|
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL
News
Game Info
Downloads
Screens
Music
Walkthrough
Postmortem
ZZT
ZZT Info
Todd's Adventure
War-Torn
Burger Joint
Ruined World
NextGame 33
|
Bug!
Rating: 70%
Genre: Early attempts at 32-bit 3D platformers
Appeal: A lot of people at Sega liked Bug as
a mascot, but Sonic reportedly wanted him killed
Bug! is a fun side-scroller that also lets you
go forward and backward. The player is on a set path, though.
I wish there was more variety in the backgrounds, and the game should really
be a tad shorter. On the other hand, this was one of the last games
on which I could demonstrate my mad side-scroller skillz before the genre
went dead.
Bug! Too
Rating: 65%
Genre: Games that will most definitely bug you
Appeal: Fans of the first game who hadn't sold
their Saturns by the time this game was released
Why is this game called Bug! Too?! Why
"Too"?! Anyways, Bug has a couple of new sidekicks: A maggot, and
another bug with a broccoli afro on his head. The levels are more
interesting this time around, but they're also more aggravating.
Actually, I've only played the PC version of this game. It was only
released in the US through mail order by way of Stouffer's Pizza, I believe.
Weird.
Clockwork Knight
Rating: 70%
Genre: 2.5D platformers with creepy looking characters
Appeal: The Japanese, because this game sold
real well over there
CK, a routine side-scroller with 3D backgrounds,
was one of the first Saturn titles released. Critics panned it for
being too short and easy, but this game has a certain charm to it.
Maybe it's seeing familiar gameplay in spectacular 3D, or maybe it's getting
to hear the even more spectacular soundtrack. Playing CK in the store
made me want to go out and buy a Saturn. So I did.
Clockwork Knight 2
Rating: 80%
Genre: Games that may have influenced the Army
Men franchise?
Appeal: Those who liked the first CK's gameplay,
but thought the experience was too short
Yes, CK2 plays almost exactly like the first
game, but the levels are quite a bit longer now, and there are minigames
and such to unlock. It would have been cool if the two games had
been combined into one really nice, hearty game.
Die Hard Arcade
Rating: 80%
Genre: Games that originally ran on Sega's Titan
board, like Funky Head Boxers and Sonic Fighters
Appeal: Fans of the film/arcade/Bruce Willis/beat-'em-ups
The world's first 3D beat-'em-up! Just
when I thought the beloved genre was going stale, Sega and AM1 brought
out this kickass game! It's very short (like 15-20 minutes short),
but fun to replay. Also, the characters seem to lose their clothes
as they get further into the game! Genius!
Enemy Zero
Rating: 65%
Genre: FMV first-person "shooters"
Appeal: Fans of the other two games Warp did
in a five year period. They're slow
Laura, the heroine from E0's prequel, "D", finds
herself stranded on a space station with invisible monsters. The
gameplay is divided into two segments: looking around nicely rendered CG
rooms, and exploring halls in glorious, cramped 3D. You must time
your gun to fire just as the invisible creatures come close (you can tell
by a beeping sound). Very suspenseful, for awhile at least.
Guardian Heroes
Rating: 80%
Genre: Games by Treasure = Frantic action
Appeal: Every hero of any sort who has every
lived... I think
The designers of Gunstar Heroes bring fast, crazy,
cluttered action to the beat-'em-up genre. TONS of bad guys, five
very different characters, and tons of stuff to unlock ensure that you'll
have some fun. I just wish there wasn't so much plot. And it's
too bad that all my data was lost when my Saturn's battery ran out...
NiGHTS
Rating: 85%
Genre: NiGHTS cannot be classified into any genre,
period
Appeal: Tripped-out hippies. This game
is crazy, maaan...
Let me try to describe this: you're a little
kid who, in his dreams, can become NiGHTS, a purple-suited flying monstrocity
who must travel through wacked-out worlds before fighting strange bosses
in even stranger ways. Pretty, fun, and challenging. Upon winning
the game, players get to hear little kids sing. It's a real, uhh,
treat.
Sega Ages
Rating: 85%
Genre: Compilation sensation
Appeal: Gamers of all Ages
You'll get your money's worth out of this compilation.
OutRun is a very simple but fun racing game. AfterBurner II features
very fast dogfighting action. Space Harrier, my personal favorite,
lets the player fly forward and shoot stuff in the trippy Fantasy Zone.
The 3D graphics in each of these games hold up surprisingly well.
Unfortunately, few extras are included on the CD.
Virtua Fighter
Rating: 80%
Genre: Texture map-less polygon fighting
Appeal: Spectators, because this was the first
fighting game that was actually fun to watch
VF was the first polygon-based fighting game
ever, and the gameplay was pretty damn good, too. Unfortunately,
this lazy conversion of an aging arcade game ended up making the Saturn
look like an inferior machine once Toshinden was released on the PSX.
Sega retaliated by sending out free copies of the much nicer-looking VF
Remix, and publishing VF2 that Christmas.
|
