Action 52

"Fun for a while, and much better than the NES version, but still not up to scratch."

Introduction
If you've ever played Action 52 for the NES, you'll probably associate this title with bad graphics, nonexistent gameplay, and horrible sound, as well as baseless games. Like the NES 'game', it's an unlicensed cartridge. However, unlike its 1991 sibling, this game shows some promise, and has some games which are actually challenging and fun to play, as well as re mastered versions of games which were found on the original Action 52. Not much has changed in the basic concept, but I can assure you, Action 52 for the Genesis is better in nearly every way, if sometimes minutely, and so, here is the bulk of the review, in order from the least important factors to the most important.

-=Graphics=- (4/10)
Not really much to look at here, and most of it looks like it was done in MS Paint, but the Genesis version's graphics, much unlike the original, actually enable the player to play the game and not cringe in terror, as well as allowing the player to actually distinguish what, exactly, it is he or she is controlling. Some of the graphics were anti-aliased, but this was actually physically done to the sprites (examples of this can be found in the game ''Sidewinder''), thereby showing an ugly white outline. For 1993, it could have been much better, but overall, it isn't all that bad, though bad enough to warrant this rating.

-=Sound=- (7/10)
The sounds in Action 52 for the Genesis aren't really much to sneeze at, but there are quite a few PCM clips which don't sound too bad for its time, and the music, though reeking of bad instrument choice, is actually very nice, and well composed, as a mixture of dance and techno style music, as well as the diversity of the tracks, which is mostly what gives this game a 7 in my eyes.

-=Control=- (7/10)
Vastly improved from its NES predecessor, the controls are easy to learn and work with, and are overall quite responsive. Usually, only one button is used, however, which is alright, given the simplicity of the games included in the package. As with the NES version, exiting to the menu is handled through the start button, however, this time, instead of Select, C, the most commonly used button in this compilation, is used. I dock it marks mainly because it's TOO simple, and will leave you feeling like they could have done something more with A or B.

-=Gameplay=- (5/10)
Not very good gameplay here. Most of the enemy AI is just as bad as the original Action 52, and the basic gameplay has been transferred over. However, there are more than enough game modes to tie you over, and since most of them aren't absolutely terrible like the original Action 52, it seems to balance out, though there are a few games in there that have little to no gameplay whatsoever, such as the ''Sharpshooter'' game, which is basically a rehash of the ''Shooting Gallery'' of the NES game (which, for those who don't know, is basically a game where you cannot be killed, and simply shoot at targets moving randomly around in a field at the top of the screen). There are multiplayer games, however, and while some may seem boring, others are quite interesting, including a nice looking strategy type game.

-=Replay Value=- (3/10)
As many games as there are here, they're all fairly short and pointless. You'll lose interest fairly quickly, and you'll mostly only want to play this compilation to compare it to its predecessor, as I've been doing a lot in this review. However, these scores are based on my own scale, and not in comparison to the original NES cartridge, which was actually made by Action, not Active.

Rent or Buy?
If you're going to play it, then rent it, definitely. If you're into the mini-game kind of thing, then by all means, buy it, but personally, I wouldn't waste my money on this game.

SCORE RECAP:
-Graphics: 4/10
-Sound: 7/10
-Control: 7/10
-Gameplay: 5/10
-Replay Value: 3/10
-Average: 5/10

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 05/22/03, Updated 05/22/03