Forsaken is primarily a multiplayerfirst-person shooter. The game may be played in single-player or multiplayer modes. The game is based on a 3D-engine that allows unlimited 360-degree movements.
Single-player
The single-player mode has four difficulty modes: easy, normal, hard and total mayhem. Each has progressively stronger enemies and less ammo to spare. Due to the near-impossible challenge presented by the latter mode, Acclaim provided the patch 1.00 that decreased the difficulty of the game dramatically. There are 15 levels which have to be completed by the player — sometimes within a time limit — and occasionally include a huge end-boss against which the player must exhaust a fair amount of ammunition while dodging excessive retaliatory fire. In order to complete a mission, different efforts must be made by the player such as finding the exit or activating triggers to open locked doors. The primary objective is to destroy the enemies within a level. The enemies are static, though not all will be spawned at the start of a level. Each level includes a hidden crystal, and once all are collected a secret map is unlocked.
Multiplayer
There are six different types of multiplayer games: Free For All, Team Game, Capture The Flag, Flag Chase, Bounty Hunt, and Team Bounty Hunt. There are various sub-options for each.
Plot
In the distant future, the advancement of science has exceeded humanity's ability to control it. During a subatomic experiment, an accident causes an uncontrollable fusion reaction, utterly destroying the surface of the planet Earth. One year later, Earth has been classified as "condemned" by the ruling imperial theocracy, meaning that it is now legal for anyone to salvage anything left on the planet. Mercenaries from all over come to raid the dead planet, forced to battle not only each other, but the robot sentinels that the government has left behind.
Development
The game was developed by Probe Entertainment during the 1996–1998 period as the company became merged into its parent company. At that time, Microsoft's newly bought and re-branded rendering layer had just started to dominate PC development. Fergus McGovern headed the development team. The game was heavily technology driven at the beginning and was titled ProjectX. This was changed to Condemned when the story elements were added although it was later changed to Forsaken due to a potential naming conflict. A Sega Saturn version of the game was announced, but cancelled as part of Acclaim's general withdrawal of support for the system. Due to the heavy technology focus of the game it was often bundled with hardware to show off the cards and was used as a benchmark for many years after the initial release of the game. This game has an ESRB rating of "M for Mature". It was so rated for violent deaths in the introductory cutscene and the player character's death. The Swarm performed and produced the Forsaken soundtrack which features dynamic drum and bass and electronica tracks. An album featuring many of the original tracks and remixes, was released on No Bones Records. Various employees of Acclaim Studios Teesside, the developer who worked on the Nintendo 64 port of the game, made plans for a sequel to Forsaken, which were permanently scrapped when Acclaim closed the studio down in 2002.
Reception
The Nintendo 64 version of Forsaken received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Edge stated that, although the PlayStation version feels familiar to Descent, it refined and updated the formula with features such as its auto-levelling system and orientation aid. In Japan, where the PlayStation version was ported for release and published by Acclaim Japan on 2 September 1999,, Famitsu gave it a score of 24 out of 40. Hyper gave the game 92% and said, "Unless someone pulls some wonder game out of the bag at E3, this one looks like it's going to be the all-formats game of the year. If you like action shooter games, this is a must-have." N64 Magazine gave it 87% and said it was "certainly the N64's best 'serious' game since GoldenEye," and "a game that, although not for the fainthearted, holds a genuinely rewarding experience for those who are prepared to persevere." Next Generation reviewed the Nintendo 64 version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Overall, this is solid, enjoyable stuff with not a hint of originality to cloud the fun." Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "All in all, this is a decent title. Probe has mixed together the best elements of Descent and Quake and added some pretty tricky enemy AI, resulting in a game that shines, although in slightly different ways, on each platform." Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Forsaken is a good game that will provide a nice distraction until players get their hands on the big guns like Sin, Half-Life, and Duke Nukem Forever."
