🐳 12,029 items were approved and added to the database in the past week!

Pioneer Plague

Moby ID: 16259

Description

The Starion Cluster is under threat from the Pioneer Plague, which is spreading to every planet and destroying its lifeforms, having over-riden its original programming to merely transform uninhabitible planets into lush verdant lands for human colonization. The only solution is to fly to each of these planets and shoot out the pods from which the Plague hatches.

The gameplay essentially has 3 different sections. The main shooting action involves taking out as many of the pods as possible, while avoiding being shot by the Plague's self-generating protection robots. The more pods you destroy on each level, the easier the next levels will be.

Before each level you must fly to it through a mouse-controlled 3D section - completing the task quickly will again make your task easier. One unique feature is the ability to program the attack paths that your ship's two probes will follow when deployed - this is done by moving the joystick in the appropriate set of directions, producing five options which can be activated in-game.

Screenshots

Credits (Amiga version)

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 74% (based on 12 ratings)

Players

Average score: 2.6 out of 5 (based on 4 ratings with 0 reviews)

Be the first to review this game!

Trivia

HAM Mode

The game is famous for being one of the few using the Amiga's Hold-And-Modify (HAM) display mode which allows for showing all 4096 colors at the same time (with limitations) even with the original chipset, resulting in very colorful imagery. This is evident in the big sphere-shaped mothership.

Since the HAM mode operates using special color codes that take the previous pixel and modify it, the resulting images often look a little bit noisy since only one color channel (red, green, or blue) can be modified at the same time. The static images like the main screen show lots of traces of that, like off-colors near edges of objects.

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Pioneer
Released 2013 on Linux, Windows, Macintosh
Pioneer
Released 2009 on Xbox 360
Pioneer Trail
Released 1983 on ZX81
Railroad Pioneer
Released 2003 on Windows
Pioneer Lands
Released 2012 on Windows
Cosmic Pioneer
Released 2017 on Windows
Plague
Released 1983 on VIC-20
Plague
Released 1996 on DOS
JCB Pioneer: Mars
Released 2017 on Windows, Xbox Series, Xbox One...

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 16259
  • [ 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 Martin Smith.

Additional contributors: EboMike.

Game added January 15, 2005. Last modified January 14, 2024.