Creature Shock
Overview
- Full Name: Creature Shock
- Code:
- Type: First-person shooter, Rail shooter
- Developer: Argonaut Software
- Publisher: Virgin Interactive
- Language: English
- Release Date: March 19, 1996
- Region: NA
- Barcode: 0 52145 93006 3
- Local Title:
- Rarity: 1
- Notes:
Overview
Creature Shock is a 1994 sci-fi first-person shooter game released on the 3DO. The game was developed by Argonaut Games and published by Virgin Interactive.
The title was one of the first extensive CD-ROM titles and used full-motion video for both cutscene and interactive portions. As a result, the game spans over a gigabyte in size and over two discs. Gameplay is divided into two portions: an on-rails shoot 'em up portion in which the player pilots a ship through various pre-rendered environments and an adventure-style first-person action portion where players chose between track-based paths at various nodes.
Plot
In 2123, the UNS Amazon is sent as part of an exploration fleet to various planets to determine new viable locations for settlement as the Earth is destroyed by human activity. En route to Saturn, the Amazon is ensnared by a massive alien being resembling a large asteroid. The protagonist, Commander Jason Barr, is sent to investigate the incident.
He encounters heavy resistance on his way to Saturn, and after fighting through multitudes of alien ships, encounters the UNS Amazon almost completely absorbed by the organic asteroid. As he explores it, he comes into contact with what appears to be Captain Sumoki of the Amazon. However, she morphs into a demonic looking alien and attacks. Upon defeat, it reverts to the appearance of the Captain and Barr takes it back to the Moon base.
The being is examined and determined to be an alien clone. Upon interrogation, it reveals an alien listening base located on Tethys. Barr heads to Tethys to find the base and destroy its communication uplink. Upon his arrival he encounters a probe which proceeds to scan his ship before heading back to the base. Barr chases it through the valleys, where he locates the base. He manages to complete his mission and escape the base before it's destroyed. His ship, however, gets caught in the data beam and he is pulled up through it.
Regaining consciousness, he pilots the ship through several pieces of debris and destroys an awaiting alien ship. His ship is badly damaged in the process and crashes into the alien mothership. With no means of escape, he searches the ship and engages the leader in battle, finally defeating him on the bridge. He then accidentally activates the ship terraforming ability, changing its coordinates from Earth to Mars. With this Mars is transformed into a second Earth, providing humanity a new home.
Reception
GamePro's Captain Squideo gave the 3DO version a negative review, saying that despite the variety of gameplay styles, the gameplay feels routine due to the lack of multiple weapons. He also criticized that the cursor moves too slowly to keep up with enemies even when the player's technique is flawless.
Magazine Reviews
| Name | Date | Region | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuperGamePower | May, 1996 |  |
56% | O destaque deste jogo de tiro vai para sua variedade. São dois CDs com 5 missões. O game possui 3 tipos de jogabilidades diferentes: no estilo de Doom, com corredores cheios de inimigos, outra como Total Eclipse, num visual desértico e, por fim, uma tipo Virtua Cop, diversas galerias. Durante o jogo você vai explorar o planeta Saturno e o interior de uma nave com alienígenas dentuços. Como nem tudo são flores, o jogo tem seus defeitos, como a limitação de só se obter uma arma por fase, além de os tiros e os movimentos serem lentos. Creature Shock não é muito estimulante. A jogabilidade pode variar, mas não o level de interesse. |
| GamePro | May 96 |  |
50% | Creature Shock wont' do anything too shocking or too stimulating to capture your imagination. The gameplay may change, but your interest level won't. |
- - Need review page
Other Versions
The 3DO version was released alongside the PC Versions. It was later ported to the CD-I, Sega Saturn and Playstation.
Version differences
The PC and CD-i versions feature mouse support, and the CD-i version also supports the use of the CD-i light gun. All other versions of the game are compatible with standard controllers only.
The PC and 3DO versions include three FMV exploration levels and two rail shooter levels. The CD-i and PlayStation versions and the Japanese release of the Saturn version contain only the three FMV exploration levels.
Two versions were released for the Saturn: the Japanese release, which is similar to the PlayStation version, and the North American release, which is labeled as a "Special Edition". The Special Edition features slightly enhanced visuals and some options which do not appear in other versions of the game, but its main feature is two exclusive rail shooter levels with polygon graphics. These levels appear in the place of the PC version's two rail shooter levels, but bear no resemblance to them. They have a number of glitches; for instance, level 3 sometimes fails to end when the boss is defeated. Presumably due to space limitations, the Special Edition splits the final level into two levels, one on each disc. Sound disappears at set intervals during cutscenes in both Saturn versions.
The Atari Jaguar Version
In March 1994, Argonaut Software was signed as a third-party developer by Atari Corporation to develop games for the Atari Jaguar platform.[4] A port of Creature Shock for the Atari Jaguar CD was announced at Spring ECTS '94 and SCES '94 as one of the first upcoming titles for the add-on and was also planned to be published by Virgin Interactive. The port was first showcased at E3 1995 and was slated for an August/Q3 1995 release, but development on the port was cancelled after the poor reception of a video demo showcased at Autumn ECTS '95 and several delays.
Credits
Argonaut Software
- Artists Peter Day, Marcus Punter, Scott Butler, Marcus Morgan, Adrian King
- Coders Jonathan Wolff, Mark Johnston, Lewis Gordon
- Technology Sam Littlewood, Mike Day
- Sound Martin Gwynn Jones
- Music Justin Scharvona
- Producers Mark Washbrook, Darren Drabwell
- Management Jez San, Neil Jackson, Jon Dean
- Support Jim Mummery, Nic Cusworth, Ian Crowther
- Lead Tester Clive Burdon
- Testers Neall Campbell, Lynsey Bradshaw
Virgin Interactive Entertainment Inc
- VP of Product Eric Lux
- Development Producer Michael S. Glosecki
- Assoc. Producer Chris Archer
- Voicecasting Sound Keith Arem
- Voicecasting Music Joey Kuras, David Fries
- QA Manager David Maxey
- QA Group Head Bijan Shaheer
- Lead Analyst Tom Rademacher
- Product Scott Manning
- Analysts Glenn Burtis, Chris Nelsen, Khanh D. Nguyen, Tim Tran, Dennis Tung, Wallace H. Wachi Jr., David Walsh
- Special Thanks Julian Rignall, Chris Bauer, Jeff Buccellato
Virgin Interactive Entertainment LTD
- Exec. Producer Jon Norledge
- Producer Matthew Spall
- QA Kevin Turner, Anthony Hinds, Paul Welton, John Martin, Simon Keith Humber
Other Information
- Development
The movie sequences were all rendered on 486 DX/2 66 [Mhz] workstations, which marked high end computing power at the time of development.
- Manual
The game's manual had its own ideas of what useful tips can be: "For maximum atmosphere turn down the lights and use headphones instead of speakers."
- Localization
The German localization features the voice of Rolf Schult as the player's briefing officer and narrator in the intro sequence. At the time Creature Shock was released that specific voice had been especially renowned as the German dubbing voice of actor Patrick Stewart in his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the TV series Star Trek: TNG who in turn sports a similar hairdo like the briefing officer.
- Awards
Power Play Issue 02/1995 – Best Render Graphics in 1994 Issue 02/1995 – Best Cutscenes in 1994
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