The Video Game Critic's
Sega CD Reviews S-Z

This is a step up from the lame Genesis version, but it's still not very good. Samurai Shodown is a 2D fighter along the lines of Street Fighter 2, only the fighters have weapons. The imaginative characters are the one thing I like about this game. The graphics are improved slightly over the Genesis version, but are still light years behind the superior 3DO version. As you would expect from a CD game, the music and sound effects are pretty decent, but the action is sluggish, which greatly diminishes the fun. But the biggest letdown is the fact that the game's trademark scaling was NOT implemented in this version. What happened? I thought the Sega CD was capable of that! Instead of scaling, we just get long load times. This fighter didn't do much for me. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.

It's difficult to fathom that this was the pack-in game for the Sega CD. Does shooting rats in a sewer sound appealing? Well that's pretty much all Sewer Shark has to offer. Sure, Sega tried to spice it up with some grainy video footage of your co-pilot "Ghost", who acts like he just drank three pots of coffee. His overacting is annoying, but at least he's got spirit. You'll also meet other pilots, an idiotic robot (a weak attempt at comic relief), and your nasty boss who'll let you know just how bad a job you're doing. But the basic gameplay involves traveling through a never-ending tube, shooting pixilated rats by aiming crosshairs. You periodically need to change tubes in response to verbal directions. It's hard to see the holes leading to other tubes coming, making navigation difficult. It's all very confusing in general. And since Sewer Shark is linear (with no password), you'll have to sit through the same lame video sequences each time you play. Not very exciting. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.

If only there were more shooters like this for the Sega CD! Set it deep space, Silpheed pits you against small polygonal ships that fly in formation as they scale in from the distance. The game shows off the Sega CD's visual capabilities by filling the background with looming planets and elaborate explosions. Huge asteroids and missiles whiz by in the foreground, conveying a sense of speed lacking in most shooters. Although simplistic, Silpheed's rapid-fire shooting action is fun and addictive. Between stages you'll get an opportunity to alter your primary weapons and add a secondary option. On the downside, enemy ships are so small and indistinct that they often resemble fleas flying in formation. Even the bosses are relatively small. When the first one appears, your commander exclaims, "Look at the size of that thing!" Meanwhile I'm thinking, "That's pretty tiny for a boss!" The background graphics, while impressive, mainly serve as eye candy, although you do need to dodge asteroids in stage two. Silpheed's audio is weak, which is surprising considering this is a CD title. Your female advisor's voice is so distorted that you can barely understand her. The background music is decent but no better than the standard Genesis fare. Silpheed incorporates a number of polygon-rendered cut-scenes between stages, and while I'm sure this was gee-whiz stuff in 1993, I can't skip them fast enough nowadays. All in all, Silpheed's shooting action is very good, and the stages offer a nice variety of challenges. If you're weary of playing grainy FMV games on your Sega CD, this is just what the doctor ordered. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.

This outstanding graphic adventure is one of the best games I've ever played on my Sega CD. It's set in a futuristic city where nocturnal "Snatchers" murder people and assume their identities. You are a detective with amnesia whose mission is to locate and destroy the source of the Snatchers. While the game is dark, serious, and intense, the tongue-in-cheek dialog occasionally borders on hilarious. A good example is when the hero reveals, "Since my girlfriend has amnesia too, there's not much there to base a relationship on." Tools at your disposal include a robot companion, a computer database, a videophone, and a "turbocycle" to get you around town. The intriguing storyline borrows heavily from movies like Blade Runner and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The game screen consists of a partially animated graphic above a menu of text options. Dramatic music, distinctive sound effects, and outstanding comic book-style graphics really immerse you in this mysterious world. The text option menus, which are often several layers deep, allow you to look, investigate, move, talk, ask, use, and show possessions. There are always plenty of options available at any given time, but since they are limited, you're not likely to get stuck in any one place for too long. The menus are easy to navigate, the load time is practically non-existent, and you can save your place to memory at any time. While Snatcher is mostly an adventure, there is an occasional shooting sequence that requires quick reflexes. Although Konami's Justifier light gun is supported, a normal controller is actually easier to use in these stages. Snatcher is like a good book that you can't put down. The graphics and sound are above average, but it's the thrilling storyline that makes it a classic. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.

I've been very harsh on Sonic CD in the past, mainly because it's a colossal letdown compared to the Genesis Sonic games. Yes, it offers classic 2D Sonic action with plenty of expansive new zones, but these have got to be the most unappealing, poorly designed stages I've ever seen. In the first three Sonic games, each zone had a distinct look and feel. In Sonic CD, the stages seem to be a jumble of pastel-colored geometric shapes in random arrangements, and you can't tell one from the next. The Quartz Quadrant and Wacky Workbench zones are perfect examples of the uninspired, cookie-cutter designs. In addition, there are too many gadgets that send your blue ass flying every which way. The only cool element is the laser that shrinks Sonic down to half his size. But the main gimmick is the ill-conceived notion of "time travel", which teleports you to past or future versions of the same stage. This occurs when you touch a "Past" or "Future" sign and then maintain a certain speed for a few seconds (easier said than done). Trouble is, the past and future versions are just as boring as the present! It's basically just the same maze with a change of color and music. Besides the gratuitous use of color, Sega tried a few other tricks in an attempt to elevate Sonic to the "next level". An animated cartoon intro shows Sonic running up and down mountains, and while it's awfully choppy, I can't resist singing along to that catchy "Sonic Boom" theme song - it's great! The CD-quality music that plays during the stages is a mixed bag, but the tropical island music of the first stage is pleasant enough, and the moody vocals of the Tidal Tempest are downright mesmerizing (and redeem an otherwise mediocre stage). The bonus "Speed Zone" stages utilize the Sega CD's rotation capability, but it looks more like a poor-man's Mario Kart. The animation is quite choppy and it's hard to anticipate your jumps. But perhaps the game's worst sin is rampant slow-down, something you would never expect from a Sonic game. Compared to its predecessors, this is a major disappointment. That said, on a system mired with so many mediocre full-motion video games, this sub-par Sonic is still one of the better titles for the Sega CD. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.

This space shooter was clearly designed to take advantage of Sega CD's strengths, including as color, scaling, and sound. Soul Star's gameplay can best be described as Star Fox (SNES) with sprite graphics. Viewing your ship from behind, you blast your way through stage after stage of incoming enemies. Stages take place over land, in space, and in enclosed areas. The ocean stage is probably the most attractive, and it bears a striking resemblance to the water level in Lightning Force (Genesis). Although you begin the game in a space ship, later stages allow you to control a helicopter or a walker. Unfortunately, some stages run far too long, and the gameplay isn't particularly exciting. Soul Star does support the six-button controller, and provides a two-player cooperative mode. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

This is clearly a remake of the original Genesis Spiderman game, with many of the graphics and level designs taken directly from that game. But Spiderman vs. the Kingpin is actually a significant improvement, especially when it comes to the control. As with the original Spiderman game, our hero must move from level to level, punching endless thugs and facing six different villains. But this time there are A LOT more levels, and you can choose the order in which to play them. The fighting hasn't changed much - you'll still punch the same villains over and over again, but the improved control makes it easy and fun to climb on walls and ceilings. The graphics are slightly improved, and feature more interesting levels and backgrounds than the first game. Cartoon quality cut-scenes are used to convey the story, and although they can take a while to sit through, they're pretty darn funny (unintentionally?). Other cool features include a password save feature and a gallery of artwork. Thumbs up! © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.

Star Strike is one of two old Sony projects (circa 1994) recently resurrected by Good Deal Games, the other being Bug Blasters. Star Strike is definitely the better of the two, and it looks like it even had a budget to work with. A first-person space shooter, you move a cursor around the screen and shoot at asteroids, aliens, or large cruisers that appear in view. The animation is rough and the collision detection is questionable, but at least the number of objects on the screen decreases as you shoot them (unlike Bug Blasters). The dialog isn't too bad, and there are a few nice-looking babes in the cut-scenes. Even the special effects are respectable. The spaceships look realistic, the rubber aliens are somewhat scary, and the explosions are quite satisfying. The video is full screen, and there's virtually no load time. On the down side, there's no score, and one hit ends you game. Due to its extremely limited production, Star Strike is a collector's item for Sega CD enthusiasts. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.

I'm not a big chess fan, but I gravitate towards anything Star Wars. In Star Wars Chess, the pieces are represented by your favorite characters from the films; including Yoda, Luke, Leia, Darth Vader, the Emperor, Chewbacca, C3PO, R2D2, and Boba Fett. The characters are easily recognizable, but being hand-drawn, they look cheesy. The game is played exactly like chess, except when a piece is captured a non-interactive animated sequence shows one character overtaking the other. These "battle" sequences tend to be clever, funny, and entertaining to watch - the first time. Unfortunately, you'll see certain animations with annoying frequency. Still, when you consider all the combinations of characters, it's quite a bit of animation. The chess aspect itself is pretty good. There are loads of options, including helpful hints and the ever-popular "switch sides" option (comes in handy for me). The CPU player is intelligent and doesn't require an inordinate amount of time to execute a move. Although the default view is a bit cluttered (making it hard to see the empty spaces), an overhead view (with traditional chess pieces) is also available. Star Wars Chess is mainly a novelty item, but even if you don't like chess, you can always sit back and watch the computer play itself. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.

I wish I had played this game before I played Rebel Assault II on my Playstation, because these low-quality graphics are almost too much to bear. Rebel Assault is one of those annoying games where you spend most of the time watching video. Many of the clips are taken directly from the Star Wars films, although they are severely pixilated (due to the Sega CD's limited color palette). The new footage tends to be awful - almost comical. In some cases, they superimposed moving lips and eyes over stiff faces, and the effect is unconvincing at best; downright creepy at worst. At least the video segments extend across the full screen - a rarity for the Sega CD. Rebel Assault's audio really shocked me. The music is far from CD quality, and the digitized sound effects are rough. The stages include Tie fighter shooting, navigating an asteroid field, mounting an attack run on a Star Destroyer, and taking down an Imperial Walker. There are also a few crude stormtrooper shootout stages, but your character looks like a woman for some reason. The space shooting stages are best (easiest to tolerate), where you aim at obvious targets and have very limited range of movement. You have no control over your general direction, and waiting for your ship to turn around (for another run) takes forever. The worst stages are those where you must navigate a ship through confined areas (like a desert canyon). The steering controls are extremely unresponsive, and determining your position from the pixilated graphics is difficult. Rebel Assault could have gotten by on graphics alone in 1993, but it hasn't aged well. I didn't enjoy playing this at all. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.

Supreme Warrior is a full motion video fighter along the same lines as Prize Fighter. But unlike that black and white boxing game, this one is martial arts, and the video is in full color. I have to admit it's a neat premise to battle with a raging kung-fu warriors from a first-person point of view. If only the game was playable! The action is preceeded by a pep talk from your wise master. The video is colorful but grainy, and there are annoying pauses in the video and sound. A female guide leads you to your various opponents. There are twelve in all, each with their own particular fighting style. Unfortunately, you can throw all the punches, kicks and blocks that you want, but you can only connect at certain predetermined times, which is a drag. Apparently there are some visual cues, but I couldn't make any sense out of them. I tried to carefully time my moves, and then I tried button mashing, but it didn't seem to make a difference either way. Supreme Warrior is another good idea ruined by poor gameplay. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

Wow I've never seen so many cool explosions in my life! Your mission in this first-person FMV (full motion video) shooter is to move through war-torn battlegrounds and blow up strategic targets. You drive an armored hovercraft armed with gattling guns and missiles. Riding through the streets of a desert city, the FMV graphics deplict a raging war complete with burning buildings, bombs, and gunmen. Target boxes appear to indicate danger ahead, and you must destroy these targets immediately or take damage. Shooting is done by aiming a cursor and firing your guns or missiles. If successful, you'll see a short clip of your weapons firing, followed by an impressive explosion. It's clear that TruVideo spared no expense with the pyrotechnics. There are a huge variety of video clips showing exploding buildings and tanks, often with people flying out of them. Sure, some of the clips repeat after a while, but the quality of this destruction is still quite satisfying. In order to complete each level, you'll need to destroy several key targets as indicated on a map. Navigating the streets is a piece of cake once you get used to the controls. As with all FMV games, your commander is a big jerk who goes nuts every time you screw up ("You couldn't drive a nail!"). The second and third stages feature a mountain fortress and an island paradise full of babes. Now THAT's incentive! © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

Many Sega CD side-scrollers are notorious for being straight Genesis ports with enhanced music. Terminator addresses this concern immediately in the instruction book: "The Terminator CD is not just an upgrade of the Genesis game. It is a unique product, containing 10 entirely new levels of backgrounds and animations along with cinematic intermissions and an original score." Obviously, Virgin put some effort into this, and they want you to know it. The game begins with a small video screen showing some post-apocalyptic scenes from the first Terminator film. To be honest, the video quality is so grainy that you can barely tell what you're looking at. Fortunately, the game screens look terrific, loaded with vibrant colors and large, detailed objects. Playing as Kyle Reese, you face tens stages of intense platform shooting action. You begin in the apocalyptic future, but eventually work your way back to 1984, where you explore city streets, rooftops, a police station, and even the "Technoir" Bar. Armed with a rapid-fire gun and grenades, Kyle faces Arnold look-a-likes, exoskeletons, tanks, and some wild spider-shaped droids. Kyle looks somewhat dorky (he kicks his legs when he jumps), but the terminators look fierce. The gameplay is unoriginal but undeniably fun and challenging. I especially like how you can shoot diagonally while hanging off ladders. The worst thing about the game is that touching a terminator means instant death, and it sucks when you jump down from a ledge and accidentally land on one. The most remarkable aspect of the game has to be the musical score. Presented in "Q Sound", the music is simply outstanding and very consistent with the soundtrack of the film. It will get your adrenaline pumping too. Overall Terminator is a terrific Sega CD title. © Copyright 2003 The Video Game Critic.

Time Gal takes its cue from Dragon's Lair, the original laserdisc game. It's a full-motion video (FMV) game which you only interact with at certain predetermined moments. Despite being a huge fan of the original Dragon's Lair, Time Gal did not impress me. The grainy video intro is lackluster, but it's not the graphic quality that kills the game - it's the lousy frame rate. Time Gal is a sexy babe thrust into various periods of history from 700000000 BC to 1991. She has to deal with rampaging dinosaurs, gladiators and pirates, and high-tech weaponry of the present. The situations are pretty wild, but the low frame rate makes it hard to tell what the heck's going on, and that's a problem since you only have a split second to respond. Fortunately the screen provides visual cues in the form of four glowing jewels, which you'll inevitably come to rely on completely. In fact, you'll pay so much attention to these jewels that you'll barely catch a glimpse of what's happening on the screen. Since most of moves can't be logically deduced, memorization is the key to getting through the levels. Many correct moves actually seem to defy logic, like when you're sitting on top of a dinosaur's mouth, and need to push down to escape. At least the stages are randomized somewhat. Another strange thing about the game is how Time Gal turns into a chubby cartoon character whenever she dies. I guess this was meant to soften the violence. When a real person gets crushed by a mammoth, it's tragic, but when it happens to a cartoon character - it's funny! © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.

This flight combat simulator plays like an interactive video, seamlessly intertwining short video clips together based on your actions. Unfortunately, the video is extremely grainy and not very easy on the eyes. Between stages are acting scenes to advance the plot, and these a mercifully short. Once you get in the air, gameplay involves selecting icons on the screen and targeting enemy aircraft. Tomcat is really a twitch game played from a first-person viewpoint. Most of the time the icon you need to choose are blinking, but since you only have a few seconds to react, things can get pretty intense. Shooting down enemy planes is satisfying thanks to a nice variety of explosive video footage. Although you have no control of your plane's movement, the visuals are a nice mix of actual plane footage and computer-generated video. You can save your place between missions. Tomcat Alley isn't much to look at, but the gameplay was better than I expected. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.

I remember back in 1992 when my friend Keith brought Wonder Dog over to my house, along with his Sega CD system. I had seen magazines rave about this game, but it turned out to be pretty lame. Predictably, Wonder Dog begins with a full motion video segment that's cheesy in a Saturday morning cartoon way and unintentionally funny (although there is one tear-jerking moment). The game itself is a straight-forward platformer comparable to something you'd play on the Genesis. Wonder Dog features cutesy characters, illustrated backdrops, and irrepressibly happy music. Whether you find these qualities to be more irritating or endearing will depend on your own sensibilities. The main character is a space dog in suspenders with the ability to slide, dig, and shoot stars in a rapid-fire fashion. Shooting stars is the best part of the game. You can aim them high or low, and they can clear a nice path in front of you. Oddly, you'll sustain damage from every creature you touch, including tiny bunny rabbits. I found Wonderdog's control scheme to be pretty awkward, especially since you must often use the dash and jump buttons together. There are plenty of items to collect, hidden areas, and well-designed boss encounters. For Sega CD fans looking to take a break from the full-motion video (FMV) games, this isn't bad choice if you can stomach its kiddie style. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.