Software:Calling All Cars!

From HandWiki
Short description: 2007 video game

For other uses, see Calling All Cars (disambiguation).
Calling All Cars!
Developer(s)Incognito Entertainment[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s)David Jaffe
Composer(s)Peter McConnell
Platform(s)PlayStation 3
Release
  • NA: May 10, 2007
  • JP: May 25, 2007
  • PAL: June 22, 2007
Genre(s)Vehicular combat
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Calling All Cars! is a 2007 vehicular combat video game developed by Incognito Entertainment and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3.[1] It was released on the PlayStation Network. It was also included for free with a 1-year subscription to Qore.

Gameplay

Calling All Cars! is similar to Twisted Metal, although one critic suggested that an early demo version of the game seemed to have "more in common with NBA Jam than it does Twisted Metal".[2] It employs a top-down 3rd person perspective and cel-shaded graphics. There are bonus vehicles that can be unlocked through the completion of certain tasks, e.g. winning a tournament at Captain difficulty.

The object of the game is to capture escaped convicts while battling against three other bounty hunters who are also trying to capture the criminals. Points are awarded for captured criminals, and the bounty hunter with the most points wins. The game features online multiplayer and split-screen play.

The criminals in question have escaped from a local high-security prison by tunneling out. Criminals emerge from the ground somewhere on the current level and begin to walk around.

To capture a criminal that has just emerged from the ground; the player must follow an above-car arrow to the criminals location, and ram into the criminal. Upon ramming the criminal is launched high into the air, and upon coming down will be captured by the nearest bounty hunter. A targeting reticule appears under the criminal and turns green if the bounty hunter is in the correct position to collect and red if they are not. If there are no bounty hunters present the criminal will continue walking until rammed again. Once a criminal has been captured by a bounty hunter the objective is to take it to one of 6 available incarceration facilities. In order of points these are: 1 point - Police Station, 2 point - Jail, 3 point - Maximum Security, Blue Paddywagon, 4 point - Police Helicopter, 5 point - Red Paddywagon. Once a bounty hunter has captured a criminal, the other bounty hunters objective changes to try to claim the criminal for themselves. This can be done in multiple ways: a high-speed collision, or using one of the three power-ups. These power-ups include a homing missile, a large, front-mounted mallet and a front-mounted magnet. The homing missile and the magnet both have lock-on capabilities, the homing missile emits a sound as it nears lock-on and the magnet's "beam" turns red to indicate successful lock-on. The mallet shows a radius around the bounty hunters vehicle that will be effected. If hit by the mallet or homing missile the criminal launches into the air from the previous bounty hunters car, much akin to if it had been rammed for the first time. If hit in a high-speed collision or caught using the magnet the criminal is transferred directly to the bounty hunter.

Online multiplayer was available until the servers were taken offline in January 2010.[3]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic74/100[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
1Up.comB+[5]
Edge6/10[6]
Eurogamer6/10[7]
GameProStarStarStarHalf star[8]
GameSpot6.7/10[9]
GameZone8.4/10[10]
IGN8.5/10[11]
OPM (UK)8/10[12]
PSM7/10[13]
X-PlayStarStarStarStar[14]

The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4] GameSpot was positive to the game, but was critical of the lack of content for single-player mode.[9] IGN, however, said that the multiplayer more than makes up for the single player flaws.[11] Some critics slammed the game, which in turn drew a vitriolic response from David Jaffe, stirring up a bit of controversy. Jaffe specifically deemed GameSpot's review to be "unfair", but he later went on to call Calling All Cars! a "mistake", specifically in regard to his choice of giving the game a cartoon look which clashed with the "hardcore" style of gameplay.[15]

Notes

  1. ↑ Additional work by Santa Monica Studio.

References

  1. ↑ "Calling All Cars". Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/calling-all-cars-ps3/. 
  2. ↑ Smith, Luke (January 19, 2007). "Calling All Cars (Preview)". Ziff Davis. http://www.1up.com/previews/calling-all-cars_2. 
  3. ↑ "PlayStation Support Guides- Support for online game features". Sony Interactive Entertainment. http://uk.playstation.com/ps2/support/games/detail/item97821/Support-for-online-game-features/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Calling All Cars! for PlayStation 3 Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/calling-all-cars/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-3. 
  5. ↑ Pfister, Andrew (April 27, 2007). "Calling All Cars". Ziff Davis. http://www.1up.com/reviews/calling-all-cars. 
  6. ↑ Edge staff (September 2007). "Calling All Cars!". Edge (Future plc) (179): 96. 
  7. ↑ Leadbetter, Richard (June 4, 2007). "Calling All Cars!". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/calling-all-cars-review. 
  8. ↑ Ouroboros (May 14, 2007). "Review: Calling All Cars!". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps3/games/reviews/112229.shtml. Retrieved April 12, 2019. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Mueller, Greg (April 27, 2007). "Calling All Cars! Review". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/calling-all-cars-review/1900-6169859/. 
  10. ↑ Lafferty, Michael (April 30, 2007). "Calling All Cars - PS3 - Review". https://www.gamezone.com/reviews/calling_all_cars_ps3_review/. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Roper, Chris (April 25, 2007). "Calling All Cars! Review". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/04/25/calling-all-cars-review. 
  12. ↑ "Calling All Cars!". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK (Future plc) (8): 104. July 2007. 
  13. ↑ "Review: Calling All Cars!". PSM (Future US): 84. July 2007. 
  14. ↑ Mastrapa, Gus (June 2, 2007). "Calling All Cars". G4 Media. http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/1535/Calling_All_Cars.html. 
  15. ↑ Kennedy, Sam (February 17, 2010). "David Jaffe Says Calling All Cars Was a Mistake". Ziff Davis. http://www.1up.com/news/david-jaffe-calling-cars-mistake. 
  • Calling All Cars at PlayStation.com
  • 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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