Software:Loaded (video game)

From HandWiki
Loaded
North American PlayStation box art
Developer(s)Gremlin Interactive
Publisher(s)
  • NA: Interplay Productions
  • PAL: Gremlin Interactive
Composer(s)Patrick Phelan
Platform(s)PlayStation, Saturn
ReleasePlayStation
Sega Saturn
Genre(s)Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Loaded (released as Blood Factory[1] in Japan ) is a science fiction-themed top-down multidirectional shooter developed by Gremlin Interactive and published by Interplay Productions. Loaded was released on December 15, 1995 on the PlayStation, and was ported to the Sega Saturn the following year. The game had origins in DC Comics as well as the more adult-orientated Vertigo Comics, and there was a small graphic novel based on the game. The six playable characters of the game are a combination of villains, anti-heroes, psychopaths, perverts, mutants, and flamboyant murderers. They are, however, the best hope to stop the intergalactic supervillain nicknamed F.U.B. and save the universe. The characters were created and designed with contributions from Garth Ennis of Vertigo Comics and Greg Staples of 2000AD.

Loaded includes macabre humor, over-the-top violence and gore, and lighting effects, but was often criticized for repetitive gameplay. Later in the same year a sequel was released with mildly improved graphics: Re-Loaded.

Plot

F.U.B. was once a catering officer with the Sector Marines. F.U.B. (which stands "Fat Ugly Boy") was once on a barren desert front during one of the relatively obscure skirmishes of the last 40 years. Not wanting to let "the boys" down and unable to find any meat, F.U.B., cooked his own legs and served them up in a rich broth. Despite it being the best dish he had ever created, F.U.B. was given an unconditional discharge and asked never to show his face again. F.U.B. replaces his legs with, hydraulic-powered replacements. He undertakes a radical appearance; wearing furry dice, smoking Havana cigars and painting a target on his portly belly.

The six playable characters have notable differences and derangements, but what they have in common is that they are all psychotic criminals who have been setup by F.U.B. and are now serving sentence on an inhospitable prison planet, the planet Raulf. F.U.B. has even taken on a new identity, working his way up the ladder by murder, and is now the warden of Raulf.

The player (or two of the game's six characters, in two player mode) must escape Raulf, chase F.U.B. and engage on a bloody odyssey across the strange worlds of the galaxy to exact revenge on F.U.B. The supervillain, however, sees it as a challenge, and to this end he creates a machine that can toy with the very fabric of the universe, manipulate matter, and even open doorways to other dimensions. With this machine, F.U.B. plans to hold the universe for ransom and sets up a prison break on Raulf to set things in motion. If he can defeat a group of the most feared individuals in the galaxy who are armed to the teeth and wanting revenge, he figures he can defeat anyone.[5]

Playable Characters

Mamma: A very large psychologically disturbed man with the mind of an infant. He wears a diaper, bonnet and bunny slippers and can only say "mamma". Mamma's weapon is the plasma gun and his bomb is the Ripple Grenade, used when Mamma creates a wave through the ground that instantly kills a large amount of foes around him. This attack can travel through walls and doors.

Fwank: Featured on the cover of the game, Fwank is a man donning a bank bag over his face with the bag painted, making him resemble a clown. He carries around his teddy bear and a mood-shifting balloon (Green for "Chuckly", Yellow for "I Need Space", and Red for "I Wouldn't Ask If I Were You"). Fwank's weapon of choice is a cannon that fires Neutron Spheres, and his bombs are Homing Teddies, a floating armada of teddy bears that eviscerate nearby foes. This attack can kill enemies stationed directly behind a door, but can not travel through walls and doors. However, the teddies can follow Fwank and stay in use longer to attack incoming enemies.

Bounca: A former bouncer turned mercenary. He is about as large as Mamma, wearing a muzzle and a tuxedo. His weapon is a missile launcher and his bomb is the Frag Missile, a randomly-moving burst of shrapnel. This attack can not travel through walls and doors.

Vox: A female DJ that uses sound and music technology to kill foes in the game. She is the only female character in the game. Her weapon is the Hail Flail and her ultra bomb is the Sonic Blast, a burst of lethal sound waves. This attack can travel through walls and doors.

Butch: A homely man that wears ladies' dresses in combat and dislikes those that find it funny. Butch's weapon is a flamethrower and his bomb is the Explosive Ring, the release of fireballs in all directions. This attack can travel through walls and doors. Instead of splattering enemies into a bloody heap, the flamethrower and the Explosive Ring actually chars enemies' bodies on contact.

Cap'n Hands: A pirate-like character with freakishly large hands and forearms, but an exposed ribcage. His head is human, he is a bounty hunter with a cyborgnetic body that is old and out of date he chooses to keep it for unknown reason. His weapons are a pair of flintlocks and his bomb is the Vortex Bomb, a curtain of dark energy that shreds enemies to pieces. This attack can travel through walls and doors.

Gameplay

The game features levels across fifteen different worlds and has six playable characters: Mamma, Fwank, Bounca, Vox, Butch and Cap'n Hands. Two characters may be selected in co-operative mode to complete the game. A mission briefing plays at the start of every mission, aided by a full motion video sequence. Loaded's gameplay is almost identical to that of Gauntlet,[6] which requires the player to move room to room killing everything in sight, everything of which will try to kill the player also. Score can be increased by looting the bloodied remains of enemies. There are some puzzle and exploration elements, and power-ups and ammo can be found. The levels progress by collecting keycards capable of unlocking doors. The player can zoom in to their character by pressing R2, or zoom out by pressing L2. At the end of each level, the game tallies the player's greed factor, accuracy and body count on a 0–100% scale in order to give the player's career prospects (ranging from as low as "social worker" to as high as "genocidal maniac", etc.) and final score.

Development and marketing

Loaded was developed by Gremlin Interactive, a United Kingdom software house based in Sheffield which had previously had a successful run in developing games. Loaded and its sequel Re-Loaded would be among the last games developed by Gremlin Interactive, before it was acquired by French giant Infogrames for £24 million, and the studio in Sheffield closed. Development took place over less than a year.[7] The game was published in North America by United States -based Interplay.

A demo of Loaded was included on a demo disc bundled with the PlayStation in Europe.[8]

The main character design and graphics were done by a host of comic book illustrators like Les Spink and Greg Staples (of 2000AD fame). Interplay collaborated with DC Comics to create a 12-page novella illustrated with the game's artwork to promote it and introduce the characters and the game premise.[9] The book was published bundled with DC's works at the time and DC signed adult-orientated Vertigo Comics star Garth Ennis to write it. The novella is now considered a collector's item.[10]

The game was released for the Sega Saturn over a year after the PlayStation version appeared. Asked to explain this delay, Interplay producer Jeremy Airey stated, "A year ago, we were worried if the Saturn was even going to do well. As of late, [Saturn sales] have picked up. Also, when we started doing Loaded [for the] Saturn, it looked horrible. With the new Sega libraries, Loaded looks and plays good."[7]

Soundtrack

Loaded features 21 compositions by Neil Biggin, plus 2 tracks by Patrick (Pat) Phelan and 2 more by Pop Will Eat Itself (Kick to Kill and RSVP). The game was specially designed so that it could be placed inside a CD player and used as an audio CD (skipping Track 1 which contained the code for the game). This would then enable the listener to play the full soundtrack - including many hidden tracks and two of which were complete tracks from the Amiga CD32 version of Zool 2 (Mount Ices and Mental Block's house), another game by Gremlin. There are 25 audio tracks in total on the CD, the hidden tracks were brief demos and were never used in-game.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM8.25/10 (PS1)[11]
5.88/10 (SAT)[12]
GameSpot6.6/10 (SAT)[13]
Next GenerationStarStarStarStar (PS1)[15]
StarStarStar (SAT)[16]
MaximumStarStarStar (PS1)[14]
Sega Saturn Magazine84% (SAT)[17]

The original release for PlayStation met with mostly positive reviews. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly compared it favorably to Smash TV and cited the multiplayer mode as the game's most enjoyable feature.[11] Major Mike of GamePro deemed it "a simple premise taken to absurd heights: From the wacky characters to the overblown carnage, the game is generally a blast to play. While it lacks some of the strategy of similar-minded titles like Doom, the action hardly ever lets up." He also extensively praised the graphics, particularly noting the strong details, zoom feature, and light sourcing effects.[18] While they complimented the animated environments and four-player option, Maximum had an overall subdued reaction to the game, saying it is much more repetitive than similar games such as Alien Breed and The Chaos Engine.[14] A reviewer for Next Generation also commented on the repetitiveness, saying that the 15 levels look different but all play the same. However, the review was generally complimentary, commenting on the "blistering pace" of the gameplay, smooth and detailed graphics, light-sourcing effects, and soundtrack which "is among the best we've heard in years".[15]

Most critics commented that the Saturn version successfully replicated the graphical effects and other technical aspects of the PlayStation version,[12][13][16] with a notable exception in Tommy Glide of GamePro, who said the graphics are not as smooth and do not zoom as easily.[19] However, Next Generation and Dan Hsu and Crispin Boyer of Electronic Gaming Monthly said that Loaded was not as good as it seemed in the wake of its original release on the PlayStation, and that the game's graphics, soundtrack, and shock value were not enough to keep the mindless gameplay from quickly becoming boring.[12][16] In a reassessment roughly a year after the PlayStation version's release, Next Generation lowered its score to three out of five stars (the same as the Saturn version).[20] Hugh Sterbakov of GameSpot and Rad Automatic of Sega Saturn Magazine agreed that the game is mindless and repetitive, but held that in the field of simplistic shooters it is a success.[13][17]

Electronic Gaming Monthly editors named the Saturn version a runner-up for Best Music of 1996 (behind Wipeout XL).[21]

Loaded was a commercial success, with the PlayStation version shipping 250,000 copies the week of its release.[22] In the USA alone, the PlayStation version sold over 140,000 copies.[23]

Legacy

Less than a year after the original game was released, a sequel was released also for the PlayStation and MS-DOS entitled Re-Loaded, developed and published by the same companies.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Loaded Release Information for PlayStation". GameFAQs. 2009-06-02. http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/data/572481.html. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  2. ↑ "Interplay's First Playstation Title: Loaded". 1997-10-09. http://www.interplay.com/press/loadrel.html. 
  3. ↑ "Loaded". 1996-12-15. http://sega-saturn.com/saturn/software/loaded.htm. 
  4. ↑ "Saturn Review: Loaded". Mean Machines Sega (EMAP) (45): 62–63. July 1996. 
  5. ↑ Paul Sanderson. "LOADED". Gamesurge.com. http://www.gamesurge.com/playstation/strategy/psx_man2/Loaded.shtml. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  6. ↑ Hickman, Sam (May 1996). "...And We Wanna Get Loaded". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (7): p. 45. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Behind the Screens". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (85): 62. August 1996. 
  8. ↑ "Loaded on Demo Disc". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine (Emap International Limited) (1): 130. October 1995. 
  9. ↑ Loaded promo comic. Internet Archive.
  10. ↑ "Game Trivia for Loaded". Mobygames.com. http://www.mobygames.com/game/loaded/trivia. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Review Crew: Loaded". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) (78): 42. January 1996. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Review Crew: Loaded". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) (86): 25. September 1996. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Sterbakov, Hugh (December 13, 1996). "Loaded Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/loaded-review/1900-2532880/. Retrieved 25 October 2017. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Maximum Reviews: Loaded". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine (Emap International Limited) (2): 151. November 1995. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Gutsy". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (14): 157. February 1996. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Loaded". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (22): 171, 175. October 1996. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Automatic, Rad (July 1996). "Review: Loaded". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (9): 62–63. 
  18. ↑ "ProReview: Loaded". GamePro (IDG) (88): 74–75. January 1996. 
  19. ↑ "ProReview: Loaded". GamePro (IDG) (97): 88. October 1996. 
  20. ↑ "Every PlayStation Game Played, Reviewed, and Rated". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (25): 58. January 1997. 
  21. ↑ "The Best of '96". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (92): 90. March 1997. 
  22. ↑ "Loaded Coming to Saturn!". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (5): p. 6. March 1996. 
  23. ↑ "Next Wave: Loaded". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (85): 62. August 1996. 
  • 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




Warning: Default sort key "Loaded (Video Game)" overrides earlier default sort key "Mobygames".



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Loaded_(video_game)&oldid=754929"