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What better way to compliment Monday Night Football than with a review of a Genesis NFL game? I’ll tell you a better way: include a game actually worth playing. The Joe Montana series was notoriously hit and miss, and the ’93 installment appears to be one of the bigger misses. Among the problems cited are a clunky interface and poor AI. Hey, that actually doesn’t sound too far off from this year’s Madden! We kid about that last part, but the Montana part is still true.
Not to be outdone by rival Capcom, SNK released a bazillion fighting series on every platform short of the pocket calculator (though I’m sure it’s probably out there). Among they plethora of brawling goodness unleashed up on button mashers everywhere was the Art of Fighting series, known for its massive sprites and nausea-inducing zoom effect. The game was eventually reprogrammed by Sega and released on the Genesis, and the sprites and zoom were only two things missing that had made the coin-op so popular.
Today, Sega-16 hits another milestone. Our latest review, for After Burner II, is our 600th! What better way to celebrate than by taking a look at the Sega classic? For an early port of such a powerful arcade machine, the Genesis does a pretty good job, and all that’s missing is a flight stick (something Sega remedied with the superb Mission Stick for the Saturn version).
Evander Holyfield shocked the boxing world when he took the heavyweight championship from Buster Douglas. It was only Douglas’ first defense, and the defeat demoralized him so much that he retired from boxing. Holyfield, on the other hand, went to make history as the only man to win the belt four times. Along the way, he found time to endorse a Genesis game, which like his skills, was light years ahead of his predecessor. “Real Deal” Boxing featured great visuals and solid gameplay, and it had an interesting customization dynamic that is still fun to play today.
Those lucky enough to play Sega’s G-LOC in the arcades were treated to an awesome spectacle, filled with intense graphics and sound and an interactive cabinet that would yaw, pitch, and roll with the yolk’s movements. It simply had to be experienced. Sega eventually brought the game home, but the effort was considerably different, as much of what made the original so special was the dynamic arcade unit itself. I suppose you can move to and fro in your recliner as you play the Genesis version, but something tells me it’s just not the same.