Dark Side (video game)

Did You Know?

• Dark Side was the second game to use the Freescape engine, which allowed full three-dimensional environments with filled polygons.
• The Freescape engine gave the player the ability to look up and down as well as rotate left and right, a rare feature for 3D games at the time.
• The same engine was later used for Total Eclipse, The Sphinx Jinx, Castle Master, and Castle Master II: The Crypt.

Plot

The game takes place on the alien moon Tricuspid, which orbits the planet Evath. Terrorists known as the Ketars have seized the moon's facilities and constructed Zephyr One, a powerful beam weapon on the dark side of the moon aimed at destroying Evath. The player, a government agent, is sent secretly to the moon to deactivate the weapon before it fully charges by destroying a network of ECD columns connected to the weapon via power lines.

Gameplay

The player controls a character equipped with a jetpack and a pressure suit that mounts beam weapons. The objective is to destroy all Energy Collection Device (ECD) columns in a specific order; each ECD is linked to power lines and will instantly regenerate if any preceding ECD remains active. A limited time is available, based on the energy accumulating in Zephyr One; destroying ECDs reduces the charge rate, extending the time before the weapon fires and destroys Evath. The game is presented in a first-person view through the suit's helmet, with a targeting crosshair in the HUD for firing weapons. The player can walk or use the jetpack to move in all directions. The suit runs on an energy source divided between shields and fuel; depleted shields leave the player vulnerable to enemy fire and collisions with walls, while depleted fuel ends the game. Recharge points in the form of columns are hidden throughout the game to replenish energy, and energy conversion devices allow transferring energy between shields and fuel. Enemies include tanks and flying turrets that drain the suit's energy; flying turrets appear more frequently when energy is low.