Hellbender (video game)

Last updated
Hellbender
Hellbendercover.jpg
Developer(s) Terminal Reality
Publisher(s) Microsoft Studios
Producer(s) Mark Randel
Joseph Selinske
Programmer(s) Mark Randel
Composer(s) Kyle Richards
Platform(s) Windows 95
Release
  • NA: September 25, 1996 [1]
Genre(s) Simulation
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer

Hellbender is a simulation video game developed by Terminal Reality and published by Microsoft Studios for Windows 95. It is the sequel to Fury3 . [2] A demo version of the game was included on later CD-ROM versions of Windows 95. The voice of the ship's computer is portrayed by Gillian Anderson.

Contents

Gameplay

The player is in control of a prototype spacecraft (the "Hellbender") and must fly it around a map, destroying various targets and reaching checkpoints. The Hellbender has no inertia and thus cannot crash. There are ten weapons available. The Valkyrie and Laser cannons have unlimited ammo, but there are also dumbfire Sledgehammer rockets, homing Viper missiles, and devastating Doomsday mines. [3] Many more weapons are available by collecting power-ups during gameplay.

The levels in Hellbender are composed of a few missions that take place on eight different planets. There are typically three missions per planet.

Plot

Six years after the events depicted in Fury3, the Bions (an alien race created by Terran scientists which rebelled and became ruthless killing machines) kill all the Coalition's qualified pilots on Sebek. [3] The player's character ("the Councilor") is the last surviving pilot for the Coalition of Independent Planets, the defense group that protects the universe from the Bions. The Bions are now targeting the rest of the Coalition's citizens. The pilot must accomplish various objectives on eight different worlds in order to stop the Bions, save the universe, and win the game.

Development

The game was published by Microsoft Game Studios. Microsoft had spent millions to create their own game division. [4]

Reception

Entertainment Weekly gave the game a B− and compared the game to Wing Commander III , but said that Microsoft seemed to be better at making word processing programs than games. [4]

CNET said "The action is furious as you dive and turn to avoid attackers. Endless explosions will keep your ears ringing. And the sights, both in the air and underground, are intense--especially if you have a 3D accelerator card that supports Direct3D" [5]

The game sold 250,000 units. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Wing Commander</i> (franchise) Video game series

Wing Commander is a media franchise consisting of space combat simulation video games from Origin Systems, Inc., an animated television series, a feature film, a collectible card game, a series of novels, and action figures. The franchise originated in 1990 with the release of video game Wing Commander.

<i>Frontier: First Encounters</i> 1995 video game

Frontier: First Encounters is a 1995 space trading and combat simulator video game developed by Frontier Developments and published by GameTek for DOS. The player pilots a spaceship through a universe pursuing trading, combat and other missions.

<i>X3: Reunion</i> 2005 single-player space trading and combat video game

X3: Reunion is a single-player space trading and combat video game developed by Egosoft and published by Deep Silver. It is the third installment in the X series and the sequel to X2: The Threat (2003), which in turn followed X: Beyond the Frontier (1999). X3: Reunion was released originally for Windows in 2005. The game was later ported to Mac OS X and Linux.

<i>Full Tilt! Pinball</i> 1995 video game

Full Tilt! Pinball, known as Pinball 95 in Europe, is a pinball video game developed by Cinematronics and published by Maxis in 1995. It features pre-rendered 3D graphics and three tables: Space Cadet, Skulduggery, and Dragon's Keep. On each table, side display show the player score, ball number, player number, various other information, and a table-specific image. A sequel called Full Tilt! Pinball 2 was released in 1996.

<i>Terminal Velocity</i> (video game) 1995 action-oriented spaceship simulation game

Terminal Velocity is a shooter video game originally developed by Terminal Reality and published by 3D Realms for DOS and Windows 95, and MacSoft for Mac OS. It is an arcade-style flight combat game, with simpler game controls and physics than flight simulators. It is known for its fast, high-energy action sequences, compared to flight simulators of the time.

<i>Microsoft Arcade</i> Series of arcade game compilations

Microsoft Arcade is a series of classic arcade game compilations released by Microsoft between 1993 and 2000.

<i>Metaltech: Earthsiege</i> 1994 video game

Metaltech: Earthsiege is a mecha-style simulation video game developed by Dynamix and released in 1994.

<i>Earthsiege 2</i> 1996 video game

Earthsiege 2 is a mech-style vehicle simulation game developed by Dynamix, produced by Frank Evers (NYPH), and released in 1996. Earthsiege 2 is set in the Earthsiege universe, which contains its predecessors Earthsiege (1994) and Battledrome (1995), as well as the action game Hunter Hunted (1996), strategy games MissionForce: CyberStorm (1997) and Cyberstorm 2: Corporate Wars (1998), simulation Starsiege (1999), and first-person shooters Starsiege: Tribes (1999), Tribes 2 (2001), Tribes: Aerial Assault (2002), Tribes: Vengeance (2004) and Tribes: Ascend (2012).

<i>Su-27 Flanker</i> (video game) 1995 video game

Su-27 Flanker is a combat flight simulator released for the PC in 1995 on CD. Developed in Russia by Eagle Dynamics and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc (SSI), the game takes place in Crimea and allows players to fly the Sukhoi Su-27 in various combat roles. The game also includes a mission editor, allowing the player to create custom gameplay scenarios.

<i>Monster Truck Madness</i> 1996 racing video game

Monster Truck Madness is a racing video game developed by Terminal Reality and published by Microsoft. It was released in North America on September 9, 1996. The game has twelve monster trucks and tasks the player with beating computer opponents. Checkpoints, multiple hidden shortcuts, and interactable objects commonly appear in the tracks. In the garage, the player modifies the truck to account for terrain surfaces. Online multiplayer is accessed with a modem, a local area network (LAN), or TCP/IP.

<i>Fury3</i> 1995 video game

Fury3 is a simulation video game developed by Terminal Reality and published by Microsoft for Windows 95. It is not a sequel to Terminal Velocity, but the two games share basic game mechanics and use the same engine. Although it was redesigned to run natively under Windows 95, it can run under Windows 3.1 using Win32s.

<i>Monster Truck Madness 2</i> 1998 video game

Monster Truck Madness 2 is a monster truck racing video game developed by Terminal Reality and published by Microsoft for the PC in 1998. It is the sequel to Monster Truck Madness for the same platform, and was one of the first racing games to feature an online multiplayer mode. Online play for it was available on the MSN Gaming Zone until early 2006.

<i>Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger</i> 1994 video game

Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger is the third main game in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulation video game series, developed and released by Origin Systems in December 1994. It was a departure from previous games in the series in that it uses extensive live action full-motion video to add an interactive movie-style presentation to the space combat gameplay, emphasized by its advertising slogan, "Don't watch the game, play the movie!". The game's more than two hours of video featured a number of prominent movie stars including Mark Hamill as Colonel Christopher "Maverick" Blair, Malcolm McDowell as Admiral Tolwyn, John Rhys-Davies as James "Paladin" Taggart and Thrakhath nar Kiranka, and Tom Wilson as Todd "Maniac" Marshall.

<i>Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom</i> 1996 video game

Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom is the fourth main game in the Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulator video game series, produced by Origin Systems and released by Electronic Arts for the PC in 1996 and the Sony PlayStation in 1997.

<i>MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries</i> 2002 video game

Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries is a vehicle simulation video game for Microsoft Windows, released in 2002. It is a standalone expansion of MechWarrior 4: Vengeance, based on the BattleTech/MechWarrior game universe. The game was developed by Cyberlore in tandem with FASA Studio. This studio would also be responsible for MechWarrior 4's previous expansion, Black Knight - as well as both the InnerSphere and Clan Mech Packs.

<i>Project Sylpheed</i> 2006 space simulation video game

Project Sylpheed, also known as Project Sylpheed: Arc of Deception in North America, is a space simulation game for the Xbox 360 console. It was developed by SETA and published by Square Enix and Microsoft. The game is acknowledged as the spiritual successor to the Silpheed video game series, which comprised 3D rail shooters: players pilot a starfighter, shooting incoming enemies on a vertically scrolling third-person playing field. Project Sylpheed uses full 3D computer graphics and allows the player to instead pilot his or her spacecraft in any direction.

<i>Chicken Invaders</i> Video game series

Chicken Invaders is a series of shoot 'em up video games created by Greek indie developer Konstantinos Prouskas. With the release of the first game Chicken Invaders in 1999, the games are one of the longest running series of video games developed in Greece. All six main entries in the series have been developed by Prouskas' InterAction studios, and have been released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, Windows Phone, and Android platforms.

<i>Frontlines: Fuel of War</i> 2008 video game

Frontlines: Fuel of War is a first-person shooter game for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. It was released February 25, 2008, in North America. It was produced by the now defunct Kaos Studios. Frontlines: Fuel of War was also originally in development for the PlayStation 3, although THQ announced it had canceled work on this version on January 24, 2008, seemingly as a result of problems with developing for the PlayStation 3, issues that had been referenced in interviews prior to the PlayStation 3 version's cancellation.

<i>Star Wars: TIE Fighter</i> 1994 video game

Star Wars: TIE Fighter is a 1994 Star Wars space flight simulator and space combat video game, a sequel in the Star Wars: X-Wing series. It places the player in the role of an Imperial starfighter pilot during events that occur between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

<i>Space Run</i> 2014 tower defense video game

Space Run is a tower defense video game developed by PassTech Games and published by Focus Home Interactive. It was released for Microsoft Windows on June 13, 2014, and later released for OS X and Linux. The player assumes the role of a cargo ship pilot, and must build modules and weapons to defend their cargo from attacking ships and other hazards. The game received mixed reviews from critics, and a sequel was announced in March 2016.

References

  1. "Online Gaming Review". 1997-02-27. Archived from the original on 1997-02-27. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  2. "Hellbender". Next Generation . No. 18. Imagine Media. June 1996. p. 54.
  3. 1 2 Hellbender CD instruction manual.
  4. 1 2 "Hellbender". EW.com. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  5. Lindquist, Christopher (1996). "Hellbender". CNET . Archived from the original on December 22, 1996. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  6. "Terminal Reality Inc". Gathering of Developers . Archived from the original on March 4, 2000. Retrieved May 19, 2024.