Fade to Black
DOS - 1995
Description of Fade to Black
Fade to Black is a disappointing sequel to Delphine's excellent Flashback the Quest for Identity.
Although it has all the makings of a great game, the constantly shifting camera angles and awkward interface make the game too frustrating for all but the most experienced action gamers. Anyone who has played Flashback will be familiar with the gameplay of Fade to Black.
Resuming the role of Conrad Hart, your task is once again to stop the alien Morphs from taking over the Earth. You will shoot any aliens in sight whole solving a few puzzles to gain access to new areas to gain access to even more difficult levels. Unfortunately, the game's promising start and impressive 3D polygonal graphics quickly get bogged down with obtrusive camera angles that become annoying as soon as the initial "wow" factor wears off.
Fade to Black uses a moving camera technique that was supposed to follow the action from the best possible angle. However, "best" in this case is very subjective indeed: after seeing Conrad die a lot from some unseen blows that camera wouldn't show you, you'll begin to wonder if the camera isn't being control by the Morphs themselves who want Conrad to suffer endless deaths. Since there is no way to toggle this "intelligent" camera off, all you can do is grit your teeth, restore, and move on. Even more frustrating are the controls, which require much too many keystrokes, especially considering that the moves you can make are limited to looking around corners, running, and shooting.
Anyone familiar with the intuitive interface of Doom will have much to get used to here. Despite quirky camera angles and awkward controls, however, Fade to Black still packs enough good story, great atmosphere, and some creative physical puzzles to keep you glued to the end. Its flaws make it difficult to become completely immersed in the game, but those who persevere will truly enjoy the experience.
Recommended, but definitely NOT for anyone who's not a joystick expert-- this is much, much more action-intensive than Flashback.
Review By HOTUD
External links
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
J.D. 2023-04-20 2 points
Fade to Black (or F2B, but if you just move 2 to the end you get “FB2”… clever) is a such an underrated game. it's sadly not as beloved as it's predecessor “Flashback” but i have a soft spot for this game, it does a decent job for sequel despite its clunky transition from 2D to 3D. it has pretty good story, and you can tell the developers at "Delphine Software" were really ambitious with this one, not just an early third-person shooter game but fully 3D polygonal game from 1995 just a year before Tomb Raider did same thing only more successfully. the gameplay can be hit or miss, it uses tank controls and a very awkward camera and don't get me started on the keyboard mapping, it gets a bit complicated, i had to follow the manual just to figure out how to play this convoluted game. Because it's an early third-person person shooter, the gun mechanic can be annoying to use because how awkward the camera is placed so zoomed in I can barely tell where I am shooting, most times i died because of main character Conrad Hart slow movement and reaction time, even when i draw the pistol, but if you can get over the clunky gameplay it’s actually fun.
To get fully MS-DOS CD version working on is a bit annoying, after i download the ISO and trying to install it on dosbox for some reason it tells there’s not enough memory, I’m like what!!!?, it’s such tiny game running a dosbox how it’s that possible?. i tried few times with no success looking for solutions no success. so as alternative i found it online pre-installed with all the files from the CD version, but it still need the "ISO"/"CUE" file setup in DOSBox and the execution file is a f2b.bat in the game directory. After the configuration in dosbox in set and done, and you’re loading “fade to black” the cutscenes audio will not work right away, it tell you right before that “WARNING: single speed CDROM detected, sounds will be deactivated in cinematics do you want to continue anyway? (Y,N). to fix this issue you have to add “-2” after the f2b bat file, this restores the cutscenes audio.
Here’s how i set it up in dosbox configuration to work properly:
imgmount D “C:\Games\Fade to Black\Game\CD\FadeToBlack.iso” -t iso
mount C “C:\Games\Fade to Black\Game\f2b
C:
f2b.bat -2
I hope this helps
enjoy!!!
Flyboy 2023-03-29 0 point
This is ok.... but no intro fmv or any fmv throughout the game i played this on the.ps1 back then and remember it had a good few cut scenes. I now play the iso. Version on the ps1 emulator epsxe which works great and has all the cut scenes which really help set the game scene
chromax 2021-05-23 2 points
As a big fan of the game I would recommend to not use the GL version. This smooth shaded view takes much of the charm of the original low-poly aestethics. I recommend software mode, it is very crisp and clear.
Perry Rhodan 2020-11-22 5 points
I wished I had found this earlier, as I spent ages trying to get the sound to work without success. But this version works perfectly.
https://ia903106.us.archive.org/15/items/ASOC2/fade2black-port031.7z
Perry Rhodan 2020-11-19 1 point
I've found it! :) here's the windows port of F2bgl. It's not 100% stable but it does work.
http://cyxdown.free.fr/f2b/
Perry Rhodan 2020-11-19 1 point
There's supposedly a windows port of Fade to Black called FBGL, but does anyone have the windows binary version. I can only find the source code.
https://github.com/cyxx/f2bgl/releases
Thanks! :)
MarkTheMorose 2019-07-07 1 point
Andromeda: no, the game does not include the DOS emulator. It is easily available for your operating system, and is called DOS Box. https://www.dosbox.com/
Andromeda 2019-05-07 0 point
Can someone instruct me on what I'm doing wrong. I extracted the file using 7zip and tried to run it but it said it was not compatible with pc? Im on windows 10. Is the DOS emulator not already inside the game?
AnswerPicuson 2019-04-28 3 points
Did you download and install using the ISO version? Also, is your DOSBOX mounting the ISO before starting the game? Many games would just install the bare essentials and leave the heavier stuff (like videos in this case) to be read directly from the cd (in this case, the ISO which has to be mounted in DOSBOX for the game to read the videos).
picuson 2015-08-09 -4 points DOS version
Where are the cinematics? The videos don't load in the game. Is the game without videos? It lose very much if this it's true.
ImpostorZim 2014-03-25 1 point DOS version
This was the first game I had for the PSone! I remember it was so hard, the game came with a strategy guide of the first level IN THE GAME MANUAL.
Noc 2013-09-29 0 point DOS version
I enjoyed this game very much - one of the 1st real 3D action games with a great story and epic action gameplay.
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DOS Version
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Various files to help you run Fade to Black, apply patches, fixes, maps or miscellaneous utilities.
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