Stargate (1994 console video game)

Last updated
Stargate
Stargate SNES cover.jpg
Developer(s) Probe Entertainment (Genesis) [1]
Tantalus Interactive (Super NES) [2]
Publisher(s) Acclaim Entertainment [1]
Composer(s) Steve Collett, Andy Brock [3]
Platform(s) Super NES, Genesis
Release
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player

Stargate is a 1994 platform game by Acclaim Entertainment for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Genesis/Mega Drive. It follows the adventures of Colonel Jack O'Neil as he struggles to free the slaves of Abydos, defeat Ra, and get his mission team back home using the stargate device. The game is based on the 1994 film of the same name.

Contents

Plot

The game begins in the deserts of Abydos shortly after the mission team has landed using the stargate. The mission is to collect samples and then return to Earth, but Colonel Jack O’Neil has also secretly brought along a nuclear bomb to seal the stargate if the mission team discovers a threat. A sandstorm has separated Colonel O’Neil from his mission team, and the bomb is missing. Daniel Jackson, the Egyptology specialist of the mission team, informs him that the team's basecamp was attacked by Ra. The local inhabitants of Abydos, the Nagadans, have helped the team escape the attack, but the supplies were left behind in caves. O’Neil will have to find the supplies, the bomb, and seven Egyptian hieroglyphs scattered throughout the area, the last needed to work the stargate and get his men home.

O’Neil begins by searching for the supplies in the various caves found in the desert and once found, enters the village of Nagada. O’Neil learns that the four village elders can help him find his team. Once he has located the elders, they inform him that his men can be found in the catacombs outside the village. O’Neil finds his men, who tell him that Ra's general, Anubis, is after the Nagadan rebel leader named Sha’uri. Realizing that he will need the Nagadan's help to complete his mission, O’Neil must find and destroy Anubis in the village before he can get to Sha’uri and stop the rebellion. This leads to a one-on-one fight between O’Neil and Anubis.

After temporarily defeating Anubis, O’Neil meets up with Sha’uri, and is asked to find a local boy, Skaara, who is crucial to the rebellion. O’Neil finds Skaara outside the village and is told the bomb has been separated into seven pieces that must be found. Jackson contacts O’Neil, asking him to search for Sha’uri, who has disguised herself as an elder, somewhere in the village to avoid Anubis. Once found, O’Neil is off again in search of Jackson and Skaara in the desert. When O’Neil finds Skaara, he is told that Jackson has been taken prisoner by Ra and is being held inside Ra's hidden spaceship. Once rescued, Jackson tells O’Neil that the rebellion is in trouble because of traitors within it. O’Neil flies one of Ra's downed yet serviceable gliders back the village to find and destroy the traitors.

Once the traitors are destroyed, a thankful elder gives O’Neil some herbs to help Jackson, who was injured while leaving Ra's hidden spaceship. Once found and healed, Jackson informs O’Neil that Sha’uri has been captured by Anubis. This leads to a second one-on-one fight between O’Neil and Anubis. After Anubis is defeated for good, O’Neil raids the armory of Ra's spaceship and creates a plan. Jackson will cripple the guidance system of Ra's glider force inside Ra's spaceship while O’Neil will arm the rebellion with weapons stolen from the spaceship. Realizing that the rebellion is still outnumbered, O’Neil takes to the air to destroy several of Ra's gliders. After landing, O’Neil searches for a village elder who can show him a secret route into Ra's pyramid. Once inside, O’Neil joins Jackson in crippling the guidance systems of Ra's gliders and disabling the glider bay doors to prevent any gliders from landing or taking off. Now the Nagadan forces are ready to assault Ra's spaceship. Just before the rebellion's assault begins, Jackson and Sha’uri are taken prisoner on board the spaceship. O’Neil goes to face Ra, one-on-one.

Once Ra has been nearly defeated, he attempts to trap O’Neil inside his spaceship and takeoff. Jackson radios O’Neil, warning him to escape. O’Neil sets the bomb and escapes the spaceship as it explodes, destroying Ra. [7]

Gameplay

The gameplay is typical of the sidescrolling, platform games of the era. The player controls Colonel Jack O’Neill and navigates him through the various locations by walking/running, jumping and climbing. O’Neill's health is indicated by an energy bar found alongside information such as weapon status and grenade count on the heads-up display. Most missions consist of finding people or items in one of several different locations. There are two missions that involve flying one of Ra's gliders and partaking in dogfight style combat. The radio screen displays the player's current mission, as well as other information such as the number of lives, continues, hieroglyphs, bomb pieces, and current password. [7]

There are many different enemies through the game, ranging from minor inconveniences like the fleeting scarab beetles to the difficult Horus guards. There are three boss encounters; Anubis twice, and the final confrontation with Ra. If the player has not collected all seven bomb pieces and all seven hieroglyphs by end of the game, they will lose the game, even if they defeat Ra. [7]

The player is equipped with a single machine gun with infinite ammunition that can be temporarily upgraded with pickup items such as rapid fire, wide fire, ammunition strength, and the gun coolant. The player can also pickup and hold up to 99 standard grenades in addition to the more powerful alien grenades. [7]

Reception

The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Genesis version an average score of 3.875 out of 10. Though some of them were impressed by the graphics and animation, they all commented that the controls make it impossible to enjoy the game, elaborating that "Just simple skills, like jumping from ledge to ledge or shooting diagonally down, requires some serious effort on your part". [9] GamePro likewise felt the controls to be confusing, and also criticized the "visual banality" of the enemies. They nonetheless concluded that "Stargate will definitely not disappoint adventure fans or players who are looking for an exciting platform piece with purpose," citing the varied and graphically impressive settings and well-designed platform gameplay. [10] They made similar comments about the Super NES version, which they judged to be "identical to the Genesis version" aside from having a less confusing control configuration. [11] A reviewer for Next Generation , while deriding the side-scrolling gameplay as both unoriginal and unfaithful to the source material, admitted that he found the game fun for its solid level design and particularly its smooth character animation. He gave the Super NES version three out of five stars. [12]

Next Generation reviewed the Genesis version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Overall, Stargate is a well done game. It's just that this kind of thing has been done so many times before, and better." [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Stargate</i> (film) 1994 American-French science fiction adventure film directed by Roland Emmerich

Stargate is a 1994 science fiction adventure film directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich. The film is the first entry in the Stargate media franchise and stars Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson, Alexis Cruz, Mili Avital, and Viveca Lindfors. The plot centers on the premise of a "Stargate", an ancient ring-shaped device that creates a wormhole, enabling travel to a similar device elsewhere in the universe. The film's central plot explores the theory of extraterrestrial beings having an influence upon human civilization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack O'Neill</span> Fictional character from the Stargate universe

Jonathan J. "Jack" O'Neill is a fictional character in the MGM's military science fiction franchise Stargate, primarily as one of the main characters of the television series Stargate SG-1. Richard Dean Anderson played O'Neill in all the Stargate media since 1997, when he took over the role from actor Kurt Russell, who portrayed the character in the original Stargate film in 1994. O'Neill and Daniel Jackson are the only two characters to appear in both the original film and all three live-action Stargate television series.

Daniel Jackson (<i>Stargate</i>) Fictional character from the Stargate universe

Daniel Jackson, PhD, is a fictional character in the military science fiction franchise Stargate, and one of the main characters of the 1997 series Stargate SG-1. He is portrayed by James Spader in the 1994 film Stargate, and by Michael Shanks in Stargate SG-1 and other SG-1 derived media. Jackson is the only Stargate character to appear in all films and series in the franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stargate (device)</span> Portal device within the Stargate fictional universe

A Stargate is a fictional Einstein–Rosen bridge portal device within the Stargate fictional universe that allows practical, rapid travel between two distant locations. The devices first appeared in the 1994 Roland Emmerich film Stargate, and thereafter in the television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe. In these productions, the Stargate functions as a plot device, allowing the main characters to visit alien planets without the need for spaceships or any other type of technology. The device allows for near-instantaneous travel across both interstellar and extragalactic distances.

Stargate is a military science fiction media franchise based on the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien wormhole device that enables nearly instantaneous travel across the cosmos. The franchise began with the film Stargate, released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, which grossed US$197 million worldwide. In 1997, Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner created a television series titled Stargate SG-1 as a sequel to the film. This show was joined by Stargate Atlantis in 2004, Stargate Universe in 2009, and a prequel web series, Stargate Origins, in 2018. Also consistent with the same story are a variety of books, video games and comic books, as well as the direct-to-DVD movies Stargate: Children of the Gods, Stargate: The Ark of Truth, and Stargate: Continuum, which concluded the first television show after 10 seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Children of the Gods</span> 1st and 2nd episodes of the 1st season of Stargate SG-1

"Children of the Gods" is the first episode of the military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. It was written by producers Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright and was directed by Mario Azzopardi. The episode first aired on July 27, 1997, on Showtime. Originally presented as a television movie, the episode would later be split into two parts for repeats and syndicated viewings. A new, updated cut, which is entitled "Children of the Gods – The Final Cut" was released on DVD on July 21, 2009 by MGM Home Entertainment.

<i>Stargate SG-1: The Alliance</i> Cancelled video game

Stargate SG-1: The Alliance is a cancelled first and third person shooter video game based around the television series Stargate SG-1. The game had been intended for release on Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Windows. Set during the eighth season of Stargate SG-1, players would have taken control of the four original characters from the television series; General Jack O'Neill, Colonel Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Teal'c.

Lost City (<i>Stargate SG-1</i>) 21st and 22nd episodes of the 7th season of Stargate SG-1

"Lost City" is the two-part finale to the seventh season of the science fiction television show Stargate SG-1. The episode was written by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, with Martin Wood directing. The first part originally premiered on March 2, 2004, with the second part showing a week later on March 9, 2004 on Sky One in the United Kingdom. SciFi Channel in the United States then aired part one on March 12, 2004 and part two on March 19, 2004.

"Reckoning" is a two-part episode from Season 8 of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. It resolves the long-running story arcs of the Goa'uld, the Replicators, and the Jaffa Rebellion, and are regarded as two of the most popular episodes of the series. This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series" and a Leo Award in the category "Best Visual Effects".)

"Moebius" is the two-part season finale for season eight of the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. The episodes were written by Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie, Executive producers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, the episodes were directed by Peter DeLuise. The episodes were the strongest episodes in the eighth season on the Nielsen household ratings with fellow Stargate SG-1 episode "New Order". The episode got strong reviews from major media publishers worldwide.

"Evolution" are the 11th and 12th episodes from seventh season of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. Part 1 was co-written by Damien Kindler and Michael Shanks, with Kindler adapting the story into a teleplay, whilst part 2 was written by Peter Deluise and Damien Kindler, with Deluise handling the teleplay as well as directing the episode. Part 1 was first broadcast on August 22, 2003, on Sci-fi Channel in the United States, with part 2 subsequently airing first in the on Sky One in United Kingdom on December 14, 2003, following the shows mid-season hiatus in the US.

"Redemption" is the two-part episode the season 6 premiere of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. Airing on June 7 and June 14, 2002, it was the first all-new SG-1 episode to be broadcast by SCI FI, the new home of SG-1 after the series' move from Showtime. The episode was written by producer Robert C. Cooper, and directed by Martin Wood. "Redemption" is the first episode where actor Corin Nemec had main cast status, his character Jonas Quinn replacing Daniel Jackson who died at the end of season 5. The episode also marks the second appearance of David Hewlett's character Rodney McKay, who later became a main character on Stargate Atlantis. "Redemption Part 2" was nominated for a Gemini Award in the category "Best Visual Effects".

"Fallen" is the 1st episode of the seventh season of science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. The episode was first broadcast on June 13, 2003, on the Sci-fi Channel and was immediately followed by the 2nd episode and conclusion to the two-part story, "Homecoming". A behind the scenes documentary and look ahead at the upcoming seventh season called "Stargate: The Lowdown" preceded the episode. Executive producer Robert C. Cooper wrote the episode, with Martin Wood directing. The episode is the 133rd overall.

"Full Circle" is the season finale for season six of the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. It was originally intended to be the last episode of Stargate SG-1. The episode was written by executive producer Robert C. Cooper and directed by Martin Wood. The episodes received an average Nielsen household rating and a low syndication rating compared to other season six episodes. The episode got strong reviews from major media publishers worldwide.

<i>Stargate</i> literature

Stargateliterature comprises the novels and short stories in the Stargate franchise fictional universe as well as a non-fiction devoted to the franchise. Stargate literary works follow no strict continuity with the series or each other and are often considered to be non-canon. This is evident in the fact that there is a period of roughly a year between the original idea for a novel and the finalized product, causing problems for authors as they are unaware as to how the franchise will develop and change during the writing process. Despite this, the editors of Stargate literature function as the medium between the author and the production company.

Major General West, is a fictional character in the Stargate SG-1 universe, played by Leon Rippy. West headed the USAF's Project Giza, the forerunner of the SGC. He oversaw Dr. Catherine Langford's experiments with the Stargate until selecting, recalling, and delegating Colonel Jack O'Neil as military commander when Dr. Daniel Jackson joined the team. Upon the successful connection of the Earth Stargate to Abydos, West immediately militarized the program and locked out most of the civilian team previously under Dr. Langford. He then authorized the initial excursion to Abydos.

<i>Glider Rider</i> 1986 video game

Glider Rider is an isometric action-adventure game published by Quicksilva in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. The music was composed by David Whittaker.

References

  1. 1 2 "Release information". MobyGames. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
  2. ↑ "Additional release information". Tantalus Media . Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  3. ↑ "Composer information". SNES Music. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  4. ↑ "Release Details". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  5. ↑ "1994 Releases". Segadoes. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  6. ↑ "Planet SNES". GameFan . Vol. 3, no. 5. DieHard Gamer's Club. May 1995. p. 48.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Instruction Booklet". Vimm's Lair. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
  8. ↑ Halverson, Dave; Rox, Nick; Lee, K. (April 1995). "Viewpoint". GameFan . Vol. 3, no. 4. pp. 18–9.
  9. ↑ "Review Crew: Stargate". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 70. Ziff Davis. May 1995. p. 33.
  10. ↑ "ProReview: Stargate". GamePro . No. 80. IDG. May 1995. p. 44.
  11. ↑ "ProReview: Stargate". GamePro . No. 81. IDG. June 1995. p. 68.
  12. ↑ "Parched". Next Generation . Imagine Media (6): 114. June 1995.
  13. ↑ "Finals". Next Generation . No. 7. Imagine Media. July 1995. p. 78.
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.