Software:Chaos Control (video game)

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Chaos Control
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American PC Cover
Developer(s)Infogrames Multimedia
Publisher(s)Europe
Philips Interactive Media (CD-I)
Infogrames Multimedia (Sega Saturn)
North America
I•Motion
Japan
Virgin Interactive Entertainment
Designer(s)Bruno Bonnell, Jean-Claude Larue
Composer(s)Thierry Caron
Platform(s)CD-i, Macintosh, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, MS-DOS
ReleaseJuly 2, 1995
October 4, 1996 (PlayStation, Japan)
Genre(s)Rail shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Chaos Control is a rail shooter developed by Infogrames Multimedia and published by Philips Interactive Media for the CD-i, MS-DOS, Macintosh, Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1995. The game's cutscenes are rendered in a style reminiscent of anime.[1]

An enhanced remake was released exclusively for the Sega Saturn in 1996. In PAL regions it kept the name Chaos Control, but the later Japanese release, published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment, was retitled Chaos Control Remix to avoid confusion with the previous year's Japanese release that had no lightgun support. Both the PAL Chaos Control and the Japanese Chaos Control Remix included a two-player option.

Gameplay

Chaos Control is a sci-fi themed rail shooter which puts the player inside the cockpit of a fighter ship. Although the spaceship flight is automated, the player may target freely using an on-screen reticule, timing their shots so that the fighter's guns do not overheat. Targets across the game's four levels include mech suits, other spaceships and virtual reality constructs, most of which will return fire in an effort to drain the player's shields. There are no bonuses or re-charge power-ups for these shields, and play must restart from the beginning of the level if the player's ship is destroyed.

Enemy positions are predetermined and unchanging. This - in combination with fixed flight paths - means that the player can seek to learn the game's deployment pattern for each level, defeating them through memorization.

Chaos Control Remix supports the Saturn's Virtua Gun.[2] The CD-i version requires the CD-i's Digital Video Cartridge to play.[1]

Plot

Manhattan level: three Kesh Rhan ships surround the Statue of Liberty

In the prologue cinematic for Chaos Control an alien species discovers Voyager I. When they decipher the Golden Record they decide to attack humanity.

Chaos Control's protagonist is a pilot named Jessica Darkhill, whose partner was killed earlier in the war against the game's antagonists, the alien Kesh Rhan. Beginning in Manhattan, Darkhill must break through the Kesh Rhan defenses, destroy a computer virus of their making, then mount an attack upon the alien mothership in order to save Earth from the alien invasion.

Reception

Reviewing the CD-i version, GamePro commented that "Chaos Control is a looker, a fun way to waste some time. As far as depth and challenge, though, it doesn't deliver the chaos that it should." They criticized the lack of multiple weapons and rail shooter gameplay as too limited, but praised the heavily detailed backgrounds and the high level of onscreen action.[3] Next Generation admired the "spectacular visual results" of the full motion video and stylish animations, but advised that the game would bore anyone who does not enjoy the "straightforward and mindless" gameplay of full motion video-based rail shooters. They scored the game two out of five stars.[1] GamePro later awarded it Best CD-i Game of 1995.[4]

Rob Allsetter gave Chaos Control Remix 56% in Sega Saturn Magazine. Like reviews for the CD-i version, he was pleased with the graphics, citing the polished rendering and sense of depth, but found the gameplay monotonous, since the unrelenting pace prompts the player to simply fire indiscriminately at the screen. He also judged the longevity to be exceptionally low, since the game can be finished in roughly half an hour and the absence of scoring features such as an accuracy ratio leaves it with no replay value.[5]

Computer Game Review was sharply critical of Chaos Control's computer version, dubbing it a substandard copy of Star Wars.[6] In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Chaos Control the 38th-worst computer game ever released.[7]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Chaos Control". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (7): 70. July 1995. 
  2. ↑ "Chaos Control: Help! The Martians Are on to Us! They're Going to Attack!". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (10): 22. August 1996. 
  3. ↑ "ProReview: Chaos Control". GamePro (IDG) (81): 84. June 1995. 
  4. ↑ "Editor's Choice Awards 1995". GamePro (IDG) (89): 26. February 1996. 
  5. ↑ Allsetter, Rob (December 1996). "Review: Chaos Control". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (14): 76–77. 
  6. ↑ "Intruder Alert!". Computer Game Review. September 1995. http://www.nuke.com/compent/reviews/separc/chaoscon/chaoscon.htm. 
  7. ↑ Staff (November 1996). "150 Best (and 50 Worst) Games of All Time". Computer Gaming World (148): 63–65, 68, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 84, 88, 90, 94, 98. 
  • 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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