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]

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>Raptor: Call of the Shadows</i> 1994 video game

Raptor: Call of the Shadows is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by Cygnus Studios and published by Apogee Software. Its working title was "Mercenary 2029". It was released on April 1, 1994 for MS-DOS compatible systems. The first episode of the game, "Bravo Sector", was distributed as shareware. The other two episodes were sold commercially.

<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 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, Skullduggery, and Dragon's Keep. On each table, side displays show the players' scores, ball numbers, player numbers, various other information, and a table-specific image.

<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>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>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.

FX Fighter is a series of video games developed by Argonaut Software and published by GTE Entertainment. The two games in the series are FX Fighter (1995) for DOS CD-ROM and FX Fighter Turbo (1996) for Windows 95.

<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 BattleTechMechWarrior game universe.

<i>Zone 66</i> 1993 video game

Zone 66 is a top down, multidirectional shooter released in 1993 for IBM PC compatibles as shareware. The game was created by a North American demoscene group called Renaissance, and was published by Epic MegaGames. The game shipped on a self-booting disk, so it could bypass MS-DOS and load into a custom protected mode environment.

<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.

Independence Day is a franchise of American science fiction action films that started with Independence Day in 1996, which was followed by the sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence in 2016. The franchise revolves around extraterrestrials invading Earth and seeking to eradicate mankind while the remaining human resistance uses everything at their disposal to defeat the invaders and take back the planet. Now considered to be a significant turning point in the history of the Hollywood blockbuster, the original film was released worldwide on July 3, 1996, but began showing on July 2 on limited release as a result of a high level of anticipation among moviegoers. The film grossed over $817.4 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1996 and, briefly, the second-highest-grossing film worldwide of all time behind 1993's Jurassic Park. Currently, it ranks 69th on the list of highest-grossing films, and was at the forefront of the large-scale disaster film and sci-fi resurgence of the mid-late 1990s. The film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing.

<i>Solar 2</i> 2011 open world sandbox video game

Solar 2 is an open world sandbox video game developed by Australian developer Jay Watts' video game studio, Murudai. It was released on 17 June 2011 on Steam for Microsoft Windows and on 19 June 2011 on Xbox Live Indie Games for the Xbox 360. The game was developed with Microsoft's XNA tools, and its development was inspired by indie games such as flOw. The game follows the player in their mission to accumulate enough mass to become several astronomical objects, eventually becoming a Big Crunch, which then produces a Big Bang.

<i>Gears of War</i> Third-person shooter video game series

Gears of War is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition, and owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. The franchise is best known for its third-person shooter video games, which has been supplemented by spin-off video game titles, a DC comic book series, seven novels, a board game adaptation and various merchandise.

<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.

<i>Scorched Planet</i> 1996 video game

Scorched Planet is a 1996 vehicular combat video game developed by Criterion Studios and published by Virgin Interactive for DOS and Windows. The game was later adapted for arcade machines.

<i>Starfield</i> (video game) 2023 video game

Starfield is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. In the game, the player character joins a group of space explorers who must venture to various corners of the galaxy to acquire mysterious artifacts. The game features an open world in the form of an area within the Milky Way galaxy, containing both fictional and non-fictional planetary systems.

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.