AUTHOR: Frontier RELEASE: 1995 TYP: 3D Action SPIELER: 1 LEVEL: - SPRACHE: ENG + GER + FR + ES WERT: ~1000€

Die Sternenflotte der Erde ist zerstört. Alieninvasoren aus dem All bereiten den letzten Ansturm auf unsere Welt vor. Nur das kleine Darxide-System liegt noch zwischen der Erde und den Angreifern. Übernehmen Sie die Kontrolle und wenden Sie das Blatt - es ist etwas Persönliches…

SEGA Magazin Ausgabe 3/1996: ^{[Grafik: 86% Sound: 69% Gesamt: 82%]}
Das neue Spiel von Elite-Erfinder David Braben reiht sich nahtlos neben Star Wars Arcade, Stellar Assault und Metal Head in der Riege der erstklassigen 3D-Spiele ein. Ich hätte dem 32X diese Grafikpracht gar nicht zugetraut!
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„Darxide“ was first released on the Sega Megadrive 32X console. It was written in association with Peter Irvin and was published as a SEGA own-brand title. It was well reviewed (e.g. „Best Game on the 32X“). It is one of the few games on the 32X to do texture mapping, and as such looks better than many Saturn games for the machine SEGA chose to push instead of the 32X, the Saturn. This is because we were able to get software rendered textures at a higher rate on the 32X than the hardware could manage on the Saturn. The game is an arcade take on 3D asteroids. A large, outlying asteroid belt has been displaced by aliens, and this is passing into a solar system, causing devastation. The 'take' is from the point of view of the asteroids, and the Miners living on and among them. The player is the lone Starfleet pilot battling to protect the system and save the Miners. Each 'level' is the approach of another planet as the asteroids get further into the system, and success or failure determined by whether any asteroids get through and how the player fares against the opposing alien craft. Incidentally, this game started life as „Dark Side“ but the name was changed at the last minute for trademark reasons. http://www.frontier.co.uk

Also known as Dark Side. The name was allegedly altered to avoid some sort of copyright infringement. DarXide is NOT a port of the classic PC game Elite, as has been rumored. A 32x exclusive. One of the scarcest of all 32x game titles, DarXide is also one of the most impressive releases for the doomed console, demonstrating that the 32x was more than just a Genesis with more colors. Originally scheduled to be a launch title for the aborted Sega Neptune (a combined Genesis/32x hybrid), DarXide was released in early 1996 by Frontier Developments. It's best described as a 3-D take on Asteroids, with a bit of Defender thrown in for good measure. Your mission objectives are straight forward and simple: hunt down enemy vessels and rescue miners floating in space, all while destroying the oncoming waves of asteroids that threaten your world and your existence. Your ship has complete freedom of movement through space, much like the vaguely similar Shadow Squadron. DarXide is one of the very few 32x titles to contain texture-mapped polygons, with Doom, Metal Head, and the unreleased X-Men being the only other 32x games to feature them. Options are few, but you can choose between a cockpit or a behind-the-ship view according to your preference. The graphics engine is fast and smooth with no evidence of slowdown, even when the screen is filled with action. Graphically, DarXide is comparable to many first and second generation Saturn and Playstation titles, with loads of polygonal models, bright colors, and rich texture mapping. The musical score is equally impressive, much better than the dull elevator music found in Shadow Squadron. Unfortunately, DarXide lacks variety, though the idea of battling wave after wave of increasingly hostile enemies does have a certain old-school gaming appeal. DarXide was the last European Mega Drive 32x release, as well as the final 32x game worldwide. The Megadrive 32x had been a minor player in the European next-generation wars, and the 32x market was pretty much dead by the time DarXide was released. The production run was very limited, making DarXide an extremely rare find today, even in England (English collectors are as rabid as their American counterparts, if not more so.) Complete copies have been spoted on online action services like E-Bay, but these appearances are rare and generally command top dollar. www.the32xmemorial.com