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December 1995


PLAYSTATION
Destruction Derby
Psygnosis   Reflections
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Racing-Combat   Release: November 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Intermediate

Ready to bask in the ultimate game of road rage? With this Psygnosis title on PlayStation, it's time to turn stock cars into raucous weapons and bring on the mayhem. Destruction Derby places you in combat scenarios against nineteen competitors in one of four race modes, including time trial, traditional circuit mode, and all-out hectic, demolition derby. There are no wild explosions or FMV to demonstrate the power of the PSX, but damage is relatively easy to make out as clouds of smoke begins to spew. The real stand-out feature here is the effect chaotic collisions have on handling. You may find your car is tougher to control depending on your vehicle's health, making sideswipes and T-bones have some real consequence. That means it is either smash or be smashed. Great vocal work. Sound fx on the whole are just so-so.

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PLAYSTATION
Tekken
Namco
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Fighter   Release: November 1995
Age Rating: Teen   Challenge: Intermediate

The next evolution of 3-D fighting games finally landed on home consoles. Pick a fighter from a cast of eight deadly brawlers and delve into the ultimate battle for supremacy. Players will face off against one another, or a computer opponent, in SF2-type combat complete with strategic combos. Each of the four PS face buttons connects to a limb, leading to some awesome left-right combination attacks. No magic attacks or projectiles, though, but the varied maneuvers will make up for it in spades. Other than taking a second two of extra load time and the absence of rendered selection screens, Tekken is damn close to arcade perfect. That said, those who disliked the arcade experience will not be swayed with this release. Namco is doing wonders with their conversions. We expect Soul Edge will make its way over next.

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PLAYSTATION
Warhawk
Sony CEA   Sony ISA
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Flight Sim   Release: November 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Intermediate

Warhawk on PlayStation is easily a top contender for best 3-D flight sim this year, surpassing even Ace Combat in our book. Gain control over an experimental aircraft as it soars in realistic, fully 3-D rendered landscapes, and engages in some choice air battles. Maneuvering properly takes time to master, but solid response time and auto-hovering makes this aircraft much easier to operate than one may think. Stages in Warhawk all feature neat, complex objectives, starting with the annihilation of an ancient pyramid to uncover a secret device and ending with, well, facing down a gigantic skull boss. Graphics are above average, albeit lacking any real killer effects, and the FMV sequences do a fine job in providing exposition. Overall, this is an addictive experience with great shooter-like playability.

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SATURN
Ghen War
Sega   Jumpin' Jack
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3-D Shooter   Release: October 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Hard

An intelligent alien race known as the Ghen, a refugee species once granted sanctuary on earth, have suddenly turned violent and assumed control of Saturn's moon, Titan. Mankind's sole cause for hope is an oddly well-armed mining clan and your advanced mech suit. For, erm, mining purposes, the hypersuit is equipped with missiles, rockets, lasers, and much more. But, be careful, the Ghen have tanks, turrets, and soldiers to spare. Jumpin' Jack Software did well in modeling 3-D terrain and character animations in Ghen War, yet dropped the ball on the playability front. The elements of free-roam and open movement means constantly rotating your perspective every which way, all but requiring players to perfect the control scheme to coordinate attacks effectively. High difficulty may turn off impatient players as well.

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SATURN
Galactic Attack
Taito
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Shooter   Release: December 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Hard

Ah, we miss games like this. Taito brings out the big guns with Galactic Attack, or Layer Section as it is known in Japan, a vertically scrolling, top-down shooter with blazing cool color, phenomenal parallax effects, and dazzling "2.5-D" imagery. Blast foes on multiple planes, meticulously navigating around dangerous enemy fire and dealing a wallop with your R-Type-inspired upgradable lock-on laser. GA sorely lacks much weapon diversity, but thankfully the fully powered laser does pack a real punch. This title includes seven challenging levels - each increasing significantly in difficulty from the last. It may not be as revolutionary as Panzer Dragoon, but Taito's high-quality release demands respect, nonetheless. Do be sure to try out two-player co-op mode to double your attack effectiveness.

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SATURN
Solar Eclipse
Crystal Dynamics
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3-D Shooter   Release: November 1995
Age Rating: Teen   Challenge: Intermediate

Crystal Dynamics delivers up the successor to their 3DO-turned-PSX showpiece Total Eclipse with a Saturn entry cleverly titled Solar Eclipse. In this adventure, players will take on the role of a space jockey called Stuntman, who, along with a squad of seasoned vets, is sent on a space quest to the moons of Saturn. Solar is a much-improved shooter/flight sim from its predecessor. Stages are just as difficult as ever, but control responsiveness is markedly better. The graphics leveled-up as well. Texture-mapping on the enemies and environments are way cool. It will be vital to study enemy attacks to learn the various strategies to overcome them - the type of tactic unheard of in TE. Our favorite element here is knowing the squad commander is played by Babylon 5's Claudia Christian. Unreal!

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SNES
Breath of Fire II
Capcom
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Role-Playing   Release: December 1995
Age Rating: All     Challenge: Hard

Capcom presents an all-new RPG adventure with Breath of Fire II, a return trip to a fantasy realm rife with dragons and spells. This cart holds an intricate and complex plot surrounding Ryu, questions about his family's lineage, and a fascinating religious dynamic. On the graphical side, the spritework BOF2 is a marked step-up on the original. Overworld figures are okay, but the in-battle artwork is magnificent - With monsters acting out cheeky animations and big bosses exerting tremendous presence. Your battling technique will evolve depending on party members, each of whom holds a special ability like helpful healing magic or a multi-hit offensive. What has worsened is the abundance of encounters, thereby making world traversal a painful chore. We recommend this even though RPGs like Chrono blow it out of the water.

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SNES
Spawn
Acclaim   Ukiyotei
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Act-Platformer   Release: October 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Hard

Todd McFarlane's Spawn (Geez, what a title. -Jet), as one may imagine, presents a comic book universe chock full of dangerous henchmen, dark cityscapes, and a controversial hero with biblical connotations. This side-scrolling brawler is nothing too special on the surface. Beyond sporting some decent visuals, the essence of this cart is much like the pile of similar games available for 16-Bit systems. The uniqueness of Spawn comes down to those special moves. You see, Spawn can fire off cookie-cutter attacks, but with the right button combinations he can use a variety of SF2-esque feats of power like fireballs and bombs. Each Power Move siphons a small amount of your limited meter, though, so look out. To our chagrin, subpar play control can make this at pain at times. A word of caution: This sucker is tough. Of anything, rent it first.

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SNES
Speedy Gonzalez
Acclaim   Sunsoft
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Act-Platformer   Release: August 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Intermediate

Never shy to scrape the bottom of the licensed property barrel, Sunsoft and Acclaim recently unleashed the newest Warner cartoon onto unsuspecting Super NES owners with Speedy Gonzales in Los Gatos Banditos. Your quest entails saving captured animal friends by dashing through technicolor landscapes and kicking enemy tail. Sound familiar? Put simply, Speedy is an exceptionally basic, slow platforming game closely mimicking the likeness of Sonic to the point of entering rip-off territory. There is not much speed to be found here (Maybe if this were made for Sega... -Jet), "puzzles" require no brain power, and none of the levels pose a challenge for seasoned gamers. It is clear, in our view, that this cart was designed with the young'uns in mind. Even then, we can only recommend a weekend rental with Slowy, er, Speedy Gonzales.

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GENESIS
Garfield
Sega   Sega InterActive
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Act-Platformer   Release: November 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Easy

The world's most beloved, lasagna-eating, Monday-hating feline is making his way to the Genesis courtesy of Sega InterActive. Garfield: Caught in the Act is your standard action-platformer based on a well-known license. You control the titular cat, who managed to get sucked into the world of late-night television alongside his puppy pal Odie. Travel in side-scrolling fashion, swipe at nasty enemies, and pick up items like hamburgers to replenish your health. We do commend the animations on this cart, which are admittedly pretty solid for the Genesis, but even fans of the comic strip will find Garfield creatively void and cumbersome with poor play control and incessant hits. Levels are short and the devs only programmed in around six of them, so think twice about purchasing, or even renting, this one.

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GENESIS
Separation Anxiety
Acclaim   SoftCreations
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Brawler   Release: November 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Intermediate

Separation Anxiety is a stealth sequel to last year's rather infamous Maximum Carnage. Back for more, the evil symbiote Carnage is up against our heroes Spider-Man and Venom. Fight through an assortment of Final Fight-type stages, which often feel quite repetitive with almost-identical backdrops and clones of enemies. For a brawler, this cart sorely misses the mark on the fun scale. Street fighting via constant button-mashing with a jumping dodge thrown in here-and-there has aged like milk. To make matters worse, you can usually only can take a step or two before another roaming gang of criminals reappear to strike our heroes. Boring graphics void of special effects and a baffling lack of cutscenes makes Separation Anxiety feel more suited to a late NES entry than a competitor to something modern like Vectorman.

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GENESIS
Toy Story
DisneyInt   Traveller's Tales
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Adventure   Release: November 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Easy

The artistry of 3-D computer rendering has officially reached a new landmark achievement thanks to the animation wizards at Disney. While the movie commands stunning figures at the box office, the home video game on Genesis impresses much the same. Rendered graphics make this title a certain sight to behold as you follow the trials of rival toys Buzz Lightyear and Woody. All throughout the 18 levels of Toy Story, players will take on numerous challenges from standard platforming segments to overhead racing levels. The variety in gameplay styles is great to see from Disney Interactive, and the lighthearted feel makes this an easy choice for both young and old. How the developers captured the 3-D feel of this flick on the base Genesis is totally nuts, keeping in tradition of the likewise fun of Aladdin.

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SEGA CD
Batman & Robin
Sega  ClockworkTortoise
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Action-Racing   Release: July 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Easy

Some time ago, Malibu Interactive retooled Batman Returns, a subpar Genesis beat-em-up, into a rather exceptional Sega CD game. It is sad to see the same team failed to replicate this magic with Batman & Robin. Instead of improving on the Genesis iteration while adding new elements (We daresay an underrated sort of CD game! -Jet), this version eliminates all brawler segments and instead focuses all gameplay on chase sequences with the Batmobile. The whole dodge-and-shoot mechanic is fine at first, but that's the entire game, here. Gameplay is divided between FMV clips of the eponymous animated series, but after that sequence, it's back to the Batmobile! C'mon, let us control the Caped Crusader in all of his batty glory! Good graphics and high-energy CD-quality music are the high points.

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SEGA CD
Demolition Man
Acclaim  Alexandria
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Act-Platformer   Release: September 1995
Age Rating: Teen   Challenge: Intermediate

The year is 2099, and after being cryogenically frozen for a century, the world's most unforgiving, certified "bad dude" cop is back on duty. Named for a rather spectacular Stallone action flick, Demolition Man on Sega CD is action-platforming done right. This disc features side-scrolling and top-down stages, both resoundingly fast-paced and chock full of total violent fun. Shoot down droves of enemies, blasting with reckless abandon all while grabbing power-ups to sweeten the pot. Zip lining bits, in which you must defend from foes on all angles, is Contra-esque chaos. Each stage brilliantly emulates the look and feel of the film, and the Stallone-ish main character sprite is animated fluidly with detail to spare. It's great on both Genesis and CD, with added FMV cinemas and crystal-clear music on the latter.

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32X
Virtua Fighter
Sega   Sega
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Fighter   Release: October 1995
Age Rating: Teen     Challenge: Easy

To start, it is one huge surprise that this was released considering recent drought on 32X. It's an even bigger shock to see how well-made this portover of Virtua Fighter plays on the Genesis attachment, almost giving credence to the idea of 32X as a 32-Bit machine. This version of the arcade fighter demonstrates the same type of realistic fighting action and debilitating intensity as ever. All fighters are at your disposal and fighting pleasure, from Lau to Pai, and a handful of additions add a splash of variety. A new, Special Competition Mode is selectable from the menu, as are color palette swaps. You can also now change the camera perspective (Yay? -Jet). Though obviously nowhere close to Saturn's ability, it's impressive to see VF be granted great graphics and play control on this venue.

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3DO
PO'ed
3DO Co.   Studio 3DO
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3-D Shooter   Release: November 1995
Age Rating: Mature   Challenge: Inter.

Taking on the role of an outer space astro-janitor, it's your job to clean up a downtrodden metropolis of alien origin. But, wait! Your crew has been annihilated and the inhabitants are out for blood! In this Doom-type shooting bonanza, you will explore forty or so areas set in this bleak, futuristic cityscape all while blasting an intensively aggressive swarm of baddies. The makers of POed added in a nifty flight mechanic, allowing you to rise and glide in any direction as opposed to simple flat-surface running. Additionally, the varied assortment of weaponry is a welcome sight in a sea of similar-looking shooters. Graphically, it's a mixed bag. Scrolling is mostly smooth with the occasional jitter, though the curiously crafted textures and oddball enemies may be divisive. Either way, POed holds real uniqueness.

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3DO
Killing Time
3DO Co.   Studio 3DO
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3-D Shooter   Release: November 1995
Age Rating: Mature   Challenge: Hard

Killing Time from Studio 3DO is a first-person half-shooter, half-adventure game that successfully demonstrates the distinct advantage CD-format has over carts: Scope and size. This spooky fare is based within a dilapidated and obviously haunted estate on an abandoned island, and inside leers a genuine mystery to unravel. Fend off all manner of mystical creatures and undead beings, including the dreaded zombie chefs, while collecting pieces of a lost soul. We went wild for the frightful atmosphere and solid game engine - accentuated by an intriguing plot. Movement and weapon aiming are slippery as all heck, though, artificially raising the difficulty and leading to some unfair hits. The puzzles are fun enough, some of which are truly brain-busting. Excellent dark humor aplenty, here.

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JAGUAR-CD
Blue Lightning
Atari   ATD
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Flight Sim   Release: September 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Hard

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on Atari. The Jaguar CD is available after a drawn-out development period, and its premier showing is none too pleasing. Blue Lightning is a flight sim and combat title available exclusively for the new add-on. Despite parading itself as a top-notch simulation of gritty mercenary missions in parts unknown, we regret to say BL is no better than After Burner. Slowdown is endless, plaguing all of your moves including the all-important barrel roll to evade enemies. Controls are choppy, sprite-scaled graphics are chunky, and the enemy AI is way too tough. To its credit, BL does have some nice-looking cinemas and its soundtrack is not too shabby, either. But those searching for an Atari flight sim should seek the '89 Lynx version for a far better experience.

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