"Interesting idea for a platform/beat 'em up that may be worth looking into..."

Even though the Saturn should have been SEGA's top priority at this time, some SEGA folk were still willing to make games for the Megadrive, and this was proven with the released or Comix Zone.

The story is that Sketch Turner, a comic book artist, is zapped into his own comic book after a strange incident involving lightning. The evil Mortis, the bad guy of Sketch's comic, has been transported outside of the book and plans to take over the world. But first, he has to make sure Sketch does not survive since Sketch is the only one who could destroy Mortis.

Sketch is trapped in his comic book with his pet rat Roadkill. To survive Sketch must make his way from panel to panel, solving basic puzzles and defeating enemies. Sketch has a range of special moves and combos to use on enemies, plus some weapons such as dynamite, knives and even Roadkill.

The stages, which there are 3 of, are all quite large and are made like a comic book. Enemies can morph in and sometimes Mortis will draw them in himself, which makes your life harder. All of the enemies take a lot of hits and can attack back themselves.

In the stages there are various traps and puzzles to get past or solve, such as moving boxes around and using switches or destroying grinders. Some parts of the stages even have multiple routes so you can come back and play out the other route when you have done the stage. Get to the near end or end of the stage and you'll face off against a boss, who is more powerful and has much more health than a normal enemy.

The music for Comix Zone is all right, with some interesting tunes that play during the game. The sound effects aren't that great, but the voice samples are really well done and sound really clear. The game originally came with a sound track CD so you can listen to the tunes from the game if you have it.

Sketch has a limited amount of life, and once it decreases to nothing, Sketch dies, and it's the end of the game. Sketch can't get extra lives, just continues, which are very limited. I think you can only get about 2 in total. So you can say the game is a bit hard, but thankfully you can get a health item at some points in the game.

Comix Zone supports the 6 button pad, but the game is still playable with a 3 button one. The D-pad moves Sketch around, and the buttons all have functions, such as jump, attack and use item.

The graphics for the game are quite good, with clear sprites and some colourful effects. Each of the sprites moves around quite well and the game doesn't slow down. The stages are all set at different locations and they all change scenes whilst playing, as long as you can get that far.

The game is quite repetitive though and it's difficulty is it's down fall. It's not as fun as games like Alisia Dragoon and Strider, even though it looks better. But graphics aren't everything. Comix Zone could have been better, and it's still enjoyable now, but isn't as good as some older Megadrive games in the same genre.

Rating: 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/05/05