Terminal Velocity (video game)
Terminal Velocity | ||
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Designer(s) |
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Amazon) | ||
Genre(s) | First-person shooter | |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Terminal Velocity is a
The game received generally positive reviews. Critics often compared it to Descent and praised its graphics, although some were turned off by what they thought to be the gameplay's lack of depth. Terminal Reality also developed a similar game, Fury3, published that same year by Microsoft. It uses the same game engine and basic game mechanics, but was designed to run natively on the new Windows 95 operating system, leading it to be described as essentially the Windows version of Terminal Velocity.[1][2]
Gameplay
Terminal Velocity is a
Each of the 27 missions consists of several objectives, e.g. enemies which must be destroyed, tunnel entrances and exits, mere checkpoints, and an extraction point. At the end of each planet is a
Plot
The story is set in the year 2704, when the Alliance of Space-Faring Alien Races (ASFAR), of which Earth is a member, suddenly turns against Earth and their fleet ravages the planet, starting a war. The player flies a powerful starfighter, the TV-202, in a series of missions to defeat the enemy. In Episode 3, the player learns that a huge supercomputer known as Xenocidic Initiative (X.I.), located on Proxima Seven, is responsible for the war. Their final mission is to eliminate it. A hidden mission can take place after the main plot only in the CD ROM version where the player must investigate a sudden metamorphosis of an unknown nearby planet and destroy the force that changed the face of the planet. It is revealed here that this force drove a man named Sy Wickens into insanity, and how the X.I. Supercomputer had "accidentally" digitized Sy Wickens' persona.
Development
Terminal Velocity (called "Velocity Brawl" during development)
Release
The game has three episodes, the first of which was distributed as shareware. Each episode features three different worlds, making a total of nine levels; the only exception is the final planet of Episode 3, Proxima Seven, which has only two stages. Following the release of the shareware version, publisher 3D Realms was inundated with requests that the game be playable with a mouse, leading the company to include a mouse option in the commercial version of the game.[4]
The original
In June 2015, to celebrate the game's 20th anniversary, the game's original developer and one of the co-founders of Terminal Reality,
A remastered version, subtitled Boosted Edition, is scheduled for release on March 14, 2023. It adds widescreen support and upscaled graphics.[7] Console versions are to be released at a later date.[8]
Reception
Publication | Score |
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PC Review | 8/10[19] |
Terminal Velocity received generally favorable reviews from game critics, who typically compared its gameplay to Descent.
References
- ^ Foster, Hugo (May 1, 1996). "Fury 3 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
The big difference between Fury3 and Terminal Velocity is that Fury3 runs in Windows.
- Imagine Media. January 1996. p. 163.
It looks like Terminal Velocity. It plays like Terminal Velocity. ... It's Fury³ ... a game that's already been released under a different name.
- ^ Joe Siegler (November 20, 2000). "New Version of the Apogee / 3DR FAQ Online". 3D Realms. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "3D Realms". Next Generation (10): 100. October 1995.
- ^ Walker, Alex (July 15, 2021). "Terminal Velocity Was So Far Ahead Of Its Time". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ Dotson, Carter (June 4, 2015). "Classic PC Game 'Terminal Velocity' Gets Surprise iOS Version". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ Macgregor, Jody (28 January 2023). "28-year-old shareware shooter Terminal Velocity is coming back". PC Gamer. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ Romano, Sal (26 January 2023). "Terminal Velocity: Boosted Edition announced for consoles, PC". Gematsu. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ a b Clarkson, Mark (October 1995). "Muscle Bound and Fancy Free". Computer Gaming World. No. 135. pp. 186–188. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ a b Lord, Gary (September 1995). "Review: Terminal Velocity" (PDF). Computer and Video Games. No. 166. p. 53. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ a b "Testscreen: Terminal Velocity". Edge. No. 24. September 1995. pp. 66–67. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ a b Foster, Hugo (May 28, 1996). "Terminal Velocity Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ a b Daniel, Matthew (September 1995). "Review: Terminal Velocity". Hyper. No. 22. pp. 56–57. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ a b "Rating PC – Terminal Velocity". Next Generation. No. 11. November 1995. p. 181. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ PC Gamer US. Archivedfrom the original on February 26, 2000. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ a b MacDonald, Duncan (September 1995). "CD Review: Terminal Velocity". PC Zone. No. 30. pp. 58–60. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ a b Carter, Chris (June 29, 2015). "'Terminal Velocity' Review – Nearly a Classic". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ MacADDICT. No. 4. pp. 88–89. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ PC Review. No. 47. p. 85. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- Computer Games Strategy Plus. No. 61. p. 170. Retrieved June 28, 2022.