Apocalypse (video game)
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| Apocalypse | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Neversoft |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Release date(s) | October 31, 1998 (US) November 1998 (EU) September 22, 1999 (JP) |
| Genre(s) | Third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
Apocalypse is a videogame for the PlayStation games console, developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. The game is a 3D third-person shooter very much in the style of Robotron. The player's character is moved using the Dual Shock controller's left stick, and shooting is handled independently by pressing the right stick in a given direction. Alternatively, movement may be controlled through the Directional Pad and shooting performed by using the four symbol buttons on a typical Playstation controller, where the triangle button shoots forward, the cross button shoots backward, and so on for the remaining two buttons. Unlike its 2D inspiration, it is possible to duck or jump, and a selection of different weapons are available.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The game's antagonist, a brilliant scientist named the Reverend, has created a powerful theocracy based on the idea of a rapidly approaching apocalypse. He uses his expertise to create four powerful "Horsemen of the Apocalypse", War, Plague, Beast and Death, in order to ensure this comes to pass. His former colleague, Trey Kincaide, is the only man with the know-how to stop the Reverend, but is locked up in jail.
[edit] Level design
The game's various levels are connected as themed units, each unit ending in a boss battle.
- Kinkaide's escape from jail
- Kinkaide's flight through the city and battle with Death
- Through a graveyard to a nightclub run by Plague
- Into War's weapons factory
- Into the White House: the President of the United States is in fact Beast
[edit] Weapons
There are various futuristic weapons in Apocalypse, all with various strengths and weaknesses and effective against different enemies.
- Machine Gun - Trey's default weapon which never runs out of bullets.
- Pulse Laser - A fast-shooting weapon that fires green laser bullets for slightly more damage than the Machine Gun.
- Rip Laser - A laser that fires a continuous stream of purple light that tends to home in on nearby enemies.
- Particle Beam - A gun that fires a long yellow beam/laser trail that can easily behead or dismember enemies.
- Flamethrower - The traditional flamethrower that produces a wide spread of fire to burn enemy enemies in the radius of the flames.
- Grenades - Hand-held explosives that explode upon contact with any solid surface.
- Homing Missiles - Weak missiles that are capable of following enemies past many obstacles and for a long time, often above five seconds.
- Rockets - Damaging rockets that can be fired in quick succession, and explode upon contact with a solid surface.
- Smart Bomb - A special and very limited weapon that is capable of killing any enemy within the blast radius.
[edit] Cast
The game's unique selling point was the involvement of Bruce Willis, who recorded several lines for the game and whose face was scanned for inclusion as the main character. Early in development, Willis's character was to be a wisecracking sidekick, however it soon became clear that players were far more interested in playing as Willis than with him. When the game was redesigned, his wisecracks were retained for moments when items are collected and other suitable situations.
Plague was voiced by Poe, who also appeared on the game's soundtrack.
The song "War?" by System of a Down was also on the soundtrack.
[edit] Game engine
The game's engine provides large in-game video-walls showing edited music videos for tracks taken from the game's soundtrack. Neversoft's next title, the seminal Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, was of a similar graphical fidelity and also featured these videowalls, suggesting that the two are based on the same engine (which would be used again in Spider-Man). This fact was confirmed in a postmortem article for Tony Hawk Pro Skater on Gamasutra.
