Tuesday 25 October 2011

Sega Mega Drive: Altered Beast

Year: 1988
Genre: Beat ‘em up
Players: 2
Our Rating: 8/10


Mini Review

“Rise from your grave!” It’s one of the 16-bit eras best loved quotes. With hoards of undead, magic beasts and blue wolves to beat-up, Altered Beast has stood the test of time and established itself as a cult classic. The game had a wide release including an arcade version along with ports to multiple home console formats. The game has been resurrected in many forms on Sega Classic collections, bundles and even a later remake for PS2 (the original is still the best).

So, in a nutshell the game goes something like this: A beautiful girl is stolen by an evil and powerful maniac. Zeus resurrects you to get her back. Kick the stuffing out of the armies of the dead. Kick three blue wolves and collect their magic steroid orbs and POW! You’ve transformed into an “Altered Beast”. From there it’s a duel with the increasingly elaborate bosses, rescue the girl and be back in time for supper. The formula of a side-scrolling beat ‘em up with power-ups is as old as the hills but still keeps it’s charms to this day. Altered Beast gets incredibly tricky after the second level and you will no doubt hear the digitized screams in your head at night. You will play again tomorrow though and that’s the hallmark of a classic retro game. “Welcome to your doom!”.










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