Editing Descent (video game) (section)

==Plot==
''Descent'' is set in 2169.<ref name="Jan1995-preview">{{cite magazine|title=Descent Preview|last=Wells|first=Jeremy|magazine=[[PC Zone]]|date=January 1995|issue=22|pages=48, 50}}</ref> The story begins with a briefing between PTMC executive S. Dravis and the player's character, PTMC's best "Material Defender", who is hired on a mercenary basis to eliminate the threat of a mysterious alien computer virus infecting the machines and robots used for off-world mining operations.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Descent|developer=[[Parallax Software]]|publisher=[[Interplay Entertainment]]|date=1995|scene=Introduction cutscenes|level=1}}</ref>

The PTMC developed numerous mines in the Solar System's planets and moons for a variety of uses, including resource extraction, science research, and military installations. Prior to entering a mine, the player receives an intelligence briefing upon the robots used there, however the computer virus has resulted in some existing robots either modified considerably or even new robots being produced that PTMC is unaware about.<ref name="lparchive.org">{{cite web | url=https://lparchive.org/Descent/ | title=Descent }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://insectoid.budwin.net/dos/descent/d1robots.html | title=DESCENT: Robots | access-date=July 15, 2022 | archive-date=September 18, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918053708/http://insectoid.budwin.net/dos/descent/d1robots.html | url-status=live }}</ref> The player starts with the mines on the Moon and later shift to Venus and to Mercury, where a boss robot has to be destroyed. Afterward, the mines progress further away from the Sun, as the player visits Mars, then the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and eventually to Pluto and its moon [[Charon (moon)|Charon]]. The player accesses the three secret levels located in the [[asteroid belt]] using alternative exit doors hidden in specific levels.<ref name="prima-guide">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H0XwyEPIcZ8C|title=Descent: The Official Strategy Guide|last=Kunkel|first=Bill|publisher=[[Prima Publishing]]|date=1995|isbn=9780761500414|access-date=June 23, 2019}}</ref>{{rp|219}}

After defeating the boss robot on Charon, the Material Defender is informed he cannot return to the PTMC's headquarters in Earth orbit, as there is a chance his ship may be infected with the same virus as the defeated robots. His employer also mentions that PTMC has lost contact with their deep-space installations outside the Solar System, setting the stage for the sequel.<ref name="D1_Lv27"/>