<s>
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
is	O
a	O
post-apocalyptic	O
adventure	O
game	O
with	O
action	B-Application
elements	O
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Kalisto	O
Entertainment	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
MicroProse	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
is	O
a	O
third-person	O
game	O
centered	O
around	O
item-collection	O
and	O
weapon-based	O
melee	O
combat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
a	O
very	O
limited	O
number	O
of	O
guns	O
in	O
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
,	O
as	O
most	O
people	O
have	O
forgotten	O
about	O
firearms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
environments	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
are	O
all	O
pre-rendered	O
,	O
with	O
3D	O
modeled	O
characters	O
moving	O
atop	O
them	O
(	O
much	O
like	O
Resident	B-Application
Evil	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
takes	O
place	O
several	O
centuries	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
,	O
when	O
a	O
meteor	O
collision	O
with	O
Earth	O
(	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
Great	O
Cataclysm	O
"	O
)	O
has	O
thrown	O
up	O
great	O
clouds	O
of	O
ash	O
and	O
dust	O
,	O
blocking	O
out	O
the	O
light	O
of	O
the	O
sun	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Those	O
not	O
killed	O
in	O
the	O
collision	O
were	O
soon	O
hunted	O
by	O
strange	O
creatures	O
of	O
darkness	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
they	O
began	O
to	O
seek	O
a	O
refuge	O
from	O
the	O
"	O
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
"	O
-	O
pockets	O
of	O
land	O
where	O
the	O
light	O
of	O
the	O
sun	O
breached	O
the	O
clouds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
recommends	O
that	O
Arkhan	O
find	O
Leona	O
,	O
a	O
hermit	B-Application
who	O
lives	O
outside	O
Sparta	O
in	O
the	O
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kalisto	O
's	O
plans	O
for	O
a	O
sequel	O
to	O
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
never	O
came	O
to	O
fruition	O
,	O
although	O
they	O
did	O
produce	O
,	O
in	O
partnership	O
with	O
French	O
publisher	O
Multisim	O
,	O
a	O
tabletop	O
role-playing	O
game	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
both	O
Sony	O
and	O
Konami	O
expressed	O
publishing	O
interest	O
,	O
a	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
port	O
of	O
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
was	O
canceled	O
early	O
in	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
sold	O
500,000	O
units	O
globally	O
by	O
mid-1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microprose	O
's	O
Tom	O
Nichols	O
blamed	O
this	O
performance	O
on	O
competition	O
from	O
The	B-Application
Curse	I-Application
of	I-Application
Monkey	I-Application
Island	I-Application
and	O
Blade	B-Application
Runner	I-Application
,	O
which	O
he	O
said	O
drew	O
retailers	O
away	O
from	O
stocking	O
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
and	O
customers	O
away	O
from	O
buying	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
received	O
generally	O
positive	O
reviews	O
,	O
and	O
held	O
an	O
aggregate	O
score	O
of	O
71%	O
on	O
GameRankings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
finalist	O
for	O
the	O
Software	O
Publishers	O
Association	O
's	O
1997	O
"	O
Best	O
Adventure/Role	O
-Playing	O
Software	O
Game	O
"	O
Codie	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
it	O
ultimately	O
lost	O
to	O
Diablo	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
commented	O
that	O
"	O
An	O
adventure	O
's	O
worth	O
is	O
in	O
the	O
story	O
,	O
and	O
Dark	B-Application
Earths	I-Application
is	O
impressively	O
thought-out	O
and	O
deep	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC	O
Zones	O
Chris	O
Anderson	O
opined	O
that	O
despite	O
considerable	O
flaws	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
cinematic	O
production	O
,	O
"	O
the	O
rich	O
storyline	O
alone	O
will	O
be	O
enough	O
to	O
keep	O
most	O
people	O
happy	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
the	O
added	O
diversions	O
of	O
hand-to-hand	O
fisticuffs	O
and	O
puzzle-solving	O
elements	O
,	O
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
offers	O
a	O
well-rounded	O
gameplay	O
experience	O
that	O
should	O
appeal	O
to	O
many	O
gamers	O
who	O
would	O
n't	O
normally	O
be	O
attracted	O
to	O
the	O
adventure	O
genre.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpots	O
Jeff	O
Sengstack	O
,	O
although	O
he	O
was	O
critical	O
of	O
the	O
fixed	O
camera	O
angles	O
,	O
wrote	O
that	O
"	O
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
features	O
superb	O
graphics	O
,	O
outstanding	O
3D	O
character	O
animation	O
,	O
and	O
unique	O
action-adventuring	O
in	O
one	O
beautifully	O
crafted	O
package	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adventurers	O
longing	O
for	O
a	O
deep	O
and	O
rich	O
story	O
,	O
with	O
carefully	O
crafted	O
characters	O
,	O
coupled	O
with	O
swashbuckling	O
fighting	O
action	B-Application
and	O
challenging	O
puzzles	O
and	O
problem	O
solving	O
,	O
look	O
no	O
further.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
GamePro	O
gave	O
it	O
a	O
4.5	O
out	O
of	O
5	O
in	O
graphics	O
,	O
sound	O
,	O
and	O
funfactor	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
3.5	O
in	O
control	O
,	O
concluding	O
,	O
"	O
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
does	O
n't	O
push	O
any	O
envelopes	O
-	O
in	O
fact	O
,	O
it	O
does	O
n't	O
even	O
overcome	O
the	O
common	O
pitfalls	O
of	O
its	O
genre	O
-	O
but	O
the	O
engaging	O
plot	O
proves	O
well	O
worth	O
the	O
effort.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
similarly	O
commented	O
that	O
Dark	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
better	O
adventure	O
games	O
on	O
the	O
market	O
,	O
but	O
that	O
it	O
retained	O
the	O
usual	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
genre	O
.	O
</s>
