(Arcade, Capcom, 1992)This classic scrolling brawler is based on Mark Schultz awesome 80's comic "Xenozoic Tales" which became a animated series in the early 90's and then got the Capcom button basher treatment around the same time.
Xenozoic Tales followed the adventures of mechanic Jack Tenrec and the gorgeous Hannah Dundee in a post-apocalyptic world where Dinosaurs had returned to the earth. Some aspects of the storyline are reminiscent of the Fallout series, with the whole "Armageddon 50's chic" going on.
In the game, one to three players pick from the four characters available and rush headlong into fisticuffs with a gang of Mad Max style punks who are experimenting with Dinosaurs to find a way to harness their prehistoric power, possibly even making human/dino hybrids. Our heroes being the righteous sort of lot, plan to stop them, kind of like a post-apocalyptic PETA I guess.
Using the the same engine as their previous brawler Captain Commando, Capcom run their usual m.o of sticking the player in the middle of masses of badguys and bosses and letting them do their thing. The game has a big arsenal of weaponry and many firearms and explosives to hand, very occasionally, the pimped out Cadillac will pull alongside for backup. Attacking the dinosaurs turns them green, then they fight alongside you. What this says for animal abuse I'm not sure, maybe next time I see an animal, I'll punch it in the face, then it'll side with me, I'll let you know how that works out.
C&D captures its comic origins well, with a similar art style, bright pastel colours and the use of comic style sounds effects for explosions and gunfire, RATATATTAT! Similar effects would be employed in Capcom's later Punisher game. C&D also has one of the best "Continue?" sequences known to man. Capcom sure loved those brutal Game Over screens.
Like most games of this type, C&D is still fun to play with friends and a nice way to while away a half-hour if your having a MAME session. It sits in the middle of the early 90's scrolling brawler league table, not quite as deep as Alien Vs Predator but still entertaining all the same.
If you're into comics, I encourage you to check out Xenozoic Tales, I think it's a cool series and anyone who knows me well would know that if I had a Weird Science machine, a Hannah-alike would be the girl who steps out of it.
She sizzles my bacon.
No comments:
Post a Comment