"Good, if not Great"

Altered Beast. An amazing piece of gaming glory, or just an example of drivel? Surely, it has to be the former rather than the latter statement that more accurately describes this game. Sure it seems basic but below the run of the mill surface is a game, which reeks of excellence.

Many may say that it’s mediocre and as a result, it was bundled in free with the system. I beg to differ. Sure the music on the most part is scant but there’s to a game than just the music. Besides, when you get that final power-up and the words “Power Up!” ring forth, the music is classic.

Keeping with the sound aspect of the game, yes it sounds as if the main character is being suffocated in a tin of dog meat but the speech is limited and this is Mega Drive/Genesis we’re speaking about, not a PS2. Anyway, there aren’t whole hordes of games on the system that have speech and the ones that do sound bad. On Moonwalker, Michael Jackson sounded like a cat being drowned in a saucer of milk but it didn’t take away from the game itself in any way.

The game itself is an original take on the side-scrolling beat ‘em up genre. There are very few, if any games at all let alone in this genre, which are by and large about Gods. Another original trait is the power-up’s. Sure Mario had his mushrooms and flowers etc but he didn’t physically gain muscle and height. All he did was get fatter. Also, having got the last power-up and turning into a beast gave an air of greatness to the player, as they knew what devastation and chaos they were about to dispatch. That feeling is rare! Another thing was the cut scene when the metamorphosis from man into beast occurred. This kind of thing didn’t really appear in games too much and it just served to pump the player up even more.

The bosses were also something else entirely, as they are completely nuts to look at and on your first goes, hard to vanquish. Launching eyeballs and the like in your direction was, at first glance, funny yet original. Not that it bothered you too much because you knew you were a beast and you had the power to beat this fiend.

With all that said, there are flaws in the game, most notably the size. Yeah, I know it can’t possibly be 100+ hours of gameplay but the Mega Drive could and did have larger games. I know it was an older game but I really think more could have been done. Also, as I have said before, the music isn’t a lot to be desired and we all know the Mega Drive was capable of stunning music (Streets of Rage, Sonic anyone?) and I think more could have been done to make the music a little more noticeable and memorable.

I also feel that the enemies could have been a little more challenging as they are slain quicker than a child with a Jar Jar Binks doll thus making the game even quicker to complete.

All in all, this is a tremendous game that never loses its allure over time. Older games will appreciate it more than the younger generation. However, it isn’t perfect and is easily completed in mere hours, if that.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/28/03, Updated 01/28/03