Inferno (video game)
Sequel to Epic, released on CD-ROM only in 1994.
Inferno (also known as Inferno: The Odyssey Continues) is a space combat simulator video game developed by Digital Image Design and published by Ocean Software in 1994 for MS-DOS. It is the sequel to the 1992 game Epic and continues the story of the Rexxon-Terran conflict. Notable for its use of the game engine from TFX and its release in winter of 1994 on CD-ROM only, the game was accompanied by a comic book and a soundtrack album by the band Alien Sex Fiend.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Inferno
- Developer
- Digital Image Design
- Publisher
- Ocean Software
- Designer
- Shaun Hollywood
- Programmer
- Colin Bell
- Artist
- Robert Ball / Donna Chippendale / Shaun Hollywood
- Writer
- Robert Ball / Shaun Hollywood
- Composer
- Alien Sex Fiend / Barry Leitch
- Platforms
- MS-DOS
- Released
- 1994
- Genre
- Space combat simulator
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Inferno charts the adventures of a Terran pilot seeking revenge on the Rexxons, who had genetically altered him to become one of their own. The game was showcased at the 1993 Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas alongside TFX. A version for the Commodore Amiga was trailed in early 1994 but not released, and a port for the Atari Jaguar was reported under development but never came to fruition. In 1994, Inferno was shown at the European Computer Trade Show in London.
Reader's Guide
Inferno received widely varying critical reception. A reviewer for Next Generation gave it three out of five stars, praising the controls and equipment but noting the gameplay could be hard to follow. Dragon gave scores of 2½ and 3½ out of 5. German magazine Aktueller Software Markt gave it 11/12 and named it an ASM Hit, while PC Games gave 80%. Finnish magazine MikroBitti gave an exceptionally high score of 97% and named it a Bit Hit. PC Gamer gave 73%, praising the sense of scale and fast-paced action but criticizing complex controls. Dan Amrich of Flux praised the ultra-speedy action but noted slippery controls and many pauses. Computer Gaming World gave one out of five stars, calling the plot generic and cheesy, the game glitchy and tedious, and in 1996 ranked it the 44th worst game of all time. The game was re-released digitally in December 2019, bundled with the PC version of its prequel Epic.
Did You Know?
- The game came with a comic book written by sometime 2000 AD contributor Sean Phillips.
- An album of the same name by the band Alien Sex Fiend was released alongside the game on Audio CD and vinyl.
- In December 2019 the game was re-released digitally, bundled with the PC version of its prequel Epic.
More in Video Games of the 1990s, Part 1 1-24
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