Software:Auto Destruct

From HandWiki
Auto Destruct
North American cover art
Developer(s)Neurostone
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • EU: December 1997
  • NA: 31 January 1998[1]
Genre(s)Shooter, vehicular combat
Mode(s)Single-player

Auto Destruct is a video game developed by the Swedish studio Neurostone and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for the PlayStation. The player takes on the role of a retired race car driver hunting down the fanatical cult that murdered his wife and daughter.[2] The music was composed by English electronic producer Danny Briottet.[citation needed]

Gameplay

The player takes control of a futuristic car in 3-D urban environments and must accomplish a series of missions.[3] Objectives vary widely, and include seek-and-destroy missions, escort missions, and taxicab driving.[3]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings61%[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarHalf star[5]
Consoles +88%[7]
EGM7.25/10[8][lower-alpha 1]
Game Informer7/10[9]
GameSpot4.4/10[10]
IGN6/10[11]
Next GenerationStarStarStar[12]
OPM (UK)6/10[13]
OPM (US)StarStarStar[14]

Auto Destruct saw a range of opinions from critics. Next Generation said that the game sets itself apart from other vehicular combat games with its variety of missions, the depth added by its resource management elements, and most especially its detailed and expansive 3D city environments, which give the player unprecedented freedom. They criticized that the graphics look like a first generation PlayStation game and the music and sound effects are generic, and concluded that the game is "a good ride, but it could have been much more."[12] Three of the four reviewers for Electronic Gaming Monthly similarly said that though the graphics have problems, the missions, resource management, and massive environments give Auto Destruct more depth and potentially more enjoyment than other vehicular combat games. They also praised the usefulness of the radar, and said the resources are balanced such that what the player needs is always just within reach, leaving only oneself to blame for failure. Only Shawn Smith deferred, saying the missions eventually start to all feel the same.[8] Joe Smith of GameSpot, however, gave the reverse opinion, saying the graphics outshine those of other vehicular combat games, but the mission-based format drags the game down by restricting players to a very specific set of actions rather than letting them do what they want. He found the missions repetitive as well.[10]

IGN's Adam Douglas shared Smith's opinion that the missions are unremarkable and repetitive, but agreed with other critics that the graphics are dated and unimpressive. However, he found the game enjoyable overall and gave it a mild recommendation: " It's not terribly original or exciting, but it gets the job done and is pretty entertaining to boot. If you're really into driving and shooting, give it a go. For anyone else, though, I'd suggest a rental session first."[11] GamePro found the game adequate in most respects, with the exception of the music, which they described as "monotonous droning". They said the variety of missions is the game's standout feature, and like IGN they suggested that fans of the genre buy it and those who are simply curious should rent it first.[15][lower-alpha 2] The game held a 61% on the review aggregation website GameRankings based on five reviews.[4]

In a retrospective review for Allgame, Shawn Sackenheim declared that "Auto Destruct is an astoundingly mediocre game. While it doesn't really do anything wrong, it just seems uninspired and run of the mill." He elaborated that the graphics look like those of a 1995 game, the missions are uninspired and all feel the same, and the music and sound effects are average and standard.[5]

Notes

  1. ↑ Four critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game each a score of 7/10, 8/10, 6.5/10, and 7.5/10.
  2. ↑ GamePro gave the game 3.5/5 for graphics, sound, control, and fun factor.

References

  1. ↑ GameSpot staff (6 February 1998). "VGS Game Calendar [date mislabeled as "April 24, 2000""]. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 18 February 1999. https://web.archive.org/web/19990218041816/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_02/06_vcal/index.html. Retrieved 17 December 2020. 
  2. ↑ "Protos: Auto Destruct". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (99): 47. October 1997. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Auto Destruct: A Racing Game with Something for Everyone". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (101): 80. December 1997. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Auto Destruct for PlayStation". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190501154110/https://www.gamerankings.com/ps/196670-auto-destruct/index.html. Retrieved 17 December 2020. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sackenheim, Shawn. "Auto Destruct - Review". All Media Network. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141114231841/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=2024&tab=review. Retrieved 18 December 2020. 
  6. ↑ Chick, Tom (13 March 1998). "Auto Destruct". CNET. Archived from the original on 16 August 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000816170008/http://www.gamecenter.com/Consoles/Sony/Auto/. Retrieved 21 November 2021. 
  7. ↑ Spy; Niiico (February 1998). "Auto Destruct" (in fr). Consoles + (73): 134–35. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Rickards, Kelly; Hsu, Dan; Smith, Shawn; Kujawa, Kraig (February 1998). "Review Crew: Auto Destruct". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (103): 114. https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly103/page/n117/mode/2up. 
  9. ↑ "Auto Destruct". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (58). February 1998. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Fielder, Joe (7 April 1998). "Auto Destruct Review [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000""]. CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/auto-destruct-review/1900-2546702/. Retrieved 17 December 2020. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Douglas, Adam (21 January 1998). "Auto Destruct". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/01/21/auto-destruct-2. Retrieved 20 October 2017. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Auto Destruct". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (39): 109. March 1998. https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_39/page/n111/mode/2up. Retrieved 17 December 2020. 
  13. ↑ "Auto Destruct". Official UK PlayStation Magazine (Future Publishing) (29): 113. February 1998. https://archive.org/details/opm029/page/n111/mode/2up. Retrieved 18 December 2020. 
  14. ↑ "Auto Destruct". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis) 1 (5). February 1998. 
  15. ↑ The Rookie (February 1998). "Auto Destruct". GamePro (IDG) (113): 86. https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_103_February_1998/page/n91/mode/2up. Retrieved 18 December 2020. 
  • 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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