"Beneath a Steel Sky" was critically acclaimed. In 1995, "PC Gamer" awarded it the "Best Dialogue" award, and it won the "Best Adventure" award at the "Golden Joystick Awards". It was also a commercial success, reaching the number one place on the British Gallup charts. Eurogamer's Simon Parkin later summarized that it "sold extremely well", with lifetime sales between 300,000 and 400,000 units by July 2009. Parkin noted that the majority of its sales derived from European countries. "CU Amiga"s Tony Dillon proclaimed "Beneath a Steel Sky" as "one of the greatest adventures ever." "Amiga Format"s Rob Mead said that the game is an "Utterly brilliant", "massive, intense and atmospheric adventure which will keep you on tenterhooks right until its final startling conclusion." "PC Gamer US"s Steve Poole called it "slick, funny," "absorbing" and "one of the most playable adventures of all time" "that will appeal to a wide variety of gamers".
Critical reception and commercial performance
Beneath a Steel Sky
Beneath a Steel Sky | Critical reception and commercial performance
Yes, Eurogamer's Simon Parkin later summarized that it "sold extremely well", with lifetime sales between 300,000 and 400,000 units by July 2009 Reached the number one place on the British Gallup charts and was awarded by "PC Gamer" Yes. Yes, in 1995, "PC Gamer" awarded it the "Best Dialogue" award, and it won the "Best Adventure" award at the "Golden Joystick Awards".
what is sinestro corps war?
user
An American comic book crossover event
assistant
who is the writer?
user
Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons
assistant
who are the characters?
user
Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart and Guy Gardner, and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps
assistant
what are some of the other works of the second writer you mentioned?
user
"The Trials of Nasty Tales", "Watchmen", "For the Man Who Has Everything"
assistant
has he worked on anything other than comics?
user
Yes, he did the cover art of album "The Madness", he served as a consultant on the film "Watchmen", background art for the 1994 computer game "Beneath a Steel Sky"
assistant
who developed the game you just mentioned?
user
British developer Revolution Software
assistant
did it perform well in the market?
user
Not pleased with the results, however, Revolution decided on a lengthy re-recording, and realized that voice actors should be used, rather than stage actors. As a result of this, the speech doesn't always match the on-screen text, with English terms being Americanized. Cummins was also responsible for the score of the game, writing a specific tune for each of the main locations. "Beneath a Steel Sky" became the second game to use Revolution's Virtual Theatre engine, after "Lure of the Temptress". According to Cecil, the original version of the engine seemed less applicable in "Beneath a Steel Sky", as the ability to issue commands conflicted with the gameplay they intended to create.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Creative and technical design
It received positive reviews at the time of its release and is retrospectively viewed as a cult classic and Revolution's greatest game besides "". A remastered edition was released for iOS in 2009 as "Beneath a Steel Sky Remastered", which also received a positive reception from the gaming press. A sequel was greenlit during the "" 2012 Kickstarter campaign, and was announced in March 2019. Entitled "Beyond a Steel Sky", it was released on Apple Arcade in June 2020, with a Steam release in July 2020.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Introduction
According to Gibbons, about 75% of the backgrounds and characters he designed were used in the game. Dave Cummins wrote the dialogue for the game. The tone of Revolution's early games was born from a tension between Cummins and Cecil. Cummins wanted to be more flippant with dialogue, while Cecil wanted to be more serious. Their goal was to find the middle ground between Sierra's "ridiculously earnest" stories and the slapstick comedy of LucasArts games. For the voice acting, which is only included in the CD-ROM version, Revolution used actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company. Only two days were spent recording over five thousands lines of dialogue.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Creative and technical design
Beneath a Steel Sky is a 1994 cyberpunk science fiction point-and-click adventure game developed by British developer Revolution Software and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment for MS-DOS and Amiga home computers. The game was made available as freeware for PC platforms in 2003. Set in a dystopian future, the player assumes the role of Robert Foster, who was stranded in a wasteland known as "the Gap" as a child and adopted by a group of local Aboriginals, gradually adjusting to his life in the wilderness. After many years, armed security officers arrive, killing the locals and taking Robert back to Union City.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Introduction
In August 2003, the game was released as freeware with its assembly language source code by Revolution Software. The source code availability made it possible for the ScummVM project to support the game, which allows the game to be played on Windows, OS X, Linux, Windows CE and other compatible operating systems and platforms. In November 2011, James Woodcock released an enhanced soundtrack of the game for ScummVM. The game is also available for free download on digital distribution services, including Desura and GOG.com. In July 2009, Revolution announced that a remastered edition of "Beneath a Steel Sky" would be released on iOS later that year.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Freeware release and Remastered edition
"Amiga Power"s Cam Winstanley said that it is "an example of what an adventure game should be like – funny, enthralling and convincing." Adventure Gamers' Claire Wood called it an "enjoyable", "engaging adventure classic, thoroughly enjoyable playing experience" and "a "1984" for the computer game generation." Winstanley thought that the main highpoint of the game was the story, with an ending "that's actually quite a surprise." Wood praised the "intelligent, thought provoking storyline" that "becomes more and more compelling, punctuated by unexpected plot twists and macabre discoveries."
Beneath a Steel Sky | Critical reception and commercial performance
He escapes and soon uncovers the corruption which lies at the heart of society. Originally titled "Underworld", the game was a collaboration between game director Charles Cecil and comic book artist Dave Gibbons, and cost £40,000 to make. Cecil was a fan of Gibbons's work and approached with the idea of a video game. The game has a serious tone, but features humour-filled dialogue, which came as a result of Cecil's and writer Dave Cummins's goal to find a middle ground between the earnestness of Sierra's and the slapstick comedy of LucasArts' adventure games. It was built using Revolution's Virtual Theatre engine, first used in Revolution's previous and debut release, 1992's "Lure of the Temptress".
Beneath a Steel Sky | Introduction
Because of the Amiga restrictions, a few animations had to be left out, as not all Amiga owners had a hard drive. Each conversion of the images to the Amiga resulted in a loss of detail. According to Revolution in-house artist Adam Tween, it took a couple of days to "touch up" the screens. A comic book created by Gibbons, which was translated into the introduction sequence of the game, came as part of the game package. "Beneath a Steel Sky" was translated from English into French and Portuguese. This was the first game not developed in Portugal to be released with a Portuguese translation.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Release
"Beneath a Steel Sky" was critically acclaimed. In 1995, "PC Gamer" awarded it the "Best Dialogue" award, and it won the "Best Adventure" award at the "Golden Joystick Awards". It was also a commercial success, reaching the number one place on the British Gallup charts. Eurogamer's Simon Parkin later summarized that it "sold extremely well", with lifetime sales between 300,000 and 400,000 units by July 2009. Parkin noted that the majority of its sales derived from European countries. "CU Amiga"s Tony Dillon proclaimed "Beneath a Steel Sky" as "one of the greatest adventures ever." "Amiga Format"s Rob Mead said that the game is an "Utterly brilliant", "massive, intense and atmospheric adventure which will keep you on tenterhooks right until its final startling conclusion." "PC Gamer US"s Steve Poole called it "slick, funny," "absorbing" and "one of the most playable adventures of all time" "that will appeal to a wide variety of gamers".
Beneath a Steel Sky | Critical reception and commercial performance
In 2004, Cecil commented ""Beneath a Steel Sky 2" is a project Revolution has been considering for a while, and has started to move forward on, but we are unable to comment beyond this." In an interview with Eurogamer in 2006, Cecil spoke of his admiration for the work done by ScummVM and the resulting interest in a sequel. He also stated that if he were to make the game he "would dearly love to work with Dave Gibbons again." In a February 20, 2009 interview with IGN UK about the Wii and DS versions of "", Cecil and Gibbons re-iterated their interest in a sequel to "Beneath a Steel Sky".
Beneath a Steel Sky | Sequel
Beyond a Steel Sky is a 2020 cyberpunk science fiction adventure game developed by Revolution Software. It is a sequel to "Beneath a Steel Sky," a point-and-click adventure game created in 1994. Set ten years after the events of the first game, the protagonist Robert Foster returns to Union City. Revolution Studios CEO Charles Cecil has said that the game examines how an AI would interpret a prime directive to make people happy. "Beyond a Steel Sky" was developed using Unreal Engine 4. It was released on 26 June 2020 on the Apple Arcade subscription service, and on July 16, 2020 on Steam.
Beyond a Steel Sky | Introduction
The remastered edition features new animated movies by Gibbons, a context-sensitive help system and improved audio quality. The game was released on the App Store on October 7, 2009. The animated movies in the iOS remastered version make use of the original stills and use a sliding paper-like style to animate them.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Freeware release and Remastered edition
Despite the success of "Beneath a Steel Sky", it was the company's next game that they would become best known for, and which would have both the biggest critical and commercial success. "" was released for PC and PlayStation in 1996 and was later ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2002. The game revolves around the story of George Stobbart, an American tourist whose holiday in Paris is rudely interrupted by a bombing. Investigating, he runs into photo-journalist Nicole Collard, and the two embark on a globe-trotting adventure. The hand drawn graphics, story and characters, and gameplay helped make the game a hit, and cemented the company's reputation for story driven games.
Revolution Software | 1996–1997: "Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars" and "Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror"
The remastered 2009 iOS version was also very well received. It holds an aggregate score of 85% on GameRankings based on 7 reviews, and 82 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 5 reviews. It was nominated for Best Port/Enhanced Re-release at the Adventure Gamers' 2009 Aggie Awards in 2010. The game sold around 20,000 units in its first month of release, while Cecil anticipated sales of around 70,000 copies during its first year on sale, and roughly 100,000 in its lifetime. The remastered release is available with Spanish, French, Swedish, Portuguese, German, Italian, and English subtitles. "Slide To Play" Keith Andrew said that ""Beneath a Steel Sky" somehow feels bigger and bolder than its rivals, raising the bar and highlighting what others have so far failed to achieve.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Remastered version
In the remastered iOS version, the point-and-click interface is replaced with a touch user interface, a hint system is added, and hotspots are highlighted.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Gameplay
Cecil had had no choice to adopt 3D though, for when they needed funding in the beginning of 2000, publishers had become obsessed with the idea that everything was going to be 3D. But he had always been keen to move to 3D, as it allowed more special effects and would make the game world more alive. In the same year, he decided to release "Beneath a Steel Sky" (and "Lure of the Temptress") as freeware and the source code was given to ScummVM. The result was that millions of people played the game for free in a very wide range of devices.
Charles Cecil | Managing director of Revolution Software
On September 25, 2012, Revolution announced that "Beneath a Steel Sky 2" would be greenlit if their "" Kickstarter reached $1 million. Despite "Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse" failing to meet the $1 million 'stretch goal', Revolution announced that the success of its crowdfunding campaign had inspired them to greenlight "Beneath a Steel Sky 2". However, Revolution later clarified that "Beneath a Steel Sky 2" will not necessarily be the studio's first project following "Broken Sword 5" and that they would "think" about what their next game will be after finishing the "Broken Sword" game. In February 2014 it was reported that "Beneath a Steel Sky 2" had never entered production, despite previous reports to the contrary.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Sequel
"Beneath a Steel Sky" was presented at the European Computer Trade Show in the London Business Design Centre in April 1993 and at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago in June 1993. According to French magazine "Génération 4", the game was supposed to be released by the end of October 1993. Various playable demos of the game were made; one was added to the first issue of "PC Gamer", and Amiga demos were added as cover disks to several Amiga magazines. "Beneath a Steel Sky" was published in March 1994 by Virgin Interactive on floppy disks and CD-ROM. It came on 15 floppy disks, as opposed to "Lure of The Temptress", which came on four.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Release
We're deeply touched that our "Beneath a Steel Sky" fans are as enthusiastic today as they were when the original game released in 1994." "Beneath a Steel Sky 2" is to be developed for iOS, Android, PC, Linux and OS X. There is also a possibility in looking into a console version release. In a September 2015 interview, Cecil announced that he was working on a story for "Broken Sword 6", which would involve the main characters travelling to Germany. In a later interview from April 2020, however, Cecil said he was "mulling around" ideas for Broken Sword 6, while his focus seemed to be still on "Beyond A Steel Sky", though he did not exclude the idea that the next Broken Sword game may follow the company's present project.
Revolution Software | 2012–present: "Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse", "Beneath a Steel Sky 2" and "Broken Sword 6" ideas
Perfectly suited to its new home, this remastering of a classic game serves up point-and-click play nearly unmatched on the App Store." Andrew noted that the point-and-click interface "merg[es] seamlessly with touchscreen controls" and that the hint system is "a feature that might antagonize some of Steel Sky's hardened fan-base, but one perfectly pitched at the iPhone generation."
Beneath a Steel Sky | Remastered version
Cecil, Dave Cummins, and Jonathan Howard began work on the story and design. Cecil and Cummins attended a film-writing course and their script was read by Alan Drury, a senior BBC scriptwriter and dramatist. Revolution artist Steve Ince created initial location sketches for the game before working on "Beneath a Steel Sky". He was promoted to producer halfway through the project. Despite releasing the PC version, Virgin was not interested in publishing the game on the PlayStation, feeling that only 3D games would sell for the console. As a result, Cecil contacted Sony Computer Entertainment, who agreed to release the game for the console.
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars | Development
Although retrospectively "" is as Revolution's magnum opus, "Beneath a Steel Sky" still holds the status of a cult classic and has been featured on numerous "all-time top" lists: "Amiga Power" ranked "Beneath a Steel Sky" 42nd on their "Amiga Power" All-Time Top One Hundred in 1994. Adventure Gamers ranked the game 17th on their list of Top 20 Adventure Games of All-Time in 2004, and 19th on the Top 100 All-Time Adventures in 2011. In 2006, Adventure Classic Gaming put the game in 9th place on their list of the Top 10 retro graphic adventure games of all time from PC to consoles.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Legacy
The designers' goal was to create a visual bridge between comic and video game graphics. Gibbons drew the backgrounds in pencil, starting with roughs, which were sent to Revolution to see if they were technically feasible. Once agreed upon, Gibbons would then make the final sketch. The pencil sketches were then colored, mainly by Les Pace. The backgrounds were scanned on a Macintosh as 24-bit, 1000x1000 pixel images with 16 million colors, and then transformed to 8-bit, 320x200 pixel images with 256 colors for the PC version. The backgrounds were designed so that the sprites would appear clear on the screen and wouldn't mix with the backgrounds.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Creative and technical design
Some minor technical issues mar the experience slightly but it’s a great return for Foster and Joey." "PC Invasion" wrote that "Beyond a Steel Sky has some technical issues but its excellent writing and interesting storytelling make it well worth experiencing." "Godisageek" similarly wrote that "the humour and mystery are enough to carry Beyond A Steel Sky through, and if you did play the original and you do remember it, there’s just enough nostalgia here to make it worth a return to Union City. If you didn’t, well, it’s still a likeable, competent adventure game that will keep you smiling and guessing throughout."
Beyond a Steel Sky | Reception
"Retro Gamer" placed it in third on its list of Top 20 Adventure Games of All-Time ... not by LucasArts in 2010. It was included in "Edge" editor Tony Mott's "1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die", a book published in 2010. In 2011, "PC Gamer" ranked it ninth on its list of 20 free PC games you must play. In the same year, Now Gamer listed it as one of the Greatest Point-And-Click Games (Not By LucasArts). In 2014, TechRadar placed it 40th on its list of the Top 50 best free games you should play today.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Legacy
For Revolution's first title, Cecil conceived with others an innovative game engine, called Virtual Theatre, and the engine itself was designed by Tony Warriner. The result was Lure of the Temptress (1992), and though it was their first product, it became one of the successful games that would follow. For the second title, Beneath a Steel Sky (1994), often referred to as a cult classic, Cecil contacted comic book artist Dave Gibbons. He had met Gibbons when he was still at Activision, and he admired Gibbons's work on "Watchmen". Gibbons became involved in the design of the game, and their collaboration would inspire Cecil's next move.
Charles Cecil | Managing director of Revolution Software
"Lure of the Temptress" had one story that was moved forward by a key event, whereas "Beneath a Steel Sky" had multiple threads. In one way this presented them with "exciting gameplay opportunities, but in others it cordoned off more ambitious ideas in terms of multilinearity." As a consequence, some of the engine's features were scaled back. Tony Warriner and David Sykes, both Revolution co-founders and programmers, had to update the engine, which was part of the new deal with Virgin Interactive. As an example of change in the updated engine, Virtual Theatre 2.0, Warriner explained that in "Lure of the Temptress", the system controlled everything, for instance specific routines to a door.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Creative and technical design
To this end, Cecil also drafted in the acclaimed comic book artist Dave Gibbons, with whom Revolution worked previously on their 1994 cult classic adventure "Beneath a Steel Sky". In addition to working on the visual references for the game, Gibbons also produced a comic book to accompany the game's DS release. Gibbons stated that he decided to return to video game work on this game because he knew producing character shots with a range of expressions would be challenging, and he knew he would enjoy it, based upon past experience. The game was programmed by Tony Warriner and Joost Peters.
Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars – The Director's Cut | Development and marketing
"Pocket Gamer" included it on its list of Top 10 adventure games that should be revived on DS in 2009. "Beneath a Steel Sky: Remastered" has been placed on numerous top lists as well, including "Edge"s Top 50 iPhone Games at 26th in 2009, as well as "Pocket Gamer"s Top 10 point-and-click adventure games on iPhone and iPad and Mashable's 10 Classic PC Games That Found New Life on the iPhone, both in 2010.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Legacy
Released in 1992 for the Amiga, Atari ST, and DOS platforms, "Lure of the Temptress" was both critically and commercially a success, which helped set the company up for their future game releases. Revolution released the game as freeware on 1 April 2003. Their next game was released in 1994; "Beneath a Steel Sky" became a hit on the Amiga and DOS. The game focused on protagonist Robert Foster's abduction and subsequent search for answers in a dystopian city of the future. In that period they also ported Sierra's "" to the Commodore Amiga. Virtual Theatre system was used instead of Sierra's Creative Interpreter due to its much better performance.
Revolution Software | 1992–1994: "Lure of the Temptress" and "Beneath a Steel Sky"
Originally the game was named "Underworld", a title proposed by Gibbons, but it was renamed due to the release of "". The production values became much higher for "Beneath a Steel Sky" than for "Lure of the Temptress", resulting in a game six times larger, and by the end of 1993, the team working on the game had grown to eleven. The game was created in sections, which allowed the team to ensure that each part was "perfected" before moving on. Its 2-year development cost £40,000, a large amount of money for the company at the time.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Development
The magazine noted the difficulty of traversing the vertical caverns and found the eagles annoying, especially when they dropped Sabreman to his death. "Zzap!64" critics felt that the game presented well, but was less accessible, overpriced for its age, and poorly animated. Ultimately, they considered the game better than the developer's previous two 1985 releases, but not as good as it could have been. The "Computer and Video Games" review of the Commodore 64 release judged otherwise: that the version was up to the developer's standards and worth the yearlong wait. The magazine praised Firebird's work on the port.
Underwurlde | Reception
The reason cited was that the Broken Sword franchise took up the sole focus of the company. However, in 2016 interview, Cecil claimed that a sequel was still a possibility as it was "still very much at an early stage".
Beneath a Steel Sky | Sequel
Another reviewer compared Sabreman's jump to that of "Bugaboo (The Flea)" and added that the game's single difficulty level was adequately balanced. All three "Crash" critics noted that the QWERT keyboard controller mapping worked well in this game, though it was awkward in others. They also praised "Underwurlde" detailed graphics and sound. One reviewer additionally noticed that the game lacked a score leaderboard, but surmised that this was a trade-off for the game's expansive world. Unlike "Crash", "Computer and Video Games" did not like the controls, which was the reviewer's main criticism of the game. Another ZX Spectrum reviewer, Chris Bourne ("Sinclair User"), said that the game was fast, colourful, and akin to a "vertical "Atic Atac"".
Underwurlde | Reception
Johnny Wilson reviewed the game for "Computer Gaming World", and stated that "USS has a few relatively minor problems [...] but it makes up for them in the graphic presentation."
Under Southern Skies (video game) | Reception
While working at Activision, Revolution co-founder and CEO Charles Cecil got the idea of working with Dave Gibbons, artist and co-creator of comic book "Watchmen", as Cecil was a fan of the comic book himself. He approached Gibbons, but shortly thereafter, the old Activision broke down. However, they maintained a friendship, and Cecil later contacted Gibbons to ask him to work on Revolution's second game. Seeing his son play video games, Gibbons became interested and realized that his skills in drawing, writing and conceptualizing could be useful in a gaming environment. Joining the team just before the release "Lure of the Temptress", Gibbons was sent a rudimentary outline of what could happen in the hypothesised game, and wrote a longer story with new characters and scenarios, to which Revolution then further added.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Development
"Dark Station" praised the game: ""Beyond a Steel Sky" is in many ways respectful of genre traditions but with modern wisdom and presentation. The game can be enjoyed without prior knowledge of "Beneath a Steel Sky" but obviously, it has a lot of gentle nods to its predecessor." "GameWatcher" wrote that the game "has big shoes to fill [and] not only fills that shoe, but it knocks the definition of a modern adventure game out of the park. It does everything Telltale games do right, and corrects everything they do wrong." "GameGrin" described it as "a fantastic adventure with some at-times brain bending puzzles that stays remarkably true to the original game.
Beyond a Steel Sky | Reception
One of its new features was that it allowed the in-game characters, instead of being static NPCs, to wander around the game world independently of each other, living their own lives and doing their own thing. The game became, critically as well as commercially, one of the many successful games that would follow. The next games he worked on were "Beneath a Steel Sky" (1994), "" (1996) and "" (1997). The typical Virtual Theatre features shown in Lure of the Temptress were scaled back in Beneath a Steel Sky, as they were hard to design for and more suitable to RPGs.
Tony Warriner | Revolution Software
During its "" crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, the company originally put "Beneath a Steel Sky 2" as a $1,000,000 bonus stretch goal if the new Broken Sword game raises enough money, but it only raised $820,000 (inc. PayPal donations). On 24 September 2012, after failing to reach the bonus stretch goal, the company's co-founder Tony Warriner said that "after the huge success of the Broken Sword 5 crowdfunding campaign on Kickstater, it inspired us to begin work on "Beneath a Steel Sky 2". Development of the sequel will begin after the release of "". We're delighted by the recent level of interest in a sequel to "Beneath a Steel Sky" and are currently discussing design ideas for this project which we plan to go into development following the release of "".
Revolution Software | 2012–present: "Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse", "Beneath a Steel Sky 2" and "Broken Sword 6" ideas
"Beneath a Steel Sky" is a 2D adventure game played from a third-person perspective. The player uses a point-and-click interface to interact with the environment and to guide protagonist Robert Foster through the game's world. To solve puzzles and progress in the game, the player collects items that may be combined with one another, used on the environment, or given to non-player characters (NPCs). The protagonist converses with NPCs via dialogue trees to learn about the game's puzzles and plot. Clues and other information are obtained by clicking on items in the inventory and on objects in the environment. Unlike in most adventure games at the time, the protagonist's death is possible, after which the player starts from the last save point.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Gameplay
Gibbons created the sprites using Deluxe Paint on an Amiga. Steve Ince, who joined the team in February 1993, created a number of sprite animations, also painting some backgrounds based on Gibbons's sketches. Gibbons also designed the characters, although he found it challenging to get a character's personality and expression in a face that was only around seven pixels wide and nine pixels high with a limited palette. He would have liked to design a character in a similar manner to "Prince of Persia" or "Flashback", but Revolution wanted something more detailed, so the result became a compromise. All character sprites are smoothly animated with around 20 positions each.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Creative and technical design
On 25 July 2012, Charles Cecil posted on his personal Facebook account: "Totally focused on the announce video for our next game. I am thrilled by how it's looking, and can't wait to talk publicly, but completing the video for end of the month – as originally promised – now seems somewhat ambitious." After a short delay, the game was officially announced to be a fifth entry in the series: "". The game was announced with a Kickstarter campaign and a video, showing some of the game's graphics and hinting at its storyline. After the release of "Beneath a Steel Sky – Remastered", Charles Cecil and Dave Gibbons stated that a sequel could be likely and that iPhone would be the ideal platform.
Revolution Software | 2012–present: "Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse", "Beneath a Steel Sky 2" and "Broken Sword 6" ideas
Bathory were now the most extreme "and" one of the very best metal bands out there." The song "Call from the Grave" was featured in 2009 game ""
Under the Sign of the Black Mark | Critical reception and legacy
In answer the camera shoots him again, killing him. Foster takes the officer's access card and sunglasses before he continues his escape.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Plot
On the review aggregator GameRankings, the game had an average score of 87% based on 21 reviews. On Metacritic, the game had an average score of 86 out of 100, based on 13 reviews. Critical response to the original "Steel Beasts" was quite consistent. Reviewers were initially put off by the substandard 640×480 graphics, then highly impressed by the gameplay, immersion and the intelligent-seeming behaviors exhibited by the computerized units. Bruce Geryk of GameSpot gave the game a rating of 8.8 out 10.
Steel Beasts | Critical reception
Critics praised the "cyber-jazz" soundtrack's "postrock, jazz & glitch" qualities and praised the way it dovetails with the gameplay and "backs your every move" in the game.
AdvertCity | Reception
"Steel Empire" saw successful sales in both markets, and acquired cult status in Japan, and to a lesser degree also in the Western world. Critical reception upon the 1992 Western release of the game was mixed. However the majority of Western reviews were largely positive. "Computer and Videogames Magazine" Issue 126 gave "Steel Empire" a score of 90%.
Steel Empire | Reception
The 16-bit versions generally received moderately favourable reviews. The One praised the game's incorporation of the style of the comic book source but found gameplay to be frustrating, particularly having to play the sub games in sequence. It gave a score of 69% for the Amiga version and 66% for the Atari ST version. Amiga Computing similarly praised the look of the game while also pointing out the "top notch" sound, awarding an overall score of 62%. Reception of the 8-bit versions of the game was much more mixed. While still praising the presentation and graphics, Zzap!64 gave the C64 version an overall score of 39%, complaining of the lightweight nature of the sub games and the "tedious" multi-load.
Superman: The Man of Steel (1989 video game) | Critical reaction
On the game's story, "GameTrailers" found it "vague" and "IGN" felt it was more of a way of providing simple variety in character choice that "you feel a bit like you're playing a separate adventure rather than just a new character" yet found the dialogue "cheesy" and "comical". They did however find the soundtrack to be one of its highest points, being "a reasonably powerful soundtrack that chimes in when moments of action are about to transpire". "Eurogamer" however thought it was an "insanely inappropriate repetitive metal guitar noodling".
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom | Reception
We don't know where these aliens came from or why they needed to live on Earth. We don't know why Chester's Mill was chosen, and we don't know if there were more aliens coming. We just know that there was a dome that randomly popped up in a Stephen King-ian town in the Northeast."
The Enemy Within (Under the Dome) | Critical reception
Whether that annoys you or not depends on whether you were looking simply some well-made twitch fun or a glorious resurrection." Both publications praised the graphics, particularly the explosions and smoke effects. In a retrospective review, "Retro Gamer" praised the game's particle effects and wrote that "Under Defeat" "shows how, with good developers, the Dreamcast was perfectly capable of hanging with the competition." Critics reviewing the high-definition version primarily recommended the game for fans of the shooter genre. "Push Square" wrote that its longevity was mostly in beating high scores, for better or worse. "GameRevolution" called it "a game trapped in time" for its traditional feel, but felt the game's unique controls will give satisfying nuance for shooter fans.
Under Defeat | Reception
They summarized that "Every time a bright side to this game pops up, it's pummeled by four problems. This one's a rental at best." Electric Playground's Tommy Tallarico gave the game a 6/10, while co-host Victor Lucas gave it a 4/10.
Steel Reign | Reception
The game's graphics were considered good or passable, though the animations limited, but the audio and story were praised by critics.
Kingdom Under Fire: A War of Heroes | Reception
"Rock, Paper, Shotgun"s Smith wrote that "the whole thing might collapse" without Seifert's "convincing" performance. IGN's Albert named the acting "believable", stating that Seifert's performance is "appropriately both grounded and absurd". Joe Donnelly of Digital Spy wrote that Seifert's performance has the potential to inspire similar games, and Andy Kelly of "PC Gamer" called the performance "understated, realistic, and complex". Burns of VideoGamer.com felt generally impressed by Seifert's performance, but noted some "occasional bad acting".
Her Story (video game) | Critical reception
"Ynet" criticised 3D's graphics and interface, though noted its humour and charm might make up for the experience. Ben-Ari feels a sense of patriotism toward the game as a piece of video gaming software that is proudly and unabashedly Israeli. Factor thought the series attempt to enter the 3D market was an "utter failure". Even though Walla thought Piposh 3D was a bad game, it thought the game looked like a masterpiece in comparison with "Dangerous Vaults", a Lara Croft parody that forces players to have sex with animals.
Piposh | Critical reception
Dreamcast copies were released in limited numbers and continue to command high prices on secondary markets. A limited edition version with a pack-in soundtrack CD was also released (different from the soundtrack released earlier).
Under Defeat | Development and release
The game obtained a good critical and customer reception owing to its graphics and storyline. PC Gamer (UK Magazine) gave the game an 83/100 rating while Lake's Digital Arts gave an 8/10 rating. IGN PC praised the game for its then innovative use of digital distribution, and made the following good comment on the game: "It's fast as lightning, ... and fun -- just like real flying!."
Master of the Skies: The Red Ace | Reception
Polygon was more critical, considering it "staggeringly short and unsatisfying, feeling more like a cash grab than an honest-to-goodness installment in a beloved franchise". Although praising its overall audiovisual design and attention to detail, "Ground Zeroes" was criticized for the changes made to its stealth mechanics, its "half-baked" action sequences, and the extremely short length of the game's main campaign, which was further criticized for being "dull" and "underwhelming". Ben Croshaw of Zero Punctuation called it a "$40 demo" with "half an hour of gameplay", but noted that he "enjoyed what little game there was".
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes | Reception
"Bonusweb.cz" noted its dark atmosphere and the amount of empty screens between important locations, adding that the title failed to live up to its potential. "Root.cz" felt the game's graphics were not great but understandable due to the limitations of the local Czech resources at the time.
Rytíři Grálu | Critical reception
The game received "unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.
B-17: Fortress in the Sky | Reception
As it is, it's just another action title with lots of guns and explosions." Glenn Rubenstein, writing for "GameSpot" instead contended that the game has a frustrating level of challenge, and praised its full motion video sequences, selection of weapons, multiplayer mode, and soundtrack, assessing that "it definitely ranks in the top 10 percent of what is currently out there." "GamePro" found the maze-like level designs in "Steel Reign" irritatingly restrictive, and while agreeing that the multiplayer mode is fun, felt that it was soured by the fact that matches are so short, they are nearly outlasted by their load times.
Steel Reign | Reception
IGN scored the game a 8.5 out of 10, likening the game to its predecessor as "a bigger and bolder follow-up that expands on what made Journey so great." Destructoid, like many other reviewers praised how it's a game that "most everyone should experience", was however highly critical of the touch controls and the lack of control it gave of your character, going as far to suggest that "most everyone should wait for a console or PC release" to play the game.
Sky (video game) | Reception
"Destructoid" wrote that "getting used to "Under Defeat"’s controls is both the game's blessing and curse", believing that perhaps the game was developed for arcade sticks and a standard controller was not ideal. Critics overall praised the graphical improvements.
Under Defeat | Reception
The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Jeremy Dunham of "IGN" said, ""Max Steel" is easily one of the most disappointing games of the year!" and ""Max Steel" should be at the bottom of everyone's wish lists (or steel-toed boots, whichever you prefer)." Luke Barnes of "AllGame" said, "Regrettably, Max Steel completely misses the mark when it comes to the simple concept of "enjoyment."" On a positive note, he praised the game's graphics and soundtrack. Kevin Rice of "NextGen" said of the game, "While it's definitely fun and there's very little to complain about, it's all got a passé feel.
Max Steel: Covert Missions | Reception
IGN rated the Xbox 360 version of the game an 8.5 out of 10, praising the graphics, sound, gameplay and lasting appeal but saying that the presentation lacked a little spark. "Official PlayStation Magazine" rated the PS3 version of the game 7 out of 10. The game consists of three difficulty settings, which change the way planes are flown: Simplified, an arcade play style, Realistic, a mix between an arcade play style and a simulation play style, and lastly Simulator, in which the planes handle as closely to real life as possible. A.I. difficulty is not affected by the selected play style.
Birds of Steel | Reception
The game received mixed reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic. It was nominated for "Game, Original Action" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards, and for "Best Sound Design for an Indie Game" at the 2019 G.A.N.G. Awards.
Below (video game) | Reception
Reviewing the Dreamcast version, "Edge" and "Eurogamer" agreed that "Under Defeat" was traditional in its gameplay, absent of the more inventive bullet patterns, scoring methods, and controls seen in modern shooters. "Edge" wrote that it although it lacks the excitement of other shooters, it makes up for it through rewarding dedicated players. "Eurogamer" described it as "'80s gaming dressed in '00s visuals running on '90s hardware" and recommended it for shooter aficionados. They also argued that the scarcity of good shoot 'em ups may influence fans of the genre to overstate "Under Defeat"'s quality. They concluded their thoughts by calling it "sweet and eloquent but, [...] also tired and relentlessly derivative.
Under Defeat | Reception
Pre-release reception of the game was generally negative, in response to its design and recent business decisions from Konami. Upon release, "Metal Gear Survive" received a mixed reception from critics. Due to its low sales within the "Metal Gear" series, the game was considered to have underperformed commercially.
Metal Gear Survive | Introduction
The game received "average" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.
Freestyle MetalX | Reception
"PC Gamer" Richard Cobbett provided similar comments, writing that "even its weaker moments... just about work".
Undertale | Reception
Club" gave it a C+, saying, "Though the pesky lag is largely gone, all too often, gameplay still devolves into breathless, embarrassing exercises in flailing." Ubisoft originally expected to sell 1 million copies of "Red Steel 2", but after poor sales of their game "Avatar", they slashed their sales predictions in half. According to Jason VendenBerghe at his keynote speech at the 2010 European game developers conference, Red Steel 2 has sold approximately 270,000 copies worldwide.
Red Steel 2 | Reception
"IGN" felt the game contained "crappy FMV nonsense". "Electric Play" thought while the game had a good concept at its core, it was let down by bad execution. Russian technology site "Itkvariat" thought the game won the hearts and minds of space shooter connoisseurs.
The Raven Project | Critical reception
Jim Preston reviewed the PC version of the game for "Next Generation", rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "While beautiful to look at and fun to play with, she's not ready for a serious commitment." In the United States, "F.A.K.K. 2" sold 44,000 copies by October 2001. Game Designer Tom Mustaine tweeted in July 2015 that he has been trying to get "F.A.K.K. 2" re-released for years but unable to do so due to copyright issues.
Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 | Reception
"Pelit" magazine rated the game 85/100.
Steel Beasts | Reception
"Meristation" praised the graphics and sound as "novel". "The AV Vault" negatively thought the game put more attention into its graphics than its controls. "MerixStudio" felt the game was surprisingly deep, complex and mysterious, and a notable example of Polish developers entering the side-scrolling market.
Katharsis (video game) | Critical reception
This was a particular problem when loading from tape as there was a lengthy load between each level and to start a new game, the tape would need to be rewound to the correct position for the first level. Crash gave the Spectrum version 35% with praise only being given to the sound. Even the graphics in this version came in for criticism including the "matchstick figure" representing Superman in the sideways scrolling section. Electron User was much more positive about the Acorn Electron version, giving an overall score of 8/10, but still criticised the multi-load and the frustrating gameplay.
Superman: The Man of Steel (1989 video game) | Critical reaction
Jump Games released a fighting video game based on the film for Android and iOS devices, and Yuke's made a game for the PS3 and Xbox 360. An arcade game was also released by ICE (Innovative Concepts in Entertainment).
Real Steel | Video Game
The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. Jim Preston of "Next Generation" said that the game was "better than a rattlesnake in your boot."
Wild Wild West: The Steel Assassin | Reception
The game received better reviews than the prequel, with Gamezebo giving it a 4/5 star rating and Jay Is Games saying, "What makes it stand out is the fact that it is packed front to back with a wide variety of games and puzzles ranging from easy to head-bangingly difficult, with the hidden object scenes almost an afterthought."
Dana Knightstone | Death Under Tuscan Skies: A Dana Knightstone Novel
The game received average reviews, with a 69% Metacritic rating. IGN's Chris Schilling rated the game 7/10, commenting that "it’s graphically weak, yet technically excellent, while its generic mechanics slot into a boldly designed, connected framework".
Heroes of Ruin | Reception
Over the years, Foster learns engineering and technology and builds a talking, sentient robot called Joey. Joey's personality is stored on a small circuit board, which can easily be inserted and removed from many types of robot. This allows him to change bodies as the situation requires, provided his circuit board is not damaged. His commentaries on the current "shell" he is in are a running gag throughout the game. As the game starts, Foster is kidnapped and his tribe annihilated by security soldiers sent from Union City by its all-powerful computer, LINC ("Logical Inter-Neural Connection"). The abductors refuse to give Foster any explanation as to what is happening.
Beneath a Steel Sky | Plot
Response from other outlets were more mixed. "TouchArcade" praised the plot, but argued the game "[failed] to deliver in terms of gameplay". "Pocket Gamer" said that the gameplay was "variable", adding that it can have an odd effect on the pacing of the game. "Paste" called it "an interesting, if underwhelming, melange of elements you'd be hard-pressed to find in another game, let alone one on a mobile platform." However, ratings on Steam were Mostly Negative with an aggregate rating of 23% from 46 reviews. Common complaints about the game included complaints about gameplay, level design, graphics and even the story.
Revolution 60 | Reception
In 1988, "Dragon" reviewed "Power!", and gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.
Critical Mass (1985 video game) | Reception
The game received a favorable review by Hardcore Gamer who gave it a score of 4 out of 5.
Sky Force | Reception
He felt that the planes were well modeled and that the environments provided "a smooth looking package." GameSpot's Sean Evans called the graphics "visually striking, with impressive levels of detail." He did cite occasional issues with locating powerups, which he attributed to "overly saturated lighting effects". The game's soundtrack was a point of mediocrity among critics. IGN's Lee stated that "SkyDrift"s soundtrack "doesn't stand out nor does it detract from the overall experience," a sentiment shared with GameZone's Workman. Gameplay was also well received. "Eurogamer"s Kristan Reed noted that the Xbox 360 version's "controls are spot-on, and it's easy to pick up".
SkyDrift | Reception
David Chen reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for "Next Generation", rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "Neither dull as lead nor strong as steel."
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots Arena | Reception
The game received a Metacritic score of 75 and 85 on Xbox One and PC platforms, respectively, indicating generally favorable reviews. Despite the reviews, the game failed to break even, causing Cellar Door Games to describe it as "a pretty massive failure".
Full Metal Furies | Reception
The punishing gameplay takes away from what could have been a really fun multiplayer experience. "GameSpot" gave the Xbox 360 version a score of 4.5.
MySims SkyHeroes | Reception
"Steel Horizon" has met with mixed reviews. The DS version is rated at 42/100 on Metacritic.
Steel Horizon | Reception
On 19 August 2012, TopWare Interactive announced "", an official video game adaptation and expansion of the film, to be developed by Reality Pump Studios. The game was described as an advanced space flight simulator game, with elements of the strategy and RPG genres.
Iron Sky | Video game
As of June 6, 2018 there are no critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes. The audience rating at Rotten Tomatoes is 7% of 719 liked it.
Something Beneath | Critical reception
"TV Guide" gave "One Jump Ahead" two out of five stars and wrote, "... occasionally witty dialog enhances this B-bracket programmer." In a recent review, "SkyChannel TV" noted, "Not at all bad for a British co-feature of its time, with some good crackles of humour in the dialogue and a lively tempo. Ex-boxing champion Freddie Mills appears in one of several roles he played in British films of the 50s."
One Jump Ahead (film) | Critical reception
The episode received mostly negative reviews by critics. Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a negative review, saying "So this is where we leave things. With a horrid episode filled with utter nonsense and awful dialogue. Like we were watching a parody of an action/adventure series from SNL or some other late night comedy show." Scott Von Doviak of The A.V. Club wrote "Many questions raised over the past three seasons still remained to be answered in this final hour, but let’s face it: most of them were stupid and long-forgotten. The only real question left was whether "Under The Dome" could deliver one last head-scratching episode chock-full of ridiculousness.
The Enemy Within (Under the Dome) | Critical reception
"Retro Gamer" writer Craig Grannell described the game's difficulty as the "only real criticism". The "ZX Computing" reviewer also criticized the bouncing aspect, but praised the overall game design as enjoyable. Phil King, another "Crash" reviewer, praised the Silverbird re-release. He called the graphics "colorful" and "well-animated", and felt that the game was of good value despite its excessive difficulty. The commercial success of the two "Cauldron" games prompted Palace to give Brown more creative freedom for his following project, "".
Cauldron II: The Pumpkin Strikes Back | Reception
Gas Bandit Gaming described the graphics as rudimentary, saying "the playing field and all units consist of tiled images with only the most very basic of animation occurring during moves and attacks." Adrenaline Vault agreed, observing "the graphics and audio are just placeholders for the interface."
Zatikon | Critical reception
Steam power, propeller-based aircraft, biplanes, dirigibles and heavily armored steam trains with giant cannons play large roles in the game's protagonists and opponents. The original leaked Japanese arcade beta version (now rare and the source code of which is believed lost), the popular Mega Drive version and the GBA remake were all critically well received. As of 2012, a modern, "gritty" sequel, "Burning Steel", is planned by original HOT・B lead game designer Yoshinori Satake for a 7th generation and possibly an 8th generation console.
Steel Empire | Introduction
After its release, "Dragonheart" spawned a spin-off 2D hack and slash game for the PlayStation and Saturn called "Dragonheart: Fire & Steel", made by Acclaim Entertainment. The game does not use the film's music, instead featuring an original score by Thomas Egeskov Peterson. It was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews due to simplistic gameplay, poor controls, and jerky animation. Though the graphics were praised, particularly the rendered backgrounds, critics agreed that the gameplay problems were an overriding problem. In late 1996, Acclaim ported a PC version of the game, which received similar criticism. There was also an original Game Boy game based on the film, titled simply "Dragonheart".
DragonHeart: Fire &amp; Steel | Reception
Raita mentioned that he had been "closely watch[ing] over" the production of the game and that he was "deeply affected" by the thought of the challenges that the development team had to overcome.
Katawa Shoujo | Critical reception
At that time it seems creativity went out the window, and we ended up with level design and controls completely subpar. A shame, as LAD could probably have been a much more interesting game than "that game that looks like Limbo", which it is now".
Lad (video game) | Critical reception
"Kathy Rain" was received favourably by video game critics. Despite the game's initial sales being underwhelming, publisher Raw Fury vowed to continue supporting the developer.
Kathy Rain | Reception