• Tag Archives Sega

  • General Chaos (Sega Genesis)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    General Chaos was released by Electronic Arts for the Sega Genesis in 1993. While it never seemed to gain much traction, it was really a game ahead of its time. It is basically a squad based real-time strategy game. Warcraft, the game that really popularized the real-time strategy genre in general, wasn’t released until the following year.

    Of course, other than a real-time strategy component, there isn’t much that is similar to Warcraft here. General Chaos is squad based. Players can choose from one of four five man squads with various types of units or a more powerful two man commando team. Unit types include Machine Gunner, Launcher, Flamethrower, Chucker, and Blaster. The different squad choices have different combinations of these units.

    General Chaos is played from an isometric perspective. One other aspect of this game that will be familiar to real-time strategy players is the control mechanism. Basically, you select a unit and assign an order and the AI will execute it. Individual battles are generally pretty short but the game can be played in campaign mode which is basically a series of battles (between General Chaos and General Havok) with the ultimate objective of capturing the enemy’s capital city. In addition to the real-time strategy aspect, there are a few other things that make this game stand out as unique.

    One of the most prominent aspects of this game is its humor. Sure, you can order your units around but they aren’t always competent. Adding to the humor is the cartoonish nature of the graphics. In some ways, the humor of the game reminds me of another humorous strategy game that is one of my all time favorites…Worms.

    Another fairly unique feature, especially for the Genesis at the time, was that you could play (with an appropriate adapter) with up to four players. Everybody can team up against the computer or you can play as more of a free for all. As you could imagine, having four players adds significantly to the chaos…and the fun.

    General Chaos generally got excellent reviews. However, I don’t recall it being all that popular. It doesn’t appear to be particularly rare though as an original copy can be found for reasonable prices on eBay. This game is, however, exclusive to the Sega Genesis. The only way to play is to track down an original or use emulation. There has never been a sequel. There was a Kickstarter campaign in 2014 to create a sequel but it was unsuccessful, falling way short of its goal.

    I definitely recommend this game if you are a real-time strategy fan or of humorous games in general. Just don’t expect anything serious here. Yes, it is a strategy game but the goal here is to entertain, not to simulate serious warfare. In that, it does an excellent job.

    The three page magazine ad above is from the October 1993 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.


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  • Zaxxon (Commodore 64)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/714307029832007680

    Zaxxon was originally released as an arcade game by Sega in early 1982. It was ultimately ported to a variety of home systems, including a version for the Commodore 64 by Synapse in 1984. Zaxxon was a unique sci-fi themed game in which you piloted a spaceship against various enemies using an isometric perspective.

    In Zaxxon, you are in control of a space fighter flying through an enemy fortress. Your goal is to survive increasingly difficult runs through enemy space stations while destroying gun turrets, fuel tanks, and various enemies. The game scrolls diagonally from the bottom-left to the top-right, which provides and isometric perspective which was unique at the time. It give a pseudo 3D appearance.

    While the isometric view point was impressive at the time, it was also somewhat difficult to get used to. There is a small shadow beneath your fighter that helps indicate height, but it could still be difficult to line up your height correctly to avoid crashing into walls and to hit targets. Another challenging aspect is fuel management. You are required to collect fuel along the way or you will run out in which case you obviously will lose your fighter.

    Reviews are somewhat mixed on the Commodore 64 version. However, I think it did a good job with graphics and sound and in presenting the isometric viewpoint. There isn’t quite as much animation and the colors are somewhat more muted than the arcade version. It isn’t perfect, but for an 8-bit version of an arcade game it is pretty good.

    The Commodore 64 has the SID chip for sound so there’s never really any doubt about its ability to create great sound, it just depends on the effort the developers put into it. In this case, sound effects are a little sparse but they are good and you won’t miss much from the arcade version.

    There is definitely a learning curve with Zaxxon and the Commodore 64 version is no exception. If anything, it’s a little bit harder than the arcade version just because it is a little more difficult to discern your height as compared to other objects and enemies. However, it does become a bit easier once you are used to the controls.

    Like most early arcade games, this one is all about score. As you progress through each level, obstacles and enemies become more numerous and of course the game gets harder. The farther you make it, the more enemies you destroy, and the higher your score will be.

    These days, it’s easy to emulate the arcade version of the game so it’s hard to recommend any other version. Having said that, if you are a Commodore 64 fan, this is a decent enough port. Though not one of my all time favorites or anything, I did enjoy playing it from time to time on my C64. It is somewhat interesting to note that it was available as a cartridge, on cassette and on disk for the Commodore 64. I’m not aware of any differences and would recommend that if you are looking for an original copy, that you chose the cartridge version. It’s likely to be a little more durable than a 40 year old floppy disk or cassette though probably also more expensive.


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  • Advanced Computer Entertainment (June 1989)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Advanced Computer Entertainment – Issue Number 21 – June 1989

    Advanced Computer Entertainment (ACE for short) covered games for various computer platforms as well as console platform over the years it was published in the U.K. In 1989 that included the Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Spectrum, PC (DOS), the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Master System. The June 1989 issue includes:

    Specials

    • Games Without Frontiers – An article on the impact that CD-ROM will have on gaming. One prediction was that games would become multimillion dollar productions in seven or eight years.
    • Playing Roles – The first part in a three-part guide to RPG games. Some games discussed here include The Black Crystal, Ring of Darkness, Swords and Sorcery, Questron II, Wizards Crown, Legend of Blacksilver, Might and Magic, and more.

    Gameplay

    • Up and Coming – Previews of Xenon II, DDT, RVF, Inner Space, Sporting Triangles, Bomber, Shinobi, Hyperforce, Nightbreed, Tangled Tales, Dominator, Vendetta, Tusker, and more.
    • Arcade Ace – A look at some of the latest arcade games including Saint Dragon, Ikari III, Fighting Hawk, Nastar, and Rally Bike.
    • Screen Test – Reviews of Voyager (Atari ST), Raider (Amiga), Silkworm (Atari ST), Typhoon Thompson (Atari ST), Grand Monster Slam (Amiga), Hillsfar (Commodore 64), Bio Challenge (Atari ST, Amiga), Stormlord (Spectrum), Fright Night (Amiga), California Games (Sega), Vigilante (Sega), Time Soldier (Sega), Altered Beast (Sega), Time Scanner (Amiga), Run the Guantlet (Atari ST), Kick Off (Atari ST), Danger Freak (Commodore 64), Skweek (Atari ST), Steve Davis World Snooker (Atari ST), The Real Ghostbusters (Spectrum), Renegade III (Spectrum),
    • Tricks ‘N’ Tactics – Tips and strategies for R-Type, Heroes of the Lance, Fusion, The President is Missing, Golvellius, Wonderboy in Monsterland, TV Sports Football, War in Middle Earth, Robocop, Incredibly Shrinking Sphere, Xenon, and more.
    • Adventures – A look at two adventure games, Shogun and Journey.

    Regulars

    • News – The Atari 7800 and Sega Genesis coming soon to the U.K.; Circus Attractions coming soon; an updated port of Federation of Free Traders coming for the Amiga, Dungeon Master port for Amiga cancelled, and more.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about video game value, the effects of violence in video games, Federation of Free Traders on the Atari ST, and more.
    • Graphics – An article on object-oriented drawing systems and specifically Professional Draw on the Amiga.
    • Music – A detailed look at Track 24 and The Waddington Sequencer for the Atari ST plus an overview of sequencers for other computers.

    …and more!


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