The Sega Genesis was released on August 14, 1989 as the follow-up to the Sega Master System. While the Master System was unable to attain widespread popularity in North America due to the overwhelming dominance of the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega was looking to fare better in the 16-bit generation. The Genesis was marketed to older gamers, promised near-perfect ports of Sega’s popular arcade titles, catered to sports fans, and was released a full 2 years before Nintendo’s 16-bit console. The Genesis dominated the early years of the 16-bit generation, but its market share was slowly eroded by the Super Nintendo in an epic console war that spilled out onto the schoolyards of America. The releases of the Sega CD and 32X were meant to enhance and extend the life span of the Genesis, but neither were the success that Sega had hoped for and both diluted the company’s focus on their core product. Sega all but dropped support for the Genesis when the Saturn was released in 1995, and this abandonment of their customer base is often cited as a reason for the subsequent lack of consumer confidence in Sega’s hardware. The Genesis had a 6 year active life span and sold over 30 million consoles worldwide.
Anyone who has played the original PGA Tour Golf on the Genesis will instantly feel at home with the sequel. This game still uses the same drop-down menu system and the exact same gameplay interface, and all of the options and game modes available in the original release have carried over. The graphics however have … Read more
This game could have been called “PGA Tour Golf II: European Edition.” Created using the PGA Tour Golf II engine, PGA European Tour is not so much a sequel but rather a modification of the previous installment. The interface and control are indistinguishable from PGA II; it’s only the content that differs. Instead of PGA … Read more
I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that PGA Tour Golf has a depth that rivals even today’s modern golf games. It was not only the first real golf sim on the Genesis, but the first in a long line of PGA titles from EA Sports. The game features 4 courses; TPC at … Read more
Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf was the first golf game released for the Genesis. Although the game bears his name and his picture graces the box art, aside from the title screen Arnold Palmer does not appear in the game. In the game’s “Tournament Mode”, you play 12 rounds of golf across three courses; United States, … Read more
I had high hopes for this game. The PGA Tour Golf series had no real competition on the Genesis in the form of other golf sims, so when I saw this game on the shelf at my local game store, my interest was piqued. You can choose from 4 courses; Scotland’s famous St. Andrews , … Read more
If NHL 94 is considered to be the hallmark of the series, then NHL 95 is the red-headed stepchild. Fans of the NHL franchise consider this game to be the low point of the series on the 16-bit platforms. EA chose to take the series in a slightly new direction by speeding up the game … Read more
NHL ’94 enjoys a cult following, and is even hailed by some as the best hockey game ever made. For this third installment Electronic Arts brought in a new programmer, Mark Lesser, to develop the game. Lesser had previously worked in the industry designing handheld electronic games for Mattel including Auto Race, which was … Read more
NHLPA Hockey ’93 is the second game in the franchise, and the follow-up to 1991’s NHL Hockey. The game was renamed to reflect the addition of actual player names instead of just using their numbers. While this is a welcome addition, EA apparently felt that they could only afford to pay for one license, so … Read more
NHL Hockey was the first hockey game to be released on a true 16-bit console, and until its release hockey fans had to make do with games like “TV Sports Hockey” on the Turbo Grafx 16 and “Blades of Steel” on the NES. NHL Hockey was a huge step forward from all previous hockey games. … Read more
Contra: Hard Corps should be one of the best games on the Genesis. In 1994, only a handful of memorable games were released for the system, and the Genesis could have used the help against the Super Nintendo’s increasing market share. Hard Corps has some of the most detailed and colorful graphics of any game … Read more
Today Mutant League Football’s violent game play seems silly and cartoonish, but back in 1993 it landed the game in hot water. MLF was caught up in the same furor as other titles like Mortal Kombat during the first real video gaming backlash in the early 90’s. Underneath the blood and guts however lies a … Read more