Tag / SNES

by lawrenceofcanadia

John Madden Football ’93 – Review

“Red…7…28…hut, hike!!!”. American Football, that favourite of North American Sports that just doesn’t seem to translate well in the UK. The computer games did, however, and this one was no exception. Get ready for hard-hitting defensive plays and Hail Mary passes, as we delve into this offering from Electronic Arts.

Title screen (Screenshot taken by the author)

Madden ’93 is another in the line of the Madden franchise. It was developed by Blue Sky Productions for the Mega Drive and Electronic Arts for the SNES. It was published by EA Sports Network and released in 1992. I chose to review the Mega Drive version.

Gameplay

You can play either one-player, two-player head to head or co-operative modes

Like its predecessor, you have the option to play the following modes:

  • Pre-Season – An exhibition match with no fouls except offsides and the 45 second play clock is turned off
  • Regular Season – Exhibition but with all game rules in effect
  • New Playoffs – Begin a new tournament
  • Continue Playoffs – Continue with a previous tournament
  • Sudden Death – Normal game rules but the first to score wins the game

A new mode, All-Time Greats has been added which is a smaller 8-team tournament.

American football consists of four quarters, and you can choose how long these quarters are. Quarter lengths can be either 5, 10, and 15 minutes in length.

You then get to choose the type of stadium and field you play on. The choices are:

  • Open stadium with grass
  • Open stadium with Astroturf
  • Domed stadium with Astroturf

When you select open stadiums, the weather can affect the game in the guise of wind, rain and snow. In the snow and rain, players are slower and have less traction. The wind affects field goals and punts making it trickier to judge direction.

The game came with a very comprehensive manual explaining in detail the intricacies of the plays and in-depth stats on the players. Simply

What’s New?

Some of the new features include stumbling, taunting, head-butting, and one-handed catches. Although you can play in snow, wind and rain etc., they still haven’t added a random weather option, which would be a nice touch. Sadly, there is still no sign of real player names, but on a positive note, you no longer need a password as the game automatically saves your progress.

The game looks identical to its predecessor (Screenshot taken by the author)

How Does It Handle?

The gameplay has been improved since it’s predecessor. It’s tougher to dominate matches with a throwing game as defensive players intercept and block the passes a lot more. The running game is slightly better with faster runners, but I’d still recommended not bothering and sticking to a throwing game unless you are near the touchdown line.

Graphics

The graphics are pretty much the same as Madden ’92. In that, they still look very good. Not complaints here. I do like the little dances the players do when they score a touchdown.

Music & SFX

The theme song over the title screen and game set-up is an upbeat, rocky number that suits the game well. there is no in-game music though except when you score a touchdown.

SFX are quite minimalist is this game. There’ll be plenty of “First Down”’s from the referees, calls from the quarterback and grunts from the players as they tackle you. There a low murmur from the crowd through with the occasional cheers as you score a touchdown. An ambulance siren indicates your player is injured.

Replay Value

Sports games always have a lot of replay value, especially in two-player mode. The addition of the two-player co-op mode adds a little more replay value to this game

Throwing plays is still the best tactic (Screenshot taken by the author)

Did I Complete The Game?

In many modern sports games you don’t necessarily complete these sorts of games, as much as win the league and cup titles, and then move on to the next season. Completing early sports games simply means winning a tournament or league once before restarting with a different team. I have won the play-offs many times with several different teams including Chicago, Cincinnati, Buffalo and Philadelphia.

What The Critics Said:

Computer & Video Games Magazine: “Definitely the worst of the trio, and hopefully EA will learn that ’92 is virtually impossible to improve on. Overall 77%”.[1]

Gamesmaster Magazine: “John Madden ’93 is simply the most sophisticated, intriguing and complex game available on any system anywhere. If you fancy yourself as having a brain as well as a fast trigger-finger, this is the game for you. Overall 90%”[2]

Sega Power: “Can’t fault it as a football game, but the differences between this and the ’92 version aren’t that noticebale. If you haven’t got any of the John Madden games, get it. Overall 5/5”.[3]

Gamerpro: “John Madden Football ’93 is even more fun to play than Madden ’92…it’s clealy the benchmark for all other football video games. Overall 4.6/5”.[4]

Mean Machines Sega: “Not a bad game at all, but hopelessly redundant nonetheless. Go for the slightly better John Madden ’92 if you’re after a definitive American football game and give this one a miss. Overall 89%”.[5]

Awards:

Best Sports Game of the Year (All Systems) – Electronic Gaming Monthly’s Best and Worst of 1992[6]

My Verdict:

“Overall, the game is more challenging than Madden ’92, which is for the better. A step forward for the franchise.”

Rating:

What are your memories of Madden ’93? I would love to hear your thoughts, and don’t for get to follow and subscribe so that you don’t miss my latest reviews! You can also find me on Instagram: @nicklovestogame.

[1] Anglin, P., ‘Game Review: Mega Drive – John Madden ’93’. (January 1993). Computer & Video Games Magazine. (January 1993). Issue 124:90.

[2] ‘Game Review: Mega Drive – John Madden Football ’93’. Gamemaster Magazine. (January 1993). Issue 1:66-8.

[3] ‘The Hard Line – Review: Mega Drive – John Madden Football ‘93’. Sega Power. (September 1993). Issue 46:97.

[4] Weekend Warrior ‘Pro Review: Genesis – John Madden Football ‘93’. Gamerpro. (December 1992). :141-2.

[5] ‘Review – John Madden Football ‘93’. Mean Machines Sega. (December 1992). Issue 3:102-4.

[5] ‘EGM’s Best and Worst of 1992: Best Sports Game of the Year (All Game Systems) – John Madden Football ‘93‘. Electronic Gaming Monthly’s 1993 Video Game Buyer’s Guide. (1993). :16.

by lawrenceofcanadia

Chuck Rock – Review

He may not be the sharpest flint in pre-history, but Chuck Rock has a head as hard as a granite and a belly that is deadly. So get ready to navigate jungles and swamps, battle dinosaurs, and rescue your wife before Garry Gritter has his way with her. Unga Bunga!!!

Title screen (screenshot taken by author)

Chuck Rock is a single-player side-scrolling platform game developed by Core Design. It has been published and ported to many other platforms including:

  • Core Design – Atari St and Amiga (1991), Commodore 64 (1992), and Amiga CD32 (1994)
  • Krisalis Software – Acorn Archimedes (1991)
  • Virgin Interactive – Sega Megadrive (1991), Sega Master System (1993) and Game Gear (1992)
  • Sony Imagesoft – Sega Mega-CD (1993), SNES (1992) and Game Boy (1993).

I chose to review the Mega Drive version.

Beautiful level design (screenshot taken by author)

Plot

Set in a fantasy prehistoric Stone Age, Chuck is enjoying a lazy day in front of his TV drinking beer (root beer that is). His wife, Ophelia, is going about her daily chores unaware that she will soon be kidnapped by the evil Gary Gritter, who has designs on her. Chuck hears the commotion and investigates, only to find a pile of crumpled, dirty clothes and signs that something heavy has been dragged away. Since he has no clothes to wear, he ducks behind some nearby bushes and fashions some leafy pants to cover his modesty. He must now rescue his wife.

Gameplay

Chuck must navigate his way through five levels, each with three-five stages, all the while evading various dinosaurs and prehistoric animals; or if you are feeling brave, barging them out the way with your belly, performing flying kicks, or picking up huge boulders and throwing them. I’d recommend using the latter two to kill your enemies.

The levels are:

  1. The jungle scene
  2. The caves scene
  3. The water scene
  4. The Ice scene
  5. The Graveyard scene
Chuck may look like a everyone’s least favourite uncle, but he is the hero of this tale (screenshot taken by author)

How Does It Handle?

The controls are easy to learn and are nice and responsive. The game is challenging with some tough levels. Oddly, the end of level bosses are all very easy to defeat with the exception of the third boss. The only boss that you need a strategy to defeat is the first boss, but other than that, it is simply a case of button mashing. One nice little touch is that when Chuck is carrying a large rock, he won’t move as fast.

Graphics

Throughout the entire game the graphics look fab. The overall feel of the graphics is more on the whacky side than the realistic side. The background look great, and I particularly like the snowman on The Ice scene level. There’s plenty to catch the eye and make you think “That looks cool!”, like a T-rex with boxing gloves…awesome!

The levels look gorgeous (screenshot taken by author)

Music & SFX

The music is good throughout the game. The opening musical number on the title screen is awesome and I found myself delaying playing the game in order to listen to the song the whole way through. It seems that even though Chuck isn’t the sharpest tool in the box, he has aspired to lead singer of a rock band. The music speeds up during the boss battles.

There are plenty of SFX throughout the game as Chuck jumps, throws rocks, and bounces enemies of his belly.

Replay Value

Sadly, this game lacks replay value. There is only one difficulty setting and once completed you may only wish to revisit it once or twice before turning your attention to the next challenge.

(screenshot taken by author)

Did I Complete The Game?

Yes, I completed the game without the use of cheats. Sadly, upon completing the game you are met another example of an anti-climatic ending to a game that deserved more.

What The Critics Said:

Mean Machines: “An excellent and quite original platform game that’s highly recommended to all Megadrive players. Overall 91%.”[1]

Mean Machines Index: “A brilliant, humorous Megadrive platform game with real character. Its graphics are out-of-this-world, the sound completely brilliant, and the game play pretty good too! A must have for your Megadrive collection. Overall 91%”[2]

Sega Power: “Groovy goings-on 100 million years B.C. with wild sonics and graphics as Chuck rescues his wife from the evil Garry Glitter. Overall 4/5.”[3]

Electronic Gaming Monthly: “The gameplay could use a little fine tuning, but it is still very fun to play. The graphics are comical and the music jams. Overall 7.75/10”.[4]

Megazone: “Graphics wise this game is a hit (as good as the Amiga on the Mega Drive), the sound is pretty good (not quite up to the Amiga, but still pretty hot) and some imaginative sprite drawings have been added to this game. Overall 85%”.[5]

GamePro: “The game’s worth the bucks for the music and graphics alone. From standpoint of challenge and gameplay, it’s middle of the road – not too hard and not too easy. Overall 4.6/5.”[6]

My Verdict:

“Unga Bunga – The game has nice graphics and is fun to play. The simple button mashing as oppose to a strategy needed to defeat end of level bosses, is a mark against this game. The lack of replay value means that once completed I doubt you will want to play through again.”

Rating:

What are your memories of Chuck Rock? I would love to hear your thoughts, and don’t for get to follow and subscribe so that you don’t miss my latest reviews! You can also find me on Instagram: @nicklovestogame.

[1] ‘Review: Mega Drive – Chuck Rock’. Mean Machines. (June 1992). Issue 21:76-8.

[2] ‘Review: Mega Drive – Chuck Rock’. Mean Machines. (October 1992). Issue 1:137.

[3] ‘The Hard Line – Review: Mega Drive – Chuck Rock’. Sega Power. (September 1993). Issue 46:96.

[4] ‘Review Crew: Genesis – Chuck Rock’. Electronic Gaming Monthly. (March 1992). 32:26.

[5] ‘Review: Mega Drive – Chuck Rock’. Megazone. (December 1992/January 1993). Issue 25:36.

[6] Feline Groovy. ‘Genesis Pro Review – Chuck Rock’. GamePro. (December 1991). 29:70.

by lawrenceofcanadia

Aladdin – Review

Aladdin is a Middle-Eastern folk tale about a boy who went from rags to riches with the help of a genie. It is one of the more well-known stories from the Arabic world. The western world embraced this tale and in 1992, Disney released their animated film version, bringing Aladdin to a “whole new world”…er…I mean generation. Its popularity, due to a great soundtrack and an award winning performance by Robin Williams, saw a video game released a year after the films hit the cinemas.

Title screen (screenshot taken by the author)

Aladdin is a single-player side-scrolling action platformer which was developed by Virgin Games. It was published in 1993 by Sega and Disney Software for the Sega Megadrive, and by Capcom for the SNES. It was later ported to the NES, Game Boy, Amiga and DOS formats. I chose to review the Mega Drive Version.

Plot

The game is not identical to, but still has the same storyline as the film. In the Arabic city of Agrabah, a lovable street rat called Aladdin lives with his monkey companion Abu. One day, he stops a stranger from getting her hand chopped off for giving a starving child an apple. This stranger turns out to be Princess Jasmine, and Aladdin is smitten.

Meanwhile, the Sultan’s evil adviser Jafar is plotting to overthrow the Sultan and marry Jasmine. Aladdin must must rescue the Princess Jasmine from the evil Jafar.

Gameplay

You can choose from three difficulties: Practice, Normal or Difficult. Once the game begins, prepare to navigate the following levels:

Agraban Street

The Desert

Agraban Rooftops

Sultan’s Dungeon

Cave of Wonders

The Escape

Rug Ride

Inside the Lamp

Sultan’s Palace

Jafar’s Palace

Whilst traversing the levels you are able to jump, crouch, and climb ropes. To defeat enemies, you have the choice of a scimitar with which to slash your opponent or you can collect apples to use as projectiles. If you collect tokens of the Genie’s head or Abu’s head, you will gain access to bonus stages to gain extra lives and such. Gems can also be acquired to buy extra continues and wishes from the peddler.

Clearing a level with one or more of the Genie’s tokens takes you to the Genie’s Bonus Machine where you can win gems, apples, and extra tries. The amount of spins you get depends on the number of Genie tokens you have.

If you find an Abu token, you gain access to his bonus stage. He must run back and forth, wielding a scimitar, and trying to pick up special objects that are dropped from the sky whilst avoiding rocks and pots that are also falling. Again, your aim is to collect gems, extra tries, and apples.

There are cut scenes between the levels allowing the storyline to move along, but you do not need to have seen the film in order to enjoy the game.

Aladdin was praised by critics for its graphics (screenshot taken by the author)

How Does The Game Handle?

The controls are tight, and the physics of the game are easy to get used to. One level which sees our hero trying to escape the Cave of Wonders is particularly hard and had me swearing many times at the TV and/or controller pad.

Graphics

The graphics are incredible! They are bright and colourful, and the animation is excellent and fun to watch. I particularly liked the smoke from the genie’s lamp being used as a health meter and the way little Abu runs around in his bonus stage.

All the levels are detailed, look beautiful and make you feel like you’re playing the movie. The parallax scrolling of the chains in the foreground of the Sultan’s Dungeon really helped with the feeling of being locked inside. To be fair, all the levels look amazing.

Music & SFX

The music consists of songs from the movie soundtrack so no doubt you will be humming along. For example, over the title screen you will hear “A Whole New World” and over the first level it is “Prince Ali”.

The main SFX you will hear is the sound of air being cut as Aladdin swinging his sword and little ‘trings’ as he picks up items. There are lots of SFX in this gave and it’s awesome.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Frustratingly, at the end of the game you can only defeat Jafar by throwing apples at him. What the game doesn’t tell you is that you need 36 apples to defeat him. If you don’t have enough there is little else you can do other than restart the entire game, and ensure you use the apples sparingly.

“Prince Ali fabulous he Ali Ababwa” (screenshot taken by the author)

Replay Value

When the game is completed the ending is practically non-existant, which begs the question, should one have bothered to complete it in the first place. The answer, of course, is yes as this is a good game and worth playing again.

Did I Complete The Game?

Yes, but I wasn’t happy about getting all the way to the end before realising that I had to restart and play through again to ensure I had enough apples to defeat Jafar.

What The Critics Said:

Edge Magazine: “…almost perfect. The sound could have been better – but that’s a minor quibble. Anyway, at last the Mega Drive has a new platform king. Move over spiky blue one, Aladdin’s in town. Overall 8/10.”[1]

My Verdict: “Prince Ali! Fabulous He! Ali Ababwa. A fun little game that is well worth your time. Great graphics and music, however older generations might get bored a little easily with this one.”

Rating:

What are your memories of Aladdin? I would love to hear your thoughts, and don’t for get to follow and subscribe so that you don’t miss my latest reviews! You can also find me on Instagram: @nicklovestogame.

[1] ‘Review Mega Drive: Aladdin’. Edge Magazine. (November 1993). Issue 2:92-3.