Steel Harbinger
Encyclopedia
Steel Harbinger is a videogame for the PlayStation
game system, first released on September 30, 1996. It received a score of 7.2/10 at GameSpot
.http://www.gamespot.com/ps/adventure/steelharbinger/index.html?tag=result;title;0
Game Credits: Bill Stanton -- Original Concept;
Peter Lipson, Brian Greenstone, Jeff Davies -- Programming;
Scott Harper, Duncan Knarr, Ken Brose, Dean Lee, Cheryl Blaha, Bill Stanton -- Art;
Mark Flitman -- Executive Producer, Linda Norton -- Associate Producer
Cinematic Sequence Credits: Timothy Armstrong -- director;
Joe Matulich -- producer;
Angela Ford -- associate producer;
Bill Zarchy -- director of photography.
Not long after the start of the war, alien pods rain down from space onto North America, sprouting metallic tentacles upon landing. The tentacles attack humans and animals, transforming them instantly into monstrous alien biomechanisms (half organic compound
, half machine
) bent on destroying any human life they encounter.
Dr. Bowen, a scientist, studies one of these pods in an attempt to learn about the alien species. The pod breaks out of control and attacks his daughter, Miranda Bowen (played by actress Wendi Kenya). Miranda escapes, but is still infected by the tentacles. Thus she transforms into Steel Harbinger: a half human, half biomechanical alien, and humanity's last hope for survival. Miranda must battle her way through Kansas, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Houston, Cape Canaveral, Washington, the Antarctic, an alien planetoid, and the Moon in an effort to save the Earth. Naturally, she will not make her way through these areas unopposed. She will find special weapons to destroy the aliens, and once she has killed one, it can be eaten to replenish her strength.
.
Made during an age where live action
cinematics were used regularly, Steel Harbinger's cut scenes are all done by real life actors. This is done very effectively, the actors and actresses making convincing performances, making for enjoyable breaks between the alien slaughtering. The slaughtering is made possible by both modern and futuristic weaponry, including handguns, the US M16 rifle
, rocket launchers, energy rifles, the Canadian Icarus beam, and more.
As a half-alien, Miranda's biology is different than normal humans. Adding an interesting level hazard to the game, Miranda is fatally wounded by saline water
. Falling into it will rapidly deplete your health. Another thing is that to replenish lost health, Miranda is able to consume body parts from slain aliens.
Level design can get stale and repetitive from time to time, as parts of Arctic Canada and desert Mexico tend to look similar, if not sharing textures. Nevertheless, levels are massive, making for lots of exploration time as you achieve your objectives. As you go into each major city your primary objective is to activate a military satellite that will protect from falling alien tentacle pods. Your other objectives are usually killing aliens and saving human survivors.
Ultimately, your mission as Miranda Bowen is to save humanity from extinction
by the alien invaders.
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
game system, first released on September 30, 1996. It received a score of 7.2/10 at GameSpot
GameSpot
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...
.http://www.gamespot.com/ps/adventure/steelharbinger/index.html?tag=result;title;0
Game Credits: Bill Stanton -- Original Concept;
Peter Lipson, Brian Greenstone, Jeff Davies -- Programming;
Scott Harper, Duncan Knarr, Ken Brose, Dean Lee, Cheryl Blaha, Bill Stanton -- Art;
Mark Flitman -- Executive Producer, Linda Norton -- Associate Producer
Cinematic Sequence Credits: Timothy Armstrong -- director;
Joe Matulich -- producer;
Angela Ford -- associate producer;
Bill Zarchy -- director of photography.
Story
In the year 2069 North America is shaken by war. Canada and Mexico are combating the United States.Not long after the start of the war, alien pods rain down from space onto North America, sprouting metallic tentacles upon landing. The tentacles attack humans and animals, transforming them instantly into monstrous alien biomechanisms (half organic compound
Organic compound
An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...
, half machine
Machine
A machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...
) bent on destroying any human life they encounter.
Dr. Bowen, a scientist, studies one of these pods in an attempt to learn about the alien species. The pod breaks out of control and attacks his daughter, Miranda Bowen (played by actress Wendi Kenya). Miranda escapes, but is still infected by the tentacles. Thus she transforms into Steel Harbinger: a half human, half biomechanical alien, and humanity's last hope for survival. Miranda must battle her way through Kansas, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Houston, Cape Canaveral, Washington, the Antarctic, an alien planetoid, and the Moon in an effort to save the Earth. Naturally, she will not make her way through these areas unopposed. She will find special weapons to destroy the aliens, and once she has killed one, it can be eaten to replenish her strength.
Gameplay
Steel Harbinger plays as a Top-down perspective shooter. While obviously out of date by today's standards, the graphics were amazing for their time. It was exclusively for the PlayStationPlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
.
Made during an age where live action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
cinematics were used regularly, Steel Harbinger's cut scenes are all done by real life actors. This is done very effectively, the actors and actresses making convincing performances, making for enjoyable breaks between the alien slaughtering. The slaughtering is made possible by both modern and futuristic weaponry, including handguns, the US M16 rifle
M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
, rocket launchers, energy rifles, the Canadian Icarus beam, and more.
As a half-alien, Miranda's biology is different than normal humans. Adding an interesting level hazard to the game, Miranda is fatally wounded by saline water
Saline water
Saline water is a general term for water that contains a significant concentration of dissolved salts . The concentration is usually expressed in parts per million of salt....
. Falling into it will rapidly deplete your health. Another thing is that to replenish lost health, Miranda is able to consume body parts from slain aliens.
Level design can get stale and repetitive from time to time, as parts of Arctic Canada and desert Mexico tend to look similar, if not sharing textures. Nevertheless, levels are massive, making for lots of exploration time as you achieve your objectives. As you go into each major city your primary objective is to activate a military satellite that will protect from falling alien tentacle pods. Your other objectives are usually killing aliens and saving human survivors.
Ultimately, your mission as Miranda Bowen is to save humanity from extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
by the alien invaders.