Lethal Weapon

"Games like this one drove Ocean out of business."

Seasoned gamers know the score when it comes to licensed games: because of the franchise, the programmers don't have to try as hard so they usually don't. Most of us accept that and are prepared to put up with flaws we otherwise wouldn't because we're fond of whatever the game is based on. But there are games that not only fall below our benevolently lowered standard but come without a single redeeming feature, and Lethal Weapon is one of those games.

In my reviews, I always give points for effort because I believe that dedication should be appreciated even if it doesn't always come out right. But Lethal Weapon isn't an ambitious project that collapsed under its own weight or a promising game that runs out of steam somewhere in the middle because of a deadline that wasn't being met. No, it's a game that was conceived from the start as a shameless licence cash-in and never aspired to anything more than that. In my book, this is as low as a publisher can get and since Ocean had specialised in such rip-offs, I don't find it the least bit regrettable that games like Lethal Weapon drove them out of business in the late 1990's.

Amazingly enough, Lethal Weapon isn't bad just as a game, it's an example of poor licence exploitation, as well. Apart from the cover picture an a few other digitised images of Riggs, Murtaugh and Leo Getz scattered throughout the game (there are a few soundbytes from the film, too, but they're distorted and their pitch isn't quite right), there is nothing that would link the game to Lethal Weapon franchise, not even an intro animation telling "the story so far". Visually, the levels don't resemble the settings from any of the films, nor do the enemies, and the Probotector-style two player co-operative mode, which should've been a no-brainer for the developers, is missing. You are able to switch between Riggs and Murtaugh, but they play exactly the same (they're not, however, equally badly animated).

Though not by intention, the absence of the two-player mode is actually a blessing in disguise as Lethal Weapon's painfully repetitive stages with platforms and other elements scattered about seemingly at random would only double the amount of time wasted and frustration caused. And if you think you can deal with monotony, there are other reasons why you should pass up Lethal Weapon, such as damage caused by off-screen enemies, unpredictable environment, and poor placement of respawn points. I don't mind a challenge as long as the game allows for a fair one; conversely, my patience quickly comes to an end when the designers try to make you spend more time finishing a scandalously short game by means of cheap tricks, such as leading you to a dead end and making you spend a clip or two and likely a fair bit of health, too, without rewarding you in any way in the end. At the same time, the AI in Lethal Weapon is so basic that it takes the enemies forever to respond to your actions, if they respond at all: you may jump over and behind an active enemy and he will often continue to shoot in the direction you came from. Such uninvolved and downright lazy programming would be unacceptable coming from any developer but considering how many platformers Ocean made over the years, giving them ample time and opportunity to develop and fine-tune a game engine, it's all the more outrageous.

For me to complain about graphics, the game must be spectacularly ugly but looking much like late-generation 8-bit titles, Lethal Weapon really is a shame to the SNES platform. The colour depth may well be slightly richer and there are a few digitised images lifted directly from the film but that doesn't change the fact that I've played NES and Master System games that looked considerably better. Never mind the single-layer parallax scrolling of practically empty backgrounds and offensively poor sprite animations causing the otherwise elegant Murtaugh to look like an 80-year old barefoot cotton picker, the game's poor resolution and universally dark colour palette are hindering the gameplay itself as certain enemies simply don't stand out from the background enough for you to see them, resulting in more cheap hits as you run into them or land on them. But most of all, the game can't hide that it was designed by people without any sort of sense of aesthetic, which is much more detrimental to is overall look than any technical shortcoming.

I do wish I were making this up or bashing the game unfairly because I didn't like it but I'm afraid I'm being realistic if not reserved about Lethal Weapon. Honestly, the only half-decent features of the game are its reasonably responsive controls, serviceable collision detection, and some of its music (well balanced with a few horrible tunes) but apart from those, it's a rushed, incredibly bland product developed without any spirit or passion and with the sole purpose of making a quick buck before the word spreads. I hope I'm not too late.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 05/18/05