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Forsaken (Game)
Encyclopedia
Forsaken is a 3D
first person shooter
video game. The game was developed by Probe Entertainment
for the Microsoft Windows
and PlayStation and by Iguana UK
for the Nintendo 64
, and distributed by Acclaim Entertainment
. The game was released on April 30, 1998 in North America, June 3, 1998 in Europe and Australia.
Similar to Descent
, Forsaken had a strong following due to its "six degrees of freedom
" gameplay, but suffered in popularity to the conventional ground-based 3D first-person shooter games because of its challenging nature.
One year later, Earth has been classified as "condemned" by the ruling imperial theocracy, meaning that it is now legal for anyone to salvage anything left on the planet. Mercenaries from all over come to raid the dead planet, forced to battle not only each other, but the robot sentinels that the government has left behind.
during the 1996–1998 period as the company became amalgamated into its parent company (Acclaim). At that time, Microsoft
's newly bought and re-branded rendering engine (DirectX
) had just started to dominate PC development.
The game was heavily technology driven at the beginning and was titled ProjectX. This was changed to Condemned when the story elements were added although it was later changed to Forsaken due to a potential naming conflict.
Due to the heavy technology focus of the game it was often bundled with hardware to show off the cards and was used as a benchmark for many years after the initial release of the game.
This game has an ESRB rating of "M for Mature," it was so rated for violent deaths in the introductory cutscene and the player character's death, which is shown to be flown to wall and gibbed, complete with splotch sound.
review, "Forsaken is, at its core, a Descent clone. But stunning graphics, a dazzling array of weapons, and above-average level design make the whole thing seem fresh."
) performed and produced the Forsaken sound track which features dynamic drum and bass
and electronica
tracks.
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
first person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game. The game was developed by Probe Entertainment
Acclaim Cheltenham
Acclaim Cheltenham was a game studio in Cheltenham, England that was founded in 1984. They were acquired by Acclaim Entertainment on October 10, 1995...
for the Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and PlayStation and by Iguana UK
Acclaim Studios Teesside
Acclaim Studios Teesside was a British video game developer based in Teesside, England. The company was founded in 1988 by brothers Darren and Jason Falcus as Optimus Software. Optimus was acquired by American developer Iguana Entertainment in 1993 and was renamed Iguana UK...
for the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
, and distributed by Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
. The game was released on April 30, 1998 in North America, June 3, 1998 in Europe and Australia.
Similar to Descent
Descent (video game)
Descent is a 3D first-person shooter video game developed by Parallax Software and released by Interplay Entertainment Corp. in 1995. The game features six degrees of freedom gameplay and garnered several expansion packs...
, Forsaken had a strong following due to its "six degrees of freedom
Six degrees of freedom
Six degrees of freedom refers to motion of a rigid body in three-dimensional space, namely the ability to move forward/backward, up/down, left/right combined with rotation about three perpendicular axes...
" gameplay, but suffered in popularity to the conventional ground-based 3D first-person shooter games because of its challenging nature.
Plot
In the distant future, the advancement of science has exceeded humanity's ability to control it. During a subatomic experiment, an accident causes an uncontrollable fusion reaction, utterly destroying the surface of the planet Earth.One year later, Earth has been classified as "condemned" by the ruling imperial theocracy, meaning that it is now legal for anyone to salvage anything left on the planet. Mercenaries from all over come to raid the dead planet, forced to battle not only each other, but the robot sentinels that the government has left behind.
Development
The game was developed by Probe EntertainmentAcclaim Cheltenham
Acclaim Cheltenham was a game studio in Cheltenham, England that was founded in 1984. They were acquired by Acclaim Entertainment on October 10, 1995...
during the 1996–1998 period as the company became amalgamated into its parent company (Acclaim). At that time, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's newly bought and re-branded rendering engine (DirectX
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...
) had just started to dominate PC development.
The game was heavily technology driven at the beginning and was titled ProjectX. This was changed to Condemned when the story elements were added although it was later changed to Forsaken due to a potential naming conflict.
Due to the heavy technology focus of the game it was often bundled with hardware to show off the cards and was used as a benchmark for many years after the initial release of the game.
This game has an ESRB rating of "M for Mature," it was so rated for violent deaths in the introductory cutscene and the player character's death, which is shown to be flown to wall and gibbed, complete with splotch sound.
Gameplay
Forsaken is primarily a multiplayer first-person shooter. The game may be played in single-player or multiplayer modes. The game is based on a 3D-engine that allows unlimited 360-degree movements. This concept is similar to the Descent series. According to a GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
review, "Forsaken is, at its core, a Descent clone. But stunning graphics, a dazzling array of weapons, and above-average level design make the whole thing seem fresh."
Single-player
The single-player mode has four difficulty modes: easy, normal, hard and total mayhem. Each has progressively stronger enemies and less ammo to spare. Due to the near-impossible challenge presented by the latter mode, Acclaim provided the patch 1.00 that (among other things) decreased the difficulty of the game dramatically. There are 15 levels which have to be completed by the player — sometimes within a time limit — and occasionally include a huge end-boss against which the player must exhaust a fair amount of ammunition while dodging excessive retaliatory fire. In order to complete a mission, different efforts must be made by the player such as finding the exit or activating triggers to open locked doors. The primary objective is to destroy the enemies within a level. The enemies are static (turrets launching homing missiles, drones, other mercenaries, etc.), though not all will be spawned at the start of a level. Each level includes a hidden crystal, and once all are collected a secret map is unlocked.Multiplayer
There are six different types of multiplayer games: Free For All (deathmatch), Team Game, Capture The Flag, Flag Chase, Bounty Hunt, and Team Bounty Hunt. There are various sub-options for each.Soundtrack
The Swarm (by Dominic GlynnDominic Glynn
Dominic Glynn is a British composer, known for his arrangement of the Doctor Who theme music which served as the series' theme for Season 23 of the programme...
) performed and produced the Forsaken sound track which features dynamic drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
tracks.