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Core Design really knew how to make the Sega CD sing, and a great example of that skill is the mech FPS Battletech. Big robots with lots of firepower are always cool, and this game does a good job of making the idea playable with a 16-bit control scheme. Lock and load!
First-person shooters on the Genesis are few and far between. What’s worse is that some of that minuscule number didn’t even make it to all territories. Domark’s Bloodshot was one such game. Released in Europe (and in Germany as Battle Frenzy), it didn’t shoot its way to America until Good Deal Games snatched up the rights to the Sega CD version a decade later. Most likely a victim of a change in hardware focus, Bloodshot is actually a pretty competent FPS.
There has been an off-and-on argument on our forums over the past few months over whether or not first-person shooters were viable on the Genesis. However you may feel about FPS games on 16-bit, you have to admit that games like Cyber-Cop (Corporation outside the U.S.) didn’t do much to endear people to the genre. Complex controls and brutal difficulty killed what was an excellent FPS/RPG hybrid on computers.
While Duke Nukem fans calmly wait until Judgement Day (also known as the day Duke Nukem Forever is actually released), they often look back on the character’s long and storied history. When running down the laundry list of consoles and computers that saw a version of his third and most famous adventure, few people would expect to see the Genesis on that list. Yep, the ol’ girl actually saw Duke Nukem 3D released, thanks to Brazil’s Tec Toy. It may not be in the same league as the original, but you have to at least give a nod to the effort.
You don’t tend to think of the Genesis whenever the topic of first person shooters comes up. After all, the genre was in its console infancy at the time, and Sega’s old work horse isn’t exactly known for its 3D prowress. Even so, there are a few games here and there, including Accolade’s Zero Tolerance, a title that every Genesis owner should boot up at least once, just to get the gist of how a 3D FPS runs on the console.