Part 3
35. Shootout
You play as Billy Bob that reincarnated
to present day someone in shooting range at some night carnival. What's the
prize? Killing this may or may not be stuffed animal is the only prize you get.
The control is D-pad to move your hand left or right. Pressing "C"
button to fire your gun. Judging by the looks of it, i would like to say it's
your typical six-shooter. But it houses lots of bullet, indicated by bullet
counter at the top center. Be careful though, if you run out of bullet you lose
a life. How's that even works? Does the stall attendant murder you everytime
you lose all the bullets in a round? Or the loss is engraved so deep in your
heart that you feel want to die? If you finish destroy all these target, you
proceed to next stage while your bullets are restocked to the full.
I like to show you how small the bullet is. So you need to aim the gun carefully. In the early part of the level, the targets are cramped in line. But when they're thinning out, is the point where you have to be more accurate with your aim. There's not much variation after first stage. So i quit pretty early
The game is pretty basic yet too simple. At least playable than Game #18 Billy Bob.
My rating score: 5 / 10
36. Bombs Away
You play as this John Doe running along this land that is bombarded from unknown sources. From the looks of the huts, this game is in setting of Vietnam War. Maybe? The control is D-pad to move the guy left or right. Pressing "C" button to jump that higher than the huts! I think he's experimental subject of super soldier serum. Kind of like Captain America but, the serum only enhance his jumping ability and nothing else. Your objective is simple: dodge the bombs until duration is over.
What kind of bomb is that? They're fat thing with 3 propellers and toy wheels. Naturally, they have bigger hitspot than any conventional bombs that fell before me, so there's that. Come to think of it all bombs in this game works in unusual way. They don't explode when touch the ground. They just slip off further into the ground. Demoman_sf12_badmagic10.wav
If they touch me, i'm self exploded leaving my boot singed. I think they're one of eco-friendly type bomb. They don't destroy environment unnecessarily, they only trigger self human explosion if they touch their target
The core gameplay is still raw. If the player given weapon with limited ammo that can be used to destroy bomb, the game will be better.
My rating score: 3.5 / 10
37. Speed Boat
I assume we're doing speed boat race here. The control is: D-Pad to move your speed boat but that's about it. No other button to jump or whatsoever. Which is shame because i could use button to jump pass these so many obstacles. At first, i though the stone or log can be used as impromptu ramp to make my boat jump but no. They're just deadly obstacle
What's with these fishing boat on our race course? This route supposed to be neutral from fishing activity! Also what's with that fisherman? Constantly throw and draw fishing line while moving back and forth. What kind of fishing is that? No wonder they don' get any fish.
Scout_sf13_magic_reac03.wav. My rival boats can sails through obstacles and even the fishing boat without harm. When i do that, i got demolished.
Hey, man! What the freak. You can't just block my way with invincible boat like that. That's cheating! *CRASH*
This race is so unfair! There's only obstacle over obstacle. That's it.
My rating score: 1 / 10
38. Dedant
Dedant or perhaps Dead Ant is the mutant ant that able puke red unhealthy projectile and i assume control of it. The control is D-Pad to move the dead ant around and "C" button to shoot the red vomit to top direction. I'm fighting other insect such as red ant and caterpillar that due to its green color, able to bland with this lazy-designed background. I mean you can clearly see that it's just that 1 grass tile that copy-paste into 4 tiles like this.
The game plays fine until there's spider that invincible to my deadly vomit. I try to bite using my jaw but to no avail plus i'm dead in process. By that i mean approach them mandible first. There's no special button for melee attack, you see.
Ok. This is ludicrous. There's more spiders and they won't go away. How am i supposed to do? 3:
This is even worse. There's too many spiders! Thus i'm cornered and there's little i can do here. The only way to remove spider, is to die intentionally thus the screen is reset from all enemies. That's hardly fair.
It's shoot em up with single screen and invincible spider that can neither be destroyed or go away.
My rating score: 1 / 10
39. G Fighter
It's horizontal shoot em up akin to G-Darius or Gradius. It can't be helped! I have to associate this game with those famous game because the game asking for it by putting "G" letter first on the title! The control is D-Pad to move your ship around and "C" button to shoot fireball on right direction. Enemy's projectiles are the same with mine, but they can be differentiated in motion. Because my bullets certainly won't move toward me.
Would you look at that! The ship design resembles the one in Darius. So my salty remark is not out of mark. G Fighter doesn't have boss stage with the shape of fish. Or there's none at all, even. But you should expect that because Action 52 is collection of small game with low budget (and i'm not sure that Sega approved this). Clearly boss fight is no go, at all.
Oh drat! I have been killed by the power-up container from Thunder Force III. I've never felt so humiliated! I wish i can shoot to left direction.
Being unable to shoot backward is annoying because most enemies come from behind. Boring background and ships. When i die, my ship let out eerie scream instead of sensible explosion sound.
My rating score: 3 / 10
40. Man At Arms
I play as this crossbowman that defend this castle from those invaders. I think i have played Tiger Handheld game like this exact but the castle is in bottom instead in the top like in this game. The control is D-Pad to move the crossbowman left or right and "C" button to shoot arrows. The enemies bear a shield but my arrows can pierce through it and kill them. They think that shield made of cardboard can make me faltered but no! You can't fool me, bastards!
On the 3rd stage there's new enemy. That burly creatures that could be giant bear or troll or whatever big creature in medieval fantasy setting that you can think of. They can be taken down with 1 arrow, much like regular human soldier. So what's the point of their deployment, then? Like in Game #19 Sharks, deceased enemies can block your projectile during their death animation thus provide cover for their living comrades. Keep that in mind.
Once the enemies reach my castle's wall, i instantly surrender. The white flag is so cute. I wish the king send more men to defend this castle. Or at least have someone (other than me) to make moat around the castle. #-_-
To maximize my effort to defend this castle, i have to shoot them before they even show up on the screen in rather orderly manner. But when one of them about to reach the castle, i hurry to dispatch them otherwise it's game over. I forget to tell you that not all enemies move straight to my castle, some of them move diagonally but in rather-comedic way, they walk away beyond the screen. Good for me!
The game is finish after 9th level. Huzzah!
This game is pretty fine even with the mechanism of killed enemies block your arrows. Talking about cannon fodder. *shrugs*
My rating score: 6 / 10
41. Norman
You take control the grey tank. The control is D-Pad to move around and "C" button to shoot the cannon. For some reason your enemy green tank don't have ability to shoot their cannon. Oh, i get it. To make up for their ammo scarcity, they deploy more tank that outnumbered you significantly. Even without their ammo, those tanks are still a dangerous threat tanks to their deadly touch.
Like in previous games, there's more enemies if you finish more level. So naturally further level is getting harder than before. For some reason, enemy's infantry can kill my tank with mere touch! So unrealistic!
Also weird is how the infantry die by my cannonball. Looks like they melt from head to their torso. Are they filled with volatile nitroglycerin? Maybe that's why my tank is destroyed once they touch it.
The enemies can outnumber your tank but they don't have ability to shoot projectile at all. While your tank is the exact opposite, solo but it can shoot cannonball on everywhere. Although there's no diagonal aim. The core gameplay is kind of balanced and not frustrating.
My rating score: 7 / 10
42. Armor Battle
This is essentially 2-players duel version of Game #41 Norman. The control is D-Pad to move your tank around and "C" button to fire your cannon. Anyone who can land 10 hits first, is the winner. First level goes on normally. But on later stages, your cannonball's flight is altered. I think this is less make sense than Game #10 Star Duel because it takes place in outer space where there's no gravity or exist but in certain direction for gameplay's sake. But this game is about duel of conventional tank in conventional battlefield. There's no good logic behind the reason why the cannonballs fly in deviated way. Moreover, the deviation is relative to cannon's facing instead of general relative to bullet. For example: on one level, cannonball that i shoot when i facing right is distorted to top direction. But when i shoot the cannonballs while i facing left, they fly straight and normally. Soldier_sf13_magic_reac01.wav
Probably one of the worst duel game. Your aim is restricted to 4 cardinal direction. The bullet deviation don't make sense and badly implemented.
My rating score: 5.5 / 10
43. Magic Bean
This game is clearly based on fairytale "Jack and The Beanstalk". You control Jack climbing up to giant's castle by using D-Pad and that's about it. Anything that the giant throws is lethal to touch. Is that horseshoe? Makes me wonder how big is the giant's horse and does he ride on it on weekend along the wide expanse of the cloud? Or maybe the horse is Pegasus? So many mysteries!
It goes without saying that on next level the giant throws more stuff at you. 4 of his shoes? Aren't that too much? But they work because i have no room to dodge all of this scraps! I'm restricted not only to the thrown stuff but also to giant beanstalk itself. I can only move around 1/3 portion of the screen and that's not helping me in the slightest.
Here's the goal: The giant's castle. However that castle doesn't look like belong to the giant's. I mean look at that doors! They are the size of Jack's! The castle only enough for giant to sleep inside and that's still cramped. You don't need to reach the castle to end the level. You can let the screen scroll high enough instead. Did i forget that the game is auto-scrolling? My bad. After finishing a level, you will be sent back to the ground level and must climb to the castle again. It feels like there's Toad inside of every cloud castle and tell Jack that the enchanted goose is in another castle.
Solid auto-scrolling and dodge em up game. Even though there's occasion where the hazards makes you cornered badly plus there's beanstalk's width that restrict your movement. The vine obstruct anything including you so it's rather cheap.
My rating score: 7 / 10
44. Apache
It's vertical shoot em up with undersized sprite and walls on left and right. The control is D-Pad to move the Apache chopper around while "C" button to fire machine gun. The enemies are enemy red chopper, plane with the shape of triangle (no, it's not my beloved F-117A Nighthawk. It's way too ugly), and tank that may or may not from Game #41 Norman.
Suddenly my chopper is destroyed! What hit me? Are the enemy's bullets is smaller than mine (that barely seen without pausing the game)? So unfair! Heavy_sf13_magic_reac01.wav
Bad shoot em up game with sprites with sub-standard size.
My rating score: 1.5 / 10
45. Paratrooper
I assume control of a nameless soldier and his mission is to collect these grey crates. All of them. D-Pad to move him around and "C" button to shoot whatever projectiles is that. It's clearly come out from his center. Maybe he has chest that can shoot energy projectile akin to Iron Mantm. Like in Game #41 Norman, this soldier is unable to shoot diagonally. I think this game is mixture of Game #24 Mousetrap and Game #41 Norman where you have to deal with enemies with deadly touch while collecting all randomly-placed items in the screen. Those grey lines are either wire fence or small river where you can't pass through them but your projectiles can.
Much like in Game #19 Sharks, your character will turn into pool of blood if he get killed by the vicious robot. That's horrible.
Even with the absence of diagonal aiming, the game is quite good and playable.
My rating score: 6 / 10
46. Sky Avenger
I like the title "Sky Avenger" because it's so accurate. I take control of green helicopter that avenge sky bombers that kill Bombs Away guy. The control is D-pad to fly around the green helicopter and C button to shoot rocket. I hope you don't mind about horizontal shoot em up that starts you from right to left because this game is like that. What a rebel/creative [pick that you see fits]
The sky is filled with enemies. Red helicopters, blimps, and fighter planes(?). I know that they reuse the place from Game #36 Bombs Away but i think they should consider about the scale. If the Bombs Away guy compared side by side with these aircrafts, he's as big as King Kong in the movie. Also the hut become proper 2-storey building in this scale.
Simple gameplay. It could get some extra feature, though
My rating score: 5.5 / 10
47. Sharpshooter
This game takes place in the largest gallery shooting in a night festival. But you don't shoot harmless target boards or dolls. No. You have to shoot these monsters that can outright kill you! The control is D-pad to move the sharpshooter left or right and "C" button to fire his gun. This game is like Taito's Space Invader but the enemies come out individually. Each with their own pattern and behavior.
The game is too easy and i get bored. So i let myself die on purpose. The death animation is not gruesome or rather too soft. It looks like he becomes sleepy and slowly taking a deep sleep. Maybe these monsters covered with sleeping powder and ammonia. They're not so bad, now that i think about it.
The game is fairly ok but it's boring for long run. Either you become asleep or the cowboy in the game become asleep or maybe both of you become asleep.
My rating score: 4 / 10
48. Meteor
You're controlling a earth defense ship shooting at incoming burning meteors. Curse you, Sephiroth! D:<
The control is simple: D-pad to move left or right. While "C" button to fire the anti-meteor lasers. There's not much strategy here. You can ignore moving the ships and mash the fire button and wait until the duration over then you can move on to next level and do the same thing. There's no pressure on protecting the city. It's invincible, so what's the point? If the city is vulnerable like in Atari's Missile Command, the gameplay will be solid but at the same time it becomes more tedious.
The game is easy, boring and unpolished. But it's playable on your own pace.
My rating score: 3.5 / 10
49. Black Hole
You're controlling wingless spaceship (probably Starship Enterprise from Star Trek) that get stuck within aforementioned black hole. The control is: D-pad to move the spaceship around and "C" button to fire the photon torpedoes. I thought the gameplay like Game #48 Meteor but that's not quite true. Because the stage ends with destroyed enemies quota that's unseen. So this time i'm force to seek the enemies actively. The background of gritty blue with black void that scroll automatically scroll anywhere, doesn't make the game more enjoyable. :(
It's simple shoot em up game with eye-ritating background and force you to engage enemies actively. Very bad!
My rating score: 2 / 10
50. The Boss
Presumably, the boss is this anthropomorphic of green lizard that dress like detective or maybe gangster. He have to collect all dollar bills along this fire escape to finish a stage. The control is D-pad to move the boss to left or right and also to descend or ascend the ladders around here.
Obviously, things don't go that easy. There's enemies spawn from left or right corner. That's where "C" button come in handy. It's to shoot the handgun. Even though the enemies look carrying gun, they don't fire any projectile ever. The main problem comes from getting off the ladder while enemies come after you. Grabbing the ladder from standing still in platform is no problem by simply pressing up or down near the ladder. But thing doesn't go smoothly when doing the otherwise. It's very finicky to let go the ladder which makes you open to enemy's deadly touch.
Simple game but with some serious problem in mobility. If the developer utilize other button to deliberately let go the ladder or to jump. The game will be better.
My rating score: 4.5 / 10
51. 1st Game
I hope you don't get your hope too high for the final game, because it's just Goddamn Pong! There's no horizontal movement to spice thing up. Lame! Engineer_jeers01.wav
What else can i say about this game? It's just freaking Pong! Go play Super Ping Pong for definitely better Pong game in Sega Genesis!
My rating score: 1 / 10
Finally i wrap all of the Action 52 games on Sega Genesis. Plus rate them one by one. I feel like this last part is filled with boring action game. At least there's no dull minesweeper or sliding puzzle. That's quite something. I think.
