Software:Point Blank (1994 video game)

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Point Blank
The North American Point Blank DS cover art
Developer(s)Namco
Publisher(s)Arcade
Namco
PlayStation

Nintendo DS
Platform(s)Arcade, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, iOS, Android
ReleaseArcade
  • JP: October 1994
  • NA: 1994
PlayStation
  • JP: August 7, 1997
  • NA: April 30, 1998
  • EU: July 1998
Nintendo DS
  • JP: May 18, 2006
  • NA: June 14, 2006
  • EU: July 8, 2006
  • AU: July 15, 2006
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single player, co-Op multiplayer

Point Blank, known as Gun Bullet (ガンバレット, Gan Baretto), or Gunvari (ガンバリ, Ganbari) in Japan , is a series of first-person shooter games developed by Namco for the arcade, PlayStation and Nintendo DS; the trilogy was first released in arcade in 1994 and was later ported onto the PlayStation. Point Blank DS was released in 2006 for the Nintendo DS featuring 40 challenges from the original series - and the original Point Blank was the seventh lightgun game released by Namco, after Shoot Away, both Golly! Ghost! and Steel Gunner (1990–91) and Lucky & Wild (1992), the last one requiring the first player to drive as well as operate the lightgun.

Gameplay

Players use two attached light guns (in the case of the DS, a pen or in the case of the iOS version, touching the screen) to hit targets onscreen; missions require speed, quick judgment or pinpoint accuracy. The game consists of non-violent, all-ages, shooting contests like shooting targets (and avoiding bombs and civilians much like in both Steel Gunners), shooting cardboard targets, shooting targets of the players' colors, protecting the iconic Dr. Don and Dr. Dan, and other miscellaneous challenges, similar to games like Police Trainer, and Area 51 - and players choose the desired difficulty level (Practice, Beginner, Advanced, and Very Hard in the first game, or Training, Beginner, Advanced, and Insane in the second game) which will determine how many stages must be finished to complete the game, as well as their overall difficulty. Players are shown four missions in each grouping, and may attempt them in any order; they usually have only three lives for the entire game, but this may depend on the cabinet settings. Most stages have unlimited bullets, but some have a limited amount of ammo. Players can lose lives by failing to complete a quota in the time limit, shooting bombs, letting Dr. Don (and/or Dr. Dan) die in any mission where they must protect them, incorrectly answering questions by shooting the wrong answers, shooting cardboard civilians or geisha girls, shooting their opponent's targets, having less points after completing a stage, failing to complete a quota (and any one-life penalty that loses multiple lives), letting meteors destroy the Earth, running out of bullets in some stages, shooting incorrect differences, letting aliens steal slots, and many other ways (not shown here).

There are six different types of stages in the game: Accuracy, where both players must shoot the designated areas with the highest points, Intelligence, where they must count to sixteen (by shooting the numbers), Memory, where they must match two cards by shooting two matching cards, Simulation, where they are required to shoot the cardboard robbers but not civilians (in the Japanese theme of this type, they must shoot cardboard ninjas, but not geishas), Visual Acuity, where they are required to shoot the target which matches what is displayed, and Speed, where they are required to shoot targets of their designated colors (depending players play from left or right); in the arcade version, both light guns must also be calibrated before the crosshairs on the screen shall move.

Games

  • Point Blank/Gun Bullet (ガンバレット, Gan Baretto) (1994) (Arcade, PlayStation) – The original
  • Point Blank 2/Gunbarl (ガンバァール, Ganbāru) (1999) (Arcade, PlayStation) – Released half a decade after its precursor.
  • Ghoul Panic/Oh! Bakyūn (オーバキューン, Ōbakyūn) (1999) (Arcade, PlayStation) – A spin-off title that features a haunted house theme (similar to the original Golly! Ghost!) and 3D graphics (similar to the Namco System 21, 22 and 11 arcade system boards).
  • Point Blank 3/Gunbalina (ガンバリーナ, Ganbarīna) (2000) (Arcade, PlayStation) – Its name is a pun on Thumbelina
  • Gunvari Collection + Time Crisis (2002) (PlayStation 2) – This title is a Japan-only compilation of the first three Point Blank games and the first Time Crisis (1995), which was the seventh title from Namco to use a light gun.
  • Point Blank DS/Unō no Tatsujin: Gun Bullet Trainer (右脳の達人: ガンバレットトレーナー, Unō no Tatsujin Ganbaretto Torēnā) (2006) (Nintendo DS) – A port of the original title which uses the console's stylus and touch screen instead of the arcade's light guns.
  • Point Blank Adventures (2015) (iOS, Android) – A new free-to-play title in the series, built from the ground up exclusively for mobile; it features over 200 stages and Facebook integration. Like its immediate precursor, the touch screen is used instead of a light gun.
  • Point Blank X (2016) (Arcade) – The fourth major arcade release in the series after Point Blank 3, which released in 2000 and the reboot of the series. Announced on the IAAPA Expo in Las Vegas, USA, it will be an arcade-exclusive version to be released worldwide in late 2016. The new iteration will feature a redesigned cabinet that now uses a flat-screen monitor, a departure from the older arcade releases; new graphics, new stages including HD-remastered stages from Point Blank 1-3, a GunCon controller similar to the one used in Time Crisis 4 with old colors, and a capability to dispense tickets.[1]

Release

Point Blank was originally developed as an arcade game in 1994, but a console version was made for the PlayStation in 1997; this version included an "arrange" mode which added an alternate version of Arcade mode, as well as adding many new gameplay modes alongside an RPG mode. The game was re-created in 1999 as Point Blank 2, adding more mini-stages and replacing "Very Hard" difficulty with "Insane" - and the game was once again re-created in 2001 as Point Blank 3 but was only released for the arcades in Japan and the PlayStation worldwide, and featured a cameo from Rick Taylor from Splatterhouse.

At the 2006 Game Developers Conference, in San Jose, California , a Nintendo DS port of the game was announced; the console's stylus and touch screen is used in place of the light gun. The finished game was released in North America on June 13, 2006, two days after the North American release of the Nintendo DS Lite.

Reception

According to Electronic Gaming Monthly, Point Blank was a "cult favorite" in U.S. arcades.[2] Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine referred to characters Dr. Dan and Dr. Don as "an underrated dynamic duo" in September 2004.[3]

References

  1. ↑ http://arcadeheroes.com/2015/09/15/point-blank-x-in-development-for-arcades/
  2. ↑ "TGS 1997 Spring". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (95): 59. June 1997. 
  3. ↑ OPM staff (September 2004). "Overrated/Underrated" (SWF transcript ). Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

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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