Software:Raze's Hell

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Raze's Hell
Developer(s)Artech Digital Entertainment
Publisher(s)Majesco Entertainment
Director(s)Rick Banks
Paul Butler
Richard Cooper
Producer(s)Howard Perlman
Designer(s)Rick Banks
Josh Bridge
Tim Sandwell
Programmer(s)Tim Sandwell
David Eccleston
Andrew Creskey
Richard Lalancette
Artist(s)Kristofer Eggleston
Cory Humes
Chris Hale
Composer(s)Mike Keogh
Platform(s)Xbox
Release
  • NA: April 21, 2005
  • EU: February 17, 2006[1]
Genre(s)Third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Raze's Hell is an action game developed by Artech Digital Entertainment, and published by Majesco Entertainment for the Xbox console in 2005. It was made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace in 2008.

Gameplay

The player character, Raze, has attacks consisting of using his wrist blade and rolling. When an enemy Kewlett is killed, it splatters on the screen or bursts into bloody chunks. Raze can suck up the Kewlett chunks to restore his health and can use stealth mode. Raze also sucks up insects called Squibs, which serve as ammunition.

The Kewletts want to exterminate the Squibs. Different types of Squibs have varying effects, such as: Raze can breathe fire by sucking in flames, much as he does to the Squibs. Red crystals are scattered about the levels that explode when attacked.

Four mini-games can be unlocked in Raze's Hell:

  • Survival – Survive waves of Kewletts and get a high score.
  • Silent but Deadly - Use stealth mode to sneak around Kewlett fortresses.
  • Cojones Golf & Country Golf – Knock around a large white ball in an 18-hole golf course or play a game of mini-golf.
  • Blood Rain – Protect a Shnow from hordes of parachuting Kewlett troops.

A two-player mode allows two players to cooperate to kill the Kewletts, as well as an online mode that features a variety of mini-games. The multi-player games consist of:

  • Deathmatch – Kill everyone.
  • Team Deathmatch – Kill everyone with teams.
  • King of the Hill – Control a hill for as long as possible.
  • Team King of the Hill – Control a hill with teams.
  • Capture the Flag – Capture the other team's flag and return it to your base.
  • Soccer – A more violent soccer that uses a Kewlett-skin ball.

Plot

For centuries the Kewletts, a cute and happy race, lived an idyllic existence inside the hallowed walls of Kewtopia. They never went outside the gates of their city because they had everything they needed inside: a wonderful princess, perfect weather, wealth, and privilege. The Kewletts parody different types of cute creatures found in the media. Kewletts get their news from a show called QTV'. Before the events in the game, the Kewletts lived isolated from the rest of their world. Their first attempt at diplomacy with the creatures of the hinterlands was brief and failed.

Afterwards, their Princess decided to launch "Operation Fresh Hope" to "cutetify" all of the monsters outside of Kewtopia. The true nature behind "Operation Fresh Hope", unknown to most Kewletts, is the retrieval of three ancient artifacts that the Princess desires due to her being a Huggly. Because the Kewletts are intensely nationalistic, they support the idea of expanding Kewletts throughout the war have no problems with "cleansing" the hinterlands of all monsters. Their belligerent, racist worldview is in sharp contrast to their cute, gentle appearance.

The Kewletts' increasingly vicious colonization efforts carry on until they meet Raze, an ugly, simple beast who is transformed when he accidentally stumbles upon ancient artifacts. Raze's heroics spark a swelling underground guerrilla movement.

Development

Producer Rick Banks said the idea for the game came after focus groups had a positive reception to hidden features Artech added to children interactive products, "such as setting cute characters on fire", and made the developers decide to make a game where one would "kill and maim the commercially created cute", with the starting point being that those creatures would be cold-blooded killers. The game spent over three years in development, starting as a test bed for an in-house engine, picked up by a publisher that wound up encountered financial difficulties, and after months stalled being ultimately picked up by Majesco.[2] Audio designer Mike Keogh had his first opportunity to do sound and music for a video game, which featured vocals by his future wife, and over 6,000 lines of Kewlett dialogue, mostly performed by Keogh himself, who also wrote them with the help of his high school improv friends.[3]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic71/100[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Eurogamer6/10[5]
Game Informer6/10[6]
GameSpot7.5/10[7]
GameSpyStarStarStarHalf star[8]
GameTrailers8/10[9]
GameZone7.5/10[10]
IGN7/10[11]
OXM (US)5.7/10[12]
VideoGamer.com6/10[1]
X-PlayStarStarStar[13]
Detroit Free PressStarStar[14]

Raze's Hell received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Vandervell, Andrew (March 6, 2006). "Raze's Hell Review". VideoGamer.com. https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/razes-hell-review. Retrieved November 29, 2016. 
  2. ↑ Raze's Hell Q&A, GameSpot
  3. ↑ Raze's Hell , Mike O.K.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Raze's Hell for Xbox Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/razes-hell/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox. Retrieved May 19, 2016. 
  5. ↑ Parkin, Simon (February 16, 2006). "Raze's Hell". https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_razeshell_xbox. Retrieved November 29, 2016. 
  6. ↑ Helgeson, Matt (June 2005). "Raze's Hell". Game Informer (146): 131. Archived from the original on November 4, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20051104071731/http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/A08FA714-F00F-4285-95FF-B06A0C97FC07.htm?CS_pid=210764. Retrieved November 29, 2016. 
  7. ↑ Davis, Ryan (April 29, 2005). "Raze's Hell Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/razes-hell-review/1900-6123347/. Retrieved November 29, 2016. 
  8. ↑ Chapman, David (April 25, 2005). "GameSpy: Raze's Hell". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 26, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20051226022108/http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/razes-hell/607425p1.html. Retrieved November 29, 2016. 
  9. ↑ "Raze's Hell, Review". GameTrailers. May 5, 2005. Archived from the original on February 17, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070217145001/http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=1506. Retrieved November 28, 2016. 
  10. ↑ Hopper, Steven (April 24, 2005). "Raze's Hell - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080229080451/http://xbox.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r25424.htm. Retrieved November 29, 2016. 
  11. ↑ Clayman, David (April 21, 2005). "Raze's Hell". https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/04/22/razes-hell. Retrieved November 29, 2016. 
  12. ↑ "Raze's Hell". Official Xbox Magazine: 86. June 2005. 
  13. ↑ Marriott, Scott Alan (June 24, 2005). "Raze's Hell Review". X-Play. Archived from the original on July 3, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050703023441/http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/features/52029/Razes_Hell_Review.html. Retrieved November 29, 2016. 
  14. ↑ Huschka, Ryan (June 5, 2005). "'Raze's Hell'". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on September 17, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050917232918/http://www.freep.com/entertainment/videogames/gmini5e_20050605.htm. Retrieved November 29, 2016. 
  • 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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