
- 80/100
- Players11 ratings

1999 · Polyphony Digital · Science · Shoot 'em up
Omega Boost
PlayStation exclusive
A 3D shoot 'em up by the makers of Gran Turismo and Panzer Dragoon Zwei
- Released
- 22 April 1999
- Platforms
- PlayStation
- Genres
- ScienceShoot 'em upShooter
- Developers
- Polyphony Digital
- Publishers
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Modes
- Single-player
- Perspective
- Third person
- Themes
- ActionScience fiction
- Country
- Japan
- Age ratings
- ESRB E
About
Omega Boost is a 1999 shoot 'em up video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the first game to be developed by Polyphony Digital, formed after the success of Gran Turismo which was developed under Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, and their only game that is not in the Gran Turismo series as well as their sole non-racing video game.
The game features mecha designs by Shoji Kawamori of Macross fame. The game was criticized by some reviewers for being too short (nine levels with an equal amount of unlockable special missions) and simplistic.
Keywords
- rail shooter
- time travel
- death
- robots
- flight
- 60 fps on consoles
- live-action cutscene
- hostile a.i.
- greek alphabet
- playstation underground
Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
The gameplay takes place in waves, meaning that enemies will appear in the same groups and formations in the same order every playthrough. The player doesn't get to choose what order to engage an entire stage's enemies, just the ones in the current wave. This rail-shooter element does not hamper the player's freedom to fly where they choose in most stages. On some stages, the player has complete control of Omega Boost, specifically areas where they are in Planet ETA's atmosphere. Other stages limit the player in terms of speed (falling through the timeshift).
The "Boost" part of the mech's name comes from Omega Boost's booster pack, allowing the player to move in any direction and circle strafe enemies with a scanning and lock-on feature. Omega Boost also learns the Viper Boost maneuver once it is levelled up. Viper Boost, when engaged, will cause Omega Boost to glow blue as it tears through enemies on screen. Destroying enemies will cause the gauge to refill incrementally.
Story
In the past, an artificial intelligence named AlphaCore peacefully and silently co-existed with the human race, though its origins remain unknown. Eventually, the human race advanced to the point where they became aware of AlphaCore and its capabilities, and were shocked by what it was capable of. Fearing its power, humanity tried to 'dump' AlphaCore- presumably an attempt to destroy or manipulate the AI- but the action failed, only provoking the AlphaCore and starting a war between humans and machines. This war goes on into the distant future, with mankind steadily being outmatched by AlphaCore, who is capable of destroying entire cities easily.
In this future, scientists devise a way to travel through time in order stop AlphaCore. However, AlphaCore discovers this plan and steals the time travel technology. It builds a giant shaft, the Timeshaft, on a desolate, mined out planet named ETA, and uses this to travel back in time and alter ENIAC, the first general-use computer created and considered by AlphaCore to be the first artificial intelligence. It plans to implant a virus containing its own code into one of ENIAC's vacuum tubes, thus creating a predestination paradox and ensuring its survival in the present day.
Development
Similarities between Omega Boost and Sega's Panzer Dragoon series led to a rumor that former members of Team Andromeda, dissolved in 1998, had joined Polyphony Digital. This rumor turned out to be true as the lead designer and programmer on Omega Boost was Yuji Yasuhara, who had worked on Panzer Dragoon Zwei.
Reception
Omega Boost received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. However, Chris Charla of NextGen called it "The textbook definition of a two-star game: competent, but totally uninspired." In Japan, Famitsu gave it a better score of 28 out of 40.
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Collections2 collections
Publishers
- Sony Interactive Entertainment gamesVideo games
Platform libraries
- PlayStation (console) games (M–Z)Games list (M–Z)
Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.