Remembering TerraCon
That the first pops up in your memory at the mention of old games? Perhaps Duck Hunt or Battle City, possibly games about the Italian plumber, maybe something else. I have different in my memory. Games that I did not pass any other way. Somewhere incomprehensible bugs interfered, somewhere I was simply not too experienced for serious passages, but somewhere they “helped” the jambs of translators, like in Vandal Hearts II, for example. But about this some other time. Today I would like to touch on one little -known game. Meet TerraCon!
What is this fruit?
TerraCon is a project of the Picturehouse Software studio, known. And what is she known? According to information from the network, this studio is responsible for the creation of three projects, two of which (Lemmings Forever and Boom TV) were supposed to go to the PlayStation 2, but they were canceled for unknown reasons. Bilds cannot be found for them, unless the lone video of the demonstration of the gameplay of lemmings, and several screenshots from Boom TV. Well, a good track record is obtained. Perhaps this is the information about Picturehouse Software and ends. Let’s move on to the hero of this post.
Terracon was released on August 25, 2000 and was available only to gamers from the Old World. Publisher, Midway, had plans to release in the United States, but they abandoned it. Thus, the game has already passed by a huge number of PlayStation One owners. So what is TerraCon? This is a pretty peppy camp with a third-person view, where the main character is the alien Xed. But TerraCon is already a machine for, surprisingly, planet terraforming. You see, Ksed’s native world is overpopulated, and the best minds were looking for a way to solve this problem. They did not find anything better than creating a huge artificial organism, call it terracon and give out practical boundless powers. The car coped with its duties perfectly, but bad luck, it could think and study, which seriously scared its creators so. What if he decides to destroy all living things? In the end, the terracon decided to turn off. Ksed and Doc (he is unlikely to call him that, but the other name in the game was not named) went to the creation in order to explain the need to turn it off. Of course, the car rebels, kills the dock, and at the same time spreads Ksed’s native planet in chips. Ksed himself miraculously avoids death and becomes the only surviving representative of his race, and his goal is the destruction of the terracon. And here the game itself begins.
And the goals for revenge what?
The creators of Terracon approached the issue of choosing levels with a large degree of fantasy, because we have a whole planet in 3D before our eyes, at which the levels are marked with green columns of the light. Ksed is in orbit and can freely get to the desired point on his ship. It is also worth saying about the reverse giving. The vibration function is configured in such a way that when choosing a stage and entering the ship into the atmosphere, you feel a little shaking. A trifle, but nice.
And now, the first levels. The task in them is https://nongamstop-casinos.uk/inclave-casinos/ quite simple: to assemble air defense devices, which, for security purposes, scattered through the planet to the most incredible places. Naturally TerraCon knows about this and will interfere in every possible way, sending various mechanisms to kill Kseda. And what can the humanoid itself answer? The developers also approached the issue of creating weapons with fantasy. Ksed, in fact, shoots g-energy. Have not heard of such? This is such a stream of lights of different colors (I don’t know how to describe them more precisely), which themselves are brought to the enemy, and are almost inexhaustible ammunition, because after getting these very lights they return back to the weapon. I admit, it looks quite spectacular, but it reduces most shootings to two things. We either run away and shoot at the enemy, or run at him and shoot. Such tactics allow avoiding damage, because a strip of health of Kseda is designed for only five hits. But because of the shootings themselves beautifully made, they practically do not bother, and the next factor – the variety of opponents also affects this. Everything is fine in the game. Here you have several types of flying opponents, here are tanks, here and all kinds of spiders, even self -propelled mines are there that explodes when approaching Ksed. In general, you don’t have to miss.
And what about the picture?
Graphically the game is made at the highest level. At the highest level of PlayStation One, of course. The area from the level to the level changes, weather conditions are added, even a cycle of change of day and nights is added, which also pleases. And the rather meager palette of flowers is not pleased here. Everything around is some kind of faded and grayish. And if this is perfect for a conditional moon on some Neptune, then for terraced planets of flowers clearly lacks. It should also be noted in places of left -handed in places, thanks to which Ked can fly on seemingly steep surfaces. Plus, there was not enough variety of living organisms on the planets themselves. There is a bird, here is a less developed humanoid. And all. Sometimes humanoids at levels are replaced by all sorts of funny wild boars or white bears. But this is more a pickup, because such a thing can easily be explained by the fact that the planet is only recently formed. What is the biological diversity?
What else can entertain the game
In fact, the game fascinates to many. At first, of course, this is shooting at enemies and the search for launching devices. But then TerraCon begins to open and dose and add more and more new things to the game. For example, there are three types of G-energy (red, blue and yellow), from them you can build structures, the frames of which are scattered by levels, then the ability to swim on a kind of water on water is added, use teleports of several types and much more. But the most curious here is tops. TerraCon Outrider Pick-Up Systems, if you decipher. These are balls of different colors that add new opportunities for you. For example, restore your health. Or use the radar (the best thing in the game). Or let rockets in annoying flying enemies. And a few more types of tops, which I will deliberately silent about. Suddenly, someone will have an interest in passing the game, and I posted all the cards here? So it will not work! In general, these same tops can be found at the levels, then added to the device in the ship and using G-energy to create them again as many times. The main thing is to remember that in total, Ked can carry only four tops. And yes, in cases where you have little health, these balls take damage to themselves and disappear. Also a useful thing.
In addition, the goals of levels are changing. For example, you need to activate the air defense system. To do this, you need to restrain the attack of the hordes of enemies or to activate the desired switch for the allotted time. On the levels with the search for launch devices, the gameplay itself changes. You have to play cat-mouse with a robot, which the device has abducted, to make a kind of storm of the fort, to solve puzzles, of which in the game of a lot. TerraCon can really captivate for many evenings.
And how is management?
Oh, this is a really interesting topic. Comparing the convenience and responsiveness of management, I can safely put TerraCon in third place in my personal top after the second and third part of Crash Bandicoot. Perhaps I would put it on the first, if not for one but: you need to get used to the movement of Ksed left and right. The alien avenger does not move to the side, if you move the stick, it will make a small arc. This does not seem to be a problem, but since TerraCon is full of platforming, such a movement only interferes. The developers tried to help the player, adding a view from above when Ksed approaches the platforms, but still unpleasant. On the other hand, everything else is fine there. “Circle” is responsible for a turn of 180 degrees, which is unusually convenient when you fight with crowds of enemies, there is a strap on the keys L1, R1, which you also often use. Driving vehicles, for example, with the same boat or tank, is felt and controlled by all five points. Again, in everything you feel the desire of the developers to create an excellent game.
But what’s wrong with the game?
TerraCon has problems. And in my opinion it is one – the lack of development time from which the late part of the game spills. Closer to the middle of Ksed explores planets, moves through their moon, opening more and more levels that are interesting to pass and recall. But closer to the end of the game, when Ksed is on planet Earth (and the action of the game suddenly occurs in the solar system), everything becomes unbearable. Levels become larger, puzzles stop being puzzles. The player needs to make a certain set of actions or that’s it, the game is over. A simple example: the game has teleports that do not allow to move to another until Ksed uses all, for example, blue G-energy. And it can be converted by a special device. But by leaving the teleport, you understand that G-energy is not enough for construction, you need to return, but this cannot be done, since the teleport now forbids to move without a blue G-energy. There is only one way out – restart. But too much time was spent on the level! Either the levels specially made so that Ksed constantly runs from point A to point B in order to perform the same actions. This stretches the passage time, but looks extremely cheap. The last level is so generally a nightmare of any gamer. A bunch of enemies are thrown at you, and deal with them as you want. This is also a fairly cheap trick, but it must be properly served so that gameplay is interesting. In TerraCon, this is not the case, unfortunately.
Obviously, on the Picturehouse Software it has crushed time. Here PlayStation 2 came out, and every extra month of development would be very expensive. Perhaps this circumstance affected Midway, which refused to publish TerraCon in the United States. But how it was actually not to recognize.
My memories
As a child, Terracon was not given to me. I could not go further than half the game because of, as it seemed, great complexity. Years later, passing it again, it was not so much difficult as dreary in the later stages for the reasons that are described above. My children’s memories of TerraCon will forever remain extremely positive. The effect that she made on me is comparable only with the effect of the launch and passage of TES: Oblivion. Everything was fine in it, even the level that remained unlucky. An interesting plot, a beautiful picture, a diverse gameplay – before that I have not seen anything like that. And even now TerraCon is playing amazing. But unfortunately, the last five to six stages are spoiled by everything. And it’s a pity, the Picturehouse almost managed.
For those who may want to go through TerraCon for the first time, I just recommend not touching the levels on the last planet. Then you will receive a lot of pleasure from gameplay. Otherwise, the game will seem satisfied and tedious. Because of this, it is difficult to give TerraCon any assessment, so let it be left without her.