark creature. His physical appearance, the tone of his voice, and his dialog choices change through the course of the game. There is also a control for Arkhan to react to situations with his 'dark side' (i.e. he'll say rude things in dialog or treat his environment more aggressively while searching).
The environments of the game are all pre-rendered
, with 3D modeled characters moving atop them (much like Resident Evil). This method, while allowing for much more detailed environments, prevents any camera control. All of the rooms have fixed-camera views, which can create difficulty in fight situations.
gave the game a 71% based on the average
of 7 reviews, although its median
and mode
were slightly higher, both at 80%.
The game received praise for its graphics and story, but was criticized for its controls and difficulty.
's plans for a sequel never came to fruition, however they did produce a short-lived pen-and-paper role-playing game
based on the Dark Earth world.
While Sony
and Konami
both expressed publishing interest, the PlayStation 2
version was canceled early in development.
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
for the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
.
Story
Dark Earth takes place several centuries in the future, when a meteor collision with Earth tossed up great clouds of dust that blocked out the sun. Earth's remaining survivors began to seek refuge beneath small openings in the clouds, the few places light could be found. Those that remained in the 'dark earth' were hunted by strange creatures, infected with the darkness.To shelter themselves from the dangerous 'dark earth', the people began to form cities beneath the light called 'Stallites'. At the time of the game, most of the citizens of the stallite have forgotten their history and now worship the light as a god. The stalites are run by 'Sun Priests', who maintain order and prevent the creatures of darkness from harming the city. The game follows the story of Arkhan, a "guardian of fire", protector of the stallite 'Sparta' and the Sun Priests.
After an attack on the sun priests, Arkhan has a poison thrown into his face that begins to infect him with the dark sickness. He begins to mutate into a creature of the dark and has to find a cure before his transformation is complete. Along the way, he is treated as an enemy by most of his former friends while he struggles to uncover the conspiracy behind the attack.
Gameplay
Dark Earth is a third-personThird-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 centered around item-collection and weapon-based combat. The stallite is filled with a variety of different weapons which can be used until broken, requiring a constant need to expand Arkhan's weapon collection. A vast majority of the weapons are scavenged
Waste picker
A waste picker, recycler, rag picker, salvager, binner, informal resource recoverer, poacher, or a scavenger, is a person who salvages recyclable elements from mixed waste...
or improvised weapons such as kitchen knives and shivs
Shiv (weapon)
A shiv is a slang term for any sharp or pointed implement used as a knife-like weapon. However, the word in practical usage is frequently used when referring to an improvised bladed weapon. Shivs are commonly made by inmates in prisons across the world...
. There are a limited number of guns
Güns
Güns or Guens may refer to:* Kőszeg, Hungary * Kőszeg Mountains, Hungary * Akiva Güns , birth name of Akiva Eger, a Hungarian-Polish rabbi- See also :* Guns * Gün, a surname...
in Dark Earth, as most people have forgotten about firearms. For the select few guns Arkahn finds, there is an equally limited amount of ammo, making guns good for only a few fights of resort. Arkhan also must scavenge for food as it is his only means of healing.
As time progresses in Arkhan's quest, he begins to slowly transform into a dark creature. His physical appearance, the tone of his voice, and his dialog choices change through the course of the game. There is also a control for Arkhan to react to situations with his 'dark side' (i.e. he'll say rude things in dialog or treat his environment more aggressively while searching).
The environments of the game are all pre-rendered
Pre-rendered
Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputing or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of a footage that was previously rendered on a different equipment...
, with 3D modeled characters moving atop them (much like Resident Evil). This method, while allowing for much more detailed environments, prevents any camera control. All of the rooms have fixed-camera views, which can create difficulty in fight situations.
Reception
Dark Earth received generally positive reviews. Game RankingsGame Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
gave the game a 71% based on the average
Average
In mathematics, an average, or central tendency of a data set is a measure of the "middle" value of the data set. Average is one form of central tendency. Not all central tendencies should be considered definitions of average....
of 7 reviews, although its median
Median
In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...
and mode
Mode (statistics)
In statistics, the mode is the value that occurs most frequently in a data set or a probability distribution. In some fields, notably education, sample data are often called scores, and the sample mode is known as the modal score....
were slightly higher, both at 80%.
The game received praise for its graphics and story, but was criticized for its controls and difficulty.
Franchise
KalistoKalisto Entertainment
Kalisto Entertainment SA was a French video game development company founded by Nicolas Gaume at age 19.The company began as Atreid Concept in 1990 and later created the distribution label Kalisto in 1992, which became Kalisto Entertainment's namesake. In late 1994 Atreid Concept became part of...
's plans for a sequel never came to fruition, however they did produce a short-lived pen-and-paper role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
based on the Dark Earth world.
While Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
and Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
both expressed publishing interest, the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
version was canceled early in development.