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Creature Shock

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Creature Shock
North American MS-DOS cover art
Developer(s)Argonaut Software
Interactive Studios (Saturn)
Publisher(s)Virgin Interactive Entertainment
Data East (PS1/Saturn)
Producer(s)Mark Washbrook
Neil Young
Programmer(s)Jonathan Wolff
Lewis Gordon
Mark Johnston
Artist(s)Adrian King
Marcus Morgan
Marcus Punter
Composer(s)Justin Scharvona
Martin Gwynn Jones
Platform(s)3DO Interactive Multiplayer, CD-i, MS-DOS, PlayStation, Saturn
Release
  • MS-DOS
    • NA: December 1994
    • EU: December 1994
    Saturn
    3DO
    • NA: 19 March 1996
    PlayStation
    CD-i
Genre(s)Dungeon crawler, rail shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Creature Shock is a 1994 sci-fi game released for MS-DOS and 3DO. It was developed by Argonaut Software and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment. The game was later ported to the CD-i, Sega Saturn and PlayStation video game systems.[3]

The game was one of the first extensive CD-ROM titles and used full-motion video for both cutscene and interactive portions. It is over a gigabyte in size 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

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Top: Shoot 'em up segment.
Bottom: Rail shooter segment.

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.

Ports

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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 Entertainment.[5][6][7][8][9] The port was first showcased at E3 1995 and was slated for an August/Q3 1995 release,[10][11][12][13][14] but development on the port was cancelled after the poor reception of a video demo showcased at Autumn ECTS '95 and several delays.[15][16][17]

Version differences

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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.

Reception

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While hailed for its elaborate and beautiful artwork, the gameplay was razed. IGN stated in their 2 out of 10 review, "track-based shooters with lots of prerendered cut-shots are the bane of our existence. Woe to the hapless gamer who actually pays his hard earned money for these dogs. I warn you now: avoid Creature Shock like your life depends on it."[19] Next Generation deemed Creature Shock "positive proof that a good game must consist of more than just flashy graphics and loud sound effects." They judged the game's limited level of interactivity to be utterly backwards, pointing out that the gameplay resembles the 1987 game After Burner.[20]

GamePro 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.[22] Reviewing the Saturn "Special Edition", GamePro called it "a poor man's Cyberia", saying that the game has imaginative visuals but grainy full motion video, a cursor that tends to get lost in the graphics, and a general lack of excitement and fun.[23] Next Generation said in a brief review that it "features great rendered graphics but drags with a low grade, point-and-click shooting interface."[21]

Notes

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  1. ^ The heading indicates the PlayStation version is being reviewed, but the review refers to a "polygon shooter level", something only found in the Saturn "Special Edition" of the game.

References

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  1. ^ "SEGA SATURN Soft > 1996". GAME Data Room. Archived from the original on 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  2. ^ "PlayStation Soft > 1996". GAME Data Room. Archived from the original on 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  3. ^ "AllGamesGuide: Creature Shock". Archived from the original on 2012-07-20. Retrieved 2007-01-07.
  4. ^ "ATARI ANNOUNCES TOTAL OF 86 DEVELOPERS, PUBLISHERS AND LICENSEES FOR JAGUAR". Nine Lives. March 7, 1994. Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  5. ^ "Scene - Erste CD-ROM-Titel für Jaguar". Mega Fun (in German). No. 21. CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. June 1994. p. 24. Archived from the original on 2018-07-22. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  6. ^ "Dossier - CES - Jaguar: Living On The Edge". Player One (in French). No. 44. Média Système Édition. July 1994. p. 56.
  7. ^ "Warpzone - Jaguar - Angekündigte Jaguar-Spiele". Video Games (in German). No. 32. Future-Verlag. July 1994. p. 32. Archived from the original on 2018-08-04. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  8. ^ "CVG News - Jag attack... eyes down". Computer and Video Games. No. 154. Future Publishing. September 1994. p. 9.
  9. ^ Houng, Michel (December 1994). "Test PC CD-ROM - Creature Shock - La galerie des horreurs". Génération 4 (in French). No. 72. Computec Media France. pp. 112–119. Archived from the original on 2017-07-10. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  10. ^ Hans Reutter (July 11, 2020). Atari Jaguar @ E3 1995 - Atari Explorer Online (2min 14sec). YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  11. ^ "News - Jaguar Plugs into the CD revolution - Jaguar CD games in development". Edge. No. 20. May 1995. pp. 14–15.
  12. ^ "Feature - XT Generation Report - Atari Jaguar". MAN!AC (in German). No. 20. Cybermedia. June 1995. p. 40.
  13. ^ "Breaking - Jaguar Plugs into the CD revolution - Jaguar CD games in development". Next Generation. No. 6. Imagine Media. June 1995. pp. 18–19.
  14. ^ "Electronic Entertainment Expo Special Report - Jaguar on the Prowl". GamePro. No. 83. IDG. August 1995. p. 37.
  15. ^ "Release Liste". Video Games (in German). No. 46. Future-Verlag. August 1995. p. 43. Archived from the original on 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  16. ^ Gore, Chris (August 1995). "The Gorescore - Industry News You Can - Upcoming Jaguar Software Titles". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 79. L.F.P., Inc. p. 14.
  17. ^ "Atari Jaguar - Creature Shock". atarimania.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
  18. ^ James, Jeff (February 1995). "It's Not a Bug, it's a Creature" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 127. pp. 128, 130. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  19. ^ a b "IGN PlayStation Review". 21 November 1996. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2007-01-07.
  20. ^ a b "Creature Shock". Next Generation. No. 4. Imagine Media. April 1995. p. 91.
  21. ^ a b "Every Sega Saturn Game Played, Reviewed, and Rated". Next Generation. No. 25. Imagine Media. January 1997. p. 63.
  22. ^ Captain Squideo (May 1996). "ProReview: Creature Shock". GamePro. No. 92. IDG. p. 68.
  23. ^ Scary Larry (July 1996). "ProReview: Creature Shock". GamePro. No. 94. IDG. p. 72.
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