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With its expanded plot and specific extras, Challenge from the Dark Side is more of an director’s cut than a full-blown sequel. Designer Michael Latham has pushed the Sega CD to its limits, upping the playable character count from nine to twenty-four (!), and by making the game bloodier than its cartridge cousin – almost to the point of overkill (no pun intended).
Let’s get this out of the way first: Yes, this is yet another Sega CD “TruVideo” title, which means lots of full motion video and very little gameplay. That’s definitely the case here. NFL’s Greatest is a football game where you don’t control any of the players. Everyone knows that the real draw of sports games is being able to play as your favorite sports star and lead a team to virtual victory. It’s titles like these that tell why the Sega CD failed.
Sonic & Knuckles represents Sega at its absolute peak, at a time when they defined cool. Sonic was largely responsible for that, wrestling half the video game market away from Nintendo and spawning an unending stream of mascot games. And like any rock star, the time came for the big, epic statement; that definitive work that captures all the themes and summarizes its era, its Sgt. Pepper.
Back when I had just received a Sega Genesis for Christmas and still didn’t have any games other than the great Sonic The Hedgehog, I remember seeing a certain commercial of Taz-Mania countless times on TV. Its graphics were unbelievable, it looked a lot like a real cartoon, and I absolutely had to have it! I bought it the first chance I got with my own money.
Treasure continued its streak of quality titles on the Genesis with Dynamite Headdy, a quirky platformer that had players tossing their character’s head around at enemies. Sounds a bit like Decap Attack, doesn’t it? Trust us friend, you couldn’t be more wrong. Read the review and then find yourself a copy. You can thank us later.