Fade to Black (video game)
| Fade to Black | |
|---|---|
 DOS cover art |
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| Developer(s) | Delphine Software International |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Designer(s) | Paul Cuisset |
| Platform(s) | DOS, PlayStation |
| Release date(s) | DOS
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| Genre(s) | Third-person shooter/Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | 1 CD-ROM |
Fade to Black is an action-adventure game released in 1995 by Delphine Software International. Directed and designed by Paul Cuisset, it is the sequel to his previous game, Flashback (the acronym of the game is F2B, indirectly addressing it to be Flashback 2).
The game was released for DOS and PlayStation; planned Nintendo 64 (Ultra 64 at the time) and Sega Saturn versions were cancelled.
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[edit] Gameplay
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The game is displayed in full gouraud shaded 3D for DOS 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, there was a controversy at the time, between the two games which resulted in punishment of game developers for plagiarism and copyright infringement.
[edit] Plot
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This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (February 2011) |
The main protagonist is Conrad Hart who, in Flashback, destroyed the planet of hostile aliens called the Morphs and went 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, he is rescued by a man that introduces himself as John O'Conner, who tells him that the Morphs beat him to Conrad's ship, and leaves him a few items "of interest" (a PDA and a handgun), 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 while he was in suspended animation the Morphs attacked Earth with far superior forces, which made the governments surrender. The Mandragore has far fewer people, but they refuse to give up. Agents then call Sarah and tell her that they have found the location of 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 the holocube that is in Flashback), which he explains 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, an 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 will lead him to the pyramid. As he travels, the Super Morph arrives 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 to 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 put 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 all around 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 disable 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 flees Easter Island, it starts exploding, and the Super Morph gives chase. From here there 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 impact kills the Super Morph. Sarah then skillfully pilots the ship off Easter Island just as it explodes. The Mandragore then congratulates 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, he knew that the ships would converge on Earth, millions fled the Morphs, and 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 do not mention it when they congratulate Conrad. Although ships are converging on Earth and the Morphs have been destroyed, Conrad's future relationship with the Mandragore is left unknown.
[edit] Reception
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Fade to Black received a moderately positive critical response.[1] The PlayStation version sold enough copies to go Platinum.
[edit] Cancelled sequel
Flashback Legends was an unreleased sequel to Fade to Black. It was in development by both Delphine Software International and Adeline Software International for a planned released in 2003. As opposed to Fade to Black, it was going to be a 2D side-scroller game, like Flashback, but without non-scrolling areas. It was targeted exclusively for the Game Boy Advance.[2]
The game was canceled when Delphine went bankrupt and ceased operations in the end of 2002. However, a prototype ROM, dated June 21, 2002, was leaked and spread over the internet at some point. It features all sixteen levels with minor glitches and only one music track for the entire game, which is a compressed tune from Fade to Black. Despite multi-language options, the beta can only be played in French with an English pause menu.[2] The prototype was translated to English by VanishedOne.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ Fade to Black at gamerankings.com
- ^ a b Flashback Legends at Unseen64
