Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Sega Mega Drive / Genesis review)

Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: Konami
Released: 1993

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is an action game that was simply released as Zombies in Europe.

It supports 1-2 players (co-op) and your mission is to stop evil creatures from capturing civilians. There's 48 levels (with 7 bonus levels) and the objective in each is to rescue a certain number of victims before heading to the exit. Weapons include a squirt gun and tomatoes, and items can be picked up that grant you special powers (such as first aid kits or clown decoys). The game gets off to a terrific start and isn't afraid to throw in a few curve balls, such as when a giant, evil baby runs havoc, or when multiple enemies appear that are dressed exactly like you! It also switches up locations from level to level to keep things interesting, and whereas one minute you'll be battling in a mall, the next you're in a suburban neighbourhood. They're cleverly designed too, and although some of them feature intricate layouts it's never aggravating due to the handy map on the right-hand-side. The difficulty starts off gently and you're eased into the action with just a few slow zombies in tow. However, Level 4 ups-the-ante ten-fold due to the aggressive Chainsaw Maniacs that stalk you around the playfield! It's a real spike in challenge, but the upside is that it forces you to learn about item management and how each one can help you. After doing this the action becomes more strategic and manageable for the first half of the game. However, unless you're willing to beat all 48 levels in one go you'll likely be forced into using a password; doing so resets all of your weapons, ammo and items which often leads you ill-equipped to enter battle in later levels. Also, the game loses steam halfway through and recycles the same ideas.

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is definitely worthy of a play-through thanks to its frantic and varied gameplay, unique premise and stellar presentation. Unfortunately, it does run out of inspiration later in the game and using the much-needed password system can leave you without the adequate tools for the job.

Random trivia: The developers originally planned to include a battery backup to save your progress, but unfortunately it ended up being too expensive.

Super Star Wars (SNES review)

Developer: Sculptured Software, LucasArts
Publisher: JVC
Released: 1992

Super Star Wars is an action-platformer that's based on the original 1977 movie.

You play as Luke Skywalker and your mission is to destroy the Death Star once and for all. There's 14 stages that mostly feature run 'n' gun gameplay and as you defeat enemies they drop hearts that top-up your life metre. The controls are responsive but weirdly you can't shoot while moving. Right from the start the difficulty is sky high with tons of respawning enemies that attack from the ground and sky. Afterwards there's an interesting Mode-7 driving stage where you have to destroy 12 Jawas and keep topping up your jet fuel. Once again the challenge is punishing as enemies throw projectiles non-stop which is infuriating. You then have to scale a Skycrawler by jumping up platforms; the controls are stiff and unforgiving with one slight misstep causing you to fall down to the very bottom! As you enter the Skycrawler get ready for some of the most horrific platforming you'll ever experience; not only is it tough to line up your jumps and be precise, if you fall down you'll be transported to a checkpoint three minutes back! Later on Chewbacca and Han Solo become playable characters and they add a bit of strategy with their unique abilities and weapons. The awesome last stage resembles Starfox (1993, SNES) and you need to destroy 20 TIE Fighters and 20 Laser Towers. For a while this takes place in third-person mode but eventually it shifts to first-person as you race down the Trench before finally destroying Darth Vader's TIE and firing your proton torpedo. The game has some huge bosses that are fun to fight and there's also some nicely animated cut-scenes between stages.

Super Star Wars has amazing presentation, excellent level design and tons of variety. While these sound like the ingredients for a classic game the difficulty is very uneven and the controls have a few quirks which unfortunately put a dampener on a game that had more potential than it realised.

Random trivia: A PC version of the game was in the works but it was ultimately cancelled. An unfinished ROM file has since been leaked onto the Internet.

Star Wars: Rebel Assault (Mega CD / Sega CD review)

Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: LucasArts
Released: 1993

Star Wars: Rebel Assault is an on-rails shooter that was also released on the 3DO, Mac and MS-DOS.

There's 15 missions and you play as a young pilot called Rookie One who's attempting to destroy the evil Empire once and for all. The game gets off to a bad start with its third-person flying stage as the controls are very jittery and there's no shadows to show where you are in relation to the walls. The follow-up stage sees you destroying target drones from a top-down perspective but the grainy graphics make it hard to see the terrain which damages your T-16. However, if you bear with the game it eventually moves onto a first-person section where you shoot asteroids while completing minor QTE events; it looks incredible, controls well and feels immersive. Later on, there's a truly amazing mission where you circle a Super Star Destroyer and destroy its shield generators while TIE Fighters fly in on your direction. Other cool moments include a Snowspeeder section where you gradually deplete the armour from an Imperial Walker while avoiding it's blaster beams; I love the camera that swoops around to make you feel like a true fighter pilot! There's also a static third-person shooting area where you're on-foot and need to defeat Stormtroopers as they enter the screen; you can even choose from multiple paths for added replayability. Ultimately though you will return to the awful third-person flying sections with the added awkwardness of having to shoot TIE Fighters at the same time. Thankfully there's unlimited continues as well as a password feature that lets you pick up where you left off. The FMV clips are great and the voice samples and music give the game a real theatrical feel.

Star Wars: Rebel Assault is an ambitious game with lots of variety and excellent presentation. It does have some terrible third-person flying missions but if you persist there's some amazing set-pieces with great controls, fun settings and satisfying gameplay.

Random trivia: In 1995 a sequel was released on Mac, PC and PlayStation called Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire.