Total Carnage
Encyclopedia
Total Carnage is an arcade
shooter, developed by Mark Turmell for Midway
in 1991. The game was released for the SNES
in 1993 and the Amiga CD32
, Amiga
, and DOS
in 1994. Later the game was re-released in 2004, as part of Midway Arcade Treasures 2
for the PlayStation 2
, Xbox
and Nintendo GameCube
game consoles. In 2005, an Atari Jaguar
version was released by Songbird Productions, nearly ten years after work on the game originally began. It was re-released in 2006 as part of Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition
for the PC
.
General Akhboob then captures the reporter, as well as all the remaining reporters in his country. It turns out that General Akhboob has been building an army of mutants and a stockpile of chemical weapons. He's also holding several American reporters and other civilians captive. It is up to the Doomsday Squad, composed of Captain Carnage (Player 1) and Major Mayhem (Player 2), to invade Akhboob's base, wipe out his forces, destroy the mutants, rescue all the hostages and capture Akhboob.
Along the way, Captain Carnage and Major Mayhem fight various mutants and monsters, a giant mutant cyborg named Orcus, and eventually General Ahkboob himself. Ahkboob transforms into several forms, including a series of three giant heads. After his defeat, he attempts to escape by releasing a swarm of copies, but is captured and executed by an electric chair.
The Doomsday Squad then decides to take a military leave to the Midway Pleasure Domes, a grotesque amusement park. The player(s) can only access this area if they collected 220 keys during the game. It is strongly hinted at that if one collects every item in the Midway Pleasure Domes something special will happen, but this is impossible if not very near to impossible.
Jon Hey followed up his sound creation for Smash TV
with the sound and music for Total Carnage. Ed Boon
, who created Mortal Kombat for Midway along with John Tobias
, was the voice of General Akhboob.
Arcade 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...
shooter, developed by Mark Turmell for Midway
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
in 1991. The game was released for the SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
in 1993 and the Amiga CD32
Amiga CD32
The Amiga CD32, styled "CD32" , was the first 32-bit CD-ROM based video game console released in western Europe, Australia, Canada and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London, United Kingdom on 16 July 1993, and was released in September of the same year...
, Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, and DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
in 1994. Later the game was re-released in 2004, as part of Midway Arcade Treasures 2
Midway Arcade Treasures 2
Midway Arcade Treasures 2 is the second collection of classic arcade games published by Midway for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. This compilation includes 20 games that were not in the 2003 release of Midway Arcade Treasures or the 2005 release of Midway Arcade Treasures 3.The game plays...
for 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...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
game consoles. In 2005, an Atari Jaguar
Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar is a video game console that was released by Atari Corporation in 1993. It was the last to be marketed under the Atari brand until the release of the Atari Flashback in 2004. It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Panasonic...
version was released by Songbird Productions, nearly ten years after work on the game originally began. It was re-released in 2006 as part of Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition
Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition
Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition is an arcade compilation released exclusively for the PC on February 17, 2006 in North America, and on March 17, 2006 in PAL regions. It is a compilation of Midway Arcade Treasures 2 and Midway Arcade Treasures 3, which had both been previously released on...
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
In Total Carnage, an evil Middle Eastern dictator named General Akhboob closes off his country to the rest of the world following a war in 1999. Hundreds of reporters flocked to the zone in hopes of getting a real scoop. Unfortunately for them, one of the reporters discovers that there's more than baby milk being made at the 'Baby Milk Factory'.General Akhboob then captures the reporter, as well as all the remaining reporters in his country. It turns out that General Akhboob has been building an army of mutants and a stockpile of chemical weapons. He's also holding several American reporters and other civilians captive. It is up to the Doomsday Squad, composed of Captain Carnage (Player 1) and Major Mayhem (Player 2), to invade Akhboob's base, wipe out his forces, destroy the mutants, rescue all the hostages and capture Akhboob.
Along the way, Captain Carnage and Major Mayhem fight various mutants and monsters, a giant mutant cyborg named Orcus, and eventually General Ahkboob himself. Ahkboob transforms into several forms, including a series of three giant heads. After his defeat, he attempts to escape by releasing a swarm of copies, but is captured and executed by an electric chair.
The Doomsday Squad then decides to take a military leave to the Midway Pleasure Domes, a grotesque amusement park. The player(s) can only access this area if they collected 220 keys during the game. It is strongly hinted at that if one collects every item in the Midway Pleasure Domes something special will happen, but this is impossible if not very near to impossible.
Gameplay
Total Carnage features top-down shooter gameplay, in which the player has a birds-eye view of the situation. In the SNES version, the character on screen is controlled via the D-pad and the A, B, X, and Y buttons are used to control the direction of the shooting.Development
In the arcade versions of this game, the player characters are named "Captain Carnage" (player 1) and "Major Mayhem" (player 2), instead of having their original names.Jon Hey followed up his sound creation for Smash TV
Smash TV
Smash TV is a 1990 arcade game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams. Home versions were developed for various platforms and most were published by Acclaim Entertainment.-Description:...
with the sound and music for Total Carnage. Ed Boon
Ed Boon
Edward J. Boon is an American video game programmer who had been employed for over 15 years at Midway. He now works for Warner Bros...
, who created Mortal Kombat for Midway along with John Tobias
John Tobias
John Tobias is an American comic book artist, graphic designer and video game designer. Along with Ed Boon he is one of the creators of the groundbreaking Mortal Kombat fighting game series....
, was the voice of General Akhboob.