Beneath a Steel Sky
Beneath a Steel Sky is ( English for " under a steel sky "), an adventure game that was developed in 1993 by the British company Revolution Software. The game counts above all by the genre - typical drawings by Dave Gibbons to cyberpunk. Since October 2009, Revolution Software offers a revised " Remastered Edition" of the game.
Action
The story told by drawn frames history puts the player in a hostile, dystopian future of Australia. The protagonist Robert Foster, as a little boy the sole survivor of a helicopter crash, is taken up by a group of Australian Aborigines. These teach him to survive in the " Gap " ( one used in the game name for the Outback ), but also technology and knowledge of an engineer, through which he " Joey " constructs, his speaking robot friend. Even before the start of the actual game action Foster is however kidnapped by a military command of the security forces of the city of Union City and his home and all the friends completely wiped out.
A malfunction of the helicopter and the immediately following crash, the Foster again survived the only one he owes the necessary freedom of action in order to work through from the top level of the criss-crossed by huge industrial complexes city down and to freedom in the course of the game. On his way, he manages also the secret of LINC, to fathom the all-controlling artificial intelligence and its own origins in " Union City ".
History
The game in 1994 by Virgin Interactive Entertainment was released initially for the Amiga, and shortly afterwards followed a port for IBM PC -compatible computer with the operating system MS -DOS.
After the original version was no longer sold some years ( abandonware ), the development team of ScummVM Revolution Software asked for the source code of the game, which was also passed in July 2003. Furthermore Revolution gave the MS- DOS version of Beneath a Steel Sky freely as freeware under a specific license.
On 8 October 2009 Revolution Software published a revised version of the game as a paid app for iPhone and iPod Touch, which was mainly adapted for control via the touchscreen of the devices. In addition, opening and closing credits were replaced by new versions that were designed back in collaboration with Dave Gibbons. The audio has been modernized and some more abstract puzzles in the game have been simplified. In an interview with Computer and Video Game portal videogamer.com said Charles Cecil, one of the founders of revolution that the new edition of the game will probably also appear for the PC and could be financed by donations.
During his campaign to fund a new and thus the fifth game of the series, Broken Sword (English title Broken Sword - the Serpent 's Curse Adventure) on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.com, revolution promised software to develop an immediate replacement for Beneath a Steel Sky should come together more than a million dollars. The corresponding stretch goal was not achieved more. Nevertheless, the company announced that it will begin after completion of work on Broken Sword with Beneath a Steel Sky 2.
Reception
Beneath a Steel Sky was well received by magazines and even won some awards. From the American PC Gamer magazine, it won the " Best Dialogue " award at the Golden Joystick Awards 1995 won the " Best Adventure " award. It was also a commercial success, such as it reached the top spot of the UK sales charts, according to Gallup. Also, it has been repeatedly referred to as the best adventure game of all time.
In Broken Sword 2 Revolution built a hidden reference ( Easter egg ) into the game. In one scene, it is the protagonist Nico Collard possible to meet Robert Foster, shortly before it is taken by a monster that is hiding in a tunnel gap. This is an allusion to a possible death sequence in Beneath a Steel Sky.
Gallery
Game scene
Game scene