Total Eclipse

Total Eclipse is a fast corridor-based space shooter and was one of the first games to show how smooth 3D graphics on the 3DO could be. The player sits in the cockpit of a fighter craft flying through a series of tunnels, canyons, and temple complexes above an alien planet; the route is fixed, and the task is to survive, shoot down enemies, and avoid collisions. Besides shooting, you also have to watch fuel and shield energy, so it pays to collect the bonuses scattered along the path. Turns come fast, and many stretches can only be handled once the player has memorized the track — the game is built around repetition and gradually learning the route by heart. Shooting down everything that appears isn't actually necessary; what matters more is staying centered in the corridor and not losing your shields before the next section.

Technically it was an impressive demonstration: the polygon environments scrolled briskly, the cockpit was rendered as a detailed frame with gauges, and the speed of movement was exceptional by console standards of the day. The environment changed significantly over the course of the game, from metallic tunnels to open rocky vistas, keeping alive the sense of a journey across an entire world. The music relied on dense synthetic motifs that underscored the tension and urgency; the warning sound before a crash became a lasting memory for players.

At launch, the game shipped alongside the console and served as a demo piece in stores, meant to show the difference against the sixteen-bit machines of the time. Reviewers praised its smoothness and speed, while more critical voices pointed out that the corridor structure offered little freedom and the game was fairly short. Its influence is visible across the whole line of rail-based 3D shooters that grew up on the new consoles of the mid-1990s. Today, Total Eclipse plays best in short bursts: it's unforgiving, a crash means a quick end to the attempt, but that pure sense of speed still has its charm.