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Games are rated relative to other games for the same system.
The animation is extremely choppy and at times almost hard to watch. The collision detection is forgiving at least. Enemies often fly directly into your line of fire, so you can do a lot of damage by simply firing forward! Battleships are automatically targeted so it only takes a tap or two of the missile button to finish them off. The best way to avoid attacks ("danger!") is to move the d-pad like crazy, or perform an evasive roll by accident as I tend to do.
Points are awarded after completing each mission, and those points are used to upgrade your plane via a slick upgrade screen. Be sure to take care of your fuel and armor before splurging on fancy weapons. G-Loc is actually a pretty well designed game. It's a shame technically it's not quite up to the task. © Copyright 2019 The Video Game Critic.
You begin by selecting your bike and racing a qualification lap. I don’t really see the point, as you always end up near the back of the 16-racer field. Your position has little bearing on the actual race as you'll pass most of these guys by the first turn. Your controls are accelerate, brake, and turn. Gear shifts are automatic.
The graphics are unexciting. The scenery is scant and the sense of speed is so-so, even on straightaways. The animation of your bike is smooth but other racers can get jumpy as you pass. At least you get the benefit of a full-screen, as the Sega Masters System version was stuck in split-screen mode.
The racing action is mediocre and I blame the track design. You'd expect a lot of mild turns and straightaways, with a few tricky narrow turns sprinkled in. But this game has the tracks whipping from side to side like it's a damn slalom course! You need to lean on the brake at all times, and you never achieve that feeling of wind blowing through your hair. It's hard to enjoy the game.
When you make contact with another racer you completely lose control of your bike for what feels like ten seconds. During this time you'll inevitably slide twenty feet off the road. Whether you emerge unscathed or crash into a tree is largely a matter of luck. When you do collide with something your guy (decked out in red, white, and blue) looks like Spider-Man tumbling through the air.
The first few modes (arcade, tournament, and grand prix) left me cold, but the World Tour mode was a game changer. You get the option to race on any continent, each with its own unique course and multiple distinctive locales. In Africa you begin on the Serengeti with a blazing sunset. Next you're weaving around the pyramids and finally cruising along the Nile. It feels like an adventure! Instead of playing to win you play for score.
World Tour feels helps redeem the cartrirdge, but can't overcome the so-so racing action. I noticed the New York track features a Statue of Liberty half-buried in the sand. Does this game take place in the future!? GP Racer may be a worthwhile diversion for Hang On fans, but I'll take Pole Position any day. Note: GP Racer also supports head-to-head action with the proper link cable. © Copyright 2024 The Video Game Critic.
Caught in the Act isn't bad if you can keep your expectations in check. The graphics are impressive, with detailed, layered environments and a melodic soundtrack that really pushes the system's audio power. The controls are so forgiving that even when Garfield jumps off a cliff a butterfly will often catch him and tow him back onto solid ground. The jumping action is strictly by the numbers as you make your way to the far right of each stage where a boss awaits (big surprise there). Garfield also has the ability to toss rocks at his adversaries, which include mummies, knights, cavemen, and fire-breathing mice.
This game should have been a good time but some boneheaded design decisions disrupt the fun (don't they always?). First you have to contend with a lot of annoying disappearing platforms, and flying creatures often appear from out of nowhere to interrupt your jumps. The stages are surprisingly long and repetitive, and sometimes you'll traverse an area only slightly different from the one before it. The bosses require an inordinate number of hits to defeat. After a while, Caught in the Act begins to feel like every 2D platform game you've ever played in your entire life. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.
The graphics look exactly like the SMS game, except the lower resolution results in a view that's slightly "zoomed". One drawback is you tend to have less time to react to bad guys entering the screen. There is also some slow-down. The colorful circus train cars look especially good, with giraffe heads and rhinoceros horns poking through the box cars periodically.
While venturing through caves, catacombs, and castles, Indy will leap over pits, climb ropes, and fight outlaws, indians, and nazis. Your punches are potent but your whip has much better range of course. The gameplay is very forgiving with no bosses to worry about. In fact, you don't even need to acquire the Cross of Coronado in order to complete the opening stage. Is that a bug?
There are a few tweaks that elevate this Game Gear port above other Last Crusades. When jumping you can adjust your position in mid-air to a modest degree. It makes all the difference, since misjudging a jump or missing a rope usually results in falling to your death. You also get a split-second of invincibility upon taking a hit, reducing the number of insto-deaths. As a result fireballs in the catacombs stage no longer kill on contact, thankfully.
The controls remain touchy however, often causing you to execute an extra, unwanted jump after grabbing a rope. I've been reviewing many versions of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade lately, and frankly I'm getting a little sick of it. This game appeared on just about every platform despite its mediocrity. Who would have guessed this portable Game Gear edition would turn out to be the cream of the crop? © Copyright 2023 The Video Game Critic.
Fortunately the passing game is quite effective. Like Tecmo Football, you can switch between receivers on the fly, and your quarterback zips the ball nicely. There aren't many sound effects, but players are tackled with a satisfying thud. Graphically, the game has nicely defined players, and it's easy to follow the large football. The goalposts look terrific, and the players perform a hilariously cheesy "celebration dance" after each touchdown.
Montana is pretty shallow, but the game moves along quickly with no pauses in the action. The CPU provides a reasonable challenge, but sometimes does dumb things like run to the back of the end zone for a safety. Not too hot and not too cold, Joe Montana provides an average portable football experience. © Copyright 2004 The Video Game Critic.
The object of most stages is to collect gems while keeping hostile wildlife at bay by pelting them with bananas. Not only can you throw bananas in a rapid-fire manner, but you can even angle your throws! It's cool how you can knock a monkey out of a tree, yet he'll continue fighting on the ground below. Jungle Book's platform jumping can be a little tricky, mainly because Mowgli has the annoying habit of hitting his head on low hanging branches while leaping from vines. The audio is top notch, featuring a toe-tapping rendition of "Bear Necessities".
So what's the deal with the difficulty? Finding all eight gems in a level is awfully hard! I can understand that degree of challenge in stage seven, but we're talking about the first stage here! You'll absorb a lot of damage from hidden dangers, blind jumps, and cobras camped out on short ledges. This steep difficulty adds unnecessary frustration to what should have been a care-free, easy-going romp through the jungle. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.
Each stage begins with a shooting sequence where you defend a speeding jeep by aiming crosshairs at attacking pterodactyls and velociraptors. It feels like a fun bonus stage. Next you're thrust into a traditional platform stage that places all sorts of dinosaurs and environmental hazards between you and the exit. The layered scenery is first-rate, and the stages are imaginative in design. For example, in the forest a lightning strike starts a fire which eventually burns an escape path.
Each stage has several distinct areas, delivering an exceptional degree of variety. Even the mineshaft level is engaging despite its maze-like structure. A large dinosaur awaits at the end of each stage, and you'll need to formulate a specific strategy to prevail. The rich control scheme lets your character squat, crawl, hang, and even monkey-walk over low hazards. You're well armed, and can even change weapons via the pause screen!
The game's dramatic musical score is pretty intense as well. Jurassic Park for the Game Gear impressed the hell out of me. With rich gameplay and fantastic production values, this should be a model for all 2D platform titles, portable or otherwise. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.
The jumping controls are very forgiving, as your lion will grab hold of a ledge if you don't make the jump cleanly. The game tries to add some variety by letting you interact with other animals, but I experienced a fair amount of frustration from animals tossing me places I didn't want to go. Many stages are painfully monotonous rock platforms, where it's difficult to determine where to go next.
But the worst part is that you have to play as a cub for most of the game! After six stages of controlling a cub, I was thinking "When is this [expletive] lion gonna grow up?!" A unique "roar" move gives the game a hint of originality, but it's useless for most of the game. Even the "catch the seeds" bonus round falls flat. The music is high-quality (taken from the movie), but when all is said and done, Lion King doesn't amount to much. © Copyright 2003 The Video Game Critic.
The selectable stages take you through dense jungles, rocky gorges, and shadowy power stations. You can shoot everything but the dinosaurs don't die; they either fall asleep or tumble off the screen. Your health is indicated by the color of your vest, which was not readily apparent to me.
This game surprised me. I was alarmed to see dinosaur heads peeking through the foliage, only to discover you could hop on them to reach higher ground! The raptor stage in the power station is made more exciting by the need to turn on the lights to attack the raptor. While running from a rampaging triceratops you can slide under Stegosaurus that get in your way, and that is awesome. One stage even let you play as a little compy dinosaur.
There's no score or password - just unlimited continues. That's a bit of a problem because the difficulty is low and the stages are short. I can picture a kid blowing through this in just a few minutes. Still, The Lost World is quite a thrill while it lasts. © Copyright 2019 The Video Game Critic.
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Screen shots courtesy of Video Game Museum, Emula Zone, GameFAQs, Moby Games, Games Database, Retro Arcadia, Sega-16