Blade Force

Blade Force is a 1995 third-person shooter simulation video game developed by Studio 3DO and published by The 3DO Company in North America, Europe and Japan exclusively for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. Set on a dystopian sci-fi future in the year 2110, where the fictional city of Meggagrid has been overrun by criminals, the player is equipped with a flight suit created by scientist Dr. Franz Grubert known as the HeliPak in an attempt to overthrow the main criminal organization led by the Pitt family and bring order back to the metropolis. Its gameplay mainly consists of shooting action in third-person with six degrees of freedom using a main five-button configuration.

Blade Force
Developer(s)Studio 3DO
Publisher(s)The 3DO Company
Director(s)Gregory A. Gorsiski
Producer(s)Robert Lindsey
Trip Hawkins
Designer(s)Brad Engstrand
Michelle Breiner
Oren Tversky
Programmer(s)Frank Sandoval
Artist(s)Paul Xander
Rebecca Chow
Vince Arroyo
Composer(s)Nick Lockwood
EngineBill Budge
Platform(s)3DO Interactive Multiplayer
Release
  • NA: 1995
  • EU: 1995
  • JP: 20 October 1995
Genre(s)Simulation, third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Headed by Electronic Arts and The 3DO Company founder Trip Hawkins alongside Gregory A. Gorsiski and Robert Lindsey, Blade Force was created by most of the same team that were previously involved with several projects at Studio 3DO such as Jurassic Park Interactive and features a 3D game engine created by Pinball Construction Set designer Bill Budge.

Blade Force has been met with mostly positive reception from video game magazines and other dedicated outlets that reviewed the game since its launch, with praise towards the presentation, texture-mapped polygon graphics and sound design, though some reviewers criticized other aspects of the title such as the gameplay.

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot.

Blade Force is a third-person shooter simulation game similar to Descent, where players are equipped with the HeliPak flight suit and must traverse through seven areas set in the futuristic 3D urban landscape of Meggagrid featuring six degrees of freedom to overthrow the criminal organization led by the Pitt family and bring order back to the metropolis as the main objective.[1][2][3]

Before the main missions, players are introduced to a tutorial area by Dr. Franz Grubert to get familiarized with the controls and beneficial items that can be picked up along the way.[2] After the tutorial is completed, players are tasked with various objectives to clear before proceeding such as capturing a designated criminal.[2] If the players does not recover health, their player character will burst in flames and crash into the ground by enemy fire and once all lives are lost, the game is over, though players have the option of resuming progress by loading their saved game into the last mission reached.[2]

Synopsis

Blade Force takes place in the year 2110, where a fictional metropolis built from the ruins of Los Angeles called Meggagrid has been overrun by criminals. Scientist Dr. Franz Grubert had previously proposed a plan two years ago to equip the city's police force with a flight suit known as the HeliPak, however the government decided reducing the prison sentence to two years, cut funding for the remaining mental health centers and rely on aerial counter-terrorism squads as a cost-effective measure to control the increasing crime statistics. Due to corruption at the city hall, the city council did not adopt the proposed equipment and cut funds for Dr. Grubert, who was later permanently crippled during a bombing procedure. Seeking revenge against his enemies, Grubert plotted a plan to overthrow the main criminal organization led by the Pitt family, as the players are equipped with the HeliPak suit to carry on the mission.[2]

Development and release
Blade Force for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer features a 3D game engine by Bill Budge.

Blade Force was created by most of the same team that were previously involved with several projects at Studio 3DO such as Jurassic Park Interactive.[4][5][6][7][2] Its development was helmed by Electronic Arts and The 3DO Company founder Trip Hawkins, alongside producers Gregory A. Gorsiski and Robert Lindsey, with Gorsiski also sharing the role of designer, director and writer with multiple members of the staff.[2] Frank Sandoval served as project's sole programmer, while artists Paul Xander, Rebecca Chow and Vince Arroyo were responsible for the artwork.[2] The soundtrack was written by composer Nick Lockwood, while Jeff Sutherland handled the sound design.[2] Other members of the staff collaborated in its development including Pinball Construction Set designer Bill Budge, who created the 3D game engine.[4][7][2] The game runs at 30 frames per second.[8]

Blade Force was published by The 3DO Company across North America, Europe and Japan in 1995.[1][9][10] Early previews prior to release showcased at events like E3 1995 featured several differences such as a different head-up display and gameplay perspective.[4][5][11][12][13] Although the title was rated 17 in western regions, the Japanese release was rated E instead.[10]

Reception

Next Generation reviewed the 3DO version of the game, rating it five stars out of five, and stated that "This is easily one of the best games ever made, for 3DO or any system."[19]

References
  1. "Next Wave: Blade Force". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 75. Sendai Publishing. October 1995. p. 96.
  2. Blade Force manual (3DO Interactive Multiplayer, US)
  3. "Reportaje: 3DO – Ahora es su turno – Blade Force". Micromanía (in Spanish). Vol. 3, no. 11. HobbyPress. December 1995. p. 26.
  4. "Prescreen – Blade Force". Edge. No. 21. June 1995. p. 37.
  5. Taylor, Matt (September 1995). "Preview – Bladeforce". GameFan. Vol. 3, no. 9. DieHard Gamers Club. pp. 58–60. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  6. "Versión beta – Real 3DO – Blade Force". Última Generación (in Spanish). No. 7. MV Editores. October 1995. pp. 24–25.
  7. "Bill Budge reflects on his pioneering career – DICE 2011: Following AIAS award, Pinball Construction Set creator talks about the path he took that inspired a generation of game makers". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. 11 February 2011. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  8. "3DO: software – Bladeforce". Edge (Special Edition). Autumn 1995. p. 63.
  9. "3DO's Hot Holiday Line-Up – BladeForce (Studio 3DO)". VideoGames – The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 82. L.F.P., Inc. November 1995. p. 45.
  10. "3DO Soft > 1995" (in Japanese). GAME Data Room. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  11. "Reportage: Ici, Londres (3DO) – Un Avenir Pour La 3DO". CD Consoles (in French). No. 7. Pressimage. May 1995. pp. 42–43.
  12. García, Marcos; Martín, Fernando (June 1995). "Reportaje – Electronic Entertainment Expo: Una Feria Elevada Al Cubo – 3DO / Crystal Dynamics". Superjuegos (in Spanish). No. 38. Grupo Zeta. p. 22.
  13. "Prescreen – Blade Force". Edge. No. 24. September 1995. p. 34.
  14. "Blade Force for 3DO". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. 2019. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  15. Sackenheim, Shawn (2007). "Blade Force (3DO) – Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  16. "Testscreen – Blade Force". Edge. No. 27. December 1995. pp. 64–65. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  17. Halverson, Dave; Des Barres, Nicholas; Stalker (November 1995). "Viewpoint – Bladeforce". GameFan. Vol. 3, no. 11. DieHard Gamers Club. p. 22.
  18. Nihei, Wes (March 1996). "Quick Hits – ProReview: BladeForce". GamePro. No. 80. IDG. p. 72. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  19. "Finals – Dizzying – Bladeforce". Next Generation. No. 12. Imagine Media. December 1995. p. 183. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  20. Wynne, Stuart (1995–1996). "Review: BladeForce – Bite Me! That's the legend scrawled on the hero's mouthpiece. That's the attitude of the developers of BladeForce: colossal 3D landscapes, massed gun emplacements, a sky full of attack drones. All at 30fps or more". 3DO Magazine (Special Gold). No. 1. Paragon Publishing. p. 10.
  21. "Bladeforce – 3DO Review". Coming Soon Magazine. No. 9. Coming Soon Magazine, Inc. November 1995. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  22. Lucas, Victor (26 November 1995). "Reviews – Bladeforce". The Electric Playground. Archived from the original on 21 April 2001. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  23. Lundrigan, Jeff (December 1995). "3DO – Review – Bladeforce". Game Players. No. 78. Signal Research. p. 78.
  24. "Vidéotest: Blade Force (3DO) – Balade en force". Joystick (in French). No. 65. Anuman Interactive. November 1995. pp. 76–77. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  25. Ehrle, Oliver (December 1995). "Spiele-Tests – 3DO – Blade Force". MAN!AC (in German). No. 26. Cybermedia. p. 72.
  26. Harhausen, Björn (December 1995). "Test 3DO – Blade Force". Mega Fun (in German). No. 39. CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. p. 93.
  27. "Review – Blade Force – 3DO". Power Unlimited (in Dutch). No. 27. VNU Media. June 1996.
  28. "3DO Игры – Blade Force". Strana Igr (in Russian). Vol. 2, no. 2. Gameland. March 1996. pp. 70–71.
  29. "3DO Игры – Blade Force". Strana Igr (in Russian). Vol. 6, no. 6. Gameland. September 1996. p. 102.
  30. Schaedle, Wolfgang (March 1996). "Real 3DO – Reviews – Bladeforce". Video Games (in German). No. 52. Future-Verlag. p. 66.
  31. "Game Players – Awards – Best 3DO Game". Game Players. No. 79. Signal Research. Christmas 1995. p. 28.
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