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Sega Genesis
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Altered Beast |
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| Developer: Sega Publisher: Sega Genre: Action Released: 08/14/1989 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
| Fans of Nintendo's home consoles were treated to top-quality pack-in games during the 8- and 16-bit years. Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and Super Mario World are among the best games on their respective systems, and were included with the systems to add extra incentive to purchase the console. Among the titles available for the Genesis at the time of its launch, Alex Kidd in Miracle World seems like the more logical choice due to its broader appeal. But Sega was trying to clearly differentiate it's fledgling console from the NES juggernaut by showing that it was capable of reproducing the arcade experience at home, and by marketing it to an older audience. Altered Beast was included with the console because it helped to accomplish both of those goals. The game is an arcade-style, side-scrolling action game in which the hero, a Roman centurion brought back from the grave to rescue Zeus' kidnapped daughter, battles mutants and undead creatures whose huge detailed sprites show off the Genesis' graphical prowess. A clear contrast exists between the dark violence of Altered Beast and the cartoony cuteness of the Super Mario series. Still, the game is extremely short and the game play repetitive and slow-paced. Although each level is unique in style and appearance, the game play remains the same; kill enemies with physical attacks until enough power-ups have been obtained to trigger a boss battle. The graphics are detailed and flicker-free, but the games music and sound effects are uninteresting at best. Altered Beast is not even one of the top 3 launch games for the Genesis, and definitely falls toward the bottom of the Genesis library as a whole. Fans looking for a good side-scroller at launch could choose from the aforementioned Alex Kidd or Ghouls N' Ghosts, and now have a myriad of great Genesis titles to choose from, Altered Beast clearly not among them. |
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| Buy Altered Beast on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review Date: 01/22/2010
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Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf |
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| Developer: Sega Publisher: Sega Genre: Sports/Golf Released: 12/31/1989 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
| 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, Great Britain, and Japan. By earning money completing rounds of golf, you can upgrade your clubs to increase your distance. In "Practice Mode", you can play a round of golf on any course or select individual holes to practice on, and you can use any of the sets of clubs. Like some of the old 8-bit golf games, APTG does not display the ranges of your clubs on the screen, so you either have to memorize the distances of your clubs, or look it up in the manual. While this is an inconvenience in comparison to newer golf titles, I think it adds a bit of realism to the game, and there is an added satisfaction after a great shot in knowing that you selected the correct club. I do wish however that the game would tell you how far your shot went after you hit it, which would help you to learn the distance ranges of your clubs. Before each shot, your caddy will tell you how many yards you have left to the pin. Later, as you progress through the tournament, your caddy's skill will increase so that they can tell you the distance to various landmarks, which aids in club selection. The game's controls are very forgiving, as it is impossible to hook or slice a ball unless you adjust your player's stance. Putting is also fairly easy, and uses the same matrix of arrows popular in 8-bit golf games. The graphics are nothing great, but the players are large and detailed, and the scenery is far from ugly. The perspective in the 3D view seems a little bit off, but it's workable. While the sound effects sound anything but realistic, the music is nice, and there are four BGM tracks to choose from (or you can just shut it off.) While Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf is primitive in comparison to later golf titles, you can definitely see the progression from the 8-bit generation. It isn't the best golf game on the Genesis, but its arcade-like feel makes it a lot of fun, and hidden gems like the Fantasy Zone mini-game and Alex Kidd putting during "Coffee Breaks" add to the enjoyment and ambiance. |
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| Buy Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review Date: 07/25/2009
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Blockout |
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| Developer: California Dreams Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Puzzle Released: 1991 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
| Although Welltris was the official sequel to Tetris, Blockout seems like more of a logical extension of the classic puzzle game. Blockout features a top-down view of a 3D well. As with Tetris, Blockout pieces are made up of smaller cubes, and the object of the game is to clear completed levels made up of these cubes. The sides of the well are marked and each level of cubes has its own color, making it easier to determine which level each cube is in. The game has three standard game modes, each of which use their own block sets and well dimensions. The easiest, "Flat Fun" uses a 5x5x12 well and flat pieces. "3D Mania" uses a set of 3D blocks and a smaller well. Finally, "Out of Control" mode uses the "extended" block set, which is a 3D set made up of more complicated, chiral 3D pieces. You can also set up a custom game, setting the well depth anywhere from 3 to 12 cubes, setting the well floor to a width and height of anywhere from 3 to 7 cubes on each side, and you can choose any of the three block sets. The flat block set more closely resembles the tetronimos in Tetris, the basic set is a 3 dimensional extension of the flat set, and the extended set is a 3D set made up of more complicated shapes that I found a bit too complicated to be much fun. Blockout has a steep learning curve as you have to learn to use all three buttons on the Genesis controller to rotate your pieces in three dimensional space, as well as the start button to drop your current piece to the bottom of the well. Blockout has simple but colorful graphics that do little to take advantage of the Genesis' capabilities but that present the game well. There is no background music during gameplay, and the music that plays at other times sounds like a something that EA might have borrowed from one of their sports titles. Still, puzzle games aren't played for their razzle-dazzle graphics and unique music, and what Blockout does it does well. This is a game that should appeal to any Tetris fans looking for something that offers a new angle on the classic formula. |
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| Buy Blockout on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review Date: 09/07/2009 |
| Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday |
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| Developer: Strategic Simulations Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: RPG Released: 1991 |
Rarity: Uncommon Value: $$ |
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Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday is a science fiction-themed turn-based role-playing game developed by Strategic Simulations, a company known primarily for it's "Gold Box" series of computer games based on the world of Dungeons & Dragons. You begin the game by creating a party of 6 characters, choosing their race and class and rolling their stats. Contrary to what you might expect you do not play as Buck Rogers, whose only presence in the game comes in the form of infrequent cameo appearances, giving your party an "attaboy" after you finish major missions. As members of the "New Earth Organization" (NEO) you help fight the "Russo-American Mercantile" (RAM), who is trying to destroy the earth using a mega weapon called the "Doomsday Laser". The game features an interesting assortment of armaments, including classic melee weapons like swords paired with futuristic accoutrements like the needle gun and laser pistol. The combat system uses a grid-based battlefield on which you strategically move your characters, not unlike a simpler version of Final Fantasy Tactics. In addition to ground combat, you square off against RAM warships in your rocketship, the "Malestorm Rider," in random battles that occur while flying between planets or orbiting space stations. These space battles are also turn-based and allow you to maneuver and repair your ship as well as attack with multiple weapons. Countdown to Doomsday is simple compared to modern RPGs, and bears more resemblance to classic pencil-and-paper games. Short, at only about 10 hours, Buck Rogers is not the epic tale that would later come to define the genre, but is an excellent title in the style of the classic computer role-playing game. |
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| Buy Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 03/12/2010 |
Caesars Palace |
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Developer: Illusions Gaming Company Publisher: Virgin Interactive Genre: Casino Released: 03/1993 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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Caesars Palace features 8 games - scratchers (more on those later), slot machines, video poker, blackjack, roulette, craps, keno, and horse racing. The horse racing game immediately caught my eye because you don't normally see that in a casino-based video game. You can look at the stats for each horse as well as results from previous races to aid you in placing bets, which adds to the realism. Unfortunately you don't get to watch a simulated horse race; a small animation appears on the television screen above the betting stations showing two horses running. After a minute or so, a screen pops up showing the results and your winnings, if any. ATM machines are scattered throughout the casino, allowing you to check your balance, obtain a password (the game doesn't use a battery-based save system), and peruse through all of the game's sound effects and music, an odd but cool inclusion. ATM machines also allow you to buy any of three types of scratcher lottery tickets. Each scratcher has a theme, but they all boil down to minesweeper-style gameplay. Each costs $100, and the payoff depends on how many spots on the ticket you can scratch off before you uncover a bomb. You must cash in the ticket before you uncover a bomb, or you will lose the whole $100. Your character can walk throughout the casino, playing any at any machine or table. The game feels weird though, in that you are completely alone in the casino, which doesn't even have dealers standing at the tables. This is the only major complaint I have with the game. The interior of the casino looks great, and Tommy Tallarico's music and sound effects contribute to the ambiance, but the fact that it's totally empty really detracts from the overall atmosphere. I don't see what the big deal would have been with throwing a few animated sprites in there. Nevertheless, Caesars Palace is a solid gambling game that should satisfy the highest of rollers. |
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Review
Date: 07/11/2010 |
Contra: Hard Corps |
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Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami Genre: Action Released: 9/14/1994 |
Rarity: Uncommon Value: $$ |
| 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 on the system, along with near perfect controls, interesting level
design, and a wide variety of enemies. Everything appears to be in place
for this game to become a classic, until you actually play it. Contra:
Hard Corps gives Turrican a run for its money as the most needlessly difficult
game on the Genesis. The game is virtually unplayable, and I was forced
to wonder why in the world Konami would release the game without fixing
it. Then I played the original Japanese version, which cleared things
up. Originally, the player had a life bar which allowed for three hits
before death, while the US and PAL versions use 1-hit deaths. I then understood
why the American version seemed so hard, but I was confused as to why
Konami would remove the life bar and thereby ruin the game, especially
considering that Japanese games are usually dumbed down for American audiences.
To put things into perspective, this is equivalent to the Japanese version
starting the player off with 9 lives per game instead of three, or 45
lives instead of 15 over the course of the allowed 5 continues. While
still challenging, the life bar makes the game infinitely more playable.
As it stands, the game is only really playable either by using cheat codes
or by adopting a monk-like existence wherein you play this game 16 hours
per day until you have mastered it. A more "hardcore" player
than myself would argue that the game is just very challenging and requires
more practice, but there is a fine line between being challenging and
being difficult purely for its own sake. Contra: Hard Corps is unbalanced
to the point of being unenjoyable. |
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| Buy Contra: Hard Corps on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review Date: 05/01/2009
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Hardball |
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Developer: Accolade Publisher: Accolade Genre: Sports/Baseball Released: 1991 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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I have a bit of a soft spot for Accolade as they were the first company to reverse engineer the Genesis in order to figure out how to release unlicensed software. That "Produced or Licensed by Sega" message you see when you fire up your Genesis? That was a product of Sega's lawsuit against Accolade. They were the original bad ass of the 16-bit generation, much like Tengen was during the NES days. This unfortunately does not mean that their games were always good, and Hardball suffers from multiple problems. Although the graphics are colorful, the animation is poor, the umpire's voice is loud and grating, and the music loops nonstop (although this can be turned off in the options menu.) On offense, you have to manually advance all of your runners whenever the ball is hit, and it is seemingly impossible to manufacture any runs. On defense the game automatically selects a fielder for you when the opposing team hits the ball but unfortunately often selects the wrong fielder. Players can not dive to grab a ball that is just out of reach, and catching fly balls in the outfield is unnecessarily difficult because it's hard to tell where the ball is going to come down. The most glaring problem with this game however is the lack of any kind of season mode. Your choices are to play a single game, or to play in the World Series. Not playoffs, just the World Series. This is inexcusable in a 16-bit baseball simulator. The lack of MLB and MLBPA licenses means that no team names or logos are present, so the teams are identified by city only and the players all have fictitious names. This game isn't so bad that I wouldn't play it if it was the only baseball game I had, and in fact it kind of grew on me while I was playing it for this review, but it is the worst baseball game I have played on the Genesis up to this point. When it was released in 1991, a gamer looking for a baseball game could choose between this, Tommy Lasorda Baseball, and RBI Baseball 3. None of them are spectacular, but this is definitely the worst of the three. The best thing about it was that it came with a bunch of glossy cards advertising other Accolade games. |
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| Buy Hardball on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review Date: 04/30/2009
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Joe Montana Football |
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Developer: Electronic Arts Publisher: Sega Genre: Sports/Football Released: 01/1991 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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Joe Montana Football was intended to be the first football game available on the Genesis, but due to various development problems the game was released one month after John Madden Football. Developed by Electronic Arts, the game was not meant to be a direct competitor to their own Madden franchise. Rather, Joe Montana Football provides a lighter, more approachable arcade-style experience not unlike the Tecmo Bowl series. Emphasis is placed on the passing game which results in bigger plays and more prolific scoring, and frequent turnovers mean that each side gets a high number of possessions. The game makes use of a passing window that is called up after the ball is snapped, and shows a pseudo-first person perspective through the QB's facemask. You can cycle between the 3 receivers to find the open man before throwing the ball. Unlike other arcade-style football games like Tecmo Bowl, this game features a pro-caliber playbook on both sides of the ball which makes Joe Montana Football feel more realistic than other games of its ilk. Three game modes are available; "Normal" is a single game against an opponent of your choice, "2:00 Drill" puts you in the classic Joe Montana situation where your team is behind by 7 with 2 minutes to go, and "Sega Bowl" is a 4-round playoff culminating in Sega's version of the Super Bowl. As is common with sports games from early in the 16-bit era, it is not possible to play through a season. The game does not have an adjustable difficulty setting, but the Sega Bowl mode is significantly more challenging than normal mode, which can get boring for a seasoned player. The game runs a bit more smoothly than Madden, perhaps due to the simpler graphics, which while colorful and pleasant to look at, are not as detailed. Outside of the visuals, any comparison between the two games would be one of apples and oranges. Joe Montana Football stands on its own as a great arcade-style football game. |
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| Buy Joe Montana Football on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review Date: 11/22/2009 |
Mega Turrican |
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| Developer: Factor 5 Publisher: Data East Genre: Action Released: 1994 |
Rarity: Uncommon Value: $$ |
| When reviewing Mega Turrican, the obvious comparisons to be made are between this game and both the original Turrican and Contra: Hard Corps. Mega Turrican is what the first Turrican should have been. The game is actually the third in the series, as Turrican II was only released on select home computer systems. The game starts off with a much-improved remix of the original title music played during an opening sequence that presents the storyline. The excellent music is in fact one of the game's great strengths, especially considering that the first Turrican was completely devoid of any BGM whatsoever. The visuals are also a huge improvement in this game. The later levels of the game have some of the most detailed graphics on the Genesis, and in my opinion could almost pass for a Saturn game. The most important improvement of all, however, is the game play itself. Like the first game, Mega Turrican has an excellent variety of environments, and the game never feels like it's getting stale or repetitive. Frequent mini-boss and boss battles keep you on your toes, as well. This game is still very hard, but the things that made the original game too difficult to be enjoyed have all been fixed. Furthermore, the difficulty level ramps up gradually, making the game more approachable than Contra. That's not to say that the game doesn't still have it's share of cheap and/or frustrating deaths, but you do your best to learn from your mistakes and avoid them in the future. Each level contains several extra lives that are either hidden or challenging to get to, but these help ease the difficulty level later in the game. Mega Turrican is easily one of the best action games on the Genesis, and I'd take it over the more critically-acclaimed Contra: Hard Corps any day of the week. |
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| Buy Turrican on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 03/23/2011 |
| Ms. Pac-Man |
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| Developer: Tengen Publisher: Tengen Genre: Arcade Released: 1991 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
| Often times, ports of classic arcade titles either include nothing that updates the game or change the game so much that the fun of the original is lost. Ms. Pac-Man for the Genesis does an excellent job of recreating the arcade experience at home while adding several new options that make the game an upgrade over the original. The game features 4 sets of mazes; the original arcade set, a set of smaller "mini" mazes, a set slightly larger than the original, and a set called "strange" that uses more complicated layouts with longer passages that are easier to get caught in. The game also features 4 "difficulty" settings, but they are in reality just game speed settings. With the game speed set to normal and the arcade maze set used, Ms. Pac-Man on the Genesis closely recreates the gameplay of the arcade original. The new mazes are a welcome addition that add some variety to the game but do nothing to change the core gameplay. One new addition that does tweak the game is the optional "Pac Booster" which serves as a kind of "turbo boost", allowing Ms. Pac-Man to zoom around the maze at a higher speed when a button is pressed. While this is fun to play with, it definitely makes the game easier by giving the player a distinct advantage, serving as a bit of a crutch for those not proficient with maze games. The game also features a 2-player simultaneous mode, but due to the manner in which the play field scrolls up and down it is not always possible for both players to see their respective characters on the screen. The graphics have been updated to give the game more of a 16-bit look, with additional shading and more colorful sprites being used while maintaining the visual style of the original game. The sound effects have been improved slightly which is certainly a welcome change, but the music has remained the same with the familiar tune played at the beginning of each level and during the still-present cut scenes. If you've never been fond of the series then this game isn't going to change your opinion, but this is a great update to Ms. Pac-Man that will be enjoyed by anyone who is a fan of the series or of classic arcade games in general. |
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| Buy Ms. Pac-Man on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review Date: 01/25/2010 |
Mutant League Football |
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Developer: Electronic Arts Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Football Released: 1993 |
Rarity: Uncommon Value: $$ |
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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 solid game that makes for a nice break from more “serious” football titles. The game was built with the Madden 93 engine, so regulars of the franchise should feel right at home, but dirty plays such as bribing or killing the ref and killing the opposing players are not only available but are essential to winning the game. MLF’s 50+ plays make the game feel like a robust football title. Unfortunately, just like Madden 93, the game’s passing windows give little indication of the receiver's location on the field, so you have to either memorize the routes of the three receivers (which is fine if you play the game a lot), or just chuck it to the open player and worry about his location after he catches it. With the Madden series, you can just play a later release and be done with the passing windows, but as this was the only release of MLF, you have no choice but to live with them, and this is the game's most obvious fault. If you like football games, then Mutant League Football will be a fun diversion from the norm. If however sports games aren't you thing, then there's nothing to see here. |
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| Buy Mutant League Football on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review Date:
03/15/2009 |
NHL Hockey |
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Developer: Park Place Productions Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Ice Hockey Released: 1991 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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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. The game includes all 22 teams that existed during the 1990-1991 season plus all-star teams, but due to the lack of an NHLPA license players are referred to by number only. Although it is not possible to play a complete regular season (due to the lack of a battery backup), it is possible to play a complete playoff season using password-based game saves. The game has two 2-player modes. Not only can you and a buddy play head to head but you can also be team mates either in a single game, or throughout the playoffs. Overall, this game is fun to play as long as you're using a good team, as the players on a bad team will all handle as though they are wading through 3 feet of water. I used the Red Wings, who were not yet a great team in the early 90's, and I had a very hard time with them. Once I switched to using the Penguins (the reigning Stanley Cup champions in 1991), it was like night and day as I dashed around the ice. My two main gripes with the game are the bad AI and the frequency and bad timing of fights. Great AI is not to be expected in a sports game of this age, but NHL Hockey really puts on its dunce cap by regularly passing up open-net scoring opportunities, skating away from the play, and skating right past loose pucks. As for the fighting, while an actual hockey game might have one fight all night, NHL Hockey has multiple fights per period. Furthermore, the timing of the fights adds to the lack of realism. It interrupts the flow of the game and gets old fast. You can turn off penalties, but there is no way to disable the fighting. You can also turn off-sides on and off, select period length, and decide whether or not you want the ability to change lines. With line changes off the players will not become fatigued, but you are then limited to which players you have at your disposal. NHL Hockey is a great step forward from the hockey games of the 8 bit era, but it still leaves much to be desired. At the time it was released however, it was the only game in town and I'll take this game over Blades of Steel any day. |
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| Buy NHL Hockey on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 05/03/2009 |
NHLPA Hockey '93 |
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Developer: Park Place Productions Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Ice Hockey Released: 12/31/1992 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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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 with the addition of player names comes the subtraction of team names and logos. Like the previous game, it is not possible to play a complete season and the player is still left with the choice of playing either a single game, a 7-game playoff series, or a complete playoff season. New this year however is the addition of a battery back-up, eliminating the old password-based system. Probably the biggest change I noticed playing this game is the feel of playing with a bad team. While a poor team can move around the ice at a decent pace, the lines fatigue faster and the AI seems a bit dumber, which is a more realistic representation of a bad hockey team. I also complained about the frequency of fights, which has been lessened to about 1 per match up in this release, but there is still no way to completely turn it off. The ability to edit lines is a welcome addition to the game, and the edited lines are saved along with the game data during a playoff run. The line fatigue meter which appeared at the top of the screen in NHL Hockey has been taken out, which is a shame because it was a helpful way of knowing when it was time to make a change. My biggest problem with NHL Hockey was the bad AI, and if improvements were made for this game, I can't tell. The passing game is spotty, as my passes often bounce off of my teammates' back. Additionally, if you are foolish enough to play with off sides turned on, your teammates will regularly skate into the zone ahead of you and are in no hurry to clear the zone if there is a neutral zone turnover. Overall, this game is an improvement over its predecessor, but still has a lot of room for improvement. A couple of interesting but largely unrealistic inclusions in the game are the ability to shatter the glass with a hard slapshot, and injured players bleeding on the ice (made famous by the movie "Swingers".) |
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| Buy NHLPA Hockey '93 on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 05/31/2009 |
NHL '94 |
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Developer: Park Place Productions Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Ice Hockey Released: 03/15/1993 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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NHL 94 enjoys a cult following, and is even hailed by some as the best hockey game ever made. Improvements were certainly made over the previous two titles, but the game still suffers from many of the same problems. The biggest improvement is the addition of a one-timer shot, which really opens up the offensive game. This is a shot taken directly off of a pass, which when executed properly does not give the goalie the time to re-establish after the initial pass. The passing problems I experienced with the previous game also seem to have been cleared up, which helps keep the game moving along at a good pace. Other changes include the welcome removal of fights, removal of blood gushing from injured players, inclusion of 4-player support via a 4-player controller adapter, and reverse angle instant replays. The game also now includes penalty shots, but much like fighting in previous games, they happen too often and at the wrong times. Unfortunately the same issues with the AI largely still exist, and skating still feels unrealistic to the extreme. After playing both this and the previous two games, I find that my left thumb hurts from my pushing the d-pad around so hard as I unconsciously try to force the players around the ice. It feels more like broom ball than hockey. Far from the best hockey game ever made, this isn't even the best hockey game on the Genesis, and I suspect that much of the hype that this game enjoys is fueled by nostalgia. That being said, it was definitely the best hockey game available for any game system when it was released in 1993. |
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| Buy NHL '94 on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 06/02/2009 |
NHL '95 |
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Developer: High Score Productions Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Ice Hockey Released: 10/27/1994 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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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 decided to use a new developer for this game, who chose to take the series in a slightly new direction by speeding up the game play. I personally welcome this change as I felt that the previous games were a bit slow, and the skating rather unwieldy. The game finally has a few new tunes for the organ player, and fans of the Madden football franchise will recognize the grunting sounds that the players make as being recycled from that series. The game features a couple of new game modes. Practice mode let's you play one-on-one against a goalie, which I guess helps you practice breakaways and penalty shots (I didn't think it was fun at all.) It is also finally possible to play through a complete season, which was long overdue. For some reason the developers chose to remove game stats from the in-game menu, so it is no longer possible to check stats such as shots on goal and breakaways, which I find highly annoying. The problem with this game is simply the core game play. This game has terrible passing and bad AI (yes, worse than the previous games). Trying to get the puck to your intended recipient is a real chore, and your team mates never seem to be in the right place. Because of these problems, it is very hard to generate goals, and it is not uncommon to skate to a 0-0 tie. This game is not the horrible disaster that some make it out to be, but I can definitely see why it was a huge disappointment back in the day. NHL 95 is definitely a step backwards in terms of game play, but the new features help modernize the series and carry the franchise in the right direction. |
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| Buy NHL '95 on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 06/02/2009 |
PGA European Tour |
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| Developer: Polygames Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Golf Released: 1994 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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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 Tour pros, the game features 60 European players, and comes with 5 courses, all new to the PGA Tour series. The Wentworth Club, located near London, was the site of the Volvo PGA Championship (now the BMW PGA Championship.) The Forest of Arden Country Club was the site of the British Open at the time this game was released and more recently has hosted the British Masters. Crans-sur-Sierre is a Swiss golf club located high in the Swiss Alps. Le Golf National, near Paris, is the perennial site of the Open de France. Valderrama Golf Club, located in southern Spain, is considered to be one of the best courses in all of Europe. PGA European Tour also features 2 new gameplay modes. In "match play" mode, each player earns 1 point for each hole they win (by having the lowest number of strokes). Under this system, no player can fall behind by more than 1 point for each hole they lose. In "shoot-out" mode, 4 golfers begin playing and at the end of each hole the worst golfer is eliminated. As do the the new courses, these new modes add additional replay value to an already great game. This game is nothing more than PGA Tour Golf II with a whole bunch of new stuff to do, and there's nothing wrong with that. |
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| Buy PGA European Tour on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 08/17/2009
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PGA Tour 96 |
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| Developer: NuFX Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Golf Released: 1995 |
Rarity: Uncommon Value: $ |
| This game starts off well enough, by which I mean that it has a nice looking menu system, but once you get past that and into the game itself, PGA Tour 96 falls apart fast. The developer was obviously a bit overzealous in trying to push the PGA Tour series into the future. The environments are all rendered in 3D, but on a 16-bit system this can take 10 seconds or more to load. Since the environment obviously has to be redrawn after every shot, this slows the game down tremendously. Additionally, the game doesn't look as detailed as it had in the past because the Genesis is simply unable to display enough colors on the screen simultaneously to properly texture 3-dimensional objects. Still, PGA Tour 96 is an important installment, as it marks the change between the 16 and 32-bit generation's style of golf games. The simple swing meter has been replaced with the now familiar swing arc surrounding the player's body. Instead of moving at a constant rate, this meter speeds up as you reach the apex of the swing, making it more difficult to execute a perfect shot. Also, the game does not switch to a reverse-angle view after you complete your swing, so it's more difficult to see where your ball lands. The game features only 3 courses, and 2 of them are carried over from the previous game; Spyglass Hill being the lone new addition. PGA Tour Golf has all of the gameplay options of the previous games, and it is now possible to play as any one of 10 PGA tour pros. Still, this game lacks that which made the other PGA Tour games such a blast to play. This game serves as an interesting example of the growing pains some games suffered as they transitioned to 3D and is worth playing once just for the experience, but it's doubtful that you'll ever find yourself wanting to come back to it. |
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| Buy PGA Tour 96 on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 08/18/2009
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PGA Tour Golf |
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Developer: Sterling Silver Software Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Golf Released: 1991 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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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 Sawgrass, TPC at Avenel, PGA West Stadium, and Sterling Shores. The game also features 60 PGA tour pros that you will compete against in tournaments, but none of them are actually playable. The game uses a drop-down menu system reminiscent of a DOS-era computer game, with a generic but nicely detailed pro shop as a backdrop. You can play a practice round at any of the courses, enter a 4 round tournament, or work on your shots at the driving range and putting green. To get started, you create your own golfer, which allows you to track your career stats, including total earnings, average and best scores, and longest drive, which are all saved via battery backup. Before each hole, a pseudo-3D fly over is accompanied by one of the tour pros giving you some gameplay pointers, a feature that really makes the game feel "next-gen" when compared to 8-bit golf games. Prior to each shot, an interactive map is displayed which allows you to measure the distance from the tee to any point on the map, aiding in shot placement. The game uses the standard three click system to determine power and hook/slice, and that meter displays the maximum yardage of the club being used so that you can accurately determine the power needed. The game automatically selects what it believes to be the best club for your shot, but you can change to a different club depending on your needs. Midway through your shot, the view switches to a reverse angle to show your ball arriving at its destination. The game uses a grid system to represent the contour of the green, and this is shown before every putt and chip-onto-the-green situation. This system is much more effective at realistically representing the surface of the turf than the matrix of arrows used in earlier golf titles. The controls are unforgiving which adds to the challenge, but are never frustrating as the game simply requires precise timing. PGA Tour Golf is an awesome game that is feature packed and loads of fun, and it sets the standard for all future golf sims. |
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| Buy PGA Tour Golf on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 08/12/2009
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PGA Tour Golf II |
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Developer: Polygames Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Golf Released: 1992 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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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 definitely improved for this release. Both the players and the environments appear more detailed thanks to an increase in the number of colors being displayed on the screen at any one time. Additionally, many of the colors used in the gameplay windows have been changed to make them more pleasing to the eye. The game features a whopping 7 courses; all 4 courses from the original PGA Tour Golf game, plus TPC at Southwind, TPC at Eagle Trace, and TPC at Scottsdale. As this game includes all of the content from PGA Tour Golf, there's no reason to own that game if you can get this one. Polygames and EA did an excellent job of improving upon a great game without messing with a winning formula, and the result is a game that looks better, contains almost twice as much content, and doesn't take a single step backwards.
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| Buy PGA Tour Golf II on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 08/17/2009
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PGA Tour Golf III |
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| Developer: Polygames Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Golf Released: 1994 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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Polygames and EA stepped it up even further for the next release of PGA Tour Golf on the Genesis. The graphics have been further refined, and the player animations are now digitized video of the players' actual golf swings! This gives the game a new look that really sets it apart from the previous titles. The drop-down menu system has been removed, but the traditional menu system that replaced it works just fine. The interface has been further tweaked, most noticeably by removing the bright colors used in the previous games. This helps the game to look less cartoonish and more realistic. The best change made to the game is the ability to adjust the arc and draw/fade of your shot. The ability to adjust the arc helps you to milk a few more yards out of long drives, but also helps keep your approach shot on the green. The game includes 8 courses, more than any other PGA Tour Golf title. New to the series are TPC at Summerlin, TPC at River Highlands, TPC at Las Colinas, and TPC at The Woodlands. The other four courses are carried over from PGA Tour Golf II. The same game modes from the previous title are all here as well. While it is still not possible to play as one of the PGA Tour pros, your player's animation is a digitized rendering of an actual golfer as well. PGA Tour Golf III was the peak of the series on the Genesis, and is the gold standard for golf games from the 16-bit generation. |
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| Buy PGA Tour Golf II on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 08/18/2009
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Sonic The Hedgehog |
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Developer: Sega AM-8 (Sonic Team) Publisher: Sega Genre: Platform Released: 06/23/1991 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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When Sonic The Hedgehog was released in 1991, it almost immediately replaced Altered Beast as the pack-in game for the Genesis. The game was developed to take the Super Mario Bros. series head-on and shares a number of similarities with that franchise. Both are platform games that involve the player collecting items, receiving power-ups, and fighting boss battles. What separates Sonic The Hedgehog from all previous platform games is its sheer speed, which was intended to show off the processing power of the Genesis. The game shows off its speed through the use of power-ups, spring boards, and vertical loops, and almost never suffers from any slowdown. The game is made up of 6 "zones" of three "acts" each. Each zone has a unique theme (and its own background music) separate from the other zones, unlike the Super Mario series. At the end of every zone Sonic has to fight the evil Dr. Eggman (each time manning a different vehicle), who always narrowly escapes his own death. Bonus stages appear in between the normal stages (if you finish the stage with at least 50 rings) and give Sonic a chance to reclaim one of the 6 "Chaos Emeralds". These "Secret Zone" stages present themselves as rotating mazes with elements of a pinball machine, and end when Sonic either falls into one of the "GOAL" areas, or successfully grabs the chaos emerald. Collection of all 6 chaos emeralds is required in order to get the better ending of the game. The game's graphics show off the strengths of the Genesis while hiding its weaknesses. Unlike later Sonic games, this game doesn't try to do too much with too little, resulting in colorful and detailed environments. The game also features a fantastic and memorable soundtrack written by Masato Nakamura, a musician well-known to fans of the "J-Pop" genre of music. Sonic The Hedgehog is easily one of the best games on the Genesis, and one of the best platform games of all time. |
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| Buy Sonic the Hedgehog on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 08/22/2009
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Streets of Rage |
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Developer: Sega AM-7 Publisher: Sega Genre: Beat 'Em Up Released: 09/1991 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
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When I was a kid, the word on the playground was that while the Super Nintendo could display more colors, the Genesis had better sound. Few games demonstrate the console's superiority in that category better than Streets of Rage. With a brilliant techno soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro, also known for scoring Actraiser, The Revenge of Shinobi and Streets of Rage 2, the game is worth playing for the music alone. You can choose from three characters, all ex-cops out to rid the city of an evil, criminal organization. The game spans 7 stages, starting in downtown Capital City, and ending in the bad guys' headquarters. Like any good beat 'em up, the game allows for two player cooperative play. By breaking garbage cans and telephone booths you can pick up bonus items like health power-ups, extra lives, and most importantly, weapons. Bats, pipes, knives, bottles, and perhaps the coolest, smoke bombs that stun your enemies. The bottles are also nice because after breaking them over your opponent's head, you can stab them with the sharp stump that's left over. You also get a limited number of calls to the police, who will show up in their car and, from a distance, fire rockets at your enemies. The game does have a few flaws, though. The player animations are a little bit too jerky, a lot of the sound effects are sub-par, and the graphics can be ugly in places, especially in stage 3. Overall however, the graphics look very good for an early Genesis title. In terms of gameplay, Streets of Rage feels more like an 8-bit game than it does like later games from the genre on the Genesis and SNES. The game stands head-and-shoulders above most other beat 'em ups released prior to it, but it hasn't aged well in comparison to subsequent beat 'em ups of the era, like Streets of Rage 2 and Batman Returns. |
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| Buy Streets of Rage on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 07/10/2011 |
Streets of Rage 2 |
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| Developer: Sega AM-7 Publisher: Sega Genre: Beat 'Em Up Released: 09/1991 |
Rarity: Common Value: $ |
| While Sega ported the original Streets of Rage over from the arcade, its sequel was developed specifically for the Genesis. Streets of Rage 2 maintains the same basic feel as the original, but every aspect of the game has been improved. Each character, in addition to their individual strengths and weaknesses, has their own special move which can be executed with a simple d-pad/button combo. The "police back-up" option has been removed, replaced by a second special move that delivers more damage while subtracting some of the character's health. The game retains the variety of weapons that can be picked up and used, but gone are the smoke bombs, which were a favorite of mine. The first Streets of Rage certainly had decent graphics, but the improvement here is dramatic. Sprites are larger and more detailed, and everything is more colorful. The sound effects, which I didn't much care for in the first installment, have been greatly improved as well, contributing to a game that sounds great overall. Once again the game has been scored by Yuzo Koshiro and there is some debate over which of the two games has the better soundtrack. I personally think that both games have such amazing music that there's really no need to try and rank them. The game is often compared to and measured against Final Fight, and many people prefer that game to this one, but I just don't see it. Some feel that the game is overrated and suffers from "Final Fantasy VII" syndrome, wherein the hype has built the game up to be something more than it is. I can't disagree more. I didn't discover this game until well after the 16-bit generation had faded into obscurity, and it is my firm belief that Streets of Rage 2 is the greatest beat 'em up title ever released. |
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| Buy Streets of Rage on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 07/24/2011 |
Turrican |
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| Developer: Ballistic Publisher: Accolade Genre: Action Released: 1991 |
Rarity: Uncommon Value: $ |
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When I was in high school, my friend John lent me this game and I hung on to it for a good long time. It never occurred to me that the reason that he didn't want it back was because it was an unbalanced mess, and he had plenty of others to play. Turrican is a run-and-gun shooter in the vein of Contra or Gunstar Heroes. The game has a plot, but it isn't important. Your character is a bio-engineered life form that looks a lot more like an android, or at least like Robocop. You can pick up two different weapon power-ups, a spread gun and a laser gun, and various other power-ups and limited-use weapons. You can also morph into a little ball that looks like a table saw blade and roll around the screen killing enemies. The selection of levels and enemies are varied enough to keep the game interesting, and a couple of the levels right in the middle of the game are vertically-scrolling shooters, helping to switch things up a bit. Turrican's graphics are more than decent for its age, but where the game really shines is in the audio department. Sporting an excellent soundtrack and great sound effects, games like this are the reason for using the stereo jack on the front of the console instead of the monaural sound that comes out of the back. The problem with the game is that it is just too damned hard, to a point that it ruins the experience, and I definitely don't shy away from a challenge. The game is so hard in fact that I don't understand how it got past the play testing phase without being tweaked so that it would be enjoyable to the average gamer. It's a real shame, because the environments in the game are great and the level design encourages exploration. I played through the entire game using an invincibility cheat code and really had a blast, but it would have been so much more fulfilling to play the game straight and not feel like a dirty rotten cheater. Still, it's worth checking out as the initial installment in what would end up being one of the best action franchises of the 16-bit generation. |
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| Buy Turrican on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 03/20/2011 |
World Class Leaderboard Golf |
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Developer: Access Publisher: U.S. Gold Genre: Sports/Golf Released: 1992 |
Rarity: Uncommon Value: $ |
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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 , The Gauntlet Golf Club in Fredricksburg, VA, what is presumably the blue monster at the Doral Golf Resort in Miami, and Cypress Creek in Houston, TX. Like a lot of early golf titles, the game does not display the distance ranges of your clubs, but this can be overcome with practice. Instead of the 3-click system used by most games, here you hold down the A button while the power meter fills. When you let go, the meter moves back down, and you click A at just the right time for a straight shot. I like this system, and it works well in the game for longer shots. The meter fills up very quickly however, and with no way to change your shot type, short-range shots are very difficult. Without the interactive overhead map of the PGA Tour series, and with a pretty poor third-person perspective it is very difficult to accurately aim your shot. Poor ball physics also mean that what seemed like a good shot turns into a bad one when the ball bounces 15 feet in to the air after the initial landing. The game does not display a grid or matrix of arrows to show the contour of the green, instead using a little indicator to show basic green conditions. This makes putting too much of a guessing game, and it regularly takes me 3 shots on the green to get the ball in the hole. The game's sole claim to fame is the digitized commentary during play, but if I never have to hear "ooh, can't be too happy about that one" again in my life, I can die a happy man. The comments are few and far between, and are generally only heard when you make a mistake. Other than the sound of your swing and of the ball falling into the cup, the game is noticeably silent, with no ambient noise whatsoever. The graphics are on par with the PGA series, but there is a lot of draw-in thanks to all the trees. The clouds look cool moving across the sky, though. While World Class Leaderboard Golf isn't a total failure, there is simply no reason why anyone would choose this game, easily the worst golf game I have played on the Genesis up to this point, over any of the PGA Tour titles. It isn't terrible, but it isn't any fun either. |
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| Buy World Class Leaderboard Golf on GameGavel or Amazon. | Review
Date: 07/12/2009 |
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