Software:Assassin (video game)

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Assassin
Developer(s)Psionic Systems
Publisher(s)Team17
Designer(s)David Broadhurst
Haydn Dalton
Allister Brimble
Composer(s)Allister Brimble
Platform(s)Amiga
Release1992
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Assassin is a platform video game with shoot 'em up elements for the Amiga. It was developed by Psionic Systems and published in 1992 by Team17, the company best known for the Worms franchise. Assassin was updated and re-released in 1994 as Assassin: Special Edition.

Gameplay

The character is an assassin that has been hired to kill the antagonist of the game, "Midan". He is then dropped behind enemy lines and must first disable Midan's power source, and then assassinate him. The assassin is armed with a boomerang that is razor-edged. The game is controlled by a joystick.[1]

There are three skill levels: Rookie, Arcade, and Ultimate. As well as changing the difficulty, each level unlocks more of the game than the level that is easier than it. The enemies are tougher to defeat in the higher levels, but there are more rewards.

The player must guide the assassin through the levels facing enemies ranging from vicious dogs to wall mounted laser cannons. As well as the platforms, the player is able to control the assassin to climb on walls and ceilings as a method of getting around, and avoiding enemies. The player can use the boomerang to attack enemies, or use bonus weapons that are gained by achieving certain requirements.

Development

Assassin was developed by Psionic Systems in conjunction with Team17. The project manager was Martyn Brown. Development was handled by programmers David Broadhurst and Haydn Dalton. With additional freelance work from Mike and Andrew Oakley.[1] The music and sound effects in the game were handled by long term Team17 audio specialist Allister Brimble, who has credits for many Team17 video games.[2]

Reception

Assassin has received high ratings. The One Amiga rated the game 92%, praising all areas of the game. In particular the sound effects. In the review, the reviewer noted that the sound effects were "some of the most imaginative and atmospheric I've ever heard". The only criticism in the review was that some of the backgrounds seemed empty.[3]

The review from Amiga Power noted the similarities of the game to Strider and Turrican, but overall rated the game highly at 89%. Again, the atmosphere of the game was praised, as were the graphics and animation.[4]

CU Amiga scored the game 89% and noted the size of the game maps. There are over 1500 screens over the five levels. The magazine said this was one of the games most striking features.[5]

In episode 2 of season 1, British television show Bad Influence! gave it 4 stars (from the girls) and 3 stars (from the boys), out of a maximum of 5.[6]

Despite the critical acclaim, Martyn Brown, co-founder of Team17 considers Assassin to be Team17's least successful game. He attributes this to limited appeal.[7]

Legacy

Assassin: Special Edition was released 2 years after the original game and various gameplay elements were altered. The first level is gone which means that there no longer are the dogs as enemies, also the boomerang has been replaced with a laser gun.[8]

The Assassin: Special Edition re-release was seen[by whom?] as an unnecessary release and even a backwards step as various gameplay elements were removed. Amiga Power gave the game a lower rating of 79%, but still praised most of it.[8]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Psionic Systems (1992), Assassin manual, Team17 
  2. ↑ "Orchestrial Media Developments portfolio". Orchestrial Media Developments. Archived from the original on February 5, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060205051727/http://www.orchestralmedia.co.uk/OrchestralMediaPortfolio.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-07. 
  3. ↑ Upchurch, David (November 1992), "Assassin The One Amiga review", The One Amiga (EMAP) 
  4. ↑ Squires, Matthew (November 1992), "Assassin Amiga Power review", Amiga Power (Future Publishing) 
  5. ↑ Patterson, Mark (November 1992), "Assassin CU Amiga review", CU Amiga (EMAP) 
  6. ↑ "Bad Influence!". http://www.bad-influence.co.uk/BI!_1_02.mp4. Retrieved 2014-11-09. 
  7. ↑ Pouladi, Ali (2006-07-18). "Interview with Team17 founder Martyn Brown". Lemon Amiga. http://www.lemonamiga.com/?mainurl=http%3A//www.lemonamiga.com/interviews/martyn_brown/. Retrieved 2008-04-07. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Faragher, Steve (April 1994), "Assassin: Special Edition Amiga Power review", Amiga Power (Future Publishing) 
  • 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 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]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

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. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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