Published by Developed by Released Platforms Acorn 32-bit, Amiga, Amiga CD32, Antstream, Atari ST, BlackBerry, DOS, Genesis, J2ME, Linux, Macintosh, SNES, Windows |
Genre Perspective Visual Gameplay Interface Setting |
Description
A time traveler from the future was stranded in Victorian England, and his knowledge of yet unknown technological inventions was passed to the Royal Society, headed by Baron Fortesque. With the help of this knowledge, Fortesque managed to construct an immensely complex artificial intelligence known as the Chaos Engine. However, creation rebelled against its creator, assimilated its mind, and turned Britain into a war zone populated by mad machines. Mercenaries are willing to enter this dangerous place and put an end to the chaos, hoping for an appropriate reward.Chaos Engine (Soldiers of Fortune in the US) is a run-and-gun overhead shooter. Sixteen levels (in four groups of four) await the players in the game. The basic gameplay is similar to Gauntlet, but in an open-air setting, with bridges across rivers and other features in the maps. The visuals are in the 'metallic and blue' style Bitmap Brothers appeared to favor.
There are six characters available in the game, each with different strengths and weaknesses, and different starting prices. In two-player mode, each player chooses a character and plays co-operatively, but in one-player games, the player also chooses a character for the computer to control, with its artificial intelligence allowing it to open doors, pick up power-ups and take on enemies away from the ones occupying the player-controlled character.
Screenshots
Promo Images
Alternate Titles
- "The Chaos Engine" -- European / Alternate US title
Part of the Following Groups
User Reviews
The Bitmaps' latest classic in 16 bits. | Atari ST | G'Kyl (53) |
A Steam-powered, Victorian Age Run-n-gun. | SNES | So Hai (371) |
A great game | Amiga | Katakis | カタキス (42838) |
If you enjoy games like Metal Slug and Contra, you'll love The Chaos Engine. | SNES | Tashtego (156) |
Fortune for soldiers | Genesis | Liam Dowds (51) |
Pumping with action and keeps you amused for ages. | DOS | Nathan Walker (5) |
Bitmap Brothers - the recyclers | Windows | ZeTomes (36437) |
Critic Reviews
ST Format | Atari ST | Jul, 1993 | 94 out of 100 | 94 |
Supersonic | Genesis | Jul, 1994 | 92 out of 100 | 92 |
Amiga Games | Amiga | Feb, 1993 | 91 out of 100 | 91 |
Amiga World | Amiga | Aug, 1993 | A- | 91 |
Retro Archives | SNES | Nov 18, 2018 | 18 out of 20 | 90 |
Retro Archives | Amiga | Nov 18, 2018 | 18 out of 20 | 90 |
CU Amiga | Amiga CD32 | Jun, 1994 | 88 out of 100 | 88 |
PC Joker | DOS | Aug, 1994 | 81 out of 100 | 81 |
Retro Spirit Games | Windows | Sep 04, 2013 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
50 |
Computer Gaming World (CGW) | DOS | Sep, 1995 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
20 |
Forums
Topic | # Posts | Last Post |
---|---|---|
Level Editor released + first custom level | 1 | lilalurl (732) Jun 26, 2010 |
Trivia
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Shortly after the game's release, Renegade took out a full page advert in trade magazine CTW, which simply said "The Chaos Engine. So good, even that bastard Stuart Campbell liked it", referring to a British journalist who had a habit of not liking much-hyped games, including previous Bitmap Brothers titles Xenon 2 and Gods, but gave this one a great review. Ironically Campbell later worked for CTW (as of 2004).Development
The original beta version (as seen on TV in many countries) was a three player game (not two).German index
On March 31, 1995, The Chaos Engine was put on the infamous German index by the BPjS. For more information about what this means and to see a list of games sharing the same fate, take a look here: BPjS/BPjM indexed games.Passwords
A quote from the manual addendum lying in the game box:Please note - In order to continue the time-honoured Bitmap Brothers tradition of mucking around with the password system at the last minute, The Chaos Engine now only awards passwords at the end of every world rather than after every Equipment Screen.
Sorry.
Version differences
- In both the SNES and Genesis versions of the game which are named Soldiers of Fortune, the game's ending credits still call it The Chaos Engine.
- In the console versions the Preacher was changed into a Scientist due to Sega and Nintendo having a policy of censoring any religious material in games for their consoles.
Awards
- Amiga Joker
- Issue 02/1994 – #2 Best Genre Mix in 1993 (Readers' Vote)
- Power Play
- Issue 02/1994 – Best Multiplayer Game in 1993
Related Web Sites
- www.gods-country.de (The Bitmap Brothers tribute page for this game)
Contributed to by kametyken (34), firefang9212 (76623), Kabushi (257593), MAT (230267), Katakis | カタキス (42838), Derrick 'Knight' Steele (2415) and Rantanplan (1813)
Atari ST Credits (13 people)
Design:
Code:
Graphic Design:
Additional Code:
Project Management:
In-game Music & SFX:
Title Music:
This Manual Copy:
Code:
Graphic Design:
Additional Code:
Project Management:
In-game Music & SFX:
Title Music:
This Manual Copy:
John Penn, Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems
This Manual Design, Layout & Production:Micky D, Desmondo a la Turk (Red Cloud)