Darkstar: The Interactive Movie
Darkstar: The Interactive Movie | |
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Interactive movie | |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Darkstar: The Interactive Movie is an
Gameplay
Darkstar differs from the standard game format in that it contains over thirteen hours of live action cinema–far more than any previous
Good or bad, there is nothing traditional about Darkstar. Yes, it does have some puzzles and an inventory of objects you collect and will need from time to time. And there is also a world to explore, executed in a vaguely similar way as you'd see in some of the later Myst
Plot
John O'Neil, the player character and captain of the starship Westwick, awakens from a 300-year
While searching Theta Alpha III for water to use as coolant, O'Neil stumbles upon the ruins of an ancient alien civilization and the still-living creature they worshiped. He also has a run-in with stranded soldiers from Mars and barely escapes with his life. After returning to Westwick with the coolant, O'Neil eventually discovers that the titular Darkstar is a "frozen hole in time"; he and his crew had originally been tasked with entering the Darkstar to travel back to the past and save Earth from destruction. His pilot awakens from cryogenic sleep and together, they confront a massive automated ship from the Mars Armada.[6]
Cast
Darkstar has roughly thirteen hours of live-action cinema. It stars Clive Robertson as Westwick Captain John O'Neil.[7] It also features the original cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000 including its creator Joel Hodgson as Scythe Commander Kane Cooper, Trace Beaulieu as Westwick First Officer Ross Perryman, Frank Conniff as both Westwick Navigator Alan Burk and the voice of the quirky robot SIMON (Semi Intelligent Motorized Observation Network), Mary Jo Pehl as both Bridgebuilder Captain Beth Ingram and the voice of the computer Westwick Main, and J. Elvis Weinstein as Galactic Discovery II Captain Cedrick Stone. Also from MST3K is Beth "Beez" McKeever as the Westwick Pilot Paige Palmer who stars opposite Robertson. Darkstar was also the final work of the actor Peter Graves.[8]
In addition to Clive Robertson and the Mystery Science Theater 3000 players, the production has a cast of nearly fifty actors, almost all of whom are local to Springfield, Missouri and the surrounding area.[9]
Production
Darkstar was written, produced, animated, edited, and directed by J. Allen Williams over the course of nearly a decade. Additional animations for Darkstar were contributed by the American illustrator and comic book artist Richard Corben, best known for creating the character of "Den" featured in the 1981 film Heavy Metal and for his comics featured in the magazine of the same name. Other major crew members included the cinematographer Roger Jared, co-producer Mark L. Walters, and electronic media producer Dahlia Clark.[10]
Soundtrack
Darkstar: Musical Score from the Interactive Movie | |
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Soundtrack album by Jimmy Pitts, Bill Bruce, and J. Allen Williams | |
Released | November 5, 2010 |
Genre | Soundtrack |
Length | 145 minutes |
The soundtrack to Darkstar was composed and performed by Jimmy Pitts (keyboards and pianos),
The soundtrack was released in tandem with the game and features 38 tracks of music on a 2-disk set.[13]
Reception for the soundtrack has been positive. In a review of Darkstar at diehardgamefan.com, Alex Lucard rated the soundtrack as "Unparalleled" and wrote, "This is without a doubt one of the the [sic] best scores I have heard all year."[14]
Reception
Darkstar received a mixed response from game critics. On the review aggregator Metacritic, the game has a weighted average of 36% indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[15]
Adventure game reviewers generally praised the game. Drummond Doroski of Adventure Gamers gave it 3 out of 5 stars, writing, "It's not a game for everyone, as some are sure to be turned off by the rarity and simplicity of its puzzles, while others may not relish a return to the infamous days of live actors as their game characters, particularly when some of the acting reminds us why this isn't always a good idea." He concluded, "Darkstar may be light on actual gameplay, but it's rich in cinematic storytelling, and for many science fiction and FMV fans, that's sure to be more than enough."[16] J. Robinson Wheeler of the adventure game website Brass Lantern similarly described it as "challenging, fun, lovingly and painstakingly rendered and crafted, and worth playing."[17] Alex Lucard of Die Hard Game Fan highly praised the game, giving it a final score of "Very Good Game!" and writing, "When all is said and done, Darkstar is one of the best indie games I have ever played in my thirty years of gaming. It's one of the ten best games I have played in 2010. Most of all, it was well worth the wait and then some. Don't let this thing pass you by simply because it doesn't have a multi-million dollar ad budget. You've been warned."[14]
Among the wider gaming community, however, reviews were more mixed. The magazine GamesMaster wrote, "Get past the obtuse mechanics and there's a unique retro charm here."[18] Conversely, GamesTM gave the game 1/10, saying simply "It's not a game."[18] PC PowerPlay also reviewed it negatively, with their 2/10 review calling it "[a] crime. Send this one to the colonies."[18]
References
- ^ "CliveRobertson.110.com". Cliverobertson.110mb.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ "MST3Kinfo.com". MST3Kinfo.com. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ "CorbenStudios.com". CorbenStudios.com. May 21, 2010. Archived from the original on October 19, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ Lace Mamba will release Dark Star in December 2011 in UK. GameBoomers. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
- ^ "Darkstar Interview www.Slightly-Deranged.com". Slightly-deranged.com. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ "Summary - Darkstar Prospectus" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2007. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ "Clive Robertson Bio". cliverobertson.110.mb.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ "Peter Grave on". Themoneytimes.com. March 15, 2010. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ "Darkstar KY3 Interview on YouTube". Youtube.com. April 1, 2010. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ "Official Darkstar". Darkstar.gs. Archived from the original on April 14, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ "Darkstar Soundtrack Sample". Youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ "Darkstar is Finally Here!". 2112.net. November 22, 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- ^ "Soundtrack details at". Darkstarstore.com. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- ^ a b Lucard, Alex (November 18, 2010). "Review: Darkstar – The Interactive Movie: Captain's Box (PC)". Die Hard Game Fan. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
- ^ "Darkstar: The Interactive Movie". Metacritic. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
- ^ Doroski, Drummond (January 21, 2011). "DARKSTAR: The Interactive Movie REVIEW". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
- ^ Wheeler, J. Robinson (2010). "Darkstar Review". Brass Lantern. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Review summary at Metacritic". metacritic.com. January 29, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
External links
- Darkstar: The Interactive Movie at IMDb