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Fade to Black (video game)
Encyclopedia
Fade to Black is an action-adventure game
released in 1995 by Delphine Software International
. Directed and designed by Paul Cuisset
, it is the sequel
to his previous game, Flashback (the acronym of the game is F2B, indirectly addressing it to be Flashback 2).
The game was released for DOS
and PlayStation; planned Nintendo 64
(Ultra 64 at the time) and Sega Saturn
versions were cancelled.
3D for DOS and fully textured 3D for the PlayStation. It features an over-the-shoulder viewpoint, with almost no platform sequences. The style of the game is action adventure
in a similar style to the later Tomb Raider series, there was a controversy at the time, between the two games which resulted in punishment of game developers for plagiarism and copyright infringement.
in a spaceship that floats aimlessly through outer space. A half century later, he is found by the Morphs and imprisoned in the Lunar prison of New Alcatraz. There, he is rescued by a man that introduces himself as John O'Conner, who tells him that the Morphs beat him to Conrad's ship, and leaves him a few items "of interest" (a PDA
and a handgun), before he destroys the camera. On the PDA is a message that's from John, who tells Conrad to sneak around the base. Mandragore agents left a radar-scrambler there. Conrad soon makes it to John's ship. As they blast off, Morph ships start attacking them. They teleport away to Mandragore base Shadow just as the ship is destroyed.
They meet Sarah Smith, who leads them. Later, she tells Conrad that while he was in suspended animation the Morphs attacked Earth with far superior forces, which made the governments surrender. The Mandragore has far fewer people, but they refuse to give up. Agents then call Sarah and tell her that they have found the location of Professor Bergstein: Morph asteroid base D321. Sarah sends Conrad and John there to rescue him. Conrad eventually finds Bergstein, who tells him that the base must be destroyed because it contains the Morph's new mind-manipulating weapon. He gives him a datacube (similar to the holocube that is in Flashback), which he explains contains a virus that he programmed in. The virus will blow up the base when the datacube is connected to the core. They connect the virus to the core and escape the base with John as it blows up, along with the asteroid itself.
Conrad is then sent to Pluto, where he meets Ageer. He tells Ageer about his previous adventures. Ageer tells Conrad that he and his people, an ancient alien race, want to join the Mandragore and can lead them to victory. Soon, Ageer tells Conrad that he must find the oracle. Conrad travels to Easter Island. Ageer then tells Conrad that the oracle will lead him to the pyramid. As he travels, the Super Morph arrives to kill Conrad, who finds a glass eyeball that he gives to a hand creature that then gives him the oracle. The oracle does lead Conrad to the pyramid, which Ageer uses to give the history of the Ancients to Conrad:
The Ancients live in peace until the Morphs arrive. The Ancients think that they come in peace and they welcome them. However, the Morphs attack the ancients. The Ancients put their souls in the pyramid, which is then captured by the Morphs.
As Conrad starts returning to his ship, he sees John telling the Master Brain that their plan has become a success; with his identity, he has managed to infiltrate Shadow and put in an active detonation device. The Master Brain then tells him that someone is spying on them. John looks back, sees Conrad, and then transforms into his true identity: the Super Morph. Conrad quickly takes the pyramid and returns to Shadow, which is then attacked by the Morphs. Conrad fights his way through the Morphs as agents all around get killed. He gets a key from Hank, which gives him access to the command room. The commander tells Conrad that Sarah can give him the code to disable the detonation device, but she has been taken hostage by a Morph. Conrad gets to the floor and saves Sarah, who then gives him the code and teleports away.
After Conrad disables the device, Ageer and the Mandragore enter the command room as Sarah explains their new plan. The Ancients have given the Mandragore the ability to know where the central Master Brain is on Easter Island. She and Conrad will teleport there and destroy it. As they arrive, they separate. Conrad eventually teleports to the central Master Brain and throws the oracle in front of it. As he then teleports away, the oracle disappears and leaves behind the pyramid, which now contains the souls of the Ancients. The Ancients then fight the central Master Brain. The Ancients sacrifice themselves in order to destroy the central Master Brain. As Conrad flees Easter Island, it starts exploding, and the Super Morph gives chase. From here there are two endings:
.
and Adeline Software International
for a planned released in 2003. As opposed to Fade to Black, it was going to be a 2D side-scroller game
, like Flashback, but without non-scrolling areas. It was targeted exclusively for the Game Boy Advance
.
The game was canceled when Delphine went bankrupt and ceased operations in the end of 2002. However, a prototype ROM
, dated June 21, 2002, was leaked and spread over the internet at some point. It features all sixteen levels with minor glitches and only one music track for the entire game, which is a compressed tune from Fade to Black. Despite multi-language options, the beta can only be played in French
with an English pause menu. The prototype was translated to English by VanishedOne.
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
released in 1995 by Delphine Software International
Delphine Software International
Delphine Software was a French video game developer company. They were famous for their games Another World and Flashback, which bore a similarity to Prince of Persia, both in gameplay and in utilizing rotoscoped animation...
. Directed and designed by Paul Cuisset
Paul Cuisset
Paul Cuisset is a French programmer and designer of several popular video games.-Career:Paul Cuisset was the lead designer of Delphine Software International and the creator of the computer game smash hit...
, it is the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to his previous game, Flashback (the acronym of the game is F2B, indirectly addressing it to be Flashback 2).
The game was released for DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
and PlayStation; planned Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
(Ultra 64 at the time) and Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
versions were cancelled.
Gameplay
The game is displayed in full gouraud shadedGouraud shading
Gouraud shading, named after Henri Gouraud, is an interpolation method used in computer graphics to produce continuous shading of surfaces represented by polygon meshes...
3D for DOS and fully textured 3D for the PlayStation. It features an over-the-shoulder viewpoint, with almost no platform sequences. The style of the game is action adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
in a similar style to the later Tomb Raider series, there was a controversy at the time, between the two games which resulted in punishment of game developers for plagiarism and copyright infringement.
Plot
The main protagonist is Conrad Hart who, in Flashback, destroyed the planet of hostile aliens called the Morphs and went into suspended animationSuspended animation
Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. Breathing, heartbeat, and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. Extreme cold can be used to precipitate the slowing of an individual's functions; use...
in a spaceship that floats aimlessly through outer space. A half century later, he is found by the Morphs and imprisoned in the Lunar prison of New Alcatraz. There, he is rescued by a man that introduces himself as John O'Conner, who tells him that the Morphs beat him to Conrad's ship, and leaves him a few items "of interest" (a PDA
PDA
A PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...
and a handgun), before he destroys the camera. On the PDA is a message that's from John, who tells Conrad to sneak around the base. Mandragore agents left a radar-scrambler there. Conrad soon makes it to John's ship. As they blast off, Morph ships start attacking them. They teleport away to Mandragore base Shadow just as the ship is destroyed.
They meet Sarah Smith, who leads them. Later, she tells Conrad that while he was in suspended animation the Morphs attacked Earth with far superior forces, which made the governments surrender. The Mandragore has far fewer people, but they refuse to give up. Agents then call Sarah and tell her that they have found the location of Professor Bergstein: Morph asteroid base D321. Sarah sends Conrad and John there to rescue him. Conrad eventually finds Bergstein, who tells him that the base must be destroyed because it contains the Morph's new mind-manipulating weapon. He gives him a datacube (similar to the holocube that is in Flashback), which he explains contains a virus that he programmed in. The virus will blow up the base when the datacube is connected to the core. They connect the virus to the core and escape the base with John as it blows up, along with the asteroid itself.
Conrad is then sent to Pluto, where he meets Ageer. He tells Ageer about his previous adventures. Ageer tells Conrad that he and his people, an ancient alien race, want to join the Mandragore and can lead them to victory. Soon, Ageer tells Conrad that he must find the oracle. Conrad travels to Easter Island. Ageer then tells Conrad that the oracle will lead him to the pyramid. As he travels, the Super Morph arrives to kill Conrad, who finds a glass eyeball that he gives to a hand creature that then gives him the oracle. The oracle does lead Conrad to the pyramid, which Ageer uses to give the history of the Ancients to Conrad:
The Ancients live in peace until the Morphs arrive. The Ancients think that they come in peace and they welcome them. However, the Morphs attack the ancients. The Ancients put their souls in the pyramid, which is then captured by the Morphs.
As Conrad starts returning to his ship, he sees John telling the Master Brain that their plan has become a success; with his identity, he has managed to infiltrate Shadow and put in an active detonation device. The Master Brain then tells him that someone is spying on them. John looks back, sees Conrad, and then transforms into his true identity: the Super Morph. Conrad quickly takes the pyramid and returns to Shadow, which is then attacked by the Morphs. Conrad fights his way through the Morphs as agents all around get killed. He gets a key from Hank, which gives him access to the command room. The commander tells Conrad that Sarah can give him the code to disable the detonation device, but she has been taken hostage by a Morph. Conrad gets to the floor and saves Sarah, who then gives him the code and teleports away.
After Conrad disables the device, Ageer and the Mandragore enter the command room as Sarah explains their new plan. The Ancients have given the Mandragore the ability to know where the central Master Brain is on Easter Island. She and Conrad will teleport there and destroy it. As they arrive, they separate. Conrad eventually teleports to the central Master Brain and throws the oracle in front of it. As he then teleports away, the oracle disappears and leaves behind the pyramid, which now contains the souls of the Ancients. The Ancients then fight the central Master Brain. The Ancients sacrifice themselves in order to destroy the central Master Brain. As Conrad flees Easter Island, it starts exploding, and the Super Morph gives chase. From here there are two endings:
- If Conrad reunites with Sarah and goes to the ship, then they enter it and Sarah starts the ship. The Super Morph attempts to attack, but Sarah pulls down on the control stick, which causes one of the blasters to start. The impact kills the Super Morph. Sarah then skillfully pilots the ship off Easter Island just as it explodes. The Mandragore then congratulates Conrad for his efforts. As Sarah pilots the ship back to Shadow and ships arrive on Earth, a voiceover of Conrad is heard explaining that he was no longer alone, he knew that the ships would converge on Earth, millions fled the Morphs, and he was anxious to join Shadow as a comrade.
- If Conrad gets to the ship alone, then he does the exact things that Sarah does in the other ending, including killing the Super Morph, but he must fly off of Easter Island on his own. He successfully does just as it blows up. The Mandragore seems unaware of Sarah's death as they do not mention it when they congratulate Conrad. Although ships are converging on Earth and the Morphs have been destroyed, Conrad's future relationship with the Mandragore is left unknown.
Reception
Fade to Black received a moderately positive critical response. The PlayStation version sold enough copies to go PlatinumPlatinum range
The Platinum Range is a Sony PlayStation budget range in the PAL regions, notably Europe , Australia, New Zealand, India, and Africa...
.
Cancelled sequel
Flashback Legends was an unreleased sequel to Fade to Black. It was in development by both Delphine Software InternationalDelphine Software International
Delphine Software was a French video game developer company. They were famous for their games Another World and Flashback, which bore a similarity to Prince of Persia, both in gameplay and in utilizing rotoscoped animation...
and Adeline Software International
Adeline Software International
Adeline Software International was a video game developer founded in February 1993 as a subsidiary company of Delphine Software International, and based in Lyon, France...
for a planned released in 2003. As opposed to Fade to Black, it was going to be a 2D side-scroller game
Side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...
, like Flashback, but without non-scrolling areas. It was targeted exclusively for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
.
The game was canceled when Delphine went bankrupt and ceased operations in the end of 2002. However, a prototype ROM
ROM image
A ROM image, or ROM file, is a computer file which contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, often from a video game cartridge, a computer's firmware, or from an arcade game's main board...
, dated June 21, 2002, was leaked and spread over the internet at some point. It features all sixteen levels with minor glitches and only one music track for the entire game, which is a compressed tune from Fade to Black. Despite multi-language options, the beta can only be played in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
with an English pause menu. The prototype was translated to English by VanishedOne.