The Fifth Element
Developer(s)Kalisto Entertainment
Publisher(s)
Composer(s)Frédéric Motte
Platform(s)PlayStation, Microsoft Windows
ReleasePlayStation
  • NA: 30 September 1998
  • EU: October 1998
Microsoft Windows
  • NA: October 1998
  • EU: 1999
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

The Fifth Element is a 1998 action-adventure video game. Based on the film of the same name, it was developed by Kalisto Entertainment, and was released for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows.

Gameplay

In the game, the player controls Leeloo and Korben, fighting against the police and the Mangalores, as well as Zorg and his thugs. The game has 16 levels, or missions, as they are called in-game. Short clips from the film are played at the completion of certain levels.

Control switches between the two main characters, dependent on the level. Each character has different combat abilities; Korben uses guns with unlimited ammunition and Leelo uses unarmed combat techniques supplemented by grenades which can be collected.[1]

Development

The production company behind the film, Gaumont Film Company, assisted in the game's design.[2]

The Windows and PlayStation versions were developed in tandem, with LibSys, a proprietary development program created by Kalisto, used to build both versions.[2] The game was demonstrated at the June 1997 Electronic Entertainment Expo; at this time, Korben was still not playable, only Leeloo, and Kalisto had not yet settled on a publisher for the game.[3]

Reception

Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "There's some mild entertainment to be had here, but only if you're willing to overlook the shortcomings - and frankly, these are legion. Don't expect many fresh surprises, or for that matter, much fun."[11]

The PlayStation version held a score of 32% on GameRankings based on 7 reviews.[4]

GameSpot gave the game 2.4 out of 10, with the reviewer calling it "quite possibly the worst game I've ever played".[1] Game Revolution gave the game an "F" rating, concluding "Poor level design... boring puzzles... it just never ends, but I can't go on. Let me sum it up by saying that The Fifth Element is simply not fun to play. Not even a little bit."[9] IGN gave the game 5 out of 10, stating "All in all, this adventure/action game does what all of the other games in the genre do, but not in any way better."[10] The only positive reviews came from GamePro, which gave the game three-and-a-half stars out of five,[8] and from Game Informer, which gave the game 7 out of 10, but quipped that "Unfortunately, the control is cumbersome, the camera sometimes jumps or sticks, and the enemies prove to be rather dumb. Rent it first, but if you really like the movie, you'll probably like the game too."[7]

The PC Version received positive reception, and PC Zone gave the game a score of 82%.

The game sold 750,000 copies worldwide.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fielder, Lauren (1998-10-21). "Fifth Element, The Review (PS)". GameSpot. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 "NG Alphas: Kalisto". Next Generation. No. 34. Imagine Media. October 1997. pp. 96–97.
  3. ↑ "E3 Showstoppers!". GamePro. No. 108. IDG. September 1997. p. 40.
  4. 1 2 "The Fifth Element for PlayStation". GameRankings. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  5. ↑ Kanarick, Mark. "The Fifth Element (PS) - Review". Allgame. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Fifth Element (PS)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. 1998.
  7. 1 2 "The Fifth Element - PlayStation". Game Informer. No. 68. December 1998. Archived from the original on September 12, 1999. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  8. 1 2 Bobba Fatt (1998). "Fifth Element Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  9. 1 2 Baldric (October 1998). "The Fifth Element Review (PS)". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on November 9, 1999. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  10. 1 2 Perry, Doug (1998-10-01). "Fifth Element (PS)". IGN. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Finals". Next Generation. No. 50. Imagine Media. February 1999. p. 100.
  12. ↑ "The Fifth Element". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. 1998.
  13. ↑ "PC Review: The Fifth Element". PC Zone. 1999.
  14. ↑ "The Fifth Element". Play. No. 40. November 1998. pp. 68–70.
  15. ↑ "Kalisto - New Game Development with Gaumont Multimedia" (PDF). kalisto.com. October 21, 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 2, 2000. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
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