View source for Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure

{{refimprove|date=March 2017}}
{{Short description|1992 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
|title = Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure
|image = Cosmoscosmicadventurecover.jpg
|caption = Cover art
|developer = [[3D Realms|Apogee Software]]
|publisher = Apogee Software
|producer = [[Scott Miller (entrepreneur)|Scott Miller]]
|released = March 1992
|composer = [[Robert Prince (video game composer)|Robert Prince]]
|genre = [[Platform game|Platform]]
|modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
|platforms = [[DOS]]
|designer = [[Todd Replogle]]<br>Allen Blum III
|artist = Stephen Hornback
}}
'''''Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure: Forbidden Planet''''' is a video game programmed by [[Todd Replogle]] and published by [[3D Realms|Apogee Software]]. It is a two-dimensional [[side scroller|side-scrolling]] [[platform game]]. The game was released in mid March 1992 for [[MS-DOS]] compatible systems.<ref name="ApogeeCat-Dec91">Apogee Software December 1991 Catalog</ref>
==Gameplay==
[[Image:Cosmo.gif|thumb|left|Typical gameplay shot]]
The player controls Cosmo, and the objective is to reach the exit of each level. Cosmo can walk and jump, and can hang onto most walls with his suction-cup hands. Combining the hanging and jumps allows Cosmo to climb to higher places. There are some interactive objects, including pushable ceiling buttons, teleporters, and springs that make Cosmo jump higher. There are also hovercraft (floating pads that allow Cosmo to fly) and hint globes (which cause a message to be displayed if Cosmo runs into one; destroying one with a bomb earns 12,800 points). The player has access to bonus levels after each level if enough stars are collected.
Cosmo has a health meter with three units. Each time an enemy or hazard damages Cosmo, he loses one unit of health. If he takes further damage after losing all health units, or falls off a chasm, the player restarts the level. Cosmo has unlimited lives. There are power-up modules that restore one health unit each. There are also two hidden cheeseburgers in each episode. Picking one up earns Cosmo an additional empty health unit, allowing Cosmo's health meter to reach a maximum of five units. Enemies hurt Cosmo by touching him or firing projectiles at him. Cosmo can kill many of them by jumping on them. Bombs can also be collected and used to destroy enemies. Cosmo can carry at most 9 bombs at a time. After Cosmo drops a bomb, it takes a few seconds to explode, and it can hurt Cosmo if he is too close. Bombs can also be used to destroy other objects and hazards. Shield cubes, once collected, provide a temporary invincibility shield for Cosmo.
==Plot==
The storyline is about a little alien boy named "Cosmo". Cosmo's parents are taking him to [[Walt Disney World]] for his birthday. A [[comet]] hits their ship, forcing them to land on an unknown planet (called Zonk in WIP<ref name="ApogeeCat-Dec91"/>) and repair the ship. Cosmo goes exploring, and when he returns, his parents are missing. Seeing large footprints, Cosmo thinks that his parents have been captured and sets off to rescue them before they are eaten. There are three episodes in the game series in which Cosmo must navigate through 10 alien-themed levels for each episode.
At the end of the first episode, Cosmo unexpectedly gets swallowed by a large creature. The story continues in the second episode, where Cosmo ends up in the creature's body and has to find a way out. At the end of the second episode, Cosmo finds the city where he thinks his parents might have been taken. In the final episode, Cosmo finds his parents (who were in no danger of being eaten the whole time) and has a great time at Disney World for his birthday.
==Development==
The game's working titles were "The Adventures of Zonk"<ref>{{cite web |title=New Version of the Apogee / 3DR FAQ Online |url=http://legacy.3drealms.com/news/2000/11/ |publisher=[[3D Realms]] |author=Joe Siegler |date=November 20, 2000 |access-date=December 4, 2017}}</ref> and "Cosmo Kid from Space", but Stephen Hornback ultimately gave it the final name.<ref>{{cite web |title=Retro Interview: Stephen A. Hornback |url=https://www.gamestm.co.uk/features/retro-interview-stephen-a-hornback/ |publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] |access-date=December 2, 2017}}</ref> It was developed by two people in seven months.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.3d-unlimited.com/interviews/dukeforever/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19990820144341/http://www.3d-unlimited.com:80/interviews/dukeforever/|title=Interview|archivedate=August 20, 1999|accessdate=August 24, 2024}}</ref>
''Cosmo'' uses 16-color [[Enhanced Graphics Adapter|EGA]] graphics at 320×200 [[screen resolution]]. The game uses three-layer, horizontal, [[parallax]] [[scrolling]]. A file contained with the shareware version of the game urged people not to download it if their computers could not handle it. The game was written with 24,500 lines of code.<ref name="CosmoHintSheet">{{cite web |date=1992 |title=Cosmo Hint Sheet |url=http://www.thefloppydisk.com/old/games/cosmo_au_vision/hint_sheet.jpg |publisher=[[Apogee Software]] |author=[[Todd Replogle]] & Stephen Hornback |access-date=December 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206202403/http://www.thefloppydisk.com/old/games/cosmo_au_vision/hint_sheet.jpg |archive-date=December 6, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The game supports [[AdLib]] music, but sound effects are generated by the [[PC speaker]].
==Reception==
''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' stated that ''Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure'' was "especially playable and extremely addicting", and that fans of ''[[Commander Keen]]'' and side-scrolling platform games "will find ''Cosmo'' much to their liking ... hours of pleasure without excessive destruction".<ref name="miller199303">{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/stream/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_104#page/n109/mode/2up | title=Totally Spaced-Out | magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] |issue=104 | date=March 1993 | last1=Miller | first1=Chuck | pages=110,111}}</ref> The game was reviewed in 1993 in ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' #197 by [[Sandy Petersen]] in the first "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the game 2 out of 5 stars.<ref name="Dragon197">{{cite magazine|title=Eye of the Monitor|author=[[Sandy Petersen|Petersen, Sandy]]|journal=Dragon|issue=197|date=September 1993|pages=57–62}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://archive.org/details/CosmosCosmicAdventure Episode 1] of ''Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure'' can be played for free in the browser at the [[Internet Archive]]
* https://cosmodoc.org/ Book about ''Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure''
{{Apogee Games}}
[[Category:1992 video games]]
[[Category:Apogee games]]
[[Category:DOS games]]
[[Category:Games commercially released with DOSBox]]
[[Category:Linux games]]
[[Category:MacOS games]]
[[Category:Shareware games]]
[[Category:Side-scrolling platformers]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Video games about extraterrestrial life]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Video games scored by Bobby Prince]]
[[Category:Video games set on fictional planets]]
[[Category:Windows games]]