"If you're reading this, then they taken over!"

Its true, the Genesis version does not have that exact sound bit which would be nice, but anyway, I don't understand why there is so much hatred for this game, and this port. I honestly think the SNES port is the worst, with the Saturn coming in at a distant second due to bad framerate. This like Sonic 3D blast gets so much hate that I don't understand.

Graphics 8/10

Since this was a game with so much going on in the arcade version, the screen resolution had to be shrunk down to a manageable size, so many screens are smaller, and the range of where you fight the NON army is further apart in many cases. It does not effect gun accuracy so I guess that is a good thing. The animations for when you destroy things in your path are very simple. For example if you destroy a tank, it blows in to big pieces which is an interesting touch, and there is animations on enemies that had been cut from the arcade. The best part about the cut animations and graphics is that it looks good because it does not even try to be like the arcade like the SNES version did which messed everything up, and the smaller resolution means things are gong to look better. To be honest with you I think the games graphics looks comparable to the arcade if you don't compare the resolution of the arcade monitor. Overall I like the Genesis version of the graphics the best since it does not have those in your face zoom ups of the enemies which I didn't really like that much.

SFX and Music 8/10

Like I said, I am a big fan of chiptunes for a reason, and this game is an example of why. The arcade soundtrack is shoved to the side compared to the gritty sounds and music of this version of the game. I tell you, the boss battle theme for example is a lot better than the arcade version. Like I said, genesis game music has that gritty attitude you can't mess with. Hell, even "Dude looks like a Lady" sounds much better in 16-Bit, and its refreshing to hear this version since the normal version was overused enough back in the 90s.......I think. You can downsize commercial music to a 16-bit console if you know how to do it right, and here is an good example. Only down side is that one of my favorite lines from this game has been taken out and that's, "Wake up! The Revolution has begun! Generation X is in effect!" Sound effects are interesting. I like the sound it makes when you throw a CD, it sounds like an 16-bit explosive being launched at someone, and the gun sounds may be one of the weakest sounds out there, but its not a bad thing actually. Digitized voices sound great. One of the few games on the Genesis that has voice samples to begin with, and the small motion videos that play in Aerosmith's car, and the dressing room of Club X is on par with the Sega CD video codec so everything is well.

Controls 8/10

Well, I have to say that for a controller it worked out well. Many people think that since this is a light gun game, then you need the Sega Menacer to play this game properly, but its really not the case. The regular controls work smoothly, and the menacer will not work anyway what I understand. I think it would have been smart to implement light gun support for the game since this game is hard to beat without playing a two player game or infinite credits as it is so I wonder what up with the logic in that, but the controls are still fine.

Story 7/10

"You have no choice, you have no voice." A mysterious paramilitary or powerful corporate organization that goes by the name "New Order Nation", not to be confused with New World Nation or even WCW's NWO heh. Anyway, their leader, Helga wants to create a totalitarian world where there is no music, entertainment or anything else that people consider fun. There is a secret concert that is going to happen at Club X, and you are to be there to start the Revolution to take back the World from these forces that call themselves NON. From here the story begins. Not a bad story, and it gives you a reason to mindlessly shoot at NON soldiers, mutants, tribal men, and even power ranger reject ninjas.

Gameplay 8/10

I honestly don't understand why this gets so much bad mouthing. Its like your typical scrolling shooter that goes left, right, and even up, though in the arcade version you will go down as well, but here, you shoot countless NON soldiers with a gun, and even throw CDs at them. Hey, when they did say music is the weapon, it is. Apparently the NON soldiers and drones don't like music to the point where the CDs even kill and explode on contact on them. These destructive CDs can even cause havoc on NON property which in turn gives you even more points if you care about high scores. My only problem with that gun is that its too weak at times, and I wish they give you infinite CDs since you will be using a combination of both, and you will need to or else you will die much faster. Their is no way to block enemy attacks so you pretty much have to take it, and hope you have enough continues to get through the game. Then again the ending is nothing special so your not missing out on much, even if you do manage to find members of the Aerosmith Band and you get a hey you got your wings for saving us message, but I had not seen that ending on the Genesis version.

Part 2

There is more to do than just shoot and shoot some more. This game rewards you by freeing captive scantly clad women who like to dance seductively in cages in the first level in the game and elsewhere, and even find members of Aerosmith who got captured by the NON at Club X. As for finding them, good luck because they are just as hard as finding a needle in the haystack. I heard a rumor from a friend I had back when I was 10 years of age who I borrowed this game from, that you even have to shoot the sky in some area to find one of the people you can rescue. That is crazy, because that made me realize that finding members of Aerosmith is as tough as I thought in this game, and you are better off just worrying about shooting through it, and getting to the end since after NON is gone, things return to normal anyway. Not that I believe the rumor, but I would not be surprised at such crazy game design.

Overall 8/10

There you have it. The game is really not bad. I remember back in 1998 when I even took a sick day from school one day just to play this game, and X-Men 2 which I borrowed from a friend at the time. I mean, I guess I'm the only that like this game that much during the time for me to even think of doing such a thing. I honestly who else even like this game besides me, and that other review who gave it a 10/10 which I even think was ridiculous in scoring.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/11/11, Updated 06/06/11

Game Release: Revolution X (US, 1995)