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| Escape from Bug Island | |
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European box art | |
| Developer(s) | Spike |
| Publisher(s) |
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| Platform(s) | Wii |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Adventure, survival horror |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Escape from Bug Island, titled Necro-Nesia (ネクロネシア Nekuroneshia) in Japan, is a survival horror video game developed by Spike and released for the Wii in 2006.
The game is a third-person shooter Survival horror game. The player uses melee weapons by swinging the Wiimote in the direction the player wants Ray to swing, the player can also use a flashlight by pressing the C button on the Nunchuck. Bugs are attracted to the light from the flashlight and kill the player.
The player, playing as Ray, starts with a tree branch as their first melee weapon along with some rocks as projectiles. As the game progresses, better melee and projectile weapons can be found. Ray will encounter some other characters through the first half of the game; however, after a visit to the Cave of Time, Ray will repeat the game in an attempt to prevent some of the character's demises. There are several caves that can be accessed after revisiting areas that hide bonus items and even better weapons. The player will also gain access to a new flashlight that will allow them to use the two-hand melee weapons and the second time around Ray has to access to firearms. Some of the boss fights include the giant angry gorilla, one big worm, the giant spider, and the monster the island is named after, Beelzebub. The final battle is against a former human named Robert who is mutated into an insect-like in the movie The Fly. Ray then makes his Escape from Bug Island after defeating the mutated Robert. The game will determine which ending the player receives depending on how well Ray does during the game. Both endings find Ray making his escape from Bug Island; however, whether or not Ray has company on his escape depends on the ending.
The game was released in 2007 under the title Escape From Bug Island and was published by Eidos Interactive.[1] According to Nintendo Power, unfavorable reviews of Necro-Nesia prompted Eidos to refine several aspects of the game during localization, including control tweaks and end-of-level wrap-ups.[2]
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At E3, critical impressions of Escape from Bug Island (then Necro-Nesia) were mostly negative. According to IGN, the gameplay is “void of anything that may resemble fun”.[15] Other criticisms included poor graphics, awkward controls (especially during fights), and choppy animation.[15][16] Greg Ford of 1Up.com gave the game a F, criticizing the game's controls and concluded that "Bug Island fails and frustrates so thoroughly throughout its 10-plus-hour playtime that its greatest feat may be fooling someone into finishing it who isn't paid to do so. It's easily the Wii's worst showing yet."[4] Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu, however, gave it an above-average score of one eight, two sevens, and one six for a total of 28 out of 40.[7] Elsewhere, the game received "unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[3]
The game sold only 1,934 copies on December 2, 2006, the day of the Wii launch in Japan.[17]
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MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]
In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]
On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]
In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]
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