| Spawn: The Eternal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Sony Interactive Studios America |
| Publisher | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Producers | Paul Willman Russell Shanks |
| Programmers | Brandon Bogle Tim Monk |
| Composers | Rick Patterson Rex Baca Chuck Carr Joel Copen Kip Martin |
| Platform | PlayStation |
| Release | |
| Genre | Action-adventure |
| Mode | Single-player |
Spawn: The Eternal is anaction-adventurevideo game developed bySony Interactive Studios America and published bySony Computer Entertainment for thePlayStation. It is based on the comic book characterSpawn created byTodd McFarlane and published byImage Comics. It was released on December 9, 1997, in North America and received negative reviews from critics. When played on a CD player, the disc plays a lengthy audio interview with Todd McFarlane.[2]
Development on the game began in early 1995 at Sony Interactive Studios America, who was known at the time for sport games and racing games such asJet Moto andTwisted Metal. The game's original format was scrapped in 1996 so that it could be redesigned in the same style as the innovativeTomb Raider, leading to the development cycle being stretched out to two years.[3] A release date was announced for August 1997 to be released around the same time theSpawn film was released in theaters,[3] but pushed back to December due to further delays.[4]
All of the character animations were recorded at Sony's in-housemotion capture studio inSan Diego.[5]
During development, the team regularly sent unfinished copies of the game to Todd McFarlane and his right-hand man Terry Fitzgerald, who would review the game and provide feedback.[5]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 4/10[6] |
| GameSpot | 1.8/10[7] |
| IGN | 2/10[8] |
| Next Generation |   [9] |
| Ultra Game Players | 3/10[10] |
The game received an overwhelmingly negative response from critics.GameSpot called it "an adventure game with no story tacked onto a substandard but generic fighting game" citing poor controls, buggy graphics, dull levels, and a camera which moves far too slow to keep up with the player character.[7]IGN complained of grainy textures, simplistic combat, overly easy puzzles, and general lack of challenge.[8]Next Generation likewise said the puzzles are simplistic to the point of being mindless, and found the transition from over-the-shoulder to side-view perspective when entering combat to be confusing. They also criticized the ugly visuals.[9] Shawn Smith ofElectronic Gaming Monthly praised the lighting effects, animated textures, and music, but concluded that the gameplay makesSpawn: The Eternal unlikable, and his three co-reviewers were much more negative about the game. Kelly Rickards razed the muddy graphics, awkward fighting engine, and mindless enemy A.I., and Joe Fielder commented, "It fails miserably as both a fighting game and explorative actioneer, with a weak fighting engine, horrible 3-D camera, choppy control and bad graphics. It ranks right down there withSirtech'sExcalibur 2555 and ASC'sPerfect Weapon."[6]
GamePro panned the game for the needlessly complex and under-responsive controls, the weak fight music, the repetitive gameplay, and the fact that Spawn only wears his chains and cape during fights. The reviewer gave it 3.5 out of 5 for graphics, 2.5 for control, and 2.0 for both sound and fun factor.[11]Ultra Game Players stated that "Textures are ugly and repetitive, and the resolution is so blocky and pixelated, you'll find yourself longing forthe days of eight-bit games."[10]