Fade to Black (video game)

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Fade to Black
Fade to Black box cover for PC
Developer(s) Delphine Software International
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Victor
(PS1 Japanese release)
Designer(s) Paul Cuisset
Platform(s) PC (DOS), PlayStation, PlayStation Network
Release date(s) PC
NA August 31, 1995
EU 1995
PlayStation
NA June 24, 1996
EU July, 1996
JP May 2, 1997
Genre(s) Third-person shooter/Puzzle
Mode(s) Single-player
Rating(s) ESRB: T
Media 1 CD-ROM
Input methods Mouse, Keyboard, Gamepad

Fade to Black is a video game released in 1995 by Delphine Software International. It is the sequel to their previous game Flashback.

The game was released for PC and PlayStation. The PlayStation version was also released as a download for the Playstation 3 and Playstation Portable in Europe on January 31, 2008. It was also to be released on the Nintendo 64 (Ultra 64 at the time) and Sega Saturn.

Contents

[edit] Story

The main protagonist is Conrad Hart, who, in Flashback destroyed the Morph planet Morphs at the consequence of having to go into suspended animation in a spaceship that floats aimlessly through outer space. A half century later, he is found by the Morphs and imprisoned in the Lunar prison of New Alcatraz. There, the security Morph taunts Conrad, only to be shot to death by a man that introduces himself as John O'Conner. He then tells him that the Morphs beat him to his ship, he left him a few items of interest (PDA and gun), and to make it to his ship, before he destroys the camera. On the PDA is a message that's from John, who tells Conrad to sneak around the base. Mandragore agents left a radar-scrambler there. Conrad soon makes it to John's ship. As they blast off, Morph ships start attacking them. They teleport away to Mandragore base Shadow just as the ship is destroyed. They meet Sarah Smith, who leads them. Later, she tells Conrad that the Morphs, while he was in suspended animation, attacked Earth with far superior forces, which made the governments surrender. The Mandragore has far less people, but they refuse to give up. Agents then call Sarah and tell her that they have found the location of the professor Bergstein...Morph asteroid base D321. Sarah sends Conrad and John there to rescue him. Conrad eventually finds Bergstein, who tells him that the base must be destroyed because it contains the Morph's new mind-manipulating weapon. He gives him a datacube (Similar to a holocube that is in Flashback), which he explains that contains a virus that he programmed in. The virus will blow up the base when the datacube is connected to the core. They connect the virus to the core and escape the base with John as it blows up, along with the asteroid itself. Conrad is then sent to Pluto, where he meets Ageer. He tells Ageer about his previous adventures. Ageer tells Conrad that he and his people, whom are the Ancient alien race, want to join the Mandragore and can lead them to victory. Soon, Ageer tells Conrad that he must find the oracle. Conrad travels to Easter Island. Ageer then tells Conrad that the oracle leads him to the pyramid. As he travels, no sooner does the Super Morph arrive to kill Conrad, who finds a glass eyeball that he gives to a hand creature that then gives him the oracle. The oracle does lead Conrad to the pyramid, which Ageer uses to give the history of the Ancients of Conrad.

The Ancients live in peace until the Morphs arrive. The Ancients think that they come in peace and they welcome them. However, the Morphs attack the ancients. The Ancients put their souls in the pyramid, which is then captured by the Morphs.

As Conrad starts returning to his ship, he sees John telling the Master Brain that their plan has become a success...with his identity, he has managed to infiltrate Shadow and place in an active detonation device. The Master Brain then tells him that someone is spying on them. John looks back, sees Conrad, and then transforms into his true identity...the Super Morph. Conrad quickly takes the pyramid and returns to Shadow, which is then attacked by the Morphs. Conrad fights his way through the Morphs as agents from left to right get killed. He gets a key from Hank, which gives him access to the command room. The commander tells Conrad that Sarah can give him the code to disabling the detonation device, but she has been taken hostage by a Morph. Conrad gets to the floor and saves Sarah, who then gives him the code and teleports away. After Conrad disables the device, Ageer and the Mandragore enter the command room as Sarah explains their new plan...the Ancients have given the Mandragore the ability to know where the central Master Brain is on Easter Island. She and Conrad will teleport there and destroy it. As they arrive, they separate. Conrad eventually teleports to the central Master Brain and throws the oracle in front of it. As he then teleports away, the oracle disappears and leaves behind the pyramid, which now contains the souls of the Ancients. The Ancients then fight the central Master Brain. The Ancients sacrifice themselves in order to destroy the central Master Brain. As Conrad then starts fleeing Easter Island as it starts exploding, the Super Morph gives chase. From here are two endings.

  • If Conrad reunites with Sarah and goes to the ship, then they enter it and Sarah starts the ship. The Super Morph attempts to attack, but Sarah pulls down on the control stick, which causes one of the blasters to start. The impace kills the Super Morph. Sarah then skillfully pilots the ship off of Easter Island just as it explodes. The Mandragore then congragulates Conrad for his efforts. As Sarah pilots the ship back to Shadow and ships arrive on Earth, a voiceover of Conrad is heard explaining that he was no longer alone, how he knew that the ships would converge on Earth, how millions fled the Morphs, and how he was anxious to join Shadow as a comrade.
  • If Conrad gets to the ship alone, then he does the exact things that Sarah does in the other ending, including killing the Super Morph, but he must fly off of Easter Island on his own. He successfully does just as it blows up. The Mandragore seems unaware of Sarah's death as they don't mention it when they congragulate Conrad. Although ships are converging on Earth and the Morphs have been destroyed, Conrad's future relationship with the Mandragore is left unknown.

[edit] Gameplay

The game has somewhat different gameplay to Flashback...it is in full gouraud shaded 3D for PC and fully-textured 3D for the PlayStation. It features an over-the-shoulder viewpoint, with almost no platform sequences. The style of the game is action adventure in a similar style to the later Tomb Raider series, although it bears a more superficial resemblance to the likes of Metal Gear. The game is also notable for the ways where Conrad can get killed, all while showing game over at the same time. He also doesn't have the voice that he had in Flashback, instead being a deep voice. In the death scenes though, his voice is somewhat similar to his Flashback voice.

[edit] Cast

English


French


German

[edit] Reception

Fade to Black did not receive such a positive critical response as Flashback[1], because of its different gameplay, original execution and somewhat clumsy interface (The inventory was cumbersome, and the radar didn't show where Conrad was facing), although the PlayStation version did sell enough copies to go Platinum.

[edit] Cancelled sequel

A third game in the series, Flashback Legends, was in development by both Delphine Software International and Adeline Software International for a planned released in 2003, but was cancelled when the company went bankrupt and ceased operations at the end of 2002.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Fade to Black at gamerankings.com

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fade_to_Black_(video_game)"
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