Destiny of the Doctors (video game)

Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors was a computer game based on Doctor Who released in 1997 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and some European countries. It featured specially recorded audio by Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Nicholas Courtney and specially recorded audio and video with Anthony Ainley reprising his role as the Master.

Publisher's Summary
The Master holds the seven incarnations of the Doctor as prisoners in a vast combat arena.

He must be challenged

You are the challenger - the Graak - an electo-telepathic entity created by the Doctor. Succeed, and the tables are turned on the Master. Fail and the Doctors, and Graak, are removed from space and time forever.

Features:
 * real-time VR environment
 * Daleks, Cybermen, Sea Devils, Zygons and more...
 * City of Thoughts database - 600 entries with text, stills, audio and video
 * original video of all seven past BBC Doctors
 * specially shot video and new newly recorded audio
 * 28 mind-bending quests
 * seven action-packed challenges
 * up to 20 hours of play

The more you play, the harder it gets!

'''There are some corners of the universe that have bred the most terrible things. Things that act against everything that we beileve in.'''

They must be fought — and defeated!

Details
The game was released in a standard computer game box with a single PC CD-ROM disc inside a standard CD case, in set in the centre of the box. The CD case contained a 16 page colour instruction booklet.

Game Features

 * The City of Thoughts database and the TARDIS database are two of the more notable features of the game, allowing the player to access 600 entries from the BBC archives, included is detailed information on much of the TV stories, monsters and other characters, many containing video clips some which hadn't been released at that point.
 * Anthony Ainley recorded video footage as the Master for this game, which would be the final time he reprised the role before his death. Many of these videos were included as a special feature on the DVD release of Survival, Ainley's last television story appearance as the Master; an outtake from these sessions was also added to the end of part 4 of the 2007 DVD release of The Keeper of Traken, as a tribute to Ainley.
 * Most of the action takes place in the Doctor's TARDIS.

Major characters

 * The Graak - voice actor unknown
 * Seventh Doctor - Sylvester McCoy
 * Sixth Doctor - Colin Baker
 * Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison
 * Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker
 * Third Doctor - represented solely by archive video and audio of Jon Pertwee from the TV series
 * Second Doctor - represented by by archive video and audio of Patrick Troughton from the TV series, and an unknown voice actor for original dialogue
 * First Doctor - represented by archive video and audio of William Hartnell from the TV series, and an unknown voice actor for original dialogue
 * The Master - Anthony Ainley
 * The Brigadier - Nicholas Courtney

Monsters
All monsters voiced by archive audio from the TV series and/or an unknown voice actor.
 * Auton
 * Cybermen
 * Cybermat
 * Daleks
 * Ice Warriors
 * Quarks
 * Raston Warrior Robots
 * Sea Devils
 * Silurians
 * Sontarans
 * Yeti
 * Zygons

Continuity

 * The Zygons could be easily hypnotised by clocks by the swinging pendulum.
 * The Cybermen resemble the CyberNeomorphs seen in 80s Doctor Who, but their voices resemble those of the CyberMondasians from The Tenth Planet.
 * The Master sends Graak out for many of the Doctor's Items, including; a Key to the Matrix (DW: The Ultimate Foe), his Stattenheim remote control (PDA: World Game, DW: The Two Doctors), his Metebelis Crystal (DW: The Green Death, DW: Planet of the Spiders), and Excalibur (DW: Battlefield). He also has him steal a Cybermat, an acient Silurian artifact, and the Zygon's Mushroom.

Placement
Where this game fits into continuity is uncertain.
 * The 1997 release date of this game follows the release of Doctor Who starring Paul McGann. This is noted by the use of the TV movie logo on the packaging and the Master's reference to the "seven complete incarnations of the Doctor" suggesting that at the time of this story, the Seventh Doctor had already regenerated. However, no reference is made to the Eighth Doctor and the appearance of Anthony Ainley as the Master clearly puts this story prior to the TV movie. Also notable is that the City of Thoughts entry for the Seventh Doctor ends without mentioning his regeneration. Therefore, a possible interpretation of the Master's statement about the "complete incarnations" may be that this story takes place near the end of the Seventh Doctor's life at some point before the TV movie. This theory would seem to be supported by the fact that the back of the game box contains a publicity image of the Seventh Doctor in his updated outfit from the TV Movie, though in-game footage and images of the Seventh Doctor do not feature the TV Movie outfit.
 * It has also been suggested that this game directly links into the TV movie, ending with the Master held captive by an unknown enemy (which might be the Daleks) and being taken away for punishment echoing the opening of the TV Movie. The incarnation of the Master seen to be exterminated in the TV Movie resembles the Ainley incarnation (though played by Gordon Tipple).
 * The First and Second Doctors seem to recognise the Master in his Ainley incarnation, which would suggest they were taken out of time sometime after The Five Doctors.
 * The second Doctor has his Stattenheim remote control, which he was given by the Celestial Intervention Agency, (PDA:World Game, DW: The Two Doctors) this, without a doubt, places this story in the setting of Season 6B, to be more precise, after The Five Doctors and before TVC: Action in Exile.
 * The Third Doctor has in his possesion his Metebelis Crystal, meaning that this must be set during either DW: The Green Death or DW: Planet of the Spiders, most likely the first, as that is the only time he had it in the TARDIS.
 * The Fourth Doctor is dressed like he was in between DW: The Android Invasion and The Leisure Hive.
 * The Seventh Doctor has Excalibur, placing this story after Battlefield and before Doctor Who.

Modern availability
Destiny of the Doctors is currently out-of-print. The game was made for Windows 95; due to changes in Windows operating systems over the years, the video segments of Destiny of the Doctors are not likely to function under current Windows systems such as Vista or Windows 7, and there has been no indication of any plans to release it in an updated edition, or ported to non-Windows systems. Both developers involved in the game's production, BBC Multimedia and Studio Fish, have since shut down, decreasing the likelihood of any rereleases.

The video footage of Anthony Ainley as the Master recorded for this game was preserved, and it was released as a bonus feature on the DVD release of Survival. An outtake from the recording sessions was appended to the DVD release of The Keeper of Traken in tribute to Ainley; technically an Easter egg, it is not listed in the menus but is instead viewed by allowing episode 4 to play past the closing credits.

Timeline

 * This story occurs before Doctor Who, but greater specificity than that is difficult. You may wish to consult the "Continuity" section, above.