Virgin Games is a company most Genesis owners associate with mega hit Aladdin, David Perry’s masterpiece of animation and visual excellence. The company did indeed have a knack for recreating the Disney magic, and one of the more overlooked titles in its repertoire is Pinocchio. Decidedly easier and lower key than Aladdin and the Lion King, it nonetheless featured most of the elements that made those titles so great.
Reviews
Pro Quarterback
There are great football games… and then there’s Pro Quarterback. Tradewest’s train wreck of a release tried to emulate the SNES’ Mode 7 scaling, despite the fact that the stock hardware didn’t support such a feature. The result was a choppy mess of a game that, along with the lack of real teams and players, ranks at the bottom of the list of play-worthy titles in the genre.
Simpsons: Krusty’s Super Fun House
Damn, is the Simpsons still on the air? The fact that we’ve reviewed games in the series that originated on the NES means that this series has some serious legs or that it’s time to give up the ghost. There were quite a few games released in the series, including Krusty’s Super Funhouse, an odd little puzzler that had the famous clown ridding his fun house of a rat infestation. The entire Simpsons gang is along for the ride, and the gameplay is actually quite fun.
Wheel of Fortune
If there’s one thing that lasts forever, it’s the game show. Staples like Jeopardy! and The Price is Right have been on TV since the dawn of mankind, and they’re still going strong. Also among the game show elite is Wheel of Fortune, which recently celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. As with Jeopardy! Gametek squeezed the license dry by releasing versions for every piece of electronics on the market.
Socket
Success breeds imitation, they say. Sonic The Hedgehog undoubtedly inspired many a mascot to lace up his boots and dash to the right. Among the pack was Vic Tokai’s Socket, which manages to do everything needed to ooze mediocrity. It’s not a bad game on its own, but it’s entirely too derivative to stand out from the competition.