It Came from the Desert

It Came from the Desert is a 1989 action-adventure game by Cinemaware. It was originally released for the Amiga, but later ported to MS-DOS, as well as released in distinctly different forms to consoles. The TurboGrafx-16 release is distinctly different from the computer versions, in terms of gameplay and presentation. An expansion set Antheads: It Came from the Desert II was released in 1990.

The game is inspired by dozens of 1950s monster movies especially the 1954 mutant-ant classic Them!, with the title referencing the 1953 horror film, It Came from Outer Space. The game is a non-linear combination of dialogue boxes and several types of action scenes, typical of contemporary Cinemaware releases.

Plot – It Came from the Desert

The player assumes the role of Dr. Greg Bradley who comes to remote Lizard Breath, California on June 1, 1951. As a geologist, he wants to study a meteor crash site somewhere in the desert south-west of the small town.

Early in the game he learns that the radiation of the meteor has enlarged a local ant population to an enormous size, however few take his observations seriously. Worried that the ants will soon mate and spread, he must work against a ticking clock and devise a plan to stop the ants from terrorizing the world. In order to succeed the player must visit many locations ranging from mines, farms, a pub, an airfield, a local radio station and others to find evidence of the ants, then convince townsfolk and authorities of impending doom. At the same time the player must contain the ant infestation.

t Came From the Desert is a 2017 film directed by Marko Mäkilaakso. It is based on the video game of the same name developed for Amiga computers in the 1980s.

Production – It Came from the Desert

The film is based on a 1980s video game, which, according to the director, “in turn was motivated by the giant creature feature craze infesting 1950s Hollywood.”^[3]

Reception – It Came from the Desert

Empire sees in this film an example of what can be called the “Nordic genre invasion”^[4] The Hollywood News praised the film in the following terms: “Camp, cheesy and oddly charming, It Came From the Desert is a rare modern b-movie that is an absolute viewing pleasure. It’s such an entertaining watch that it should be watched with as big an audience as possible for maximum fun.”^[5] A comparable assessment can be found in various reviews^[6][7]

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