Die Hard Trilogy is a video game based on the first three installments of the Die Hard series of action movies. Die Hard Trilogy features three games in one, each based on a movie installment and featuring a different genre and gameplay style. The game was well received and would eventually become a PlayStation Greatest Hits and PlayStation Platinum game. Die Hard Trilogy also inspired a sequel entitled . The sequel retained the three different playing styles, but featured a spin-off storyline that was not connected to the movie series.
Gameplay
''Die Hard''
Die Hard is a third-person shooter. The player battles terrorists and rescues hostages in the Nakatomi Plaza, which is the setting of the first film in the series.
''Die Hard 2: Die Harder''
Die Hard 2: Die Harder is presented as an on rails-shooter, where the player must stop terrorists who have taken over Dulles Airport from the second film. Players control the crosshair with a gamepad, light gun, or mouse. Die Hard Trilogy was one of the few light gun games available for the PlayStation that was not compatible with Namco's GunCon/G-Con 45 controller or GunCon 2. However, it was compatible with Sega's Stunner light gun for the Saturn version.
The game was developed by a UK-based development studio, Probe Entertainment. The Die Hard with a Vengeance segment was developed first and was intended to be a standalone release, but publisher Fox Interactive insisted that the game should be more closely linked to the films, leading Probe to develop the other two segments. Initially the Die Hard 2 segment of the game was developed with polygonal enemies, but they were later replaced with digitized sprites. For the Die Hard with a Vengeance segment, the team had wanted to use an authentic recreation of New York City, but found that when driving at 200 miles per hour, an accurate model of NYC felt too small and confining. The PlayStation was chosen as the lead platform because lead programmer Simon Pick strongly felt that it was the most powerful format of the time. In particular, he reasoned that the Saturn and PC versions would come out better if the programmers were trying to emulate impressive graphical effects on an extant PlayStation version than if they were designing the game around the hardware limitations of the Saturn. Pick elaborated on how the team intended to optimize the game for Saturn:
Reception
Die Hard Trilogy was a commercial hit, with sales above 2 million units by March 2000. The PlayStation version was positively reviewed. As of June 2017, it holds an 86% ranking at GameRankings. Most critics considered the high value-for-money of getting three games in one to be Die Hard Trilogys strongest point. A few even stated that none of the three component games were good enough to stand on their own, but the variety offered by the collection as a whole makes it exceptionally entertaining. However, the majority commented that all three component games are outstanding even on their own terms. GamePros Scary Larry presented a dissenting opinion; while he highly praised the game's addictive quality and sound effects, he argued that the three segments are ultimately just rehashes of Resident Evil, Virtua Cop, and Twisted Metal. The most common criticism was that the Die Harder segment requires the Konami light gun to be enjoyable, since the cursor when using the standard controller is slow and difficult to move. The first segment of the game was particularly praised for its deep challenge, requiring players to out-think the enemy. Die Hard Trilogy was a finalist for the Computer Game Developers Conference's 1996 "Best Adaptation of Linear Media" Spotlight Award, but lost the prize to I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. However, Electronic Gaming Monthly editors named it Action Game of the Year. The Saturn port also received mostly positive reviews, though it was often compared unfavorably to the PlayStation original. GamePros The Rookie said the graphics are not as sharp as the PlayStation version's, especially in the Die Harder segment, but the gameplay is addictive enough to make this relatively unimportant. Josh Smith stated in GameSpot that the sluggish controls and poor graphics, especially as compared to the PlayStation version, make the first two segments of the game nearly unplayable, since lining up shots in time is awkward and frustrating. However, he said that in the third segment the animation is actually better than the PlayStation version's, and that the fast pace and black humor of this segment make it worth buying Die Hard Trilogy all by itself. Paul Glancey of Sega Saturn Magazine summarized, "Often when you see compilations like this there's... one section that stands out as the one that the programmers thought of first and lavished the most attention on, but all three sections of Die Hard Trilogy have their fair share of thrills, great visuals and clever ideas." In Germany, the game was banned because of its extreme violence, especially being able to drive through harmless people with blood spilling all over the windshield.
