Reviewed: 2005/12/29
Last modified 2008/2/24.
The overriding criteria is how fun the game is to play, although control, graphics, and sound are also taken into account. |
Screen shots courtesy of Shinforce, Sega CD Universe.
| AH-3 Thunderstrike | Grade: D | |
| Publisher: JVC (1993) Reviewed: 2008/2/24 | ||
It's hard to get excited about a pseudo-3D shooter like AH-3 Thunderstrike. Military simulations don't tend to age well, and Thunderstrike is no exception. The game straps you into a helicopter equipped with rapid-fire machine guns, guided missiles, and rockets. It's a lot like a first-person Desert Strike (Genesis, 1992), only your strategy is generally limited to blowing up a set of primary targets. Ten selectable missions take you to locations over land and sea all over the world, but the terrain is always noticeably flat. Your helicopter's movements are sluggish, especially when adjusting your altitude. Occasionally you'll find yourself wanting to "back up" when you overshoot a target, but moving in reverse is so slow that you're better off coming around for another pass. Flying low to the ground makes your machine guns more effective, but it also makes you vulnerable to running into trees. That's okay, because like everything else, trees blow up when shot as if they were flammable tanks. Thunderstrike's visuals look muddy, making it hard to make out your targets, or even determine if they're destroyed or not! The plumes of smoke emanating from wreckage look more like stacks of gray rocks. What saves this antiquated shooter from the bottom of the barrel is its simple, arcade-style gameplay. Targets are locked onto automatically, surrounded by red brackets and labeled "primary" when applicable. Thunderstrike contains a few obligatory CGI cut-scenes, but their gee-whiz factor has long since faded. You can save your progress after each mission, and there's also a high score board. Hard on the eyes and lacking excitement, AH-3 Thunderstrike is one of the more forgettable entries in the Sega CD library. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.| Check for AH-3 Thunderstrike on Ebay | 1 player |
| Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Eye of the Beholder | Grade: B | |
| Publisher: Sega (1994) Reviewed: 2002/8/9 | ||
This sophisticated first-person RPG is aimed towards patient, strategy-minded gamers. The remarkably deep gameplay is surprisingly faithful to the D&D board game. A wide range of characters are available to populate your four-person party, and you have total control of each character's inventory, down to what's in each hand. Besides fighting and exploration, you can rest, gain experience, pray for spells, scribe scrolls, turn undead, eat, pick locks, and even adjust the marching order. The attention to detail can be overwhelming at times, but hardcore D&D players will appreciate that. You begin your quest in the subterranean bowels of a city. The screen displays a first person view of the dungeon on the left, the characters on the right, and directional controls and miscellaneous information across the bottom. The dungeons consist mainly of narrow hallways, and they are populated with a nice variety of creatures including spiders, zombies, skeletons, golems, hellhounds, and the multi-eyed, globular Beholder. The graphics are about average, but the audio really stands out. Along with crystal clear sound effects, there's a thumping techno soundtrack that provides a shot of energy to the proceedings. The user interface takes some getting used to. You have to move a cursor arrow around the screen, selecting objects and action buttons. It takes some time to learn how to perform critical actions like attack, cast spells, or rearrange your party. It's extremely important to order your characters correctly, since only the front two characters can fight hand-to-hand. Unfortunately, you can't pause during battles (which are in real time), so you better know what you're doing before start trouble. The first time I charged into battle I accidentally rearranged the party's inventory several times while my characters were methodically slaughtered! I hate it when that happens. But after a rough start, the game gradually grew on me and I became somewhat proficient at it. The first few puzzles and monsters are relatively easy to build up your confidence. There's just one flaw that I couldn't seem to get over, and that's confusing dungeon design. It's bad enough that all the hallways look the same, but then they introduce the concept of "fake" walls and portals that send you to God-knows-where. Throw in a map that's basically just two dots on a huge grid and confusion is the result. That's too bad, because otherwise Eye of the Beholder is a fun, immersive experience that really does play like D&D. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Eye of the Beholder on Ebay | 1 player |
| Android Assault | Grade: B | |
| Publisher: Fun Games (1994) Reviewed: 2003/4/13 | ||
Android Assault is basically just your standard side-scrolling 2D shooter. There isn't anything here that couldn't have been duplicated on a regular Genesis, with the exception of the music, which isn't so hot anyway. Heck, the soft jazz of the first stage is more suitable for a PGA Golf game! You'd think that at least the voices would be clear, but inexplicably, they sound terribly fuzzy! And what's up with the title screen? It says "Bari-Arm" instead of Android Assault. It looks like Sega changed the name without even bothering to fix the title screen. The graphics are just average, even with the multi-layered backgrounds. The scenery is mainly space ships or caves - nothing exceptional to catch your eye. In most stages you can scroll the screen up and down a little bit. Unfortunately, the scenery tends to repeat, as do the sub-bosses that reside in them. Most of your foes are weird, misshapen hunks of metal not unlike those in Lightning Force, and their slow missiles aren't hard to dodge as long as you avoid the crossfire. One thing Android Assault does have going for it is the weapons. There are four to choose from, and each alters the way you play the game. The orange "thunder cracker" gives you a wide spray, the green "burning wave" is powerful but straight, the blue "satellite bombs" deliver 360 degrees of destruction, and the red "chase cannon" shoots guided missiles. Each can be powered up several levels, and you'd be wise to stick with the same weapon once you build it up. Your ship looks pretty generic at first, but it turns into a flying mech warrior when your weapon is completely powered up. It looks cool, but your larger size makes you a bigger target. When you take a hit, you lose a level of weapon power instead of a life, which I think is a good idea. One key technique is the ability to "charge" your weapons. When you're not firing, a meter at the top of the screen displays a charge level, and the longer you wait, the more devastating the blast you can unleash. This is crucial to beating the bosses, who otherwise take forever to defeat. Overall I'd say Android Assault is worth playing, even if it was a poor choice for a launch title. © Copyright 2003 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Android Assault on Ebay | 1 player |
| Animals, The | Grade: D | |
| Publisher: Sega (1994) Reviewed: 2001/3/9 | ||
What does a real Tasmanian devil look like? Where does the platypus live? What kind of sound does a bald eagle make? Who gives a [expletive]? This well-intentioned CD is not a game at all, but an interactive, multimedia animal encyclopedia, containing over 1300 photographs, 80 video clips, 2500 pages of text, and 2 hours of audio. Unfortunately, its clumsy user interface is awkward to navigate and the load times are terribly aggravating. The main screen is a map that lets you explore different habitats, such as an island, rain forest, desert, etc. There's also a search option that will present you with a list of all available material. BEWARE - it takes a good minute just to compile this list, and you can't abort it! You'll just have to sit there staring at a black screen. Actually, just about every bit of material requires at least a few seconds to load. The photos aren't bad looking, but the videos are small and grainy. Surprisingly, I tended to enjoy the sound clips the most. There's a wealth of textual information, most of which is interesting and easy to read. While I was under the impression that all the animals featured here were all from the San Diego Zoo, certain animals, like the gray whale, made me suspicious. There's some nice bonus material like animal stories and zoo information thrown in to round out the package. This CD has its fair share of bugs too, and I'm not talking about the ones that crawl around. A few video clips didn't work, and the whole program locks up on occasion. But since we now have modern software and the Internet, this disk isn't very useful anyway. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Animals, The on Ebay | 1 player |
| Batman Returns | Grade: A- | |
| Publisher: Sega (1992) Reviewed: 2005/12/29 | | |
Batman Returns for the Sega CD is actually an enhanced version of the Genesis game, incorporating brand new audio, more elaborate cut-scenes, and impressive new driving stages. Is it worth the upgrade? Hells' yeah! These driving stages are no joke! Viewing the action from behind your Batmobile, the road smoothly undulates as enemy vehicles scale in from the distance. As you pound them with machine gun fire and guided missiles, they catch on fire before exploding into huge fireballs (daddy like!). The gothic scenery is terrific, and the "winter wonderland" stage is ideal to play on a snowy night. Unfortunately, the driving stages nearly wear out their welcome early, as the first stage just drags on for entirely too long. The platform stages look and play identically to the Genesis version, except the audio has been completely redone. The sound effects are noticeably cleaner, and the surreal background music is much better. I was surprised what a big difference it made! You also get a nifty new option menu where you can adjust the game type (full, driving, or platform), skill level, controller settings, and more. The cinematic cut-scenes employ a lot of pixelated scaling effects, but they're still a trip to watch. Batman Returns is truly a "stand out" game for the Sega CD. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Batman Returns on Ebay | 1 player |
| Batman and Robin | Grade: D | |
| Publisher: Sega (1995) Reviewed: 2006/7/24 Rating: Kids to Adults (animated violence) | ||
Since the driving sequences were such a hit in Batman Returns (Sega, 1992), Sega opted to make Batman and Robin nothing but driving. As you weave the Batmobile through traffic and engage your turbo boost, it almost feels like an early version of Burnout (Gamecube, 2002). The non-stop driving wears thin in a hurry though, and the controls are not up to the task. Steering is imprecise, and colliding with any vehicle sends you bouncing around like a pinball. When trailing certain vehicles, villains will drop bouncing objects that behave like heat-seeking missiles! One stage places you in a "virtual reality" world, but there are far too many hazards to overcome. You'll be wishing Sega had incorporated some side-scrolling action just to break up the monotony. Still, Batman and Robin's graphics and animation are pretty impressive for a 16-bit system, and the adrenaline-pumping music is terrific. Many popular villains make appearances, including Poison Ivy, the Joker, and the Riddler. Lengthy, full-screen cut-scenes divide the stages, and although somewhat grainy they're still fun to watch. The final stage is actually a flying sequence that's visually pleasing but not satisfying to play. Come to think of it, that sentiment holds true for pretty much the entire game! © Copyright 2006 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Batman and Robin on Ebay | 1 player |
| Battle Frenzy | Grade: D | |
| Publisher: Older Games (2003) Reviewed: 2004/5/9 |  | |
First developed in 1994, Battle Frenzy went unreleased until Older Games recently picked up the rights. It's an interesting title, but to fully appreciate it you have to understand its historical context. The breakthrough PC hit Doom spawned all sorts of first-person shooters in the early 1990's. The Sega Genesis wasn't capable of a decent first-person shooter, but the Sega CD had the potential thanks to its built-in rotation and scaling capabilities. Battle Frenzy reveals the limitations of the Sega CD system, but it's still a remarkable game. The object is to destroy all the reactors in a space ship infested with aliens and robots. Scattered throughout its rooms are keys, weapons, mines, and exploding barrels. You'll encounter intimidating alien robots that look like a cross between terminators and demons from hell. I love how they growl as you approach, and they also disintegrate nicely when you pump lead into them. The levels are completely flat and relatively short, and an on-screen auto-map makes it easy to determine your position (impressive). The main faults with Battle Frenzy are its abysmal frame-rate and touchy controls, which actually go hand-in-hand. There's no strafing (ugh!), and it's far too easy to get caught up on corners while navigating narrow corridors. Aiming is problematic, but fortunately your weapons are so powerful that simply spraying usually does the job. The control issue is magnified however when you blow up the reactor at the end of each stage, because then you must race back to the starting point before a countdown expires. For reasons beyond my comprehension, control becomes nearly unmanageable at this point - and just when you need it most! Other issues include the prescence of annoying mines and the fact that doors don't look much different than walls. On the bright side, there's a two-player split-screen mode that's surprisingly good! Although it's labeled "Versus" on the menu, it's more cooperative since you can't shoot your partner. I was pleasantly surprised to see the split-screen mode run faster than the normal one, making it an exception to the rule. Another positive aspect is the music, which effectively alternates between high-energy techno and dark, menacing tones. Sega CD fans and classic game collectors will probably find Battle Frenzy to be an interesting relic, but I doubt casual gamers will appreciate it. © Copyright 2004 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Battle Frenzy on Ebay | 1 or 2 players |
| Bill Walsh College Football | Grade: B- | |
| Publisher: Electronic Arts (1993) Reviewed: 2001/8/22 | ||
| Check for Bill Walsh College Football on Ebay | 1 to 4 players |
| Blackhole Assault | Grade: F | |
| Publisher: Bignet (1992) Reviewed: 2003/4/13 | ||
One of the first games available for the Sega CD, Blackhole Assault generated little fanfare - and for good reason. Its title sounds like a bad adult film, and its gameplay is about as trashy. A background story is conveyed through choppy animated cut scenes that aren't any better than what you've seen on the Genesis, only longer. The overdramatic introduction features a pissed-off captain with bright red skin. Why is his skin that color? Is sunburn a common problem in 2160? After the lengthy build-up, you finally get to see what this game is really all about: Robot fighting! That's right, Blackhole Assault is nothing more than a one-on-one fighter with the most boring cast of characters EVER! There are eight generic machines in all, and thanks to the Sega CD's limited color palette, most are either green or purple! It's actually hard to tell them apart during battle. The box claims "High-intensity, photo-realistic CD graphics" but I couldn't disagree more. Many of the dull backgrounds feature nothing more than barren planet surfaces! And the gameplay is dreadful. The moves are just standard kick/punch/crouch combinations and the controls are NOT what I would call responsive. I can usually find at least one redeeming quality in any game, but I can't think of ANY reason to ever pull Blackhole Assault off the shelf. © Copyright 2003 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Blackhole Assault on Ebay | 1 player |
| Bouncers | Grade: F | |
| Publisher: Sega (1994) Reviewed: 2004/5/9 | ||
This unusual title gives new meaning to the mantra "be the ball". Bouncers is played by two basketball-shaped characters with eyes, feet and hands. There's not much to this game, and I'm really not sure how it qualified as a CD title. Each contest is played on a court one screen in size, with a net on each side and colorful scenery in the background. Scoring is not as easy as you might expect. You can jump, but only about halfway up to the basket. In order to get sufficient air, you'll need to vault yourself off of the other player. It's harder than it sounds because the other ball is constantly moving, trying to do the same thing to you. It's a novel concept, but it doesn't work very well at all. The awkward, unresponsive controls don't help matters. Heck, most of the time you end up inadvertently knocking the other ball into the hoop. It's a shame the controls suck, because Bouncer's graphics are nice and the music isn't bad either. There are a few power-ups, but for every one that helps you, there's another that gives you lead feet. There are several zany locales to choose from, including a jungle, a haunted house, stormy ruins, and an underwater shipwreck. I was hoping Bouncers could deliver on its bizarre premise, but it's practically unplayable. © Copyright 2004 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Bouncers on Ebay | 1 or 2 players |
| Bram Stoker's Dracula | Grade: B+ | |
| Publisher: Sony (1993) Reviewed: 2000/9/21 |  | |
This is a good Sega CD game, if only because it couldn't have been done on a regular Genesis. Initially, I was prepared to trash this game, thinking it might be the lousy Genesis version with some grainy movie footage thrown in. But I was wrong; this Dracula game looks and plays completely different. Most of the graphics look digitized, especially your character and the background scenery. Speaking of the backgrounds, they look terrific. Detailed and creepy, they even ROTATE around you as you walk through them (you couldn't do that on the Genesis). This game conveys genuine atmosphere. From the woods, to the castle, to the graveyard, chilling music and spine-tingling sound effects accompany the excellent graphics. But how is the gameplay? It's not bad but not great either. Basically you punch, kick, and jump your way through bats, rats, ghosts, and zombies. The control is adequate, but you are subject to far too many unavoidable hits. As you can guess, there are some really grainy clips from the movie shown between the levels. But despite its flaws, this is a great game to pull out around Halloween. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Bram Stoker's Dracula on Ebay | 1 player |
| Bug Blasters | Grade: D- | |
| Publisher: Good Deal Games (2001) Reviewed: 2002/10/23 | | |
You know, even if the game isn't very good, it's always a thrill to play a new game for a classic system. Formerly a shelved 1994 Sony project, Bug Blasters is no prize, but you have to appreciate Good Deal Games for at least allowing this one to see the light of day. As the story begins, LA has been overrun by giant bugs, and a band of Ghostbusters-wannabes called the Exterminators are out to save the city. Not only do these guys look and act like the Ghostbusters, but even their theme song sounds the same! You have to wonder if Sony held back on this for fear of copyright infringment. The acting is as bad as you would expect, and the dialogue can be hard to stomach at times. But Bug Blasters does have a few things going for it. The video is grainy but full screen (!), and there is virtually no load time. Bug Blasters uses the same type of "aim and shoot" gameplay as Tomcat Alley, but with less success. There are often dozens of bugs flying around the screen, but the collision detection is weak and shooting one requires as much luck as skill. I did notice that you can tap the shoot button quickly to increase your chances of a hit. Also like Tomcat Alley, it's the pyrotechnics that really steal the show. After shooting each bug, you get to see a nice clip of the thing blowing up. Secondary weapons like flares and grenades are available, but you probably won't need them. The gameplay is pretty simplistic, although at times you'll want to be careful not to shoot another member of your team. One thing that really bothered me was that no matter how many bugs you kill, the number of insects flying around the screen is always the same. At least there are some large "claymation" bosses to add some variety. Bug Blasters is not a great game, but collectors should certainly take notice. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Bug Blasters on Ebay | 1 player |
| Burning Fists | Grade: C- | |
| Publisher: Good Deal Games (2006) Reviewed: 2006/7/24 | | |
I've become quite the skeptic when it comes to old, previously unreleased games being resuscitated years later. My first question usually is, "what's wrong with it?" If you're looking for a top-of-the-line fighter like Street Fighter 2 or Mortal Kombat, Burning Fists is probably not for you. However, if you're a 2D fighter nut who with an appreciation for the old school, this may be worth checking out. Burning Fists is anything but original. Except for a few novel attacks (like elbow drops and rolling kicks), it simply recycles ideas from other, better 2D fighters. It plays fairly well however, and at the very least offers an exceptional soundtrack and a few interesting stages. Most of the fighters are blatant Street Fighter rip-offs, with look-alikes for Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile, Balrog, and Blanka. Blanka's clone not only hails from South America, but even has the same green skin (c'mon now!). The single original character is an armored warrior from Kenya who loves to shake his long wiggly stick. The eight stage backdrops are a mixed bag, but Chile is undeniably beautiful with its looming pyramids and purple sunset. The Daytona USA stage looks dull, but the sound of race cars whizzing by is pretty amazing. Burning Fist's graphics are about on par with Eternal Champions, and a notch or two below Street Fighter 2. The animation is smooth enough, but a lot of the moves look "unnatural" at best. The collision detection is erratic at times, and the vocal effects are redundant. You can't adjust the best-out-of-five match configuration, and the CPU opponent isn't very sharp. The highlight of the game is its killer soundtrack. All of the songs are well produced, and a few are simply outstanding. I also need to mention a few technical landmines you'll want to be aware of. Do not press the Start button during a fight, or you may find yourself trapped in the pause mode from hell. In addition, the game froze when I tried to play it on my 32X-equpped front-loading Sega CD system. Despite its uneven quality however, I still enjoyed Burning Fists. It's easy to play, and takes you back to a time when 2D fighters were king. © Copyright 2006 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Burning Fists on Ebay | 1 or 2 players |
| Citizen X | Grade: C+ | |
| Publisher: Good Deal Games (2002) Reviewed: 2003/2/14 | | |
Good Deal Games (GDG) has been a valuable proponent of retro-gaming for years, resurrecting several unreleased titles for classic consoles like the Sega CD or Philips CDi. Since no good deed goes unpunished, I summarily trashed GDG's first two titles, Bug Blasters and Star Strike for the Sega CD. I feel pretty bad about that, so it's a relief that I can give Good Deal's latest game, Citizen X, a passing grade. While the documentation admits this is an "unfinished" game, if not for a few subtle details you'd never know. Citizen X is mainly a standard side-scroller with full motion video (FMV) clips interspersed with the action. The small clips (50% of the screen in size) effectively establish the storyline and introduce new villains, but have no real bearing on the gameplay. The acting is bad and the script is worse, but that's all part of the fun. Playing as a dorky-looking guy in red tennis shoes, you collect items and use them to subdue terrorists that have made the sewers into their headquarters. The bad guys range from bald musclemen to martial arts experts to demented clowns. Your fighting abilities are limited to a simple punch, but simply running past these thugs is usually your best bet. The graphics are grainy and look like they were drawn with a crayon, and the repetitive sewer screens would be intolerable if not for the useful map. Let's face it: the idea of running around sewer mazes is not very enticing to most gamers who survived the 90's. At least some of the animations are interesting, like the muscleman fighting (or is he eating?) a sewer rat, or the maniac clown performing pantomime. The sound effects are somewhat muffled, but the cheesy music really grew on me. The controls are decent, but it's hard to use the dynamite without blowing yourself up. Only two minor things reveal Citizen X to be unfinished. At one point, a villain cannot enter a room, but you can see him flickering on the edge of the screen. Also, in some of the FMV there are short scenes missing (indicated by "scene missing" text). But neither of these will detract from your enjoyment of the game. There's nothing outstanding here, but the gameplay is unexplainably addictive. Citizen X is typical of the early-90s video games that tried to incorporate cheesy FMV with standard platform action, and Sega CD fans will love it. © Copyright 2003 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Citizen X on Ebay | 1 player |
| Cliffhanger | Grade: C | |
| Publisher: Sony (1993) Reviewed: 2008/2/24 | | |
This Sega CD edition of Cliffhanger is a major improvement over the Genesis version, but that's not saying a whole lot. The first thing you'll notice is a generous amount of footage taken from the film. Unfortunately, the video only consumes half of the screen, and it's about as pixilated as it could possibly be without being completely unwatchable. In case you haven't seen the movie, Gabe (played by Sylvester Stallone) is a mountain climber who must defeat the evil Qualen (John Lithgow) and his henchmen. The action takes place on snowy mountain peaks, but the inspired scenery features perfectly flat cliffs and terrain. Most of the stages are lifted directly from the Genesis version, with the exception of the new avalanche sequences. Much like the driving scenes in Batman Returns (Sega CD, 1992), these impressive stages use scaling sprites to provide pseudo-3D thrills. Riding a snowboard, you must steer Gabe down a narrow path strewn with trees and rocks as the rush of snow creeps up your heels. This stage would be awesome if it weren't so long and insanely difficult! You'll practically need to memorize the entire course to make it through in one piece. Oh well, at least using a continue places you at the start of this stage instead of back to the beginning, as in the Genesis version. The audio benefits handsomely from the CD technology, with an ominous soundtrack that has an Indiana Jones vibe to it. The grunts of the bad guys are also noticeably improved. Sony made a concerted effort to spruce up Cliffhanger for the Sega CD, and it shows. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Cliffhanger on Ebay | 1 player |
| Cobra Command | Grade: C | |
| Publisher: Sega (1992) Reviewed: 2005/12/29 | ||
A "laserdisc" style game in the tradition of Dragon's Lair, Cobra Command lets you pilot an attack helicopter on a series of action-packed missions. Your flight path is completely preordained, although when prompted you'll need to hold the directional pad in order to avoid collisions. Enemy planes, helicopters and tanks emerge from the scenery, and you must quickly aim your crosshairs to blast them. While some gamers may scoff at Cobra Command's linear gameplay and semi-interactive controls, classic game enthusiasts will appreciate this game for what it is (and what it's trying to be). The graphics are always interesting and sometimes exhilarating as you buzz New York skyscrapers, the Grand Canyon, and Easter Island. There are ten stages in all, but they're pretty short and play exactly the same each time. I enjoyed playing Cobra Command the first few times, but clearly its replay value is limited. There are continues but no password feature, so you'll always need to play through the early stages. The graphics and animation are good for the Sega CD, but the rudimentary animation reminded me of an old Speed Racer cartoon. Still, the varied locales and non-stop action kept me forging ahead. The audio is pretty weak, with scratchy voice samples that are hard to decipher. Cobra Command is okay as long as you don't mind full-motion video games. Most casuals gamers probably won't "get it", but die-hard Sega CD fans should find it worthwhile. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Cobra Command on Ebay | 1 player |
| Double Switch | Grade: C- | |
| Publisher: Sega (1993) Reviewed: 2000/12/1 | ||
| Check for Double Switch on Ebay | 1 player |
| Dracula Unleashed | Grade: D | |
| Publisher: Sega (1993) Reviewed: 2002/8/9 | | |
You'd expect a CD game based on a vampire-infested 1899 London to be pretty exciting, but Dracula Unleashed is basically a slow, plodding mystery. It's played by moving a cursor around the screen and clicking on objects or icons. The idea is to collect various items and take them to the right places at the specific times, causing the storyline to unfold in the form of live-action video sequences. Unfortunately, if you miss a key event, your game will end abruptly. Fortunately you can save at any time. While Dracula Unleashed sometimes provides clues to keep you on track, the gameplay tends to be more "trial and error" than true detective work. The story isn't very suspenseful or compelling, and there's virtually no payoff until you get three-quarters through the game. The visuals consist of grainy video clips and well-drawn illustrations. I'd have to admit that the acting is respectable for a CD game, and the characters are likeable enough. I didn't recognize any actors in the cast. The downtown scenery is convincing except for the graveyard which looks like some dirt in front of a stone wall - lame! If they would have used an actual, decrepit old graveyard, it would have raised the game's grade at least by one letter. Some of the special effects, such as the floating bodies, are very well done, but the flashing eyes look terribly fake. Dracula looks a lot like Dracula from the 1992 film, but you only see him near the end of the game. There's some gore, but the Sega CD's trademark pixelation prevents it from being particularly explicit. The sound effects are terrific, especially when you ride in the carriage, and the music is well orchestrated and creepy. The user interface could be more streamlined, but it's acceptable once you learn a few shortcuts. Dracula Unleashed is a good-looking game, but only patient gamers will be able to deal with its slow pace. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Dracula Unleashed on Ebay | 1 player |
| Dragon's Lair | Grade: C | |
| Publisher: Readysoft (1993) Reviewed: 2003/7/18 | ||
I like the Sega CD system - really, I do. But after playing Dragon's Lair on systems like the Jaguar CD, CD-I, and 3DO, it's pretty hard to bear it on the Sega CD. The system's color palette is far too meager for the cartoon quality graphics, and as a result the full-screen video is awfully grainy (it burns!) But once you get your eyes adjusted to the marginal video quality, you'll find a Dragon's Lair game that's every bit as good as the other versions - if not better. The introductory video clips are great and put me back in the arcades of 20 years ago (boy, has it been that long?). The controls are pretty forgiving, allowing you to enter a few extra incorrect commands without dying. I noticed that all the death scenes are intact, which is good considering they tend to be abbreviated in other versions. And it's always cool to see our hero disintegrate into bones after using your last life. There are unlimited continues, but they do set you back a few rooms. I found it interesting that the instruction manual includes instructions for literally EVERY ROOM. All in all, Dragon's Lair on the Sega CD is quite decent - as long as you haven't played it on any other systems. © Copyright 2003 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Dragon's Lair on Ebay | 1 player |
| ESPN Sunday Night Football | Grade: B- | |
| Publisher: Sony (1993) Reviewed: 2001/8/22 | ||
| Check for ESPN Sunday Night Football on Ebay | 1 or 2 players |
| Ecco The Dolphin | Grade: B- | |
| Publisher: Sega (1993) Reviewed: 2000/9/21 | ||
| Check for Ecco The Dolphin on Ebay | 1 player |
| Eternal Champions: Challenge From The Dark Side | Grade: A- | |
| Publisher: Sega (1995) Reviewed: 2006/8/15 Rating: Mature (animated violence, animated blood and gore) | ||
Wow, Sega went all-out to spruce up Eternal Champions for the Sega CD, addressing most of the flaws that plagued the original game. You get four addition fighters, not to mention eleven hidden characters. Newcomers include the pharaoh Ramses, Raven the Voodoo priestess, Dawson the cowboy, and a female pirate named Riptide. The graphics and sound have been completely overhauled, so the characters look slightly sharper and the backgrounds no longer have that unsightly, grainy look. The beautifully-rendered stages include a pirate ship in a storm, a moving mine-cart, and a skull-shaped cave in the deep jungle. The game's only graphical lapse lies in its ugly character selection screen, where the faces are so tiny and grainy that you can barely make them out! The fighting action is basically the same as the Genesis version, but new moves have been added and the characters are better balanced. On the downside, the collision detection is fishy at times, and it can be hard to tell what's going on with so many "disappear" moves. Eternal Champion is known for its fatalities, and this edition goes far beyond the call of duty, offering an amazing four per character! Remarkably gory and awfully fun to watch, you'll enjoy sights like a fighter getting devoured by a great white shark after being tossed off of a pirate ship. Certain fatalities called "cinekills" use grainy full-motion video, but these are far less entertaining. The music has been given the full "CD quality" treatment, but the tunes are hit and miss. Sega clearly put a lot of effort into this project. The 70-page instruction manual lists the biographies and moves for all the main characters. An enjoyable full-motion video intro explains how each character originally met his demise. Fifteen modes offer an outrageous number of ways to play, from "Russian Roulette" to "Sell Your Soul". After each match a statistics screen is displayed which breaks down the types of attacks used. This is Eternal Champions the way it was meant to be. Had the original been this good, the series may have enjoyed a better fate. © Copyright 2006 The Video Game Critic.| Check for Eternal Champions: Challenge From The Dark Side on Ebay | 1 or 2 players |
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