Difference between revisions of "Microcosm"
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Revision as of 08:29, 29 April 2017
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Microcosm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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System(s): Sega Mega-CD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher: Psygnosis, Victor Entertainment (JP) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Developer: Psygnosis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genre: Shoot-'em-Up | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of players: 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Microcosm (マイクロコズム) is an on-the-rails shoot-'em-up game developed for the Sega Mega-CD by Psygnosis.
Contents
Gameplay
In Microcosm, the player controls a small ship, travelling through the human body to destroy aliens. As an "on-the-rails" shoot-'em-up, the player has control over the ship's horizontal and vertical movements, but movement into the screen along the third axis is dictated by the game. The limitations of the Mega-CD mean a pseudo-3D effect is achieved through full motion video. While some versions of Microcosm opt for a first-person perspective, the Mega-CD uses a third-person view at all times.
The ship has mutliple weapons, alongside a standard shot with limitless ammo. Multiple hits can be taken from enemies before the ship explodes. While it can take roughly 40 minutes to complete the game in one sitting, a password system is also offered.
Unlike other Mega-CD titles, Microcosm chooses to limit its full motion video sequences to 16 colours (a quarter of the 64 available to the system), presumably as a space saving measure.
History
Development
Microcosm was first seen in demo form for the Amiga CDTV platform in 1991, but soon became an FM Towns title, with development partially funded by Fujitsu prior to the game being ported to other platforms. The full motion video was rendered using Silicon Graphics Indigo workstations alongside life action footage[3].
Live action footage was recorded at night with an S-VHS recorder, and features members of the team as opposed to paid actors[4]. 2D graphics (and textures) were drawn on Amigas[4].
In total the game's raw data amassed over 6GB[5], with image data being stored in 24-bit colour before being compressed for the various platforms[6]. Initial development cost between $600,000 and $750,000 USD[7].
Versions
Microcosm was released for a variety of home platforms, including the 3DO, Amiga CD32, FM Towns and IBM PC. All other versions are able to output higher quality full motion video than the Mega-CD version, and in many cases, at higher resolutions.
Magazine articles
- Main article: Microcosm/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
also published in:
- Game Players (US) #0612: "Vol. 6 No. 12 December 1993" (1993-1x-xx)[8]
- GamePro (US) #54: "January 1994" (199x-xx-xx)[9]
also published in:
- Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #59: "June 1994" (1994-xx-xx)[10]
Physical scans
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Based on 30 reviews |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 File:MeanMachinesSega16UK.pdf, page 81 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega16UK.pdf_p81" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Press release: 1994-01-06: PSYGNOSIS INTRODUCES 'INTERACTIVE CINEMA' WITH THE DEBUT OF MICROCOSM
- ↑ File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 71
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 73
- ↑ File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 72
- ↑ File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 74
- ↑ File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 77
- ↑ Game Players, "Vol. 6 No. 12 December 1993" (US; 1993-1x-xx), page 152
- ↑ GamePro, "January 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 188
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "June 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 142
- ↑ File:SegaMagazine UK 02.pdf, page 108
- ↑ Ação Games, "Março 1994" (BR; 1994-03-01), page 26
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "March 1994" (JP; 1994-02-08), page 21
- ↑ Consoles +, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 160
- ↑ Digitiser (UK) (1994-02-22)
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "March 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 38
- ↑ Famitsu, "1994-03-04" (JP; 1994-02-18), page 1
- ↑ Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 4 April 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 69
- ↑ Gamers, "Mai/Juni 1994" (DE; 1994-05-06), page 41
- ↑ GamesMaster, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 79
- ↑ Games World (Teletext) (UK) (+0:00)
- ↑ Hippon Super, "April 1994" (JP; 1994-03-03), page 60
- ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Junio 1994" (ES; 1994-xx-xx), page 136
- ↑ Hyper, "February 1994" (AU; 199x-xx-xx), page 54
- ↑ Joypad, "Février 1994" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 94
- ↑ Mega, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 26
- ↑ Mega Action, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-30), page 38
- ↑ Mega Force, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-12-10), page 120
- ↑ Mega Fun, "05/94" (DE; 1994-04-20), page 109
- ↑ MegaTech, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-21), page 60
- ↑ Player One, "Janvier 1994" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 122
- ↑ Sega Magazine, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-10), page 109
- ↑ Sega Power, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-06), page 50
- ↑ Sega Pro, "Xmas Special 1993" (UK; 1993-12-02), page 34
- ↑ Sega Zone, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-27), page 42
- ↑ Sega Force, "6/94" (SE; 1994-09-14), page 30
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
- ↑ Super Juegos, "Abril 1994" (ES; 1994-0x-xx), page 116
- ↑ Video Games, "5/94" (DE; 1994-04-27), page 91
- ↑ VideoGames, "April 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 82
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