Total Eclipse (1988 video game)
| Total Eclipse | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Incentive Software |
| Publisher(s) | Incentive Software |
| Designer(s) | Paul Gregory |
| Composer(s) | Wally Beben |
| Engine | Freescape |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum |
| Release date(s) | 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure game First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media/distribution | Floppy disk, cassette |
Total Eclipse is a first person adventure game released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, PC and ZX Spectrum computers in 1988. It can also be considered an early example of a First-person shooter.
Story
In ancient times a curse was put on a massive pyramid dedicated to the Sun God, Ra, and if ever a total eclipse happened over Egypt the Moon would explode, devastating the Earth with its debris. On October 26 1930 said eclipse is about to happen and you've a mere two hours to penetrate the pyramid and destroy the pyramid shrine to prevent destruction.
The game starts with you having just left your biplane parked outside the pyramid you are about to enter. Besides dying of dehydration, if you do not keep your water bottle topped up, you can also die of a heart attack caused by falling off ledges, getting crushed by falling stones and taking too many hits from poison dart traps. If the damage isn't immediately lethal, you can calm your heartbeat by resting (there's an accelerate time feature) but remember the time limit! (from Zzap! July 1989)
Gameplay
Engine
Total Eclipse was the third game to use the Freescape engine, which allowed the production of full three-dimensional environments using filled polygons in which the player could move around freely. However, the engine was improved for this release, adding spheres to collection of shapes used for building the 3D environments.
Like the previous Freescape-based games, it also gave the player the ability to 'crouch', and look up and down, as well as rotate left and right, something which was rare amongst 3D games of the time. The same engine was used for its sequel, .
Critical response
Amiga/ST Format gave Total Eclipse a score of 78% in its July issue of 1989, bemoaning the similarity to previous Freescape games as its biggest downfall. The reviewer, Gary Barett, concluded, "Do not misunderstand me, though, Total Eclipse is the best of Freescape games, but the originality has gone" .
Zzap! awarded a higher score of 84%, praising the game's moody music and claustrophobic feel, and stating that "Dark Side comes close in terms of realism but to my mind Total Eclipse has a lot better atmosphere".
References
External links
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