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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.
Epyx scored a series of hits in the late ’80s with its Games series, and the California edition was ported to every console ever conceived by man. Ok, maybe not that many, but it sure does seem like everyone had a chance to play California Games, no matter what console or computer they had. The Genesis got a port of its own, courtesy of Ecco wonder group Novotrade, but what could have been the best version of all turned out to be a major letdown. After spending time with this one and seeing all the lost potential, we think someone at Novotrade deserved to be smacked in the head with a solid steel footbag.
In 1990, Sega was riding high on the success of its licensed sports games. Joe Montana Football was a solid seller, and the company was ecstatic to have secured the license of the new heavyweight boxing champ – the man who defeated “Iron” Mike Tyson – James “Buster” Douglas. Unfortunately, Sega apparently made more of an effort to get Douglas’ moniker on the box than it did to make the actual game around it, as the licensed Final Blow game it used was mediocre at best. To add insult to injury, Douglas lost his championship belt to Evander Holyfield in his very first title defense a mere nine months later.