Primal Rage

"Unleash Your Inner Rage!"

INTRO: Primal Rage was a successful arcade hit, so I have no idea why it is ridiculed on this review board. Coming to the console of course would be the next logical step for an arcade classic. Reading the other reviews it seems that they barely touched the surface of this game, because none of them accurately talk about the story or gameplay much. In my opinion PR is one of the best fighters on Genesis. But whatever you think of this game, don't believe it is supposed to be taken seriously or realistic in any fashion.

GRAPHICS: All of the characters are well drawn and original. Even though there are two apes and two tyrannosaurs, they are very distinguishable. All of the art is inspired very originally. The environments themselves are also well drawn. However the animations, although cool looking, are kinda slow and exaggerated looking. The attacks are definitely very cool. The animations show hurled puke and jumping and slashing dinos.
Score 8

SOUND: This might actually be the game's strongest category. All of the characters sound very appropriate. The sound effects are crisp and get the point across of what they are supposed to be doing. The music stands on it own too. Although none of the music is necessarily memorable it does suit the game very well for itself.
Score 10

CONTROLS: The controls are responsive and get the job done. PR utilizes all of the buttons for the Genesis controller. Moving your character is very efficient, and pulling off special moves is done better here than any where else, even MK.
Score 9

REPLAY: Primal Rage does feature both multiplayer vs. mode and a full cheat menu with the works. Of course playing your friends one on one is the best part of any fighter. Which is why arcades are so popular in this age. The cheats are pretty basic and won't really extend it's life to long, but they are still there. No unlockables are present that is halfway expected.
Score 8

STORY: Admittedly the story is pretty lame but you have to acknowledge it's depth. The basic jist is some cataclysmic meteorite event has happened on Earth, destroying everything but awakening ancient dinosaur gods. While this is happening an evil alien god comes to Earth named Vertigo, and an evil scientist turns himself into an unpolitically correct King Kong (Chaos). The surviving people decide to start worshipping the different gods, which are shown by barely noticeable people at the bottom of the screen. Now although it is very far fetched, it could be a B-movie.
Score 8

GAMEPLAY: Primal Rage is heavily based off powerful special ability attacks. Every character has 3 to 5 special attacks. These attacks have a wide range between fireballs to hurled green vomit. Every character has one life bar that can be set to handicaps. Besides the special attacks the single button attacks are pretty much straight forward lunge attacks. The one downfall here is there is very little involved with the combo system. Although combos are possible, PR is more of a game to where you set up the opponent for your special attacks. And I think that is what makes this game fun, simply because the special moves are so crazy and cool!
Score 10

BOTTOM LINE: Certainly Primal Rage is one of the most original and memorable fighters you will play on this system. Definitely rent first though because it is out there and for a mature audience.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/25/05