Digital Pictures' Games
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Night Trap
- Released: 1992 (Sega CD)
- Developer: Digital Pictures
- Systems (listed in order of appearance): Sega
CD, 32X add-on, 3DO, PC/Mac
|
| Dana Plato's best movie?
|
Summary:Believe it or not, Night Trap has quite a history.
The game was originally developed during the late eighties (under a
different name) for a potential new game system called the
NEMO, which later got canned. Eventually it arrived on the
Sega CD, where it went on to become one of the most controversial
games ever made. The game features several young teenagers (Dana
Plato of "Different Strokes" fame among them) who are invited to
attend a slumber party. The only problem is, unbeknown to the
guests, the Martin's (who are hosting the little get-together) just
so happen to be blood-sucking vampires and are suspected of being
involved in the disappearance of their previous five house-guests.
Fortunately, one of the guests is an undercover S.C.A.T. agent,
played by the late Dana Plato. Basically, you must keep a constant
check of the house guests via hidden surveillance cameras while they
move about. You must also trap the Augers (creatures dressed
in black outfitting that do the Martin's dirty work) before they
attack the house guests or S.C.A.T. agents. While the story and
gameplay sound pretty decent, Night Trap is nothing more than
boring, repetitive video clips wrapped up in a barely interactive
interface in which you press a button or two during key moments. The
gameplay is all about being in the right room at the right moment to
trigger a trap with a press of a button; if you're not, someone will
most likely die, causing your "game" to end.
Probably the most interesting part about the Night Trap
phenomenon is the fact that the game received heavy criticism from
not only videogame critics, but also one Senator Joseph Lieberman,
who was ultimately able to put enough pressure on the videogame
industry to help lead to a rating system known as the ESRB.
Apparently, the famous "bathroom scene," where a young girl dressed
in evening wear gets attacked by multiple Augers, was too
much for some people to take. Some even went as far to say that it
was an implied rape scene. If for no other reason, hunt down a copy
of this game just to see how ridiculous all of this really was. The
irony, of course, is Night Trap seems tame in comparison to the
polygon-based games being made today, several years after the ESRB
rating system went into effect. I guess games that feature
realistic-looking, scantily-clad, polygonal characters killing each
other aren't as bad...
Similar Games: Double
Switch, Ground
Zero Texas, Psychic
Detective, Voyeur
Links:All
Game Guide - Night Trap (Sega CD) - description, review,
instructions, and cheats for the Sega CD version of the game
All
Game Guide - Night Trap (3DO) - description and review of the
3DO version of the game
Entertainment Rating Software
Board - Night Trap contributed two things to the world of
videogaming: a barely interactive B-movie and the creation of the
ESRP.
U.S. Senator Joe
Lieberman's Homepage - find out more about the man who helped
push for the ESRB rating system to protect children from violent
videogames.
Double Switch
- Released: 1993 (Sega CD)
- Developer: Digital Pictures
- Systems (listed in order of appearance): Sega
CD, PC/Mac, Saturn
|
| Double Switch starred Corey Haim
and also featured Deborah Harry, lead singer of
Blondie |
Summary:Double Switch took the Night Trap formula
and "improved" upon it. The first thing players may have noticed (or
maybe not) was the inclusion of "big-name" talent, such as Corey
Haim of Lost Boys and License to Drive fame, and the
lead singer of Blondie, Deborah Harry, who played Cory's
mother in the game. Thomas Dolby ("She Blinded Me with
Science") even provided the music for the game, which is
actually quite good.
The gameplay is slightly improved over Night Trap, in that there
is much more going on at once and the player has a bit more control
over arming and disarming traps. Other than that, it's Night Trap in
a mansion (called the Edward Arms), save for the blood-sucking
vampires, which are replaced by criminals looking for ancient
treasure rumored to be hidden within Edward Arms. I won't go into
the storyline because it's arguably the one reason to play the game.
And trust me, the name Double Switch will make much more
sense after you make your way through the game.
Similar Games: Ground
Zero Texas, Night
Trap, Psychic
Detective, Voyeur
Links:All
Game Guide - Double Switch (Sega CD) - description, review,
instructions, cheats, and credits for the Sega CD version of the
game
All
Game Guide - Double Switch (Saturn) - description, review, and
credits for the Saturn version of the game
The Flat Earth Society:
Thomas Dolby - Thomas Dolby's official homepage; find out more
about the man behind the music of Double Switch.
Cyber
Cinema Interactive - Double Switch - the new publisher's webpage
for the game
Corpse Killer
- Released: 1994 (Sega CD)
- Developer: Digital Pictures
- Systems (listed in order of appearance): Sega
CD, 32X, 3DO, PC/Mac, Saturn
|
| This guy looks like he wants out of the
game |
Summary:Corpse Killer featured Operation Wolf-type
gameplay with cheesy, B-movie cut-scenes in between shooting scenes.
Since the shooting scenes didn't use "live" Full-Motion-Video like
American Laser Games, Corpse Killer was more interactive and
contained more replay than your standard interactive movie, but
that's not saying much. The early versions of the game (Sega CD, PC,
3DO) weren't much to look at and didn't control all that well,
either. Corpse Killer: Graveyard Edition for the Saturn was slightly
improved and featured some additional enemies, along with some
better video compression. As an interactive movie, Corpse Killer was
decent; as a game, it was atrocious.
Similar Games: American Laser
Games, Ground
Zero Texas, Sewer
Shark, Soldier Boyz
Links:All
Game Guide - Corpse Killer (Sega CD) - description, review,
instructions, and credits for the Sega CD version of the game
All
Game Guide - Corpse Killer: Graveyard Edition (Saturn) -
description, review, instructions, screenshots, and credits for the
Saturn version of the game
All
Game Guide - Corpse Killer (3DO) - description, review, and
credits for the 3DO version of the game
Cyber
Cinema Interactive - Corpse Killer - the new publisher's webpage
for the game
Supreme Warrior
- Released: 1994 (Sega CD)
- Developer: Digital Pictures
- Systems (listed in order of appearance): Sega
CD, 32X, 3DO, PC/Mac
|
| Supreme Warrior is probably the only game
available that allows you to participate in a bad kung-fu
movie |
Summary:Digital Pictures definitely had some good ideas
when it came to interactive movies, but unfortunately the finished
products were never much fun to play. This is most evident in
Supreme Warrior, where you play as a kung-fu master and
battle it out with several different warriors. While definitely a
step above the Raging Bull-inspired, Prize Fighter,
Supreme Warrior proved to be too unplayable in the end to pass for
entertainment.
Similar Games: Prize
Fighter
Links:All
Game Guide - Supreme Warrior (Sega 32X CD) - description,
review, instructions, and credits for the Sega 32X CD version of the
game
All
Game Guide - Supreme Warrior (3DO) - description, review,
instructions, and credits for the 3DO version of the game
Cyber
Cinema Interactive - Supreme Warrior - the new publisher's
webpage for the game
Quarterback Attack
- Released: 1995 (Saturn)
- Developer: Digital Pictures
- Systems (listed in order of appearance):
Saturn, 3DO, PC/Mac
|
| What's Mike Ditka doing in a
videogame? |
Summary:Arguably the best Digital Pictures game ever made,
Quarterback Attack received pretty decent scores/ratings from
videogame critics. While by no means able to compete with the likes
of a Madden, the "game" did allow players to get a sense of what it
was like to be a quarterback in the comfort of their armchair. And
basically that's all the player got to experience, since it was the
only position open to the player. Just like the rest of the Digital
Pictures' games, though, Quarterback Attack suffered from grainy
video, limited gameplay, and lack of replay value. This was the last
Digital Pictures game ever released, so one has to wonder what might
have been if they hadn't gone under. Read on...
Similar Games: NFL Football,
Slam
City
Links:All
Game Guide - Quarterback Attack (Saturn) - description, review,
and credits for the Saturn version of the game
Cyber
Cinema Interactive - Quarterback Attack - the new publisher's
webpage for the game
Maximum Surge
- Never Released
- Developer: Digital Pictures
- Planned Systems: 3DO, PC/Mac, Saturn
|
| Yasmine Bleeth took time out of her busy
Baywatch schedule to star in Maximum Surge
|
Summary:I have to admit, Maximum Surge was one
Digital Pictures game I was looking forward to -- but only because
it starred Yasmine Bleeth of Baywatch fame. Unfortunately,
though, it never saw the light of day, which came as a huge
disappointment for those who were eagerly anticipating it.
Hopefully, Cyber
Cinema Interactive (see 'links' section) will get around to
releasing it on DVD-ROM one of these days...
Similar Games: American Laser
Games, Corpse
Killer: Graveyard Edition, Ground
Zero Texas
Links:Cyber
Cinema Interactive - Maximum Surge - the new publisher's webpage
for the game
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