''The Ring: Terror's Realm'' (known simply as in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

) is a

survival horror Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...

video game developed and published by

Asmik Ace Entertainment , formerly is a Japanese film production and distribution company. In the past, the company has distributed video games. It was formed in 1997 through a merger between the Asmik Corporation and Ace Entertainment, both of Japan. The name Asmik ...

in Japan and published by Infogrames North America in North America. It was released for

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...

on February 24, 2000 in Japan and September 29 in North America (it was originally set for a June 28 release date, but was delayed for unknown reasons). It is based on the ''Ring'' series of novels by Japanese author Suzuki Kouji, which also inspired the Japanese film ''

Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

'' (1998) and its American remake, '' The Ring'' (2002).

Plot

Meg Rainman is a newly-hired researcher at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States. Her boyfriend Robert is among four workers at the CDC who have died mysteriously on the same day, and the only thing that connects them is a program found in their computers, called "RING". When the CDC is put under lockdown, Meg finds herself imprisoned in the center with her co-workers, and inside the CDC Meg must find out the truth behind Robert's death and the "RING".

Characters

''Meg Rainman'' The game's protagonist and main character, takes Robert's position at the

CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

after he dies at the start of the game. ''Robert'' Researcher at the CDC, was working on the Ring virus before he and three other colleagues die on the same day. ''Jack Nikson'' Works as a reporter, neighbour and friend of Meg and Robert. ''John Brad'' Boss at the CDC. ''Chris'' Co-worker at the CDC, works on the ground floor. ''Kathy'' Co-worker at the CDC, has a striking resemblance to

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

, likes to cause trouble and is the girlfriend of Lukino. ''Timothy'' An old doctor working at the CDC. ''Lukino'' The CDC's security chief, has six piercings, two on both ears and one on the nose and left eye, and is the boyfriend of Kathy.

Reception

The game received "unfavorable" reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

. In Japan, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' gave it a score of 24 out of 40. In a review submitted to "the ringworld", a fansite dedicated to ''Ring'', contributors C. Gavlas and K. Gavlas called it a crude, clumsy ''

Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...

''-style survival horror video game and a depressing homage to ''Ring''. Those unfamiliar with Suzuki's works were equally unimpressed, such as Jeremy Dunham of ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' and a contributor to the PlanetDreamcast

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

(a part of

GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...

). ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' concluded in the review of the Japanese import that the survival-horror fans will try to play it, but ultimately recommended '' Code Veronica'' as superior title. Jim Preston of '' NextGen'' gave a negative review to the game.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ring: Terror's Realm, The 2000 video games Infogrames games Asmik Ace Entertainment games Dreamcast games Dreamcast-only games 2000s horror video games Survival video games The Ring (franchise) Video games based on films Video games developed in Japan Single-player video games