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Total Eclipse Turbo
Background Data
Published By: Crystal Dynamics Developed By: Crystal Dynamics Released: August 30th, 1995
Barcode: 7 65979 71200 1 PSRM: 000240 ID Tag: SLUS - 00021
CDs: 1 Players: 1 ESRB: Everyone (Animated Violence) (See Trivia)
Accessories: Memory (1 Block) Size: 256 MB Digital Press Rarity: 6 out of 10

Description
    The more you kill, the better you feel!

     It's the Earth's Stellar Guard against the alien Drak-sai. Now's the time to strap in and set the skies on fire! Blistering bombs explode; shields buckle but hold. Your reflexes better be faster than theirs; 'cause there's trouble over every mountain, and in every tunnel. Bury the stick and snap a roll. Scream through 20 rounds of non-stop destruction and killer 3D texture-mapped terrains. Save Game feature allows time for refueling. Space sickness bags not included.

Review
   A so-so 3DO title gets a so-so re-release on the PlayStation. Despite a strong premise and a slight wink to Star Fox, the game's viewpoint hinders your ability to actually hit enemies.  It's also very hard in areas with not much of a pay off. Unless you're a shooter, 3DO, or going for a complete collection, there's nothing here to entice you in this day an age.

Greatest Hits
     This title was never released as a Greatest Hit

 Trivia
  • Released 10 days before the launch of the PlayStation, this made Total Eclipse not only the first flight game for the system, but also the first game ever!


  • This was a quick conversion port of the original 3DO title Total Eclipse. I'm not quite sure what makes this Turbo...


  • This game shares an engine with Crystal Dynamic's other shooting game Off-World Interceptor.


  • There are 3 total variants. See below.


  • Beam Software, famous during the 16 Bit era, helped with the production.


  • The game's sequel, Solar Eclipse, was exclusive to the Saturn.

Variations / Misprints
     
Total Eclipse Turbo comes in three flavors:
  • Original Long Box Jewel Case
  • Ridged Plastic Case
  • Small standard jewel case

The two long boxes are labeled as Kids-to-Adult in the ESRB department, where the small jewel case release is labelled as Everybody. The disc artwork matches this change. Be sure you have the right disc with the right case!

 

PlayStation 2 Compatibility - Fast Load
     All times are rounded up to the nearest second. Tests are performed on a PlayStation 2 Slim Line with 1.11 PS Drivers.

Standard
  • Boot to Movie - 9 sec
  • Movie to Level - 10 sec
 Fast
  • Boot to Movie - 9 sec
  • Movie to Level - 9 sec

That's right, almost no change with Fast Load on. Game loaded fine with both options turned on.

 PlayStation 2 Compatibility - Smooth
     With the smooth option on your ship has the bounding box issue, and the enemies / stages get a small visual enhancement. The afterburners cycle colors, so those don't count.

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