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Lost in the shifting sands of the time there’s a little game called Combat Cars. It’s often referred to (if referred to at all) as a Micro Machines clone. Having never played Micro Machines, I don’t know whether that’s true or not. What I do know is that Combat Cars is a very nice arcade racer that’s worth being played and referred to without MM’s shadow looming over the conversation.
Sonic & Knuckles represents Sega at its absolute peak, at a time when they defined cool. Sonic was largely responsible for that, wrestling half the video game market away from Nintendo and spawning an unending stream of mascot games. And like any rock star, the time came for the big, epic statement; that definitive work that captures all the themes and summarizes its era, its Sgt. Pepper.
As soon as you plug in Thunder Force III, you know you’re in for a crazy-fueled ride. That vibrant title screen pops up amid scorching rock chords, and that signature theme gets stuck forever in your head. There’s a certain confidence in many of the great video games, a bold swagger that spills over from the artists and programmers and musicians onto the screen. We are witnessing one of the great game studios at the top of their game.
The Japanese weren’t immune to the puzzle fever of the early ’90s, either. Several companies churned out some fairly good puzzle games, and for the most part they made it to the U.S. and Europe. A few slipped through the cracks, of course…After all, no matter how popular the genre, it’s inevitable that some games will get lost in the shuffle. Namco’s Megapanel is a good example of a good puzzle game that somehow got forgotten.
Arising from the mediocrity that was Splatterhouse 2 came a sequel with that packed a little more punch and bled a little more blood. Namco picked up the rusty and cranky gameplay and polished it up a lot, creating not only the best in the series but also a great beat-em-up that was absolutely crammed to the fullest with challenge, a ton of unforgettable action, and most importantly a pile of unnecessary violence and gore.