Comix Zone

"This is what happens when the main guy is called 'Sketch'"

One of Sega's 'last generation' titles developed inhouse, Comix Zone was to be the 'comic book game'. As the oh-so-generic Sketch Turner ('Sketch'? Who in their right mind would want to be called Sketch is beyond me), who is coincidentally
1. a martial arts master
2. an ice tea drinker
and 3. one bad mutha
you must stop the bad guy who has somehow come to life by having lightning strike the comic Sketch is writing (and in a walled, windowed room, too! Wow.).. and has sent Turner straight into the stereotypical comic book world he has designed, with guys who strangely look like each other while pulling switches, pulling off one-liners, and throwing paper airplanes with the best of them.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Graphics - 6/10
Not good, but not bad, either. It does kinda LOOK like a comic, and the backgrounds look cool. Characters aren't terribly detailed, and the bad guy himself fails to look menacing (he has a revolver and smokes a pipe, for God's sake), but graphics are ok.

Music/Sound - 5/10
Music is the closest you will come to Rock music on a 16-bit system. Some of the tracks are memorable (I personally love the final battle music) but a lot of them are just horrible. Sound is made up of generic grunts, groans, and bangs. Voice-acting is rather generic, but remember that this is a Genesis we're talking about.

Control - 8/10
The control is pretty good, and allows you to provide a variety of actions with three simple buttons. Be warned, though: this game is better played on a six-button gamepad. One of the worst grievances is that in order to pick up items, you must use the C button.. but on a 3-button gamepad, that alleviates one of the buttons used normally for combat. Meep.

Content/Gameplay - 4/10
What the game basically comes down to is beating the crap out of enemies that strangely look pretty similiar to each other after awhile, flipping some switches, jumping some platforms, and fighting a boss every now and then.
This gets VERY repetitive, and not in that good 'mindless hardcore action' repetitive way. More like a 'oh boy, we're gonna do a Final Fight-ish take by fighting more guys who look the same and fight the same, with cheaply done music in the bg to boot!'
On the other hand, the game can be quite challenging in certain areas: specificically, some of the bosses, and some of the enclosed fighting areas. But challenge factor is not necessarily what a gameplayer is completely looking for anymore in a game.

Replay - 3/10
There are alternate paths to take through some of the levels, but these don't change the outcome of the game at all. There are also two alternate endings, but I doubt you want to play through the game twice just to see what both are.

Overall - 5
Comix Zone is another brainless game. Beat it once (or twice, if you really must see both endings) and then toss it into the trash.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 06/22/01, Updated 06/22/01