Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors is an action video game based on the BBC British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was released on 5 December 1997 by BBC Multimedia.
Overview
A collaboration between BBC Multimedia and the British developer Studio Fish, Destiny of the Doctors is a CD-ROM which received an ELSPA classification indicating suitability for ages 11 and over. It is supported by Microsoft Windows 95 and works on all subsequent forms of Windows, though some PCs running XP and Vista experience compatibility issues. It was released in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, as well as some countries in Europe, and found modest acclaim from some magazines, including the now defunct PC Planet.
The game featured extensive, newly recorded audio dialogue by Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Nicholas Courtney. William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton were represented by impersonators performing the roles of the First and Second Doctors. Jon Pertwee originally agreed to appear in the game but died before recording could take place; by agreement with his widow, Ingeborg Pertwee, he was represented in the game using audio clips from the television series. The game marked Anthony Ainley's final appearance as the Master.
The story was written by longtime Doctor Who writer Terrance Dicks.
Cast
- The Third Doctor – Jon Pertwee (archive audio)
- The Fourth Doctor – Tom Baker
- The Fifth Doctor – Peter Davison
In a retrospective article for Destructoid, Anthony Burch said the game was "one of the most unplayable, unenjoyable games ever created".
Despite the mixed reviews, Anthony Ainley's performance as the Master was widely praised by audiences.
Other releases
All of Anthony Ainley's recorded scenes as the Master from this game were included on the DVD release of Survival but without the background music played in them.