Overview

Full Name: Blade Force
Code:
Type: Simulation, Third-person shooter
Developer: Studio 3DO
Publisher: The 3DO Company
Language: English
Release Date: 1995
Region: NA
Barcode: 7 90561 01595 6
Local Title:
Rarity: 1
Notes: Believe this game was called 'Sky Viper' in early development

Overview

Blade Force is a 1995 third-person shooter simulation video game developed by Studio 3DO and published by The 3DO Company in North America, Europe and Japan exclusively for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. Set on a dystopian sci-fi future in the year 2110, where the fictional city of Meggagrid has been overrun by criminals, the player is equipped with a flight suit created by scientist Dr. Franz Grubert known as the HeliPak in an attempt to overthrow the main criminal organization led by the Pitt family and bring order back to the metropolis. Its gameplay mainly consists of shooting action in third-person with six degrees of freedom using a main five-button configuration.

Headed by Electronic Arts and The 3DO Company founder Trip Hawkins alongside Gregory A. Gorsiski and Robert Lindsey, Blade Force was created by most of the same team that were previously involved with several projects at Studio 3DO such as Jurassic Park Interactive and features a 3D game engine created by Pinball Construction Set designer Bill Budge.

Blade Force has been met with mostly positive reception from video game magazines and other dedicated outlets that reviewed the game since its launch, with praise towards the presentation, texture-mapped polygon graphics and sound design, though some reviewers criticized other aspects of the title such as the gameplay.

Gameplay

Blade Force is a third-person shooter simulation game similar to Descent, where players are equipped with the HeliPak flight suit and must traverse through seven areas set in the futuristic 3D urban landscape of Meggagrid featuring six degrees of freedom to overthrow the criminal organization led by the Pitt family and bring order back to the metropolis as the main objective.

Before the main missions, players are introduced to a tutorial area by Dr. Franz Grubert in order to get familiarized with the controls and beneficial items that can be picked up along the way. After the tutorial is completed, players are tasked with various objectives to clear before proceeding such as capturing a designated criminal. If the players does not recover health, their player character will burst in flames and crash into the ground by enemy fire and once all lives are lost, the game is over, though players have the option of resuming progress by loading their saved game into the last mission reached.

Synopsis

Blade Force takes place in the year 2110, where a fictional metropolis built from the ruins of Los Angeles called Meggagrid has been overrun by criminals. Scientist Dr. Franz Grubert had previously proposed a plan two years ago to equip the city's police force with a flight suit known as the HeliPak, however the government decided reducing the prison sentence to two years, cut funding for the remaining mental health centers and rely on aerial counter-terrorism squads as a cost-effective measure to control the increasing crime statistics. Due to corruption at the city hall, the city council did not adopt the proposed equipment and cut funds for Dr. Grubert, who was later permanently crippled during a bombing procedure. Seeking revenge against his enemies, Grubert plotted a plan to overthrow the main criminal organization led by the Pitt family, as the players are equipped with the HeliPak suit to carry on the mission.

Development and release

Blade Force was created by most of the same team that were previously involved with several projects at Studio 3DO such as Jurassic Park Interactive. Its development was helmed by Electronic Arts and The 3DO Company founder Trip Hawkins, alongside producers Gregory A. Gorsiski and Robert Lindsey, with Gorsiski also sharing the role of designer, director and writer with multiple members of the staff. Frank Sandoval served as project's sole programmer, while artists Paul Xander, Rebecca Chow and Vince Arroyo were responsible for the artwork. The soundtrack was written by composer Nick Lockwood, while Jeff Sutherland handled the sound design. Other members of the staff collaborated in its development including Pinball Construction Set designer Bill Budge, who created the 3D game engine. The game runs at 30 frames per second.

Blade Force was published by The 3DO Company across North America, Europe and Japan in 1995. Early previews prior to release showcased at events like E3 1995 featured several differences such as a different head-up display and gameplay perspective. Although the title was rated 17 in western regions, the Japanese release was rated E instead.

Reception

Magazine Reviews

Name	Date	Rating	Notes
Game Players*	Dec 95	95%	Strap on your heli-pak and fly around a huge city, blowing stuff up! Great graphics and gameplay make this one a must-have! What a game!
Electric Playground	95	9/10	Congratulations to Studio 3DO and to 3DO owners. Bladeforce is your exclusive snub in the direction of the overly chatty and opinionated competing system owners. Repeat after me, "Only on 3DO." Has a nice ring, doesn't it?
GameFan Magazine*	Nov 95	83%	It's got incredible 3-D, it's long, it controls well and each level is a game unto itself. Bladeforce is as impressive a 3DO game as I have ever seen. However, I do have one problem...staring at that heli-beany is driving me whacko! What happened to the behind the pilot mode? This point of view grows tiresome after extended play and believe me, this is extended play! BF's a little light on combat, but heavy on strategic shooting. Overall, the game is well polished and will surely please hungry 3DO'ers.
3DO Magazine*	Dec 95	80%	A bravura demonstration of fast, detailed 3D in which the environment is the star. Huge, fabulously detailed, heavily defended landscapes provide a considerable challenge with each level taking about an hour to complete. One for hardened, tactically-minded blast-'em-up fans.
Mega Fun*	Nov 95	80%	Mit meinem Lieblingsfilm Blade Runner hat dieses Game nicht nur die erste Hälfte des Namens gemein. Die Atmosphäre, die durch Intro- und Zwischensequenzen erzeugt wird, ist von ähnlich düsterer Qualität. Zusätzlich bietet Blade Force in Sachen Technik wie auch im Gameplay einiges. Das beginnt bei der gut zu beherrschenden Steuerung und setzt sich in der flüssigen Grafik fort, die außer einer gewissen Farbarmut nichts zu wünschen übrig läßt. Die Musik dagegen beeindruckt zuerst durch rockige Gitarrenriffs, regt aber schon nach kurzer Zeit zum Leiserdrehen an. Wer freilich ein furioses Ballerspiel erwartet, wird zunächst enttäuscht sein, vor allem wegen der Langatmigkeit der Aufträge. Die große Spielfläche, die erst durch Tore nach und nach erschlossen werden kann, erfordert eine gesunde Portion Geduld. Wer damit jedoch zurechtkommt oder allgemein ein beschaulicheres Spieltempo bevorzugt, ist mit Blade Force hervorragend bedient.
GamePro*	Mar 96	80%	A slightly irregular view dominates BladeForce, and the sound of explosions and a rockin' cannon will keep you on the edge of your seat - or ducking behind it.
Ultimate Gamer Magazine*	Jan 96	80%	The missions get repetitive at times and more interaction with the boss characters would have been done a lot more for me, but the package Studio 3DO has delivered is fairly well rounded and a must purchase for 3DO owners.
Joystick*	Nov 95	75%	Un vrai plaisir que de piloter ce héros volant. Mais que de difficultés ! Un shoot'em up réservé aux amateurs de 3D.
Computer and Video Games (CVG)*	Jan 96	Rating	The brilliant humour and vision of the intro is completely lacking from the actual game. There's no wild vehicles driving around mad roadways, or neon hordings, or people come to that. It just looks like a 3D maze with floating cubes. Ultimately, this is a game with a lot of plot creativity and few gameplay ideas.
Video Games & Computer Entertainment*	Dec 95	70%	Unfortunately, the Crisco-smooth graphics are let down by the boring weapons and the enemies and we all know that awesome weapons are the best part of a shooter. Still, between the heaps of gameplay and the secret goodies, there's a good 20 hours of fun here, which is better than the current wave of "beat-it-in-a-day" Playstation titles.
Power Unlimited*	Jan 96	69%	Los Angeles heeft plaats gemaakt voor de technologisch geavanceerde futuristisch ogende megalopolis Meggagrid. Het is er niet echt gezellig, een perfecte achtergrond voor een knalspel dus. Jammer als het spel dan niet zo goed is uitgewerkt.
Video Games*	Feb 96	59%	Bladeforce ist ein typischer Fall von “Wir haben eine geile Grafikroutine geschrieben, aber leider keine tolle Spielidee“. Auf den ersten Blick sieht Bladeforce interessant aus und besitzt sogar einen gewissen primitiven Charme, ist aber auf die Dauer viel zu eintönig. Man kämpft gegen nichts anderes als eine handvoll von Gegnerobjekten, die immer nach dem gleichen Schema angreifen. Außerdem läßt mich die Level-Logik und deren Puzzles an der Fähigkeit der Entwickler zweifeln. Technisch kann nicht viel ausgesetzt werden: Der Helimann läßt sich wunderbar leicht steuern (der Flightstick wird ebenfalls unterstützt), die 3D-Grafik sprüht zwar nicht vor Detailreichtum, ist aber mit 24 fps ausreichend schnell und sorgt für ein anständiges Fluggefühl. Auch sind die sieben verschiedenen Texture-Welten nicht gerade üppig und besonders abwechslungsreich. Wer ein nettes Shooting-Abenteuer sucht, kann ja mal reinschauen.

- Need review page

Credits

Executive Producer Trip Hawkins
Producers Robert Lindsey, Gregory A. Gorsiski
Project Director Gregory A. Gorsiski
Game Designer Gregory A. Gorsiski
Technical Director - Game Architecture, 3D Game Engine Bill Budge
Technical Director - Game Logic, Enemy AI, 3D Sound, Game Design Oren Tversky
Art Director Ease Owyeung
Cinematic Designer Ease Owyeung
Production Manager Michelle Breiner
Level Designers Gregory A. Gorsiski, Oren Tversky, Michelle Breiner, Brad Engstrand
Programmer Frank Sandoval
Shell Design Frank Sandoval
2D Artist Paul Xander
Lead 3D Artists Vince Arroyo, Rebecca Chow
Music Score Nick Lockwood
Sound Design Jeff Sutherland
Voice Talent Bruce Robertson
Story Content Ease Owyeung, Gregory A. Gorsiski, Kerry Kirkham, Michael Humes
Post Production Brad Engstrand, Jeff Sutherland
Special Thanks Lee Marrs, Chris Downend, Ike Feldman, Shuang Li, Mark Holtz
For additional Producer-type work and being the complaint department Joe Ybarra
For additional ideas and help Phil Burk, Robert Vieira
EZFlix Guru Greg Wallace
DACS Gurus 3DO DACS and Support Staff
CyberWare Guress Rhea Tombropolous
Guru Guru Scott Walker
Paper Guress Mary Margaret Ipser Walker
Bubba Radd Youngblood
Lead Testers Daryl Allison, David Fruin
Main Testers Maria Harrell, Alvin Muolic
Testers Justin Bates, Harry Chavez, Greg Eichner, Casey Grimm, Kerry Kirkham, Sherman Lewis, Shauna Ratliff, Alan Downey, Chris Colon, Roger W. Faso