''Total Eclipse'' is a

first person First person or first-person may refer to: * First person (ethnic), indigenous peoples, usually used in the plural * First person, a grammatical person * First person, a gender-neutral, marital-neutral term for titles such as first lady and first ...

adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

released for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...

, Atari ST,

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the S ...

, Commodore 64,

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few oper ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

computers in 1988. It can also be considered an early example of a

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...

Plot

The game backstory as explained in the manual is that an Ancient Egyptian priest has put a curse on a pyramid dedicated to the Sun God Re. Any object obstructing Re's shrine from the Sun would be destroyed. The protagonist is an unnamed archaeologist who learns that on 26th October, 1930, a

total eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

will obstruct the sun above

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...

, and that the curse will cause the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

to explode, devastating Earth with debris. He decides to travel to the pyramid and destroy Re's shrine, preventing the curse. The game starts having just arrived with a biplane parked outside the pyramid he is about to enter, two hours before the eclipse. The player has to enter and explore the pyramid, avoid traps, trigger and activate puzzles and navigate through maze-like rooms. Causes of death include

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mi ...

, and

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

caused by various hazards such as falling off ledges, getting crushed by falling stones and taking too many hits from

poison dart Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons se ...

s. Throughout the maze the player can discover treasure to accumulate their score, and

ankh Progressive ankylosis protein homolog (ANK ilosis H omolog) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ANKH'' gene. This gene encodes a multipass transmembrane protein that is expressed in joints and other tissues and controls pyrophosphate ...

s that serve as keys to locked doors.

Gameplay

Like the previous

Freescape Freescape is a video game engine, an early 3D game engine used in video games such as 1987's '' Driller''. Graphics were composed mostly of solid geometry rendered without shading. History Developed in-house by Incentive Software, Freescape is c ...

games developed by Major Developments, ''Total Eclipse'' takes place from the point of view of the main character, who can move freely within the 3D environment of the game. This time, however, the emphasis is more on adventure, puzzle-solving and survival; with multi-level environments to move around and explore. The key elements of the game consist of: *A water jar, with water which diminishes as the player progresses; when it is empty the player will die of dehydration. The jar can be refilled with water found around the levels. *A heart-rate monitor, which serves as a

health indicator Health indicators are quantifiable characteristics of a population which researchers use as supporting evidence for describing the health of a population. Typically, researchers will use a survey methodology to gather information about a populati ...

. When the player suffers from damage or walks around a dangerous area, the rate will go higher. The player can keep it lower by resting, sacrificing some of the available time. *A torch, with a limited battery-life, which allows you to explore some of the darker areas of the game. *A

magnetic compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

for navigation *A

wrist watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached b ...

and a depiction of the sun with the moon as it passes across the sun's face, both of which show the remaining time. *A

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, ...

which is used for manipulating the environment, such as shooting at doors, chests and mechanisms to open or trigger them. There are also a few enemies. The pistol has infinite ammo. Items that can be found in the pyramid are *Pairs of symbols, which the player must shoot in order to trigger something (e.g. open a locked door) *Pools or fountains of water to fill the water jar. *

Ankh Progressive ankylosis protein homolog (ANK ilosis H omolog) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ANKH'' gene. This gene encodes a multipass transmembrane protein that is expressed in joints and other tissues and controls pyrophosphate ...

s that serve as keys to barred doors; these are finite throughout the pyramid, and part of the challenge consists not wasting them. *The player can also find treasure, which simply serves as a

side quest Side or Sides may refer to: Geometry * Edge (geometry) of a polygon (two-dimensional shape) * Face (geometry) of a polyhedron (three-dimensional shape) Places * Side (Ainis), a town of Ainis, ancient Thessaly, Greece * Side (Caria), a town of an ...

and only accumulates

score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...

Development

''Total Eclipse'' was the third game to use the

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

, which allowed the production of full three-dimensional environments using filled polygons in which the player could move around freely. However, the

was improved for this release, adding spheres to the collection of shapes used for building the 3D environments. Like the previous

-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, '' Total Eclipse II: The Sphinx Jinx''.

Reception

'' Amiga/ST Format'' gave ''Total Eclipse'' a score of 78% in its July issue of 1989, bemoaning the similarity to previous

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! ''Zzap!64'' was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazi ...

'' 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

*
Freeware remake of ''Total Eclipse''
{{Incentive Software 1988 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games DOS games First-person shooters Freescape games Incentive Software games Single-player video games Video games based on Egyptian mythology Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in 1930 Video games set in Egypt ZX Spectrum games