Maximum Force

Maximum Force
Developer(s)Mesa Logic
Tantalus Interactive
(PS1, Saturn)
Perfect Entertainment
(Windows)
Publisher(s)
  • Arcade
    PlayStation
    Saturn
    • NA: Midway Games
    • EU: GT Interactive
    Windows
    • EU: GT Interactive
Producer(s)Rob Rowe
Designer(s)Robert Weatherby
Programmer(s)Charlie Grisafi
David G. Mahaffey
Artist(s)Guy Fumagalli, James Webb
Composer(s)John Paul
Platform(s)Arcade, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows
Release
1997
  • Arcade
    February 1997
    PlayStation, Saturn
    • NA: 9 October 1997[1]
    • EU: November 1997 (PS)
    • EU: March 1998 (Saturn)
    Windows
Genre(s)Light gun shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, co-op
Arcade systemCOJAG

Maximum Force is a light gun shooter arcade game developed by Mesa Logic for Atari Games in 1997. In 1998, Atari Games re-released the game as part of one machine called Area 51/Maximum Force Duo that also included Area 51,[2] and later ported the game to both the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn game consoles.

Like its predecessor Area 51, Maximum Force uses digitized video stored on an on-board hard disk, and red gibs into which every enemy blows apart when shot, in exactly the same way. While enemies, innocents, and explosions are 2D digitized video sprites, the levels and vehicles are pre-rendered in 3D.[3]

Released into markets increasingly dominated by games with polygon graphics, Maximum Force was a critical failure, with many citing generic and dated gameplay, unrealistic death animations, and short length, but a commercial success.

  1. ^ GameSpot staff (9 October 1997). "VideoGameSpot Game Calendar [date mislabeled as "April 26, 2000"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 21 April 1999. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Area 51/Maximum Force Duo". Killer List of Videogames. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  3. ^ Webb, Marcus (May 1997). "Arcadia". Next Generation. No. 29. Imagine Media. p. 28.