The Genesis launch had a pretty good line up of games that tried to cover as wide a range of genres as possible. Zoom! made a valiant attempt to fill the maze game niche, and while it demonstrated some serious potential, it was ultimately undone by repetitive gameplay and extreme simplicity.
Genesis Reviews
Columns III: Revenge of Columns
By the time Columns III was released in America in 1994, Sega had all but lost interest in the franchise, and farmed out its release to Vic Tokai. This was the second time the series had been snubbed by its creator, as Columns II never saw a console release in the U.S. Perhaps it was a fitting end though, as each game failed to live up to the quality established by the arcade original.
Williams Arcade’s Greatest Hits
A slow week means it’s time to go retro! The gems from the golden age of arcade gaming are indeed timeless, and perhaps the only criteria that’s appropriate to use when reviewing Williams Arcade’s Greatest Hits is how well they adapt to the Genesis control scheme.
Spider-Man & Venom: Maximum Carnage
A lot has been done to ol’ Spidey these last few years. He’s been cloned, had two hit movies, and had a great run on recent consoles. He was pretty big on the Genesis too, with a string of releases that varied in quality. Among them was Spider-Man & Venom: Maximum Carnage, a beat-’em-up that was based on a major storyline of the time.
Animaniacs
The ’90s saw some great cartoons, and among the best was Animaniacs, which made adults laugh just as hard as kids, with its pop culture references and subtle humor. Its huge sucess led to a ton of marketing, including video games. The Genesis platformer was a refreshing take on the genre and featured some great on-the-fly character swapping which was essential to passing each stage.