Dungeon Keeper is a strategy video game developed by Bullfrog Productions and released by Electronic Arts in June 1997 for MS-DOS and Windows 95. In Dungeon Keeper, the player builds and manages a dungeon, protecting it from invading 'hero' characters intent on stealing accumulated treasures, killing monsters and ultimately the player's demise. The ultimate goal is to conquer the world by destroying the heroic forces and rival dungeon keepers in each realm. A character known as the Avatar appears as the final hero. Dungeon Keeper uses Creative Technology's SoundFont technology to enhance its atmosphere. Multiplayer with up to four players is supported using a modem, or over a local network.
Star Trek: Away Team is an isometric real-time tactics video game developed by Reflexive Entertainment and published by Activision. The game was initially released in March 2001 for personal computers using Microsoft Windows in North America. The game is set in the Star Trek universe, after the end of the Dominion War seen in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It features a range of new characters, set on board the USS Incursion with voice appearances by Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Commander Data and Ambassador Worf, respectively. The game received mixed reviews, with criticism directed at the graphics, elements of the gameplay including the lack of any artificial intelligence, and the limited length of the game.
D2 is a survival horror video game developed by Warp for the Dreamcast. Directed and written by Kenji Eno, it was published by Warp in Japan in 1999 and by Sega in North America in 2000. D2 stars the "digital actress" Laura but has an independent story unrelated to the original D, and uses action-oriented gameplay in contrast to the puzzle-driven D.
In video games, artificial intelligence (AI) is used to generate responsive, adaptive or intelligent behaviors primarily in non-player characters (NPCs) similar to human-like intelligence. Artificial intelligence has been an integral part of video games since their inception in the 1950s. AI in video games is a distinct subfield and differs from academic AI. It serves to improve the game-player experience rather than machine learning or decision making. During the golden age of arcade video games the idea of AI opponents was largely popularized in the form of graduated difficulty levels, distinct movement patterns, and in-game events dependent on the player's input. Modern games often implement existing techniques such as pathfinding and decision trees to guide the actions of NPCs. AI is often used in mechanisms which are not immediately visible to the user, such as data mining and procedural-content generation.
War Gods is a fighting video game originally released to arcades by Midway Games in 1996. Ports for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation and Windows were released in 1997. In the game, players control one of ten fighters who have been given great power by a mysterious ore that crashed-landed on Earth from outer space. The object of the game is to defeat all the other fighters to become the most powerful warrior on the planet.
Mace: The Dark Age is a fighting video game released by Atari Games for arcade machines in 1997 and later ported by Midway Games to the Nintendo 64. Like many fighting games of the time, its style is marked by extreme violence, with characters graphically slaying defeated opponents. Utilizing 3dfx Voodoo chips for the hardware, the game received attention for its cutting-edge graphics and turned Atari a profit in the arcades. Critical response to the gameplay was much less enthusiastic.
Nightmare Creatures is a 1997 survival horror video game developed by Kalisto Entertainment for PlayStation, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo 64. A sequel, Nightmare Creatures II, was released three years later. A mobile phone version of Nightmare Creatures was developed and published by Gameloft in 2003. A second sequel, Nightmare Creatures III: Angel of Darkness, was cancelled in 2004.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is an action-adventure video game developed by DreamWorks Interactive and Appaloosa Interactive, and published by Electronic Arts and Sega for the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn, respectively, in 1997. The Lost World: Jurassic Park is based on the film of the same name, which in turn is based on the novel by Michael Crichton. In 1998, a special edition of the game was released for the Sony PlayStation as a Greatest Hits title and featured several modifications to the gameplay.
BioForge is a 1995 action-adventure game developed by Origin Systems and published by Electronic Arts for MS-DOS. Set in the future, the player controls an amnesiac cyborg trying to escape the research facility in which they are being held prisoner.
Realmz is a fantasy adventure and role-playing video game first developed and published by Fantasoft in 1994 for the Apple Macintosh as shareware. Fantasoft released a Microsoft Windows-compatible version in 1999, and a science fiction role-playing game based on the Realmz engine, titled New Centurions, in 2001. Realmz was originally written by Tim Phillips on a Macintosh IIsi; he also wrote four game scenarios, including the introductory scenario "City of Bywater". Other original scenario contributors were Jim Foley and Sean Sayrs.
Apocalypse is a third-person shooter video game released for the PlayStation, developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It features actor Bruce Willis, who provides the main character's likeness and voice.
Life simulation games form a subgenre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual characters. Such a game can revolve around "individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation of an ecosystem". Other terms include artificial life game and simulated life game (SLG).
Spider: The Video Game, is a 2.5D platform game developed by Boss Game Studios and published by BMG Interactive for the PlayStation. The player takes the role of a cybernetic spider, within which the mind of its creator, Dr. Michael Kelly, has been implanted.
Star Trek: Hidden Evil is a third-person action-adventure video game released in 1999 by Activision. It was developed by Presto Studios over the course of a year, and was specifically created for the casual gamer market. The plot followed up on the events in the film Star Trek: Insurrection, with the player portraying the character of Ensign Sovok, who works alongside Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Lt. Cmdr Data, with Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner reprising their roles.
Vangers is a racing role-playing video game developed by K-D Lab, a Russian company. It was released in North America in June 29, 1998 after receiving positive responses at that year's E3. An updated re-release was made available on Steam and GOG.com in 2014. The re-release includes support for Mac OS X and Linux.
Rascal is a platform game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Psygnosis for the PlayStation. The main character and several enemies were designed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
Spider-Man is a side-scrolling action game developed by Western Technologies and published by Acclaim and LJN in 1994 and 1995, based on the 1994–1998 animated series of the same name. The game was released for the Genesis and the Super NES. The two versions of the game have the same basic story but have gameplay, level, and enemy differences.
Creatures is an artificial life simulation packaged as a video game developed by British studio Creature Labs for Windows, and was ported to Macintosh, PlayStation, and Game Boy Advance. It is the first game in the Creatures series.
Freedom: First Resistance is a third-person action-adventure video game for PC. The game was published by Red Storm Entertainment and released in the United States on 13 December 2000. The game is based on Anne McCaffrey's trilogy of novels titled the Catteni Series.
Killer Instinct Gold is a 2.5D fighting game based on the arcade game Killer Instinct 2. The game was developed by Rare and released by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. As in other series entries, players control characters who fight on a 2D plane set against a 3D background. Players press buttons to punch and kick their opponent in chains of successive hits, known as combos. Large combo successions lead to stronger attacks and brutal, stylistic finisher moves underscored by an announcer. Characters—including a gargoyle, a ninja, and a femme fatale—fight in settings such as a jungle and a spaceship. Killer Instinct Gold includes the arcade release's characters, combos, and 3D, pre-rendered environments, but excludes its full-motion video sequences and some voice-overs due to restrictions of the cartridge media format. The Gold release adds a training mode, new camera views, and improved audiovisuals.
