It Came from the Desert is a cancelled Sega Genesis game developed by Cinemaware and due to be published by Electronic Arts. The main character's a teenager named Buzz Lincoln who tries to stop the ant invasion in the town of Lovelock. The gameplay involves walking through the various places throughout the desert, occasionally coming back to Lovelock to talk with people for valuable items/information. Buzz is armed with a flamethrower by default, but visiting the Doc lets him craft new weapons to better combat the ant menace.
The "99.99% complete" prototype of the game was released as freeware in 2001. The developers have teamed up with WaterMelon (a 21st-century Genesis developer) to make an Extended Cut version of the game with new content, but that appears stuck in Development Hell.
This game provides examples of:
- Cassandra Truth: Major Williams refuses to let the military help with the ant infestation until General Sherman gives him orders to do so. When Buzz tells him that he's seemingly been killed by ants and the clone has been giving orders this whole time, Williams just assumes that the desert heat must be getting to him.
- The Chosen One: An old lady who gives advice to Buzz calls him "chosen one" when first greeting him.
- Good News, Bad News: Doc gives Buzz some good and bad news near the end. While he has found a nest at a dormant volcano, which is holding several human prisoners (including Buzz's dad), the ant activity disturbs the core so much the volcano's no longer dormant.
- Hope Bringer: Jackie is able to broadcast Buzz's adventures and bring back hope to Lovelock once the ant interference has been dealt with.
- Item Crafting: You can visit the Doc to combine three items found throughout the game into more useful things.
- Just a Kid: Doc doubts Buzz's ability to save the town due to him being a kid in his eyes.
- Lethal Lava Land: The last stretch of the game takes place in a not-so-dormant volcano, with plenty of lava to jump over.
- Levitating Lotus Position: The old lady is seen in the lotus position and floating in the ending screen, surrounded by some kind of aura.
- Life Meter: There's a red lifebar in the top left corner, which can be depleted very quickly.
- Timed Mission: You are always on a timer that makes you lose a life if you run out.
- Video Game Flamethrowers Suck: Averted. The flamethrower is the weakest weapon, but it can deal good damage quickly and has a decent range. You can craft a stronger version of it later.
