Space Station Silicon Valley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Space Station Silicon Valley
Developer(s)	DMA Design
Publisher(s)	Take 2
Release date(s)	October 1,1998
Genre(s)	3-D Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Kids to Adults (K-A)
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color
Media	64-megabit

Space Station Silicon Valley is a platform game released on October 01, 1998 by Scottish developer DMA Design (now known as Rockstar North, creator of the Grand Theft Auto series). It was initially released for the Nintendo 64, and later in a version for the Game Boy Color. Several glitches were present within the game, but this did not prevent it from attaining considerable critical acclaim.[1]

[edit] Storyline

The game's storyline revolves around a space station, home to numerous animals (the station was intended by the designer to be a "technologically advanced amusement park"), which was launched and subsequently lost in the year 2001. Thought to have disappeared forever, it reappears in the year 3000, and its designer, Professor Cheese, mysteriously vanishes upon an excursion to the station. Following this, A duo of "Heroes for Hire", namely Danger Dan and his partner Evo, are dispatched to the station in order to investigate this disappearance. They arrive to find that over 1000 years, the animal cargo had evolved and merged with technology; examples including an electronically-powered fox with motorized wheels and a steam-powered hippopotamus. Throughout the course of the game, the space station is on a collision course with Earth, and it is the player's mission to save all of humanity.

Within the game, the player controls Evo, a robot who is reduced to no more than a microchip during the crash into the station and must enter the bodies of the animals therein (who each possess their own abilities), in order to solve puzzles and defeat enemies in each level. As this progresses, Dan is trapped in the team's destroyed spaceship and does nothing but assign Evo his missions and watch the player's actions.

[edit] Critical reception

Space Station Silicon Valley was largely well received due to its intuitive mechanics, innovative level design, and comical concepts. The premise of the game, while to some seemingly childish, obscures one of the more creative and advanced puzzle games released for the Nintendo 64 console. The player must learn to exploit each species's unique skills, and will often find that particular objectives require one specific animal and are not possible to complete otherwise.

[edit] Bugs and glitches

This bug allowed the player to walk outside of the playing area in the Fat Bear Mountain level.

Perhaps the best known bug in the game. This bug, also found in the Fat Bear Mountain level made the player walk through the level Bonus Souvenir, instead of picking it up.

This bug occurs in the Jungle Japes level. After the Biker Hyenas are killed, they sometimes re-die when visited. The result is bonus points for the player, because whenever an animal is killed points are given.

The game has also been known to freeze up, but it is a rare occurrence.

Freezes are much more common when using the Expansion Pack, however. In some cases it is impossible to get past the first few start up screens if the Expansion Pack is present.