Software:Blades of Vengeance

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Not to be confused with Blade of Vengeance.
Short description: 1993 video game
Blades of Vengeance
North American box art
Developer(s)Beam Software
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Producer(s)Chris Wilson
Adam Lancman
Designer(s)Justin Halliday
Wayne Simmons
Composer(s)Marshall Parker
Ian Eccles Smith
Platform(s)Mega Drive/Genesis
Release
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Blades of Vengeance is a 1993 platform game developed by Beam Software and published by Electronic Arts for the Mega Drive/Genesis. One or two players can select one of three fantasy warriors to fight through a large range of platform levels in order to defeat the forces of darkness.

Gameplay

At the beginning of the game, the player (or players) choose from one of three characters. From there, the player/s are thrown into the levels one at a time with a warning about the boss at the end of each one.

The player/s can collect items such as silver coins, potions and magic they could access in their inventory through the pause screen. While still in the pause screen, the players are able to get a better view of their surroundings by holding the C button and moving the screen around the player character with the directional pad. All of the levels are large enough to explore and many of them have secret areas that would award the player with additional pick-up items, such as potions of healing, invisibility, force fields, poison gas immunity, scrolls that increase player strength, keys, armor for additional attacks and strength per player, the Midas Ring which turns all enemies into bags of money and the Blast Wand which destroys all on-screen enemies.

The levels are divided into three portions with the third being the boss level, similar to Sonic the Hedgehog. After every boss battle, the players are taken to a shop where they can spend their silver coins on additional items for their inventory for the next levels. The players start with a certain number of lives, and continues are only available after scoring many points or defeating many enemies; extra lives can be purchased in the shop at the end of each world once they pass the second one. Once the lives and any obtained continues are gone, it's game over.

Plot

The evil Mannax the Dark Lady has conquered the Kingdom. To "restore order and goodness to the land", three adventurers serving the good wizard The Master's embark to seek out and kill her. Once Mannax, who takes the form of a dragon for the final battle, is slain, The Master uses his returned full powers to destroy all forces of darkness through the land.

Characters

  • The Huntress: A voluptuous swords-woman with fastest movement, and even range and attacks.
  • The Warrior: A muscular man with an axe and the best attack, but limited range and movement.
  • The Sorcerer: A haggard old man armed with a staff that had the best ranged attacks, but was the weakest of the three in strength.

Reception

Betty Hallock of VideoGames awarded Blades of Vengeance the overall review score of 8/10 (the other editors gave it two scores of 7/10 and two of 8/10), especially praising it for "practically superb" graphics and "excellent" control system.[3] Other scores included 86% from Electronic Games[4] and a lower 64% from HobbyConsolas.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Fact File: Blades of Vengeance". Electronic Gaming Monthly (52): 252. November 1993. https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_52/page/n252/mode/1up. Retrieved January 10, 2022. 
  2. ↑ "Blades of Vengeance Review". Computer and Video Games (Future plc) (146): 79. January 1994. https://retrocdn.net/images/6/63/CVG_UK_146.pdf. 
  3. ↑ "Video Games The Ultimate Gaming Magazine Issue 61 February 1994". https://archive.org/details/Video_Games_The_Ultimate_Gaming_Magazine_Issue_61_February_1994. 
  4. ↑ Decker Publications (1 January 1994). "Electronic Games 1994 01". https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-01. 
  5. ↑ "Hobby Consolas 030". 1 March 1994. https://archive.org/details/HobbyConsolas030. 
  • 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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