Software:Pandemonium 2

From HandWiki
Short description: 1997 video game
Pandemonium 2
Developer(s)Crystal Dynamics
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)Caroline Esmurdoc
Sam Player
Designer(s)Zak Krefting
Programmer(s)Andrew Lacey
Artist(s)Leon Cannon
Composer(s)Burke Trieschmann
Platform(s)PlayStation, Windows
ReleasePlayStation
Windows
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Pandemonium 2[lower-alpha 1] is a platform game developed by Crystal Dynamics for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to Pandemonium!.

Gameplay

Pandemonium 2 is a psychedelic 2.5D game; specifically, it renders characters and environments with polygons and uses a 3D camera to create the appearance of 3-D, while gameplay is actually on a 2-D plane.[3] Players can choose to be either Nikki or Fargus - who each have different specialties - with the option to change for each level.[3] The player characters' abilities have been expanded over those in Pandemonium! with the ability to climb ropes, crawl, and pull themselves up ledges.[3] During the quest, players can earn extra lives by collecting treasure.

Unique powers collected during gameplay may replace, extend or add to previous powers, depending on which character is in play and which power has been obtained. The characters handle the unique powers differently. For instance, collecting the "fire power" allows Nikki to shoot destructive fireballs, while it grants Fargus invincibility and a deadly touch, but requires him to constantly move forward. Machines and equipment are also available throughout the game, although they are tied to certain areas.

There are four boss stages, set after a block of stages has been completed. Destroying the bosses usually involves small puzzles, such as catapulting fireballs at a flying boss, or surviving the onslaught of a giant mecha boss while balanced on the back of a large, fast-moving tank.

Should the player collect +80% of treasure in a level, they will have access to the bonus level "Boarder Run", where they must slide along a course collecting treasure, while simultaneously keeping ahead of a pursuing vortex. Failure in "Boarder Run" does not cost the player lives; successfully completing "Boarder Run" will result in the player earning at least one extra life.

The player begins with four hit points to represent health. Through bonuses, this can be expanded up to a maximum of 16. To achieve maximum hit points, the player must find one of several "life pieces" in hidden areas of the game. When all points are lost, the character loses a life and returns to the last checkpoint. When all lives are lost, the game is over.

Plot

When the magic-infused "Comet of Infinite Possibilities" is about to pass over Lyr for the first time in 300 years, the inhabitants race to reach the comet in order to make a wish on its powers. Nikki (voiced by Deborah Ben-Eliezer), a sassy sorceress, decides that stealing the source of its magic is a quicker way to reach power than study. Her bosom buddy, Fargus (voiced by Martin Ganapoler), a court jester, has gone insane over the years and has a simple plan to "touch pretty fire" upon reaching the comet. Sid (also voiced by Martin Ganapoler), a sharp-tongued head on a stick and Fargus's only other "friend", wishes to get rid of Fargus and get closer to Nikki. But the evil Goon Queen Zorrscha has her sights set on the comet as well. Nikki and Fargus must make it to the comet before she does, lest she fulfill her own morally questionable wishes.

The ending of the game varies by which character defeats the final boss. If Nikki succeeds in the quest, she gains control of the universe. If Fargus does, he creates a world in which he is the flowers and the trees, as well as the sun, which makes Sid fume to the point where his head explodes.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings77% (PS1)[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM8.0/10 (PS1)[5]
GameSpot7.3/10 (PS1)[6]

Reviews for Pandemonium 2 ranged from mixed to positive. The PlayStation version received an average score of 77.11% at GameRankings, based on an aggregate of 9 reviews.[4] Most reviewers found the game had more detailed graphics than the original Pandemonium!,[5][6][7] as well as being generally more colorful.[5][6][7] GameSpot's Lauren Fielder summarized that Pandemonium 2 is "a fun and mostly unpredictable platform game, in spite of not being fully 3D."[6] GamePro was more critical of the 2D platforming gameplay, deeming it a niche subgenre which had become "very tiresome". The reviewer nonetheless praised the graphics and soundtrack, and said the game was recommended to the few remaining fans of 2D platformers.[7] The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly, by contrast, criticized the cinemas but unanimously applauded the gameplay due to its innovative stage design, balanced challenge, and exciting camera panning.[5]

The redesign of the characters was negatively received; in particular, the transformation of Nikki from the adolescent tomboy portrayed in the original Pandemonium! into a sultry seductress was seen as an embarrassing effort to appeal to the young male population which dominated the video game market.[5][6][8] In their Buyer's Guide Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Nikki the 1997 "Worst Makeover" award, deriding the effort to make Nikki sexier as both transparent and ineffectual: "We're sorry, but we have a hard time getting excited about a heroine who looks as if she spends her Friday nights getting hit on by league bowlers."[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Known in Japan as Magical Jumpers (マジカルジャンパーズ)

References

  1. ↑ "Computer Games". Hull Daily Mail: pp. 43. November 5, 1997. https://www.newspapers.com/image/899839503/?terms=%22pandemonium%202%22&match=1. "All New Games Now In//G-Police £41.99//Croc £37.99//Pandemonium 2 £41.99" 
  2. ↑ "Sony PlayStation Available Software sorted by Release Date @ www.vidgames.com". http://www.vidgames.com/ps/software/release.html#1995. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Pandemonium 2: Get Ready for More '2 1/2-D' Action". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (99): 184. October 1997. https://retrocdn.net/images/6/6b/EGM_US_099.pdf. Retrieved 2020-08-14. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Pandemonium 2 for PlayStation". http://www.gamerankings.com/ps/198255-pandemonium-2/index.html. Retrieved September 7, 2017. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Review Crew: Pandemonium 2". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (101): 206. December 1997. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Fielder, Lauren (November 12, 1997). "Pandemonium 2 Review". http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pandemonium-2-review/1900-2548849/. Retrieved September 7, 2017. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Four-Eyed Dragon (December 1997). "PlayStation ProReview: Pandemonium 2". GamePro (IDG) (111): 162. https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_111_Volume_09_Number_12_1997-12_IDG_Publishing_US/page/n163/mode/2up. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "The Good the Bad and the Silly". 1998 Video Game Buyer's Guide (Ziff Davis): 18. March 1998. https://retrocdn.net/images/7/73/EGM_US_BuyersGuide_1998.pdf. Retrieved 2020-08-14. 
  • 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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