Software:Urban Chaos

From HandWiki
Short description: 1999 video game
This page is about the action-adventure game. For the 2006 video game, see Urban Chaos: Riot Response.
Urban Chaos
North American PlayStation cover art
Developer(s)Mucky Foot Productions
Publisher(s)Eidos Interactive
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Dreamcast
ReleaseWindows
December 10, 1999[1]
PlayStation
  • NA: March 31, 2000
  • EU: April 15, 2000
Dreamcast
  • EU: October 6, 2000
  • NA: November 13, 2000
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Urban Chaos is the debut video game of English developer Mucky Foot Productions with its initial release in 1999 on Microsoft Windows. It was subsequently released on the PlayStation and Dreamcast. The game was published by Eidos Interactive.

In May 2017, Mucky Foot's Mike Diskett released the source code of the game under the MIT license on GitHub.[2]

Gameplay

The game is an action-adventure game from a third-person perspective. It is set in largely free-roaming maps. It also utilized a rather complex fighting system incorporating kicks, punches, throws and sliding tackles as well as two melee weapons; knives and baseball bats. However, the player can also arrest enemies, which will make the populace more friendly towards them. Later on, an additional character is gained who is less agile, due to his age, but whose attacks do more damage. A Jamaican gang banger is also available in bonus missions.

The city maps, although small, do include indoor areas, people to talk to, fights to intervene in and even additional missions and completely different ways to achieve the player's goals that include assaults, hostage rescues, and stopping someone from committing suicide. There are 24 main levels, four bonus levels and a separate demo level which is not included in the full version of game.

Plot

The story begins with D'arci Stern, the protagonist, joining the Union City Police Department. Much of her time is spent dealing with the Wildcats, a gang that is getting increasingly bold in their criminal activity. With the help of a vigilante named Roper McIntyre, D'arci begins to believe that the Wildcats plan to take over Union City. As the Wildcats grow ever bolder, D'arci discovers that the gang is led by Mack Bane, a candidate for mayor of Union City. Eventually, the Wildcats attempt a hostile takeover of the city, which is finally repelled by D'arci, Roper and the police.

Some time later, D'arci is investigating a particularly brutal murder. She discovers that the murder was committed by Bane's elite bodyguards, a brotherhood of mysterious men in tailored black suits known as "The Fallen". This establishes a connection between Bane, the Wildcats and the Fallen. Soon after, he is arrested by D'arci and Roper in his out-of-town estate. Even from jail, Bane is able to direct the Wildcats, and D'arci and Roper are forced to deal with several more threats to the city. Later, Bane breaks out of jail and claims to be an Ancient Warlock. He uses his powers to summon a fire beast known as a Baalrog, which attempts to destroy the city, but D'arci and Roper defeat it. Bane and the Wildcats flee to a sanctuary tower to fulfill a prophecy; before they can complete their ritual, D'arci and Roper must rescue injured civilians, battle the remnants of the Wildcats and Fallen, and use the tower's ventilation system to destroy Bane once and for all.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
DreamcastPCPS
CGWN/AStarStarStarHalf star[8]N/A
EGMN/AN/A5.33/10[9][lower-alpha 1]
EurogamerN/A9/10[12]8/10[13]
Game InformerN/AN/A2.75/10[14]
GameRevolutionN/AB−[15]C[16]
GameSpot2.4/10[17]8.3/10[18]2.9/10[19]
GameSpyN/A61%[20]N/A
IGN6.8/10[21]8.7/10[22]4.5/10[23]
Next GenerationN/AStarStarStar[24]N/A
OPM (US)N/AN/AStarStar[25]
PC Gamer (US)N/A58%[27]N/A
The Cincinnati EnquirerN/AStarStarStarStar[28]N/A
The Sydney Morning HeraldN/AStarStarStar[29]N/A
Aggregate scores
GameRankings48%[3]76%[4]51%[5]
Metacritic52/100[6]N/AN/A

The game was met with positive reviews when it was released on PC, but console ports were met with mixed to negative reception, according to GameRankings. The Dreamcast version received "mixed or average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[6] Computer Games Strategy Plus gave the PC version a score of four stars out of five and called it "a game screaming to become a comic book. The graphics are excellent and the storyline will have you wanting to turn to the last page just to see who, or what, is responsible. Muckey Foot has definitely brought the fun back to vigilante justice."[30] Bernard Dy of GamePro called it "a wild jaunt through an alternate millennium. Don't be misled by the cartoonish art or simple controls into thinking this is a lesser product. Quit waiting for the Tomb Raider series to do something different: Urban Chaos is a fix you can get right now."[31][lower-alpha 2] GameZone gave it 7.4 out of 10, saying, "This is a lot of fun, and in spite of the amount of hard drive space it consumes, it is well crafted."[32] Edge gave it seven out of ten and called it "a 'nearly there' title, a game whose patent quality will have you wondering 'What if?' time and again."[33] Jim Preston of NextGen called it "a fun no-brainer."[24]

Rich Briggs of AllGame gave the PlayStation version two-and-a-half stars out of five, calling it "a terrible shame. There are so many excellent concepts at work, and the game possesses such depth, that it should be a pleasure to play. Unfortunately, the combat, control and camera problems will keep most players from ever experiencing its true charm."[34] However, Jon Thompson gave the Dreamcast version two stars out of five, saying that it "seeks to bring large brawls to life, with enemies attacking from all sides, but dealing with multiple baddies soon becomes a tremendous pain, as they attack quickly and the loose controls do not allow you to respond in time. If you don't die getting to the criminals, you'll often find yourself losing your life once you get there."[35]

The game's console port was a runner-up for the "Worst Game" award at GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2000 Awards, which went to Spirit of Speed 1937. The staff dubbed it "an uncontrollable, choppy mess."[36]

Notes

  1. ↑ In Electronic Gaming Monthly's review of the PlayStation version, one critic gave it 6/10, and the rest gave it each a score of 5/10.
  2. ↑ GamePro gave the PC version 3.5/5 for graphics, and three 4/5 scores for sound, control, and fun factor.

References

  1. ↑ Fudge, James (November 30, 1999). "Urban Chaos Goes Gold". Strategy Plus, Inc.. http://www.cdmag.com/articles/024/133/uc.html. 
  2. ↑ "Urban Chaos". https://github.com/dizzy2003/MuckyFoot-UrbanChaos. 
  3. ↑ "Urban Chaos for Dreamcast". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/dreamcast/366268-urban-chaos/index.html. 
  4. ↑ "Urban Chaos for PC". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/199170-urban-chaos/index.html. 
  5. ↑ "Urban Chaos for PlayStation". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/ps/199171-urban-chaos/index.html. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Urban Chaos (DC)". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/urban-chaos/. 
  7. ↑ Harms, William (January 13, 2000). "Urban Chaos (PC)". CNET. http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0%2C6%2C0-3618%2C00.html. 
  8. ↑ Nguyen, Thierry (April 2000). "Cop Raider (Urban Chaos Review)". Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis) (189): 78. https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_189.pdf. Retrieved June 27, 2018. 
  9. ↑ Johnston, Chris; Hager, Dean; MacDonald, Mark (June 2000). "Urban Chaos (PS)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (131): 167. https://retrocdn.net/images/b/bf/EGM_US_131.pdf. Retrieved October 1, 2023. 
  10. ↑ Harris, Neil (December 30, 1999). "Urban Chaos (PC)". Greedy Productions Ltd.. http://www.elecplay.com/review.html?article=1812&full=1#mr_toppy. 
  11. ↑ Hudak, Chris (May 25, 2000). "Urban Chaos (PSX)". Greedy Productions Ltd.. http://www.elecplay.com/review.html?article=2535&full=1#mr_toppy. 
  12. ↑ Ellis, Keith "DNM" (January 4, 2000). "Urban Chaos (PC)". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/uc. 
  13. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (April 5, 2000). "Urban Chaos (PS)". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/urbanchaos-psx. 
  14. ↑ "Urban Chaos (PS)". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (86). June 2000. 
  15. ↑ Brian (February 2000). "Urban Chaos Review (PC)". CraveOnline. https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/32864-urban-chaos-review. 
  16. ↑ Sparks, Shawn (June 2000). "Urban Chaos - PS". CraveOnline. http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/sony/urban_chaos. 
  17. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (November 27, 2000). "Urban Chaos (DC) Review". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/urban-chaos-dc-review/1900-2657842/. 
  18. ↑ Wolpaw, Erik (January 4, 2000). "Urban Chaos Review (PC)". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/urban-chaos-review/1900-2531741/. 
  19. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (April 24, 2000). "Urban Chaos Review (PS)". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/urban-chaos-review/1900-2558179/. 
  20. ↑ Salgado, Carlos (January 14, 2000). "Urban Chaos (PC)". IGN Entertainment. http://archive.gamespy.com/legacy/reviews/urbanchaos_a.shtm. 
  21. ↑ Chau, Anthony (October 27, 2000). "Urban Chaos (DC)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/10/28/urban-chaos. 
  22. ↑ Lopez, Vincent (December 24, 1999). "Urban Chaos (PC)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/12/25/urban-chaos-4. 
  23. ↑ Perry, Douglass C. (May 3, 2000). "Urban Chaos (PS)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/05/04/urban-chaos-3. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Preston, Jim (March 2000). "Urban Chaos (PC)". NextGen (Imagine Media) (63): 95. https://archive.org/details/NextGen63Mar2000/page/n95/mode/2up. Retrieved July 15, 2020. 
  25. ↑ Steinman, Gary (June 2000). "Urban Chaos". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis) 3 (9): 106. https://archive.org/details/Official_U.S._Playstation_Magazine_Issue_33_June_2000/page/n103/mode/2up. Retrieved October 1, 2023. 
  26. ↑ Hudak, Chris (March 2000). "Urban Chaos". PC Accelerator (Imagine Media) (19): 80. https://archive.org/details/PCXL19Mar2000/page/n83/mode/2up. Retrieved January 26, 2021. 
  27. ↑ Williamson, Colin (April 2000). "Urban Chaos". PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 7 (4): 101. http://www.pcgamer.com/archives/2005/06/urban_chaos.html. Retrieved October 1, 2023. 
  28. ↑ Berman, A.S. (2000). "Urban renewal with a bullet (PC)". The Cincinnati Enquirer (USA Today) (Gannett Company). http://www.cincinnati.com/freetime/games/reviews/urbanchaos.html. 
  29. ↑ Soropos, George (January 29, 2000). "Urban Chaos (PC)". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). http://www.smh.com.au/icon/0001/29/games2.html. 
  30. ↑ Lackey, Alan (January 17, 2000). "Urban Chaos". Strategy Plus, Inc.. http://www.cdmag.com/articles/025/137/urbanc_review.html. 
  31. ↑ Dy, Bernard (January 15, 2000). "Urban Chaos Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). http://www.gamepro.com/computer/pc/games/reviews/4189.shtml. Retrieved August 1, 2015. 
  32. ↑ Lafferty, Michael (December 27, 1999). "Urban Chaos Review on PC". http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r11987.htm. 
  33. ↑ Edge staff (December 1999). "Urban Chaos (PC)". Edge (Future Publishing) (79): 76–77. https://retrocdn.net/images/b/bb/Edge_UK_079.pdf. Retrieved October 1, 2023. 
  34. ↑ Briggs, Rich. "Urban Chaos (PS) - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=20453&tab=review. 
  35. ↑ Thompson, Jon. "Urban Chaos (DC) - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=24402&tab=review. 
  36. ↑ GameSpot staff (2000). "Best and Worst of 2000 (Worst Game Runners-Up)". CNET. http://gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/bestof_2000/p5_04.html. 
  • 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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