''Arachnophobia'' is a video game based on the
film of the same name. It was developed by
BlueSky Software
BlueSky Software was an American video game developer based in California. Formed in 1988, BlueSky closed in March 2001, when parent company Titus Interactive was in financial trouble. The BlueSky trademark continued to be owned by Titus Interac ...
and published by
Disney Software
Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Interactive. Prior to its closure in 2016, it developed and distributed multi-platform video games and interactiv ...
for the
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
,
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
,
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...
, and
Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
platforms.
Plot
An extremely venomous spider has been accidentally brought from the
Amazon rainforest
The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...
to California and mates with a number of spider queens, creating a new crossbreed of venomous little spiders that kill people in one bite. The plague of spiders is spreading and killing people at a frightening rate. Bug-exterminator Delbert McClintock takes the liberty of going through California to clear seven towns of their infestations. After the successful cleansing, Dr. Atherton commissions Delbert to destroy the spiders in the jungle.
Gameplay
The player has to kill all spiders in the towns of Canaima, Webster, Dudley, Elias, Buggley, Infes Station and Arachton. The game starts in the town screen, where the player has to navigate the exterminator van to an actively infested location. Once the location is reached, the gameplay switches to platform mode, where the player controls Delbert. Delbert is armed with a limited amount of bug spray and a few bug killing bombs. The spray gun can be aimed high, low and straight and a single well-aimed hit can instantly kill a spider. Delbert can change his spray gun to fire flames too, at the cost of more ammo. Bombs kill multiple spiders in a single room and do more damage to bosses than spray. If the player runs out of ammunition, Delbert must return to his van for a recharge, but an unfinished level will restart. In addition to killing spiders, Delbert also has to destroy the egg sac, which continuously spawns spiders when he gets close to it. If Delbert makes contact with a spider, the bite will damage him. Damage can be healed by picking up a first aid kit. If Delbert takes four bites he will die and the game will be over.
As the player progresses through the game, the locations get harder, with civilians in need of rescue, spiders on the ceiling, spiders that hide and ambush, spiders that jump and make moves difficult to anticipate and there will be tough queen spiders to deal with. When all seven towns are completed, Delbert goes to the final level in South America where he must destroy a few alpha spiders, which completes the game.
References
External links
* {{moby game, id=/arachnophobia, name=''Arachnophobia''
Arachnophobia profileon
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 ...
BlueSky Software games
Commodore 64 games
Amstrad CPC games
DOS games
Amiga games
1991 video games
Cancelled ZX Spectrum games
Video games developed in the United States
Video games set in California
Video games based on films
Video games about spiders
Multiplayer and single-player video games