Forsaken

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Description

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.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Trailer

Alternate Titles

• "浩劫餘生" -- Traditional Chinese spelling
• "Condemned" -- Working title

Part of the Following Groups

• Forsaken series
• Genre: Six degrees of freedom

User Reviews

Great Multiplayer experience	Windows	Dave LeFleur (2)
Descent	Windows	Ashley Pomeroy (233)
If you're looking for mind-numbing 3D accelerator action, Forsaken delivers.	Windows	Trixter (9115)
A horrible, horrible game.	Windows	Tomer Gabel (4634)

Critic Reviews

Mega Fun	PlayStation	Apr, 1998	90 out of 100	90
Gameplay (Benelux)	Windows	Jun, 1998	88 out of 100	88
Video Games	PlayStation	Apr, 1998	87 out of 100	87
GameStar (Germany)	Windows	Apr, 1998	84 out of 100	84
Computer and Video Games (CVG)	Windows	Jun, 1998		80
Computer and Video Games (CVG)	PlayStation	Jun, 1998		80
Adrenaline Vault, The (AVault)	Windows	Jun 16, 1998		70
Retro Archives	PlayStation	Jul 14, 2021	13 out of 20	65
GameSpot	PlayStation	May 21, 1998	6.4 out of 10	64
Computer Games Magazine	Windows	May 20, 1998		60

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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.

Related Web Sites

• Forsaken (official website)
• AXG Forsaken Page (Red2's unofficial Forsaken site)
• Forsaken Headquarters (Doug Blair's continuing coverage of Forsaken)
• Wikipedia: Forsaken (Information about Forsaken at Wikipedia)