New Games on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/css/logo.jpg en-us Comix Zone is a unique and artistically rich beat 'em up originally developed for the Sega Mega Drive. It was also ported to the PC and GBA and is available in emulated form on the PS2, PSP and the Wii. The game was released in 1995 and was noted for its original premise and amazing graphics and sound which pushed Sega's 16-bit machine to its limits.

The game is essentially a one-player side-scrolling beat 'em up with a twist. The unique aspect of the game is quickly revealed to be its presentation. The player is in control of Sketch Turner, a comic book artist who is trapped within his own comic creation. The levels are literally panels of Sketch's comic. Each level consists of two pages some with alternate routes, each with different art and puzzles. Powerups and secrets are revealed by literally ripping paper and Sketch can even find help in the form of his pet rat Roadkill, who is trapped with Sketch and can be used in a fight or to help with solving a puzzle.

There are three episodes containing two levels, each with unique backgroud art consistent with real-life comic books. Dialouge is even displayed within speech bubbles that help forward the story without breaking the comic book mould.

]]> 04 Apr 2007 09:03:02 Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II is an arcade-style Formula One racing video game. Along with boasting the most realistic physics of any console driving game at the time of release, the game was also endorsed by the then Formula One champion Ayrton Senna. The game's development was also assisted by Senna, who supplies his own advice about the tracks featured in the game.

]]> 13 Dec 2006 11:27:10 F-22 Interceptor is a 1991 flight simulator created by Ned Lerner and Gene Kusmiak. It was released by Electronic Arts and Ingram Entertainment for the Mega Drive/Genesis.

The player controls one aircraft, the F-22 Raptor, throughout the game. At that time, the real aircraft was known as the YF-22 Lightning II, and had only first flown in 1990. Like LHX Attack Chopper, another flight simulator by EA, the playable aircraft had not yet been developed.

The player has three skill levels to choose from: Cadet, Training, and Combat. The player must then pick one of four campaigns: the USA, Korea, Iraq, and Russia. In each level, the player's F-22 is targeted by surface-to-air missiles, enemy aircraft, and artillery. The mission is to destroy the targets and complete the objectives using a wide range of missiles, from heat seeking missiles, precision-guided bombs, and chaffs. The aircraft is also given two cannons for engaging enemy targets.

At the end of each mission, the player is required to either land on a runway or an aircraft carrier. Sometimes in-flight refueling is needed to prevent the F-22 from crashing.

As the game progresses, the player will be able to unlock an Aces campaign, where he will face off with advanced pilots from North Korea, Iraq, Russia, and the US.

The game also had a rudimentary mission editor.

]]> 13 Dec 2006 11:08:38 Arrow Flash is a horizontal scrolling shooter video game created by Telenet in 1990 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. The game can be considered a multi-scrolling shooter, in that there are horizontal and vertically scrolling levels, although the ship does not change orientation when this happens.

Like many scrolling shooters, the player initially has a basic shot, which can be upgraded and/or exchanged for different weapons, as well as gain smaller ships that follow the player's ship around and copy its attacks. As is usual, these powerups are distributed throughout the levels, and are lost when the player dies.

Two additional mechanics differentiate Arrow Flash from similar scrolling shooters, one of which is that the ability to transform the player's ship. The two forms available are a humanoid mecha form and a typical jet form. The player's weapons change depending on the form. The jet form only shoots forward, while the the mecha form can fire diagonally; helper ships mimic the jet's actions but stay in a fixed formation behind the mecha. The game's titular "Arrow Flash" is a highly powerful attack for each form; the jet fires five large blasts forward, while the mecha form becomes engulfed in flame, rendering it immune to attack for a short while. Depending on the options set at the start of the game, arrow flashes are either required to be charged up with unlimited use or collected out on the field with no charge time.

]]> 13 Dec 2006 09:28:42 The third entry in Sega's smash-hit tennis franchise, designed for the advanced Lindbergh arcade board. AM3 developed the PS3 version of the game, Sega got Sumo Digital to get the Xbox 360 (w/ live), PC and PSP ported.

]]> 09 Dec 2006 05:41:52