I can imagine the executives at Namco back in ’93, as they brainstormed about how else to use their yellow mascot Pac-Man. As they ran through the gamut of genres, one young suit shot his arm into the air. ” I’ve got it!” He exclaimed, “what about a puzzle game?” All the other executives nodded in agreement, their faces slowly growing wide with a grin of satisfaction. It was time to collect another cash crop, and as he had always done before, Pac-Man was about to ensure a bountiful harvest. Thus, Pac-Attack was born, and the Genesis received another quality puzzler.
Reviews
Snake, Rattle ‘n Roll
Take a snake and make him find his tail! That’s the basic premise behind Snake Rattle ‘n Roll, a NES game that got a major facelift for the Mega Drive. It never came stateside, but finding a copy should be easy enough, and the simple, arcade action is worth looking into.
Flink
Some of today’s younger gamers might not know the name Henk Nieborg, and that’s a shame. As one of the most pronounced pixel artists in gaming, his work has adorned such classic titles as Lionheart (Amiga), Shadow of the Beast (multi-platform), and The Adventures of Lomax (Playstation). The first game he designed himself was a little platformer for the Mega Drive/Sega CD called The Misadventures of Flink. Incredibly detailed and bathed in some of the most gorgeous artwork of the era, Flink was equally remembered for being very, very long – and hard (damn hard, if I do say so myself).
Rock ‘N Roll Racing
Rocking and racing are two things that seem to go together well. Think about it: rock music blended with fast paced racing action; how could it go wrong? Well, what if the hardware wasn’t really able to produce the rocking part as it should? Is the solid gameplay of a faithful port enough to make up for it?
Joe & Mac
Life in prehistoric times must have been really hard. Aside from the whole “hundreds of ferocious dinosaurs out to eat you” thing, you had other cavemen stealing your women when you weren’t looking! For Joe & Mac though, such adversity wasn’t a problem; it was an excuse to kick some caveman tail. So great was their arcade anger, so powerful was their strength, that the duo found their way to several consoles, including the Genesis.