Obliterator

Last updated
Obliterator
Obliterator Coverart.png
Cover art by Roger Dean
Publisher(s) Psygnosis
Programmer(s) David H. Lawson
Artist(s) Garvan Corbett
Jim Ray Bowers
Composer(s) David Whittaker
Platform(s) Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum
Release 1988
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Obliterator is a side-scrolling arcade adventure computer game published by Psygnosis in 1988. It was released for Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and MS-DOS. The game was programmed by David H. Lawson and its graphics were made by Garvan Corbett and Jim Ray Bowers. The soundtrack was composed by David Whittaker and the cover art is by the artist Roger Dean.

Contents

Plot

The game begins when the main character Drak, the last of the elite genetically enhanced super soldiers known as "Obliterators", has been sent on a suicide mission to stop an invincible alien spaceship [1] that is approaching the earth. The objective of the game is to destroy the spaceship by finding certain objects from the ship. When the self-destruction is active, Drak has to find an escape shuttle before the spaceship blows up in order to survive.

Gameplay

The gameplay mostly consists of Drak teleporting around the ship while searching for four symbols which are required to destroy the ship. Drak can jump, duck, and make diving rolls to avoid enemies and obstacles. Enemies start firing lasers once he enters their area. Enemies can respawn, and are mostly stationary. Drak has four weapons that are necessary to get past certain regions of the ship (Certain powerful enemies require use of Drak's more powerful weapons).

Reception

Obliterator was reviewed in Computer Gaming World as a fun, well-executed action game, albeit not a challenging one. The game was praised for using score not just as an arbitrary value, but also to determine the time left for the hero to escape. [2]

C-lehti (3/1988) gave five stars for Amiga version and also full ten points for its music, graphics, interest-factor and "atmosphere". The review says that the game shows that the Amiga computer is capable of delivering what users have been awaiting, using computer's capabilities in a way that makes gaming experience a visual enjoyment. The review notes that the game is relatively easy to finish but still leaves a feeling that the game was worthy of its price. A possibility to save a game state on a disk is seen as an improvement to the previous game, Barbarian, from the authors. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Bloodwych</i> 1989 RPG video game

Bloodwych is a dungeon role-playing video game, a dungeon crawler, developed for the Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Its box featured artwork by Chris Achilleos. The plotline identifies the player as a champion of Trazere who, after recruiting up to three fellow champions, travels through dungeons and mazes fighting creatures along the way to find and destroy the evil Zendick, and banish the Lord of Entropy.

<i>Shadow of the Beast</i> (1989 video game) 1989 computer game

Shadow of the Beast is a platform game developed by Reflections and published by Psygnosis in 1989. The original version was released for the Amiga, and was later ported to many other systems. The game was known for its graphics, with many colours on screen and up to twelve levels of parallax scrolling backdrops, and for its atmospheric score composed by David Whittaker that used high-quality instrument samples.

<i>Wonder Boy in Monster Land</i> 1987 video game

Wonder Boy in Monster Land, known by its original arcade release as Wonder Boy: Monster Land, is a platform video game developed by Westone Bit Entertainment and released by Sega in Japanese arcades in 1987 and for the Master System in 1988, with a number of other home computer and console ports following. The game is the sequel to the 1986 game Wonder Boy and takes place eleven years after the events in the previous game. After enjoying over a decade of peace on Wonder Land following the defeat of the evil King by Tom-Tom, later bestowed the title "Wonder Boy", a fire-breathing dragon called the MEKA dragon appeared; he and his minions conquered Wonder Land, turning it into "Monster Land". The people, helpless due to their lack of fighting skill, call for Wonder Boy, now a teenager, to destroy the monsters and defeat the MEKA dragon. Players control Wonder Boy through twelve linear levels as he makes his way through Monster Land to find and defeat the MEKA dragon. Players earn gold by defeating enemies and buy weapons, armor, footwear, magic, and other items to help along the way.

<i>Tyrian</i> (video game) 1995 video game

Tyrian is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by Eclipse Software for MS-DOS and published in 1995 by Epic MegaGames. Tyrian was programmed by Jason Emery, illustrated by Daniel Cook, and its music composed by Alexander Brandon and Andras Molnar. The game was re-released as freeware in 2004. A free and open-source port of the game started in April 2007.

<i>Gods</i> (video game) 1991 video game

Gods is a platform game by The Bitmap Brothers released for the Amiga and Atari ST in 1991. The player is cast as Hercules in his quest to achieve immortality. It was ported to the Acorn Archimedes, Genesis/Mega Drive, PC98, TurboGrafx-CD and Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

<i>Xenon 2: Megablast</i> 1989 shoot em up video game

Xenon 2: Megablast is a 1989 shoot 'em up video game developed by The Bitmap Brothers and published by Image Works for the Amiga and Atari ST. It was later converted to the Master System, PC-98, X68000, Mega Drive, Commodore CDTV, Game Boy, Acorn Archimedes and Atari Jaguar platforms. The game is a sequel to Xenon and takes place a millennium after the previous title. The goal of the game is to destroy a series of bombs planted throughout history by the Xenites, the vengeful antagonists of the first game.

<i>Nebulus</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Nebulus is a platform game created by John M. Phillips and published by Hewson Consultants in the late 1980s for home computer systems. International releases and ports were known by various other names: Castelian, Kyorochan Land, Subline, and Tower Toppler.

<i>Blood Money</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Blood Money is a side-scrolling shooter video game developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis in 1989 for the Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. A Commodore 64 version followed in 1990. The game is set in four different locations on a planet, where the player must fight off enemies and bosses.

<i>Delta</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Delta is a horizontally scrolling shooter released for the Commodore 64 by Thalamus Ltd in 1987. It was programmed by Stavros Fasoulas and the music was written by Rob Hubbard. The game was published as Delta Patrol in the United States by Electronic Arts, for its Amazing Software line, in 1987 on the Commodore 64. It was also released for the ZX Spectrum in 1990 as Delta Charge.

<i>Captive</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Captive is a science fiction role-playing video game released by Mindscape in 1990. In the style of Dungeon Master, it uses pseudo-3D realtime graphics from a first-person perspective. It was released for Amiga, Atari ST, and, in 1992, MS-DOS.

<i>Awesome</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Awesome is a science fiction action video game released by Psygnosis for the Amiga in 1990. It features a variety of gameplay styles, from overhead shooting to Asteroids-esque sequences, and a pre-rendered ray-traced intro. The objective is to traverse the galaxy despite not having funds or fuel to do it.

<i>Baal</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Baal is a platform-based shoot 'em up video game published in 1988 by Psygnosis. The player takes on the role of a "Time Warrior" sent into the recesses of hell to recover pieces of "The War Machine", which has been stolen by the evil minion Baal. The game was ported to MS-DOS by Tim Ansell of The Creative Assembly.

<i>Brataccas</i> 1985 video game

Brataccas is a science fiction action-adventure game released in 1985 for the Amiga, Atari ST, and Macintosh. It was the first game published by Psygnosis. Brataccas is built on the remains of the much-hyped vaporware project Bandersnatch, which was partially developed by Imagine Software. The storied tale of the game's development led to close press attention in the UK computer market. When Brataccas finally shipped, this attention resulted in considerable coverage in the computer press. It was generally reviewed poorly due to significant control problems, although the graphics were widely praised.

<i>Barbarian</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

Barbarian is a 1987 platform game by Psygnosis. It was first developed for the Atari ST, and was ported to the Amiga, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, MSX, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. The Amiga port was released in 1987; the others were released in 1988. The cover artwork is by fantasy artist Roger Dean.

<i>Hammerfist</i> 1990 video game

Hammerfist is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed by Vivid Image and released in 1990 for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Menace</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Menace is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis. It was originally released for the Amiga in 1988, and was ported for the Atari ST, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS in 1989. The game is set on the planet of Draconia, where players are tasked with destroying the planet's defence mechanisms in order to kill the harmful creatures.

<i>Falcon</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Falcon is a combat flight simulator video game and the first official entry in the Falcon series of the F-16 jet fighter's simulators by Spectrum HoloByte. Originally developed by Sphere for Macintosh and MS-DOS in 1987 and ported to several platforms between 1988 and 1992, the game earned commercial success and critical acclaim.

<i>Zarathrusta</i> 1991 video game for the Amiga

Zarathrusta is a 1991 multidirectional shooter developed by Belgian video game developer The Whiz Kidz and published by Hewson Consultants for the Amiga. Written by Peter Verswyvelen and with graphics by Erlend Robaye, the game is inspired by the 1986 video game Thrust. Their goal was to create a 16-bit version of Thrust's gameplay, with more levels, enhanced graphics and improved features. The game's name is a portmanteau between "Zarathustra" and "Thrust".

<i>Terrorpods</i> 1987 video game

Terrorpods is a 1987 shooting game with simple business simulation by Psygnosis. Originally developed for the Amiga and Atari ST, it was later ported to the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and MSX.

<i>Warp</i> (1989 video game) 1989 video game

Warp is a 1989 multidirectional shooter developed and published by Thalion Software for the Atari ST. It was ported later to the Amiga.

References

  1. ↑ "Obliterator (Game)". Giant Bomb. Fandom. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Seacat, Douglas (August 1988), "Destruction Unlimited: Psygnosis' "Obliterator"", Computer Gaming World , p. 23
  3. ↑ Alanen, Markku (June 1988), "Obliterator", C-lehti , p. 61
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.