# Skull Cracker

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***Skull Cracker*** is a 1996 [supernatural](/source/Supernatural) [beat 'em up](/source/Beat_'em_up) [video game](/source/Video_game)[1] developed by American studio [CyberFlix](/source/CyberFlix) and published by [GTE Entertainment](/source/GTE_Entertainment) on Macintosh and Windows. It is sometimes considered a spiritual successor to the 1991 title *[Creepy Castle](/source/Creepy_Castle_(1991_video_game))*, which the game's head of technology [William Appleton](/source/William_Appleton_(entrepreneur)) had previously written for Reactor Inc. *Skull Cracker* was conceptually designed by Ben Calica.[2]

## Development

After the release of *[Titanic: Adventure Out of Time](/source/Titanic:_Adventure_Out_of_Time)*, Cyberflix released this old project which had been sitting in the vaults for a few years.[3] The game was demoed on October 28, 1995 at the Double Tree Hotel (Crowne Plaza) in Rockville.[4] It also previewed at the 1994 [Summer Consumer Electronics Show](/source/Consumer_Electronics_Show) along with other Cyberflix games, presented by Paramount.[5]

## Plot and gameplay

The developers described it as an "old-fashioned [side-scrolling](/source/Side-scrolling_video_game) arcade game".[3] The game sees the player battle through 16 levels of the undead and monsters.[6] The game contains 50s-style monsters and 90s-style urban grit.[7]

## Critical reception

[GameSpot](/source/GameSpot) offered a scathing review, panning the title's "bad art, poor animation, limited controls, no decent action, lame gameplay".[8] MacLedge felt the game was a letdown from Cyberflix's previous work.[9] Inside Mac Games praised the title's intriguing storyline, witty humor and exciting gameplay.[10] Cyberflix head Scott Scheinbaum would later say "Every company makes mistakes, and that was ours...It should have come out a year and a half before it did", noting that 1994 technology seemed stale by 1996.[3] World Village noted the game was a departure from the history-based title *Titanic*.[11]

## References

1. ["Chapter 23"](http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780240808222/focal/supp/narrate/dust/dust.htm). *cw.routledge.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180113000409/http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780240808222/focal/supp/narrate/dust/dust.htm) 2018-01-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-04-25.

1. ["The Rules of the Game: Teach a Boy to shoot"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181224170508/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131682/the_rules_of_the_game_teach_a_boy_.php). 12 June 1998. Archived from [the original](https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131682/the_rules_of_the_game_teach_a_boy_.php) on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.

1. ["Metro Pulse Online: Cover Stories"](http://monkeyfire.com/mpol/dir_zine/dir_1999/942/t_cover4.html). 2012-10-18. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20121018113332/http://monkeyfire.com/mpol/dir_zine/dir_1999/942/t_cover4.html) 2012-10-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-04-25.

1. ["Washington Apple Pi September 1995 General Meeting"](https://www.wap.org/meetings/GM0995.html). *www.wap.org*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190129122826/https://www.wap.org/meetings/GM0995.html) 2019-01-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-04-25.

1. ["THE 1994 SUMMER CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW"](http://www.ibiblio.org/GameBytes/issue20/misc/sumces.html). *www.ibiblio.org*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170504135514/http://www.ibiblio.org/GameBytes/issue20/misc/sumces.html) 2017-05-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-04-25.

1. Gralla, Preston & Press, Ziff-Davis (1 January 1997). [*ZDNet Software Library 10,000*](https://books.google.com/books?id=kApOAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Skull+Cracker%22+cyberflix). ZD Press. ISBN 9781562765378. – via Google Books.

1. Hudak, Chris (2004-03-01). ["SkullCracker Preview"](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/skullcracker-preview/1100-2559747/). *GameSpot*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180425115015/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/skullcracker-preview/1100-2559747/) 2018-04-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-04-25.

1. McDonald, Tim (31 October 1996). ["SkullCracker Review"](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/skullcracker-review/1900-2533064/). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180425115153/https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/skullcracker-review/1900-2533064/) 25 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 April 2018.

1. ["Skull Cracker"](http://macledge.com/Reviews/skullcracker/skullcracker.html). 15 June 2000. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20000615142323/http://macledge.com/Reviews/skullcracker/skullcracker.html) 15 June 2000 at the Wayback Machine.

1. Deniz, Tuncer (November 1994). ["Sneak Peek: Skullcracker"](http://grenierstock.free.fr/Skullcracker/skullckrakerIMG.pdf). *Inside Mac Games*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200730080632/http://grenierstock.free.fr/Skullcracker/skullckrakerIMG.pdf) 2020-07-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-04-25.

1. ["Titanic:Adventure Out of Time"](https://archive.today/20081221125355/http://www2.worldvillage.com/wv/gamezone/html/feature/pulse/pulse6.htm). *archive.li*. 2008-12-21. Archived from [the original](http://www2.worldvillage.com/wv/gamezone/html/feature/pulse/pulse6.htm) on 2008-12-21. Retrieved 2018-04-25.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Skull Cracker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_Cracker) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_Cracker?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.