Microcosm is a shoot 'em up

Shoot 'em up

Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...

 computer game developed and published by Psygnosis in . It was released for the Sega Mega-CD

Sega Mega-CD

The is an add-on device for the Mega Drive video game console, designed and produced by Sega and released in Japan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The device was also released in North America under the name Sega CD, for the Sega Genesis...

 and Amiga CD32

Amiga CD32

The Amiga CD32, styled "CD32" , was the first 32-bit CD-ROM based video game console released in western Europe, Australia, Canada and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London, United Kingdom on 16 July 1993, and was released in September of the same year...

 game consoles, as well as MS-DOS

MS-DOS

MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...

. Microcosm featured realistic FMV

FMV

FMV may refer to:*Full motion video, Video sequences in computer games and video games*Fair market value, an estimate of the market value of a property*For Maximum Value , Kroger supermarket's store brand...

 animation, with the graphics being rendered on Silicon Graphics

Silicon Graphics

Silicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...

 workstations. The game is either in the first person or the third person view depending on the gaming system.

Story

The game takes place in a futuristic setting on an alien planet called Bodor, located in the Bator System, where the galaxy's two largest conglomerates

Conglomerate (company)

A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...

— Cybertech and Axiom — compete for interplanetary corporate domination. Axiom injects Cybertech president Tiron Korsby's body with microscopic droids designed to penetrate his brain and control his mind. Cybertech, however, learns of this plan and injects Korsby with their own piloted submarines shrunken down to size to destroy Axiom's droids and prevent them from controlling Korsby's mind.

Development

In 1991, the game was first seen in a demo for the Amiga CDTV. A port for the CD-i was planned and then canceled, but
a prototype exists.

Reception

Many Amiga magazines gave the game positive ratings, many ratings in the 80s (out of 100) and higher. A few magazines have praised Microcosm as having one of the best displays of graphics seen in an Amiga game.

Editions

The Limited Version of the PC version of the game contains the game, the manual, a soundtrack CD and a T-shirt.