Sega CD Reviews B

If you're a fan of the Batman Returns film this Sega CD game is quite spectacular. It's two games in one, combining the rock-solid platforming action of Batman Returns (Genesis, 1992) with some amazing new driving stages. Cinematic cut-scenes employ a lot of slick rotation and scaling for dramatic effect. The intro is remarkably dark, depicting a beauty queen plunging off a building to her death as Batman circles from above. You can play the driving and platform stages separately, but you'll want both for the full experience.

The game opens with six (six!) driving stages. Viewing the action from behind your Batmobile, the road smoothly undulates as enemy vehicles scale in from the distance. The gothic, industrial scenery is terrific, offering a "winter wonderland" vibe ideal for a snowy night. Despite the awkward controls it's fun to fire hockey pucks and guided missiles at motorcycles, cars, and trucks. The destruction is satisfying to behold, with motorcycles going up in flames before exploding.

That firetruck boss however is way over the top. Lighting it up with missiles isn't enough - you have to knock clowns off of its ladders while avoiding its massive flamethrower. In my experience you'll want to ram the ladders before falling back to avoid the flames. As if these stages weren't hard enough, they are also timed, so even when I do survive there's usually only a few seconds to spare.

The platforming portions of the game look and play identical to the Genesis, except the audio has been completely redone. The sound effects are noticeably cleaner and the surreal background music is arguably better. The question is, why didn't they use the award-winning score from the actual film? Isn't that what movie licenses are for?

It's fun to grapple between building ledges while pummeling the [expletive] out of those pesky clowns. It may not be the smoothest or sharpest platformer, but the action is varied and the gritty graphics add to the dark atmosphere. Batman Returns packs a lot of replay value into an epic adventure no other system can claim. © Copyright 2019 The Video Game Critic.

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 exposes 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 primary 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 presence 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.

This college pigskin contest is identical to the Genesis version, but there are a few extra bells and whistles. The biggest improvement has got to be the enhanced crowd noise. It sounds incredibly lifelike, especially compared to the vomit-inducing noise heard on the Genesis version. The music is also drastically improved. According to the box, this CD contains "enhanced graphics throughout", but you'd have to be pretty observant to notice. Another bonus feature is a series of Bill Walsh video clips, in which he describes just about every aspect of the college game, but only die-hards will be able to sit through these. One disappointment is that despite the higher capacity of a CD, there are still only 48 teams available. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

When I told Sudz we were about to play Black Hole Assault he told me "Dave, the jokes just write themselves!" This game was one of a handful of Sega CD launch titles. I suppose Sega wanted to include a non-FMV title in the lineup so the system didn't look like a one-trick pony. Which it was.

Black Hole Assault contains plenty of extended cut-scenes with conversations that just drag on and on. They had to fill up that CD with something, right? The plot centers around space wars between soldiers engaging in robot battles. There's no mention of black holes per se in the game or manual, so not sure how they came up with that nonsensical title. How could you possibly assault a black hole??

Leading up to each match you're presented with a technical-looking computer screen with various grids, tables, and diagrams. I have to admit it looks impressive and makes the game seem more sophisticated than it actually is.

The one-on-one battles are set on sparse planet surfaces. The basic controls are punch (A), kick (B), and throw (C). There are a few other moves like charge and slide, but not many. This game's idea of a combination move is a "crouch kick". The fights unfold in a slow, clunky manner. I'd call them robotic but that would be redundant.

If you're used to the fluid grace of Street Fighter II (SNES, 1992), the stilted pace of Black Hole Assault can be a sobering experience. Sudz summed up the battles like this: "tink tink tink". That's the sound of two robots kicking each other in the shins. Sometimes they fall over for no reason. Since there's no boundaries, one can keep backing up infinitely, attempting to avoid contact until the clock runs out.

Adding a slight twist is an exhibition mode that lets you customize 10 AI's. This just involves assigning probabilities to a dozen moves like throw, punch, or jump-kick. You can then fight your AI or watch two AI's go at it. This might have been interesting if not for the sluggish pace of the fights.

The best thing about Black Hole Assault is that its fights are over after one round. The single-player mode offers a modest sense of progression with cut-scenes of pilots in the lunchroom discussing their next foe. But the fighting itself is a slog. When you use all your continues (or more likely, just quit), you're presented with the message "operation was a failure". I could not have said it better. © Copyright 2025 The Video Game Critic.

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.

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.

If you own a Sega CD you owe it to yourself to track down a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula. This is not an "enhanced" version of the Genesis game. No, this is an entirely new game that does a fine job of showing off the power of the Sega CD. Its stages feature three dimensional scenery that actually rotates as you walk through it. It's the most amazing effect I've seen on the system, elevating an otherwise mediocre title to noteworthy status.

The game doesn't make a good first impression due to some of the worst FMV ever produced. Some Sega CD titles attempt to hide the system's meager color palette by limiting the video to a small window, or presenting it in black and white. Here the movie footage is presented full-screen with an alarming amount of pixelation and unsightly artifacts. It's hard to watch and even the audio is rough.

The game itself looks pretty amazing as John Harker (played by Keanu Reeves) trudges through the wilderness, graveyards, and castle chambers. Shadowy textures, spine-tingling sounds, and an ominous musical score convey an eerie, ominous atmosphere.

Apparently schooled in the martial arts, Harker unleashes his kung-fu fury upon... bats, rats, and spiders? You'd expect to deal with small pests like that in the early stages, but they never really let up! They would be easy to dispatch if they didn't tend to converge from all directions. Once one gets a hold of you they all tend to latch on, chipping away at your precious life bar. Your high kick is your best option, even if it looks like you're trying out for the Rocketts.

The monsters you encounter are pretty strange. Who is this tall dude who keeps clunking me over the head with a chalice? Stop that!! Then there are vomiting zombies that are easy to dispatch but tough to get within kicking distance. And what's the deal with defeating ethereal spirits with karate kicks? In doesn't make sense, especially when accompanied by that ker-pow sound.

Bram Stoker's Dracula feels cobbled together, with frequent audio/visual glitches. That said, I'm willing to cut this game a little slack because it's a legitimate CD title. It's fun to make steady progress and certain stages even branch at points. Though clearly flawed, Dracula is still a showcase title for the Sega CD. © Copyright 2022 The Video Game Critic.

Aptly named, Brutal: Paws of Fury is a one-on-one fighter that's hard to stomach. It features an unlikeable cast of kung-fu cartoon animals including a rabbit, lion, leopard, and coyote. If you think the premise sounds bad, wait until you play this thing. Oh boy.

Brutal attempts to leverage the Sega CD capabilities by going heavy on cartoon intros and intermissions. In fairness, the fact that they are full-color and full-screen give them a leg-up on most other FMV titles. But these cute, drawn-out sequences are not something you'll want to watch twice. Maybe not even once.

The control scheme assumes the standard Street Fighter button layout, so I hope you own a six-button controller. The fights are very tame with so-so animation and questionable collection detection. The CPU isn't hard to defeat if you force him into a corner you pummel him with jump attacks. It is annoying however when you reduce a foe to zero health and he's still standing!

Upon ceding defeat, the losing fighter wobbles around, dazed. Not sure what the point of that is, considering there are no fatality moves. Which is a real shame, because a little Itchy and Scratchy-style violence could have gone a long way.

The environments include jungle, waterfall, and beach scenery, but they appear washed-out and devoid of interesting detail. The audio is disappointing for a CD game, with beats that range from sparse to downright abrasive. And for some reason this game lacks a pause feature.

Exclusive to the Sega CD is the so-called "fun room" mode. This lets you listen to the music tracks or view a collection of "outtakes" of the characters making "mistakes" during cut-scenes and fights. I guess these are supposed to be funny, but they are mainly just cheesy.

Brutal is one of those games you forget about the instant you shut it off. You could argue the additional CD-specific features make the experience worse. Brutal was released on several platforms, but I'm told this Sega CD version was the first, which may explain why it's the worst. © Copyright 2025 The Video Game Critic.

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 infringement.

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.

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 sidestep. 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-equipped 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.