Destiny of the Doctors (video game)

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Destiny of the Doctors was a computer game based on Doctor Who released in 1997 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and some European countries. It featured specially recorded audio by Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Nicholas Courtney and specially recorded video with Anthony Ainley reprising his role as the Master.

Publisher's Summary

The Master holds the seven incarnations of the Doctor as prisoners in a vast combat arena.

He must be challenged

You are the challenger - the Graak - an electo-telepathic entity created by the Doctor. Succeed, and the tables are turned on the Master. Fail and the Doctors, and Graak, are removed from space and time forever.


A Sontaran appears

Features:

  • real-time VR environment
  • Daleks, Cybermen, Sea Devils, Zygons and more...
  • City of Thoughts database - 600 entries with text, stills, audio and video
  • original video of all seven past BBC Doctors
  • specially shot video and new newly recorded audio
  • 28 mind-bending quests
  • seven action-packed challenges
  • up to 20 hours of play

The more you play, the harder it gets!

There are some corners of the universe that have bred the most terrible things.

They must be fought — and defeated!

Details

The game was released in a standard computer game box with a single PC CD-ROM disc inside a standard CD case, in set in the centre of the box. The CD case contained a 16 page colour instruction booklet.


Dalek and 'health counter' from Destiny of the Doctors

Game Features

  • The City of Thoughts database and the TARDIS database are two of the more notable features of the game, allowing the player to access 600 entries from the BBC archives, included is detailed information on much of the TV stories, monsters and other characters, many containing video clips some which hadn't been released at that point.
  • Anthony Ainley recorded video footage as The Master specially for this game. It was the last time he reprised the role of the Master. Many of these videos were included as a special feature on the DVD release of Survival, Ainley's last television story appearance as the Master; an outtake from these sessions was also added to the end of part 4 of the 2007 DVD release of The Keeper of Traken, as a tribute to Ainley.
  • Most of the action takes place in the Doctor's TARDIS.

Characters

Continuity

  • Where this game fits into continuity is uncertain. The 1996 release date of this game coincides with the release of Doctor Who starring Paul McGann. This is noted by the use of the TV movie logo on the packaging and the Master's reference to the "seven complete incarnations of the Doctor" suggesting that at the time of this story, the Seventh Doctor had already regenerated. However, no reference is made to the Eighth Doctor and the appearance of Anthony Ainley as the Master clearly puts this story prior to the TV movie. Also notable is that the City of Thoughts entry for the Seventh Doctor ends without mentioning his regeneration. Therefore, a possible interpretation of the Master's statement about the "complete incarnations" may be that this story takes place near the end of the Seventh Doctor's life at some point before the TV movie. This last theory is borne out by the fact that on the rear cover, the Seventh Doctor appears in his outfit from the TV movie.
  • It has also been suggested that this game directly links into the TV movie, ending with The Master held captive by an unknown enemy (though heavily implied to be the Daleks) and punished with the opening of the TV Movie. The incarnation of The Master seen to be exterminated resembles the Ainley incarnation (though played by Gordon Tipple).

Availability

Due to changes in operating systems over the years, the video segments of Destiny of the Doctors are not likely to function under current Windows systems such as XP or Vista, and to date there has been no indication of it being released in an updated edition (or ported to other systems like Macintosh). The footage of Anthony Ainley as the Master, however, was preserved and it was released as a bonus feature on the DVD release of Survival. An outtake from the recording sessions was appended to the DVD release of The Keeper of Traken in tribute to Ainley; technically an Easter egg, it is not listed in the menus but is instead viewed by allowing episode 4 to play past the closing credits.

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