Mad Dog McCree

"My first FMV, and almost my last..."

Mad Dog McCree for the Sega CD takes place in the Old West and is about a pompous gangster who takes over a town by kidnapping the town's mayor and his daughter and locking the sheriff in his own jail. Like taking cheese from a borderline-retarded mouse (feel free to make sense of the previous statement). Well, on with the review...

GRAPHICS: 7/10

Unlike other FMV games of it's time, the actual FMV part of Mad Dog McCree takes up the entire screen (as opposed to 1/4). The only problem is that some of the things you are supposed to shoot (everything besides the people) blend in with the background too well and have distorted colors which make them look like other objects. Other than that, the graphics are ok.

SOUND: 4/10

This is where the game takes a dive. The only sound effects are gunshots and the sound of people falling. Now the voice acting sounds like something out of a movie with a budget of the amount of money you'd find as pocket change for an oompa-loompa. In other words, the voice acting is terrible. Then again, there always is the mute button...

MUSIC: 0/10

There is no music in the game. There is a very short audio clip (3 or 4 seconds) that comes right before a duel. The real downside is that music would have really helped the game.

GAMEPLAY: 3/10

Here is how the game plays: You start out by practicing shooting some bottles which remain perfectly still. Easy? No. This is one of the places where objects you are supposed to shoot blend in with the background. You also get a feel of the controls which are pretty simple. If you have the Menacer then you're even better off. If you have a controller then it's still pretty easy. One button shoots and the other two speed up the cursor. Pretty simple. But that is ALL you do is shoot bad guys and the occasional object. I know it sounds like I'm stereotyping shooting games here, but THIS shooting game is very slow paced. Nothing is unexpected. You KNOW when you're going to be shot and even where from. This is due to the game pausing for about a second before you're shot at. There is also the occasional duel where you must reload, then shoot someone else before they do. This is easy to do because of the pausing. You also get only three lives which are depleted after getting shot only once. The upside is that you have unlimited continues.
REPLAY VALUE: 6/10

This game actually has some replayability mainly because there is no save feature and getting through the entire game in one sitting isn't likely. Better get out a snack and something to drink, you're gong to need it.

RENT/BUY

Well, unless your local rental store is in major need of a new inventory, then I doubt you'd be able to buy the game. Buy only if your a die hard shooting game fan or a completist.

OVERALL: 5/10

Behind the bugs and the lousy voice acting lies a semi-playable game which can provide entertainment to a degree. Remember, if possible, get your hands on a Menacer in order to improve your gaming experience. All in all, I recommend you buy the game even if it's just for a few minutes of fun.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/02, Updated 10/15/02