It Came from the Desert
| It Came from the Desert | |
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Amiga cover art
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| Developer(s) | Cinemaware |
| Publisher(s) | Cinemaware |
| Producer(s) | Pat Cook |
| Designer(s) | David Riordan |
| Programmer(s) | Randy Platt |
| Writer(s) | Kenneth Melville |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, MS-DOS, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, TurboGrafx-16 |
| Release | 1989 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
It Came from the Desert is a 1989 action-adventure game by Cinemaware. It was originally released for the Amiga, but later ported to MS-DOS, as well as released in distinctly different forms to consoles. The two console versions, for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (unreleased) and TurboGrafx-16, are distinctly different from the versions released for computer platforms, in terms of gameplay and presentation. An expansion set Antheads: It Came from the Desert II was released in 1990.
Like most of Cinemaware's titles, It Came From the Desert takes its inspiration from Hollywood. This game is inspired by dozens of 1950s "B" movies, especially the 1954 mutant-ant classic Them!. The game is a fairly non-linear combination of dialogue boxes and several types of action scenes, typical of contemporary Cinemaware releases.
The player assumes the role of Dr. Greg Bradley who comes to remote Lizard Breath, Nevada on June 1, 1951. As a geologist, he wants to study a recent site of a meteor crash somewhere in the desert south-west of the small town. Early in the game, he learns that the radiation of the meteor has enlarged a local ant population to an enormous size. However, few take his observations seriously. Worried, that the ants will soon mate and spread, he must work against a ticking clock and devise a plan to stop the ants from terrorizing the world. In order to succeed, the player must visit many locations ranging from mines, farms, a pub, an airfield, a local radio station and many more to find evidence of the ants, then convince townsfolk and authorities of impending doom. At the same time the player must contain the ant infestation.
Only in using every resource available, from workers to the tanks and fighter jets of the National Guard, will the player be able to take the fight to the giant ants.
Mechanically, It Came From the Desert can be considered real-time. Waiting, sleeping (at home or in a hospital bed) and driving around consumes time. As it turns out, the player has a fixed amount of in-game days (15 days, ending with June 15) to succeed. If Dr. Bradley fails by this date, the ants will mate and spread, which results in a gloomy ending. To reach a good ending, the player must locate the ant colony and kill the queen ant.
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Wikipedia