Space Station Silicon Valley
Encyclopedia
Space Station Silicon Valley is a platform game
released in October 1998
by Scottish developer DMA Design (now known as Rockstar North
, creator of the Grand Theft Auto
series). It was initially released for the Nintendo 64
, and later ported into two Europe exclusive versions, first for the PlayStation
under the title of Evo's Space Adventures in 1999, and later that year for the Game Boy Color
. Several glitch
es were present within the game, but this did not prevent it from attaining considerable critical acclaim.
, home to numerous animals (the station was intended by the designer to be a "technologically advanced amusement park
"), which was launched and, seven minutes into the launch, subsequently lost in the year 2001. Thought to have disappeared forever, it reappears in the year 3000, and its designer, Professor Cheese, mysteriously vanishes upon an excursion to the station. Following this, a duo of "Heroes for Hire", namely Danger Dan and his robotic partner, Evo, a perfect, "super-intelligent, self-evolving robot", and the end result of the Silicon Valley experiment. Danger Dan and Evo are dispatched to the station in order to investigate this disappearance. They arrive to find that over 1000 years, the animal cargo had evolved and merged with technology; examples including an electronically powered fox
with motorized wheels and a steam-powered hippopotamus
. Throughout the course of the game, the space station is on a collision course with Earth
, and it is the player's mission to save all of humanity
. At the end of the game, Evo arrives at the control room in the center of the station. He confronts the Evil Brain, who, after watching Evo on his adventure through the station, is fascinated by Evo's abilities and wants to keep Evo to complete his collection of robotic animals. The Brain is interested in Evo because he believes that Evo's powers can lead him to domination of the galaxy. He claims that "with your body and my mind, we can rule the stars" The Brain is also threatening to fire his "Doomsday-o-Matic shrinkray" at the earth. Evo easily defeats the Brain with his laser-vision, but is unable to stop the Space Station from spinning out of control. The station finally collides with earth, landing in New York Harbor
. In the process, all of the robotic animals escape from the station. Evo (now fully constructed) must run around New York City
, searching out and terminating all of the animals before they terrorize or take over the planet.
reduced to a crawling microchip
during a crash into the titular station caused by a fight over radio stations. Without protection, Evo loses energy at a steady rate. To survive, Evo must enter the bodies of animals (who each possess their own abilities) and use them to solve puzzles and defeat enemies in each level, collecting Evo's "purple power cells" along the way. As this progresses, Dan is trapped in the team's destroyed spaceship
assigning Evo his missions and occasionally commenting.
While progressing through the four distinct sections of the space station — Euro-Eden, Arctic Kingdom, Jungle Safari, and Desert Adventure — the player collects the scattered remains of Evo's protective shell suit, eventually re-assembling him for the final level.
.
In some levels, the player may be able to pass through walls if hit at the right angle. This is more common in "Stinky Sewers", where the walls can be unstable. In places, the player may even pass through walls to the outside of the level which can result in the player dying instantly.
A further bug prevents the player from collecting all of the souvenirs in the game. Since this bug occurs, it is impossible for the player to complete the game and witness its proper ending. Collecting all of the souvenirs also unlocks a secret bonus level. This cannot be accessed normally because of the bug. However, it can be reached by entering a code at the level selection screen.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
released in October 1998
1998 in video gaming
-Events:*Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo to the AIAS Hall of Fame*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 1st annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards...
by Scottish developer DMA Design (now known as Rockstar North
Rockstar North
Rockstar North is a British video game developer based in Edinburgh, Scotland, best known for creating the Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings franchises in its earlier guise as DMA....
, creator of the Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
series). It was initially released for the 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...
, and later ported into two Europe exclusive versions, first for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
under the title of Evo's Space Adventures in 1999, and later that year for the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
. Several glitch
Glitch
A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system. It is often used to describe a transient fault that corrects itself, and is therefore difficult to troubleshoot...
es were present within the game, but this did not prevent it from attaining considerable critical acclaim.
Storyline
The game's storyline revolves around a space stationSpace station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
, home to numerous animals (the station was intended by the designer to be a "technologically advanced amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
"), which was launched and, seven minutes into the launch, subsequently lost in the year 2001. Thought to have disappeared forever, it reappears in the year 3000, and its designer, Professor Cheese, mysteriously vanishes upon an excursion to the station. Following this, a duo of "Heroes for Hire", namely Danger Dan and his robotic partner, Evo, a perfect, "super-intelligent, self-evolving robot", and the end result of the Silicon Valley experiment. Danger Dan and Evo are dispatched to the station in order to investigate this disappearance. They arrive to find that over 1000 years, the animal cargo had evolved and merged with technology; examples including an electronically powered fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
with motorized wheels and a steam-powered hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
. Throughout the course of the game, the space station is on a collision course with Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, and it is the player's mission to save all of humanity
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
. At the end of the game, Evo arrives at the control room in the center of the station. He confronts the Evil Brain, who, after watching Evo on his adventure through the station, is fascinated by Evo's abilities and wants to keep Evo to complete his collection of robotic animals. The Brain is interested in Evo because he believes that Evo's powers can lead him to domination of the galaxy. He claims that "with your body and my mind, we can rule the stars" The Brain is also threatening to fire his "Doomsday-o-Matic shrinkray" at the earth. Evo easily defeats the Brain with his laser-vision, but is unable to stop the Space Station from spinning out of control. The station finally collides with earth, landing in New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
. In the process, all of the robotic animals escape from the station. Evo (now fully constructed) must run around New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, searching out and terminating all of the animals before they terrorize or take over the planet.
Gameplay
The player controls Evo, a robotRobot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
reduced to a crawling microchip
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
during a crash into the titular station caused by a fight over radio stations. Without protection, Evo loses energy at a steady rate. To survive, Evo must enter the bodies of animals (who each possess their own abilities) and use them to solve puzzles and defeat enemies in each level, collecting Evo's "purple power cells" along the way. As this progresses, Dan is trapped in the team's destroyed spaceship
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
assigning Evo his missions and occasionally commenting.
While progressing through the four distinct sections of the space station — Euro-Eden, Arctic Kingdom, Jungle Safari, and Desert Adventure — the player collects the scattered remains of Evo's protective shell suit, eventually re-assembling him for the final level.
Critical reception
Space Station Silicon Valley was largely well received due to its intuitive mechanics, innovative level design, and comical concepts, obtaining a cumulative score of 83 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
Bugs and glitches
The game has been known to freeze up, but it is a rare occurrence. Freezes are more common when using the Expansion Pak. In some cases it is impossible to get past the first few start up screens if the Expansion Pak is present.In some levels, the player may be able to pass through walls if hit at the right angle. This is more common in "Stinky Sewers", where the walls can be unstable. In places, the player may even pass through walls to the outside of the level which can result in the player dying instantly.
A further bug prevents the player from collecting all of the souvenirs in the game. Since this bug occurs, it is impossible for the player to complete the game and witness its proper ending. Collecting all of the souvenirs also unlocks a secret bonus level. This cannot be accessed normally because of the bug. However, it can be reached by entering a code at the level selection screen.
In media
- Scenes from this game are featured in the music video for Mouse On MarsMouse on MarsMouse on Mars is a duo from Germany who have been making electronic music since 1993. Their music is a sometimes quirky blend of IDM, krautrock, disco, and ambient with a heavy dollop of analog synth sounds and cross-frequency modulation...
' song "Twift Shoeblade". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAJ4OT6-5GU - The 'victory theme' heard after completing a level can be heard occasionally on one of the radio stations in DMA's 1999 game, Grand Theft Auto 2Grand Theft Auto 2Grand Theft Auto 2 is a video game that was released worldwide on October 25, 1999, by developer DMA Design , initially for the Windows operating system and the PlayStation console. The game was later ported to the Dreamcast console and the Game Boy Color. It is the sequel to 1997 hit Grand Theft...
.