''Darxide'' (stylized as ''DarXide'') is a

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by

Frontier Developments Frontier Developments plc is a British video game developer founded by David Braben in January 1994 and based at the Cambridge Science Park in Cambridge, England. Frontier develops management simulators '' Planet Coaster'' and '' Planet Zoo'', ...

and published by

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

for the

32X The 32X is an video game accessory, add-on for the Sega Genesis video game console. Codenamed "Project Mars", it was designed to expand the power of the Genesis and serve as a transitional console into the History of video game consoles (fifth ...

. It was one of the last releases for the console with only a European release in January 1996. Gameplay is similar to that of ''

Asteroids An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

'' in three dimensions. Players must destroy a number of space rocks in order to complete each

level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (optical instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights * Spirit level or bubble level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *C ...

. Reception of ''Darxide'' was mixed. The game was followed in 2004 by ''Darxide EMP'', an expanded version released for

Pocket PC A Pocket PC (P/PC, PPC) is a class of personal digital assistant (PDA) that runs the Windows Mobile operating system, which is based on Windows Embedded Compact, Windows CE/Windows Embedded Compact, and that has some of the abilities of modern ...

s and

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...

Gameplay and development

''Darxide'' is a

game. Players control a space fighter, with a set of instrument panels as a

head-up display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD () or head-up guidance system (HGS), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a ...

. There are 10 levels in the game. The premise of the game involves a series of

asteroids An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

being mined, with defenses protecting them. The object of the game is to eliminate the defenses and destroy the asteroids. Innocent miners, released off the asteroids, also have to be rescued. The game's plot involves an alien race which wants the mining operations for themselves, and have hidden forces inside some hollowed-out asteroids. Destroying those asteroids releases the enemy forces. Players have an auto-targeting weapon, as well as

power-ups In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chose ...

available later in the game. Levels are timed by the approach of a blue moon; failure to complete the level on time results in loss of a life. Elements of the game were influenced by designer

David Braben David John Braben (born 2 January 1964) is an English video game developer and designer, founder and President of Frontier Developments, and co-creator of the ''Elite'' series of space trading video games, first published in 1984. He is also ...

, who had previously worked on '' Frontier: Elite II.'' Unlike ''Elite II'', the gameplay was designed to be simpler with more focused objectives. The development team expressed the desire to include a voiced computer in-game, similar to those in science fiction movies. Development of the game was covered by Russian magazine ''Sega Pro''.

Reception and legacy

Reception to ''Darxide'' was mixed. Gus, one of the reviewers for ''

Mean Machines Sega ''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game journalism, video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. History In the late 1980s ''Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generatio ...

'', stated that the gameplay improves and becomes more interesting later into the game, calling the game an homage to ''

''. Also writing for ''Mean Machines'', reviewer Marcus called the game "a strangely 'empty' experience that fails to excite." ''Video Games'', a German magazine, praised the game's graphics and solid gameplay, but criticized the sound as being of a quality expected for a

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

game. By contrast, German magazine ''Mega Fun'' praised the sound and quality of the graphics, but criticized the gameplay for being monotonous and lacking variety. ''Darxide'' was one of the last games to be released for the 32X, and was only released in Europe. It was followed by a port, ''Darxide EMP'', in 2003 for

and Nokia S60 mobile phones. ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...

''s Mike Bevan commented that ''Darxide'' looks impressive given the hardware, though it was made more difficult by the lack of a

crosshair A reticle or reticule, also known as a graticule or crosshair, is a pattern of fine lines or markings built into the eyepiece of an optical device such as a telescopic sight, spotting scope, theodolite, optical microscope or the screen of ...

on screen. Scott Reed, also of ''Retro Gamer'', commented that the game is "alright", but called the game a collector's item and stated "there's no need to pay nearly a grand for it, either."

References

External links

* {{MobyGames, /darxide 1996 video games Europe-exclusive video games 32X games Shoot 'em ups Video games scored by Richard Jacques Video games developed in the United Kingdom Sega 32X-only games Sega video games Frontier Developments games Single-player video games

Gameplay and development

Reception and legacy

See also

References

External links