Titan Wars
| Titan Wars | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Solar Eclipse |
| Studio | Team Titan |
| Publisher | Crystal Dynamics |
| Senior Developer | Eric Lindstrom (Lead Designer) Stephen D. White (Lead Programmer) Terrence C. Falls (Lead Artist) |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1995 (Saturn) 1996 (PlayStation) |
| platform | Sega Saturn , PlayStation |
| genre | Shoot 'em up |
| Game mode | Single player |
| control | Game controller |
| medium | CD-ROM |
| language | English |
Titan Wars , published in the USA as Solar Eclipse , is a space shoot-'em-up for Sega Saturn from 1995. The computer game was developed and published by the US development studio Crystal Dynamics . In 1996 it was ported to the PlayStation .
action
Titan Wars takes place in the year 2093. The plot is advanced in the form of 40 minute FMV sequences with actors and radio conversations during the missions.
The intro shows pilot Susan Powell's desperate attempt to leave the Lagrange Mining Colony on Saturn's moon Titan in a spaceship and to make an emergency call in which she reports an attack on the mining colony. In this attempt, it is destroyed by an unknown enemy. In fact, a communications station receives a garbled radio message, prompting the UNS Tomlinson spaceship to investigate the matter. On board is the Alpha Wing space fighter squadron under the command of Major Delany Kelt. Since one of Kelt's pilots with the nickname Blackjack is canceled, Lieutenant Jake "Stuntman" Cross, who has been suspended from flight duty, is brought back to active duty at the beginning of the game. Cross is considered a capable pilot, but was transferred to the office because of an unspecified incident over Havana in 2087, in which all members of his flight team were killed. The responsibility was attributed to Cross, whose flight behavior has since been judged to be reckless and reckless. With his return to air service, he was assigned as a wing pilot by Lieutenant Sarah "Hellcat" Underhill to the Red team under Lieutenant Major Peterson. Due to his past, however, he continues to be viewed with skepticism by both his superiors and his pilot colleagues and has to prove his reliability.
Since the exploration team does not know from which of the colonial facilities spread over ten Saturn's moons the emergency call came, Team Red begins a reconnaissance flight on the moon Janus , where combat operations with the unknown enemy take place for the first time. After the second deployment on Hyperion , it becomes clear that the Hyperion is exceptionally well informed about the Alpha Wing's actions and is already expecting the deployment teams on site. The technology specialist Spinner finally succeeds in clearing the mutilated emergency call from malfunctions. It turns out that the pilot Susan Powell seen in it was already dead at the time of the recording and the emergency call was therefore a post-edited video. At the same time, another emergency call was received from a male civilian. This is followed by a mission to Tethys , during which the civilian turns out to be a mentally confused person who religiously worships an institution called IRIS. Meanwhile, Team White was ambushed during a simultaneous operation and destroyed except for the leader Lieutenant Major Green. He reports that the enemy has brought under his control the IRIS computer network, which monitors all facilities in the colony, and disrupted communications. The Tomlinson is also connected to IRIS, but although Kelt immediately disconnected the connection, the ship's self-destruction has already been activated via the computer network. The pilots try to save themselves aboard their fighter, but both Peterson and Lieutenant Pachenko of Team Red are killed, whereupon Kelt appoints Lieutenant "Vegas" Ramirez as the new leader of Team Red.
The rest of the game consists of the race between the flight squadron, stranded helplessly in Saturn orbit without a carrier ship, with the still unknown aggressor for sovereignty over the sector. After four more combat missions on Dione , Rhea , Enceladus / Mimas and Phoebe , in which all the remaining pilots of the Alpha Wing are gradually killed except for Kelt and Cross, it becomes clear that the IRIS computer system itself is now responsible for the attacks. A planning program that got out of control has therefore begun to implement a plan of attack on Earth through the destruction of the mine colony. In a final mission on Titan, Cross succeeds in apparently destroying IRIS before the artificial intelligence can break away with the help of a mobile device. Kelt and Cross set off on board a transport spaceship for a rendezvous with the spaceship UNS Edinburgh. A radio message shortly before the credits, however, indicates that IRIS has not been completely destroyed and is giving instructions to an unknown recipient to attack the UNS Edinburgh and continue the attack on Earth.
Gameplay
Titan Wars is a rail shooter with no scoring. The game is presented from the perspective of a tracking camera, which is attached behind the player's space fighter. Despite the three-dimensional representation, the direction of flight cannot be freely determined by the player, but always rigidly directed forward. The hunter can only be moved to the left, right, up or down within the specified image section and the speed increased or reduced in order to avoid enemy attacks and obstacles. The game consists of a total of eight linear successive missions, each of which is introduced with a film sequence about the progress of the plot. The majority of the missions are divided into two successive sub-missions. Within the missions it is important to master the given parkour without being destroyed by the opponent and at the end to defeat an end boss .
The player controls the hunter directly through the missions that take place in space and on various lunar surfaces. He has to avoid obstacles in the environment (e.g. steep walls, cavern walls / ceilings, asteroids, but also traps) or permanent attacks. Should there be hits or a collision, a protective screen can absorb the damage. Enemies can be shot down with the aid of the on-board cannons and path blockades can be cleared. Distributed in the level or releasable by destroying enemies and objects, there are many objects in the course of the mission that, for example, regenerate protective shields, provide missiles or reinforce the laser weapons or modify the shooting technique (e.g. automatically guided bundles of rays). The levels, which scroll through linearly, often offer branched sections, which sometimes offer more supporting collectibles or better protection against enemy attacks, but ultimately always end in the same flight corridor and thus do not result in a significant deviation in the course of the game. Via a computer system or radio messages from fellow pilots, the player repeatedly receives tips on how to cope with the task or function of certain objects.
All missions must be completed successfully to win the game. A limited number of lives (maximum 9) is available for this, which can be increased or refreshed through appropriate collectibles that appear in the course of the mission. If killed, the player's hunter will be restored at the beginning of the last part reached by the developer within the mission. If all lives are used up, game over occurs .
development
Titan Wars was developed under the working title Titan by a development team of the same name within Crystal Dynamics. The US title Solar Eclipse is based on the graphically and playfully similar rail shooter Total Eclipse published by Crystal Dynamics in 1993 for 3DO and PlayStation . Titan Wars was marketed as an indirect successor to Total Eclipse . The PlayStation version of the game was only released in Europe.
occupation
The shooting was directed and produced by director Dimitri Logothetis , based on a script by lead designer Eric Lindstrom.
| role | actor | description |
|---|---|---|
| Lt. Jake "Stuntman" Cross | Jake Hudson | Player character, pilot in the Red Team of the Alpha Wing Squadron |
| Maj. Delany "Raven" Kelt | Claudia Christian | Commander of the Alpha Wing |
| Lt. Sarah "Hellcat" Underhill | Jillian McWhirter | Pilot in Team Red, Cross' Wingleader |
| Lt. Maj. "Cobra" Green | John location | Leader of Team White |
| Lt. Maj. "Pit Bull" Peterson | Tracey Ross | Leader of the Red Team |
| Lt. "Hopscotch" Pachenko | Ritchie Montgomery | Pilot in the red team |
| Lt. "Digger" Morris | Jana Copley | Leader of the Blue Team |
| Lt. Maj. "Phantom" Gregson | Stephen Park | pilot |
| Lt. "Vegas" Ramirez | Juan García | pilot |
| Lt. "Buzzard" Hogan | Neil Dickson | Pilot in the team white |
| Lt. "Scarecrow" Radakovich | Kevin Baxter | pilot |
| Lt. "Maestro" Phillips | Marita Deleon | pilot |
| Cpt. Banks | Stephen Markle | |
| crackhead | Charles Martinet | Analyst |
| Susan Powell | Kim Miyori | civilian pilot on Titan |
| Mad colonist | Dennis Burkely | Opposing pilot |
reception
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The Saturn version of the game was largely positively received. Among other things, US testers rated it as a clear visual and playful improvement over Total Eclipse and praised the FMV sequences. Criticisms were, among other things, an overly sensitive control of the spaceship.
“If you thought Total Eclipse was a poor game, I'd agree with you. The sequel, however, had quite a bit more going for it. First, the gameplay is actually fast-paced and exciting. There is actually technique to use when dodging enemies and obstacles. The graphics may not be the most spectacular, but they get the job done. There are a lot of nice little details. The power-ups are really intense, but they do get distracting. This ranks among the best for the Saturn. "
“If you thought Total Eclipse was a bad game, I'd agree with you. The successor, however, has a few more advantages. On the one hand, the gameplay is much faster and more entertaining. You actually need playing technique when you have to avoid opponents and obstacles. The graphics might not be the most spectacular, but they get the job done. There are numerous small details. The power-ups are really numerous, but they also become distracting over time. This is one of the best for Saturn. "
“Solar Eclipse is the best space shooter to come from Crystal Dynamics. It is a very playable, highly addictive and wholly unoriginal diversion. You might get bored of the mindless blasting but you certainly won't have time to rest. "
“Solar Eclipse is the best space shooter from Crystal Dynamics. It's very playable, totally addicting, and not very original entertainment. You could get bored of the mindless shooting, but you definitely don't have time to rest. "
“Despite it's limitations, Solar Eclipse is hard to put down once you're airborne. Expect a fun trip, just don't expect the thrill to last. "
“Despite its limitations, Solar Eclipse is difficult to put aside once you have lifted off. Expect an entertaining trip, just don't expect the tension to last. "
On the other hand, the testers' opinion of the German game magazine Mega Fun was somewhat more critical :
“Perhaps one or the other reader has already noticed from my richly decorated main text that Titan Wars offers a rather thin gameplay. Nowadays, collecting flies, shooting and power ups is no longer enough to lure a next generation gamer in front of the pad in the long term. The - admittedly high quality - 40-minute long FMV sequences seem like a pure blender, especially since they do not underline the plot interactively , as in Wing Commander III . The shooting is also much too hectic for my taste; especially in higher missions you have to keep the space sling constantly in motion in order not to constantly fall victim to a twitching laser beam. Since every successfully completed level is automatically saved, the motivation lasts at best only for a medium time, Cystal Dynamics 3D-Shooter presents itself too varied and monotonous in the long run. "
“Another month in which a Wing Commander 3 clone honors us. Watching movies, flying missions, picking up the kick-off, etc. But unfortunately Crystal Dynamics 'label fraud' doesn't even manage to scratch the very high bar. Admittedly, the FMV sequences are perfectly staged, but unfortunately given. You get it presented as a reward for successfully flown missions. You are therefore not allowed to intervene to change the action. The only thing you have to do is always the same, monotonous shooting in front of changing background graphics. And that's just not enough these days to justify a hard-earned hundred. Sorry, I can also see movies on TV and Ballern also offers hundreds of other games, and not in such an unfair way. "
Web links
- Titan Wars at MobyGames (English)
- Titan Wars in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Uncommented walkthrough of the game on YouTube
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release dates (Saturn), GameFAQs. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
- ↑ a b Fighting bad guys is Horde work; Sega Saturn's village people make this one a really monster hit. ( English ) In: Daily Record (Scotland) . May 2, 1996. Retrieved February 26, 2014: “ Titan Wars (Sega Saturn) is a traditional 3D space shoot-'em-up. Graphics and presentation are superb, featuring over 40 minutes of in-game video, starring a host of Hollywood B-list celebs. "
- ↑ Release dates (PlayStation), GameFAQs. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
- ↑ a b c Victor Lucas: Solar Eclipse ( English ) In: Electric Playground . December 21, 1995. Archived from the original on January 26, 1997. Retrieved on February 26, 2014.
- ↑ http://www.gamerankings.com/saturn/574726-solar-eclipse/index.html