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Messiah (video game)
Encyclopedia
Messiah is a third person shooter video game developed by Shiny
and published by Interplay
.
sent by God
to clean up the corruption
and sin
on Earth
. After making his way through the world and defeating a genetically modified super-human, Bob is asked to return by God, telling him that if humans are prepared to tamper with His creations, there is no place for Him on Earth and leave them to their own devices.
Bob refuses and this act of defiance attracts the attention of Satan
, who follows Bob and attempts to lead him astray. As the story progresses, it becomes quite clear that Satan is behind the corruption on Earth, and it's up to Bob to stop him.
and games of the cyberpunk
genre. The levels are large and relatively open in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions. The player, as Bob, is able to fly around at great heights, although his small wings can only carry him a limited distance from the ground, necessitating a combination of climbing and flying, and so the gameplay environment features a great deal of vertical movement and exploration.
While in his cherub form, Bob is defenseless and can very easily be killed; however, he may possess any biological lifeform by jumping into their body. The most common type of lifeform is Human, and Bob will spend much of his time jumping from one to another. Other examples include rats, cyborgs and aliens. In more difficult levels, Bob can only possess another body when the target is oblivious to his presence, thus adding a stealth element to the game.
Once in control of a host, he can interact with the environment and Non-Player Characters (NPCs) by using switches or weapons and fighting in unarmed combat. Some switches require a specific human host to activate (e.g. a scientist is required to access a secure laboratory area, or a radiation worker to handle live nuclear material); these form the basis for the game's puzzles. Other puzzles include using Bob's wings to access somewhere out of reach or too small for a host body to enter.
Most humans will ignore Bob, or be intrigued by him. The police and security force, however, will shoot on sight, as will the Chots - a separatist humanoid race who regularly appear in street battles with the police in hopes of driving the Fathers out of power.
As Bob progresses through the game, his reputation precedes him, and he is actively sought after by the police, as announced by this in-game public address:
band Fear Factory
, and was later released as Messiah
.
Shiny Entertainment
Shiny Entertainment was an American video game developer based in Laguna Beach, Southern California, and the creator of several popular titles such as Earthworm Jim, MDK, Sacrifice and The Matrix: Path of Neo. Shiny was founded by David Perry in October 1993...
and published by Interplay
Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corporation is an American video game developer and publisher, founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by Brian Fargo. The company had been a quality developer until they started publishing their own games in 1988, like Neuromancer and Battle Chess. The company was renamed...
.
Plot
The player controls Bob, a cherubPutto
A putto is a figure of an infant often depicted as a young male. Putti are defined as chubby, winged or wingless, male child figure in nude. Putti are distinct from cherubim, but some English-speakers confuse them with each other, except that in the plural, "the Cherubim" refers to the biblical...
sent by God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
to clean up the corruption
Temptation
A temptation is an act that looks appealing to an individual. It is usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and as such, tends to lead a person to regret such actions, for various reasons: legal, social, psychological , health, economic, etc...
and sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. After making his way through the world and defeating a genetically modified super-human, Bob is asked to return by God, telling him that if humans are prepared to tamper with His creations, there is no place for Him on Earth and leave them to their own devices.
Bob refuses and this act of defiance attracts the attention of Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
, who follows Bob and attempts to lead him astray. As the story progresses, it becomes quite clear that Satan is behind the corruption on Earth, and it's up to Bob to stop him.
Gameplay
The game is set sometime in the distant future. The environment is a comedic take on the high-tech, futuristic city atmosphere of films such as Blade RunnerBlade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
and games of the cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
genre. The levels are large and relatively open in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions. The player, as Bob, is able to fly around at great heights, although his small wings can only carry him a limited distance from the ground, necessitating a combination of climbing and flying, and so the gameplay environment features a great deal of vertical movement and exploration.
While in his cherub form, Bob is defenseless and can very easily be killed; however, he may possess any biological lifeform by jumping into their body. The most common type of lifeform is Human, and Bob will spend much of his time jumping from one to another. Other examples include rats, cyborgs and aliens. In more difficult levels, Bob can only possess another body when the target is oblivious to his presence, thus adding a stealth element to the game.
Once in control of a host, he can interact with the environment and Non-Player Characters (NPCs) by using switches or weapons and fighting in unarmed combat. Some switches require a specific human host to activate (e.g. a scientist is required to access a secure laboratory area, or a radiation worker to handle live nuclear material); these form the basis for the game's puzzles. Other puzzles include using Bob's wings to access somewhere out of reach or too small for a host body to enter.
Most humans will ignore Bob, or be intrigued by him. The police and security force, however, will shoot on sight, as will the Chots - a separatist humanoid race who regularly appear in street battles with the police in hopes of driving the Fathers out of power.
As Bob progresses through the game, his reputation precedes him, and he is actively sought after by the police, as announced by this in-game public address:
- 'All security personnel, be on the lookout for a humanoid measuring around two and a half feet in height, with wing-like protrusions from its back. Suspect is reported to be in violation of the following codes: Forty one dash nine. Infiltration of class A, B and D security areas with intent to sabotage. Twenty one dash one two. Purposeful destruction of property and personnel. One four three dash one. General mischief involving firearms. Suspect matches no known speciesSpeciesIn biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
IDIdentification (information)The function of identification is to map a known quantity to an unknown entity so as to make it known. The known quantity is called the identifier and the unknown entity is what needs identification. A basic requirement for identification is that the Id be unique. Ids may be scoped, that is, they...
and is therefore in violation of the genetic manipulation act or legal planet residuary order five one five. Approach with caution and consider it a threat.'
Soundtrack
Part of the game's soundtrack was contributed by seminal industrial metalIndustrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
band Fear Factory
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
, and was later released as Messiah
Messiah (album)
Messiah is a compilation album by the Los Angeles industrial metal band Fear Factory released in 1999 by Roadrunner Records. It includes one song from Soul of a New Machine, six from Demanufacture, two from Remanufacture and one from Obsolete. It is the soundtrack to the video game, Messiah.-Track...
.