Forsaken

aka: Condemned
Moby ID: 117
Windows Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/25 12:50 PM )
Conversion (official) Included in See Also

Description official descriptions

Earth has been rendered largely uninhabitable by an explosion caused by a bungled experiment. Few would dare to brave its unstable and searing environments - only those determined to grab a little of its remaining gold. You are one of those, taking your hover-bike into disintegrating caverns for a few hours of dangerous work which, successful or not, will be your last.

Forsaken is a first-person shoot 'em up in which you have complete movement freedom in 3 dimensions, as you accelerate, swerve and strafe your craft, making for gameplay resembling Descent. Each level has a defined exit which must be reached within a tight time limit. The surrounding areas are collapsing around you, with spikes and turbine fans among your hazards. Be very aware of other craft out to take all you have, as they alter their approach based on your weaponry (from the 25 featured in the game) and past encounters.

On the PC, multiplayer action can feature up to 12 human players. The Nintendo 64 version featured 4 player split-screen multiplayer, while the Playstation version has no multiplayer options.

Spellings

  • 浩劫餘生 - Traditional Chinese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (Windows version)

51 People (46 developers, 5 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 84% (based on 31 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.4 out of 5 (based on 33 ratings with 4 reviews)

If you're looking for mind-numbing 3D accelerator action, Forsaken delivers.

The Good
You have to look at Forsaken in the context it was created: Descent on steroids. It's not meant to be deep, strategically challenging, or even fair: It's a hoverbike-blasts-everything universe, and Forsaken allows the player with even a 1st-generation 3D accelerator to go nuts and shoot at everything that moves. In that context, it delivers.

Not that 1st-generation people get to have all the fun: If you have a decent accelerator, a force-feedback joystick, and a subwoofer, prepare for carpal tunnel syndrome.

The Bad
Forsaken suffers from the same problems that all shooters do: If the enemies get too hard too quickly, the player gets frustrated. Assume that you'll get frustrated about six times an hour while playing.

The Bottom Line
If you want to shoot, then shoot! Forsaken is not supposed to be a deep, philisophical experience. :-)

Windows · by Trixter (8952) · 1999

A horrible, horrible game.

The Good
I do have to admit the 3D engine looks extremely good...

The Bad
... but the controls are terrible, gameplay just gets to you after three seconds, and the game itself simply has no point. The sound effects are really, REALLY annoying too.

The Bottom Line
Just stay away from it...

Windows · by Tomer Gabel (4539) · 1999

Descent

The Good
As 'Descent 3' appeared to have been terminally delayed, and sidetracked by the otherwise-unrelated 'Freespace' series, this was produced in order to update the concept. Technically, it's stunning - the graphics whizz by attractively, and there is a neat implementation of water at one point. Gameplay-wise, it's adequate - it isn't at all deep, and revolves around shooting things lots, and it doesn't take too long to finish, either. It's fun for a short while, and then you forget about it.

The Bad
On the other hand, the shallow gameplay gets to you after a while. The game lacks any kind of character, either, being a mish-mash of borrowed cyberpunk ideas.

Worst of all, however, is the fact that the bad guys materialise from thin air, always in the most obvious places, at the most obvious times. Playing the game therefore becomes a matter of entering a new area, shooting at the bad guys, moving to where the next lot will appear, triggering them, and shooting them.

The Bottom Line
Shallow, fun, brief shoot-em-up fun. Like 'Incoming', all sound and fury without much substance.

Windows · by Ashley Pomeroy (225) · 2000

[ View all 4 player reviews ]

Trivia

Comic

Forsaken was featured as a comic book series published by Acclaim Comics shortly after its release. First in a Turok/Forsaken special edition (written by Fabian Nicieza and Evan Skolnick, and inked by Mat Broome and Sean Parsons) in which Turok gets lost in the alternate future of Forsaken. And then in a 4-issue limited series (written by Shon Bury and with art by Joe St. Pierre) which delineates the story of the main character presented in the Turok special (yup, the Forsaken babe), who turns out to be an artificial lifeform/living weapon, who gets possessed by what appears to be a human spirit.

Descent

The Forsaken design team were admitted Descent addicts as is evident in the gameplay, and verified in some magazine interviews.

Extras

The original Forsaken release includes a 12-month calendar featuring shots of the Forsaken cover-girl.

German version

The gore effects when killing human enemies were removed in the German Nintendo 64 version.

Technology

Forsaken's attitude to speed optimizing is tied very closely to the accelerator card's capabilities. Detail and complexity are continuously adjusted during the game based on what the card can accomplish; as a result, the framerate achieved while playing is extremely good, and can achieve 60fps or higher on even an original second-generation 3D accelerator (3Dfx Voodoo, for example) on only a Pentium 90.

Title

The original name for Forsaken was Condemned. The name was changed because it had already been taken. However, there is still a reference to the original name in the opening movie.

Awards

  • PC Player (Germany)
    • Issue 01/1999 - Best Action Game in 1998

Information also contributed by Paul Sinnett, rstevenson and Zovni.

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Monster Eye
Released 2014 on Arcade
Smite: Battleground of the Gods
Released 2014 on Windows, 2016 on PlayStation 4, Macintosh...
World War Z: Aftermath
Released 2021 on PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One...
Cardaclysm
Released 2020 on Windows, 2021 on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
Homeworld: Cataclysm
Released 2000 on Windows
The Fall: Last Days of Gaia
Released 2004 on Windows
Sludge Life 2
Released 2023 on Windows
Fallout 3
Released 2008 on Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
The Suffering
Released 2004 on Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 117
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Trixter.

PlayStation added by Grant McLellan.

Additional contributors: Sciere, DreinIX, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger.

Game added February 19, 2020. Last modified February 23, 2024.