Software:Herc's Adventures

From HandWiki
Herc's Adventures
Developer(s)Big Ape Productions
LucasArts
Publisher(s)LucasArts
Composer(s)Michael Land
Peter McConnell (consultancy)
Platform(s)Sega Saturn, PlayStation
ReleaseSega Saturn
PlayStation
  • NA: July 31, 1997
  • EU: December 10, 1997
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Herc's Adventures is a video game released for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation by LucasArts in 1997. The overhead, action-adventure format is similar to Zombies Ate My Neighbors.[2][3] Up to two players each take on the role of one of three ancient Greek heroes: Herc (Hercules), Atlanta (Atalanta), or Jason, who are on a quest to defeat Hades and save the goddess of nature, Persephone.[4] In 2014, it was released for PSN in North America.

Herc's Adventures was originally announced as a Sega Saturn exclusive with a release date of December 1996,[4] but delays pushed its release back to July 1997. The PlayStation version was released internationally, while the Saturn version was exclusive to North America. Virgin Interactive Entertainment had planned to release the Saturn version in Europe in September 1997, but it was dropped from the release schedule as part of Virgin's withdrawal of support for the Saturn.[5]

Gameplay

The characters pick up various weapons and items, which include: pepper breath against bees and wasps, frost breath that freezes enemies, lightning which blasts a target with electrical energy, spears, boar traps, flaming spears (used against the Hydra to prevent its head from reforming), bombs, an evil Pandora's box which when opened releases rough weather, a shrink doll which miniaturizes any target and a laser gun. Items include Circe's potion which turned the player into a pig to fit into small crevices, Medusa and Minotaur's head, and the golden fleece (which opens the gates of Hades' underworld).

Gyros increase the player's health bar, and each hero has a second strength bar that depletes whenever moving or picking up an object. Health and strength are increased by buying lessons from a strength trainer or finding red hearts.

Every time the players die, they are sent down to the underworld and need to fight their way to the exit in order to continue.[4] The more they die, the further back into the underworld they are sent, making it increasingly harder to fight their way out. Dying five times results in a game over.

With the exception of the switch to and from the underworld section, the game world is presented as an open, singular map, without any loading screens or interstitials between areas.

Voice cast

  • Rachel Reenstra - Atlanta
  • Lois Nettleton - Athena
  • Cástulo Guerra - Hades
  • Patty Parris - Hera
  • Michael Gough - Hercules / Dionysus
  • Tom Wyner - Zeus / Poseidon
  • Wally Wingert - Jason / Bronze Guy / Big Soldier
  • Pat Fraley - Minotaur / Helldog / Soldier

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM8.25/10 (SAT)[6]
IGN6/10 (PS1)[7]
Next GenerationStarStarStar (PS1)[8]

Herc's Adventures met with mostly positive reviews, as critics were overwhelmingly pleased with the graphics,[6][9][10][11][12] offbeat humor,[6][9][10][7][8][11][12] huge amount of lands to explore,[9][8][11][12] and inclusion of three playable characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses that make an important difference in how the game plays.[6][9][10][7][8]

The more mixed reviews found some faults with the gameplay. Next Generation opined that the gameplay is too one-note and that the skewed perspective sometimes creates confusion about where the player character can go, though the reviewer still concluded that the game is fun enough and different enough to be enjoyable.[8] IGN criticized only the fact that the game is not a polygon-based fighting game or racing game, remarking that it was exceptionally good for a game that did not fall into either of those genres.[7] Most critical commentary on the gameplay was positive, however, with several critics commenting that the cooperative two-player mode is especially fun.[6][9][10] Shawn Smith of Electronic Gaming Monthly stated that "the gameplay is flawless."[6]

Glenn Rubenstein of GameSpot summed up that "The graphics, gameplay, and humor make a unique mix that results in a truly fresh title unlike most of the other games on the market today."[10] Major Mike gave the Saturn version a perfect 5.0 out of 5 in all four GamePro categories (graphics, sound, control, and funfactor), noting in particular the excellent incorporation of mythological figures.[11] He gave the PlayStation version a 4.5 out of 5 in all four categories, but did not directly compare it to the Saturn version,[12] and Rubenstein gave the two versions identical scores.[9][10]

References

  1. ↑ "Herc's Adventure". 1998-02-10. http://sega-saturn.com/saturn/software/hercs.htm. 
  2. ↑ "Herc's Adventures: Get Pumped Up with Herc". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (93): 101. April 1997. 
  3. ↑ "Herc's Adventures". GamePro (IDG) (103): 50. April 1997. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "NG Alphas: Herc's Adventures". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (23): 172. November 1996. 
  5. ↑ "Introducing... Herc's Adventures". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (25): 98. November 1997. https://archive.org/details/Sega_Saturn_Magazine_Issue_25_1997-11_EMAP_Images_GB/page/n99. Retrieved December 7, 2019. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Review Crew: Herc's Adventure". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (99): 52. October 1997. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Herc's Adventures". July 18, 1997. https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/07/18/hercs-adventures. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "Finals: Herc's Adventures". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (35): 193, 195. November 1997. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named GSSAT
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named GSPS
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "Saturn ProReview: Herc's Adventures". GamePro (IDG) (104): 90. May 1997. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 "PlayStation ProReview: Herc's Adventures". GamePro (IDG) (110): 151. November 1997. 
  • 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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