Software:Abomination: The Nemesis Project

From HandWiki
Short description: 1999 video game
Abomination: The Nemesis Project
Developer(s)Hothouse Creations
Publisher(s)Eidos Interactive
Composer(s)Allister Brimble
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
Genre(s)Action, real-time tactics
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Abomination: The Nemesis Project, released in the United States as Abomination, is a real-time tactics/action video game released in 1999. In the game, the player leads a team of eight genetically altered super soldiers (marines) to defeat an infestation of a global genetic plague which slowly turns into a superorganism.

Abomination was met with mixed reception, with the game's A.I. being the most primary of grievances.

Plot

Abomination takes place in 1999 after the United States has been almost wiped out by a deadly plague. The disease started on the east coast, and communication with the west coast ceased within 72 hours. The last few groups of survivors stopped broadcasting after six days, and the overwhelming majority of the country's population has been wiped out.

Most of the remaining survivors have pledged allegiance to an apocalyptic and ultra-violent cult known as "The Faithful", a religion whose followers practice mortification of the flesh, as well as vivisecting themselves and others to prove the strength of their beliefs. The Faithful are revealed to be at least several hundred years old, possibly originating from Tibet. The cult predicts the coming of "The Brood" and "the Elder Gods" in a Lovecraftian fashion. The game's backstory also mentions that The Faithful are somehow connected with a strange and very old statuette, called "The Princess of Death", which resembles a cross between a Black Madonna and a prehistoric depiction of the mother goddess. Shortly before the plague first broke out, the US government suspected that the Faithful had either stolen the statue from the unspecified museum where it was kept, or that through their rituals, they caused it to explode there, perhaps disseminating one or more biological agents hidden inside. The game's opening cutscene contains no words but suggests that the statuette may have been part of a meteorite which struck the earth long ago. The cutscene also shows the Oval Office with a figure resembling President Bill Clinton, who has collapsed and died while still at his desk—within moments after he signed and issued the written orders for the emergency response plan "Project Nemesis", which can be seen in a folder there.

The game takes place in a large, unnamed coastal city, which remains mostly undamaged but plagued by odd biological matter, ranging from tentacles growing out of the sidewalk to huge, three-story towers of tissue. The player controls members of "The Nemesis Project", who according to the backstory were originally mustered at a secret base in a fictional location called "Kinmore Field" in Ohio. These supersoldiers are black operatives who have been enhanced through the use of surgical procedures and experimental nanotechnology, as part of a last-ditch effort to find a way to eliminate The Faithful and put an end to the plague. This is why the characters have pseudoscientific special abilities and, presumably, immune systems capable of protecting them from the plague. The cutscene shows the soldiers being revived by a failsafe mechanism that automatically brings them out from cryogenic suspension. Surviving military or police personnel are also recruited into the player's roster, and they have no superpowers, but do possess specialized weapons training.

Development

Development started in 1996 under producer Steve Goss. Programmers included Charles Bocock and Terry Mancey. Artists included Stuart Griffin.

Originally started with bitmapped characters and NPCs, it proved to be impossible to store the amount of artwork necessary for every angle of every animation in the memory of PCs at the time, and the decision was made to implement a 3D engine to render the characters, while retaining the bitmapped isometric background.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings64%[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarStar[3]
CGSPStarStarStarHalf star[4]
CGWStarStar[5]
GameProStarStarStarHalf star[7]
GameSpot6.5/10[8]
GameSpy79%[9]
GameZone7/10[10]
IGN5/10[11]
Next GenerationStarStar[12]
PC Gamer (US)34%[14]

The game received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[2] Chris Charla of NextGen said, "As much as we liked the look of Abomination, the sad reality is that it simply isn't much fun to play. If you can find a few copies in the bargain bin, though, multiplayer is well worth a try."[12]

References

  1. ↑ GameSpot staff (November 3, 1999). "Eidos' Abomination Shipping [date mislabeled as "April 27, 2000""]. Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/eidos-abomination-shipping/1100-2446704/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Abomination for PC". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/187629-abomination/index.html. 
  3. ↑ Durham Jr., Joel. "Abomination - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=18825&tab=review. 
  4. ↑ Finn, David (November 18, 1999). "Abomination: The Nemesis Project". Strategy Plus, Inc.. http://www.cdmag.com/articles/024/122/abomination_review.html. 
  5. ↑ Liberatore, Raphael (March 2000). "As Advertised (Abomination: The Nemesis Project Review)". Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis) (188): 128. https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_188.pdf. Retrieved October 13, 2023. 
  6. ↑ Hudak, Chris (December 28, 1999). "Abomination: The Nemesis Project". Greedy Productions. http://www.elecplay.com/review.html?article=1795&full=1#mr_toppy. 
  7. ↑ Olafson, Peter (December 7, 1999). "Abomination Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). http://www.gamepro.com/computer/pc/games/reviews/3502.shtml. Retrieved March 17, 2021. 
  8. ↑ Wolpaw, Erik (December 16, 1999). "Abomination Review". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/abomination-review/1900-2537810/. 
  9. ↑ Law, Caryn (December 6, 1999). "Abomination". IGN Entertainment. http://www.gamespy.com/legacy/reviews/abomination_a.shtm. 
  10. ↑ Lafferty, Michael (November 28, 1999). "Abomination Review". http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r13030.htm. 
  11. ↑ Petersen, Erik (December 1, 1999). "Abomination: The Nemesis Project". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/12/02/abomination-the-nemesis-project. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Charla, Chris (February 2000). "Abomination". NextGen (Imagine Media) (62): 101. https://archive.org/details/NextGen62Feb2000/page/n101/mode/2up. Retrieved March 16, 2021. 
  13. ↑ Hudak, Chris (February 2000). "Abomination: The Nemesis Project". PC Accelerator (Imagine Media) (18): 81. https://archive.org/details/PCXL18Feb2000/page/n81/mode/2up. Retrieved March 17, 2021. 
  14. ↑ Williamson, Colin (March 2000). "Abomination". PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 7 (3): 120. http://www.pcgamer.com/archives/2005/06/abomination.html. Retrieved October 13, 2023. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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