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In 2006, Penn & Teller’s Smoke and Mirrors for Sega CD was finally leaked for public consumption. The much-hyped title only took eleven long years to arrive, having been shelved after publisher Absolute Entertainment went belly up. Despite never seeing a true retail release, it was completely finished (which is why we’re reviewing it) and so begs the question: is it any good? Well, there’s actually more to it than the (in)famous “Bus Ride” segment.
Full-motion video games are love ’em or leave ’em, and most left a long time ago. There are some out there who actually enjoy them all, and those who have an open mind are sure to find a few that they might *gasp* like! Psygnosis’ Microcosm is one title that tends to split people right down the middle, so read our full review and see where you stand.
On-rails FMV shooters pop up every now and then, but the only difference between them is usually the quality of the video. As consoles progess in power and features, this particular genre never really seems to go anywhere. Perhaps that’s why they’re still not a lot of fun to play, even after so many years. Take Absolute Entertainment’s A/X-101 for the Sega CD, for instance. Grainy video, dull enemies, and some bland gameplay are everything you’d expect going in, and at least in this regard, the game doesn’t disappoint. Too bad that’s the only expectation it will ever meet. Read our full review and then go play some Android Assault to make the hurt go away.
It’s always a shame when new hardware is released, and developers fail to take advantage of it for their games. Every console is guilty of this to some regard, but console gamers first really began to feel the frustration with the Sega CD. A slew of cartridge ports with redbook soundtracks made it clear that many developers had neither the skill nor the interest in using the CD-ROM format to its fullest potential. Vrigin’s Links: The Challenge of Golf is a great example. With so much memory and CD sound, it’s a shame more wasn’t done to make it more than just a sub par (ha!) game that pales next to its PC siblings.
The Sega CD seemed to peak in the beat-’em-up genre with the early release of Final Fight, since few games that followed, if any, equaled that level of quality. Sony Imagesoft, known for its dreadful line of licensed games (Mickey Mania was a fortunate hiccup), tried to fill the void with Ultraverse Prime, a game based on the Malibu Comics superhero. To say the game is underwhelming is a major understatement, and it comes off as a digital checklist of how to make a generic brawler. It did have an interesting theme song though…