Software:Beast Busters

From HandWiki
Short description: 1989 video game
Beast Busters
North American flyer
Developer(s)SNK
Images Design (Amiga)
Publisher(s)SNK
U.S. Gold
Activision
Director(s)Hamachi Papa
Producer(s)Hamachi Papa
Designer(s)Yasuharu Ebara (hardware)
Programmer(s)Henry Clark (Amiga)
Artist(s)Mitsuzo I.
Ken
Muromoto
Sakai Goma
Masato Miyoshi
Yoshihisa Maeda
Hideki Fujiwara
Ken Jarvis (Amiga)
Composer(s)Toshikazu Tanaka
Masahiko Hataya
Matthew Simmonds (Amiga)
Platform(s)Arcade, Amiga, Atari ST
ReleaseNovember 1989: Arcade[1]
1990: Amiga, Atari ST
Genre(s)Rail shooter, horror
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Beast Busters is a rail shooter horror game released by SNK for arcades in 1989. It was the first three-player light gun shooter video game.[2] Ports were released for the Amiga and Atari ST in 1990.

Plot

In the year 199X, an unprecedented incident happened. Strange reporting of dead people (codenamed Beasts) coming back to life and attack the living. Realizing the unconventional nature of the incident, the mayor of the city where the outbreak occurred offered an immense reward to whoever manages to solve the mystery and contain the outbreak. Three heavily armed bounty hunters Johnny Justice, Paul Patriot and Sammy Stately enter into the Beast-infested city.

Gameplay

Beast Busters is a rail shooter where the player shoots zombies.

In the game, players control one of three mercenaries named Johnny Justice, Paul Patriot and Sammy Stately, who must discover the cause of a bizarre outbreak and shoot their way out of a city that has been invaded by the undead called Beasts. The original arcade machine allows for up to three players to play the game at the same time. Guns are mounted to the machine and look like machine guns. Players can earn a number of power-ups through the course of each stage to aid them in battle such as rockets, grenades, armor, health packs, and ammo.[3]

The game has seven sections for players to shoot their way through. In between stages players are shown cutscenes explaining the events of the zombie infestation that has overtaken the city. Each stage has a sub boss as well as an end boss to defeat, all of which have 2 forms to defeat. The game was known for having unusual bosses, such as a zombie punk who mutates into a dog, or a jeep which starts coming to life. One stage ends with the militiamen having to rescue a female CIA agent from that stage's boss.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Beast Busters on their January 15, 1990 issue as being the most-successful upright arcade unit of the month.[4] It went on to become Japan's fifth highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1990[5] and ninth highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1991.[6] In North America, the game became the second top-earning arcade game in early 1990, below Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[2]

The game drew comparisons to Operation Thunderbolt, Line of Fire and SNK's own Mechanized Attack. ACE rated it 4 out of 5 and reacted positively to the game's horror theme and story, calling it Operation Wolf meets Splatterhouse.[7]

According to Paul Theroux, Michael Jackson owned a Beast Busters arcade machine and frequently took it with him on tour via cargo plane.[8]

Legacy

A sequel entitled Beast Busters: Second Nightmare was released in 1999 on the Hyper Neo Geo 64.

A handheld spin-off called Dark Arms was released in 1999 for the Neo Geo Pocket Color in the form of an Action RPG.

Beast Busters featuring KOF was released in December 2014 for iOS and Android devices as a free-to-play download. On June 8, 2015, a buy-to-play version called Beast Busters featuring KOF Deluxe was released.[9] The game ended its service in August 2015.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Beast Busters" (in ja). Agency for Cultural Affairs. https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M728662. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Bustin' Out: SNK's Beast Busters dedicated video gun game makes its mark". RePlay 15 (5): 61–2. February 1990. https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-14-issue-no.-5-february-1990-600dpi/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2014%2C%20Issue%20No.%205%20-%20February%201990/page/61. 
  3. ↑ Caswell, Mark (May 1990). "Arcade Action: Beast Busters". Crash (Newsfield Publishing) (76): 8. https://archive.org/details/Crash_No._76_1990-05_Newsfield_GB/page/n7/mode/2up. 
  4. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - アップライト, コックピット型TVゲーム機 (Upright/Cockpit Videos)". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (372): 25. 15 January 1990. 
  5. ↑ ""Tetris" Has Still Earned More Than "Final Fight"". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (396): 22. 1 February 1991. https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19910201p.pdf#page=12. 
  6. ↑ ""Final Fight II" and "Final Lap 2" Top Videos: Video Games of The Year '91". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (419): 26. 1 February 1992. https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19920201p.pdf#page=14. 
  7. ↑ Cook, John (April 1990). "Coin-Ops: Beast Busting - Who Ya Gonna Call?". ACE (EMAP) (31): 102. https://archive.org/stream/ace-magazine-31/ACE_Issue_31_1990_Apr#page/n101/mode/2up. 
  8. ↑ Theroux, Paul (January 5, 2010). "American writer Paul Theroux about Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and the biblical Judas". http://www.michaeljackson.com/us/node/547464. 
  9. ↑ King, Jr., Bertel (June 8, 2015). "SNK Releases A Deluxe, Paid Version Of 'Beast Busters Featuring KOF' That's Stripped Of The Annoying Free-To-Play Elements". https://www.androidpolice.com/2015/06/08/snk-releases-a-deluxe-paid-version-of-beast-busters-featuring-kof-thats-stripped-of-the-annoying-free-to-play-elements/. 
  • Beast Busters at Hall of Light Amiga database
  • 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. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari




Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Beast_Busters&oldid=688954"