Kids on Site (Mega CD / Sega CD review)

Developer: Digital Pictures
Publisher: Digital Pictures
Released: 1994

Kids on Site is a Full Motion Video (FMV) game that was re-released on the Sony PlayStation 4 and Windows in 2022.

+ FMV quality is good, load times are excellent, and you can select the first four stages in any order you prefer.

+ Has laugh-out-loud slapstick comedy, especially in the Steamroller level where you can destroy Nuts' personal property!

- With only five brief stages (one that requires a singular button press), there's little to encourage you to replay the game.

- There's no punishment or challenge in each level, so you can just keep pressing buttons until you ultimately win.

- More interaction with the vehicles (e.g. switching them on) would have added deeper player immersion and engagement.

- Little educational value on offer, as the game doesn't provide any background information or trivia about the vehicles.

- User-interface could have been clearer when selecting missions, especially as the game is aimed at youngsters.

Quarterback Attack with Mike Ditka (3DO review)

Developer: Digital Pictures
Publisher: Digital Pictures
Released: 1995

Quarterback Attack with Mike Ditka is a Full Motion Video (FMV) American Football game.

+ Huge amount of plays available and you can even call pre-set audibles depending on the defense's formation.

+ Selected play remains visible at the line of scrimmage, which is a handy reminder of where your receivers will be located.

+ During passing plays, you can switch between camera angles of each receiver (with no loading) to see if they're open.

- While the absence of defense is in-line with the game's title, you only see the final play of opponent's offensive drives.

- Likewise, Special Teams requires no input and you're completely at the mercy of a randomised FMV clip for field goals.

- Running plays are a complete crapshoot as to whether you gain yardage, and success is more luck over skill.

- FMV footage is rather limited, so you'll likely tire of seeing the same clips repeated in quick succession.

Prize Fighter (Mega CD / Sega CD review)

Developer: Digital Pictures
Publisher: Sega
Released: 1993

Prize Fighter is a Full Motion Video (FMV) game that's exclusive to Sega's CD add-on.

+ Makes each fight feel like a spectacle thanks to the awesome ring entrances and introductions from Michael Buffer.

+ Your progress is saved as you defeat opponents, and the obtainable Power Points let you upgrade your fighter's abilities.

- Controls are incredibly convoluted and never feel intuitive, even with the Trainer option turned on to guide your punches.

- Opportunity for landing each punch is insanely small and the game would have arguably worked better with button prompts.

- Initial fighter gives you no room to learn the ropes, which is disheartening and leaves you begging for a real training mode.

- Has little in the way of replay value, as there's only four opponents and no other modes to immerse players.

- While the FMV looks great during the introductory sequences, the actual boxing takes place inside a postage stamp.

Corpse Killer (Mega CD / Sega CD review)

Developer: Digital Pictures
Publisher: Digital Pictures
Released: 1994

Corpse Killer is a Full Motion Video (FMV) game that was also released on the Sega 32X in 1995.

Airdropped onto the tropical island of Cay Noir, your mission is to rescue four comrades and stop the evil Dr. Hellman from releasing hordes of zombies onto the world. Your normal gun can be upgraded with powerful armor-piercing or datura-coated bullets (necessary when facing certain zombies), and antidotes can also be obtained to restore your ever-depleting health. The action is repetitive and when you're not watching the endless cut-scenes and looking around the map screen the only thing to do is occasionally take part in a shooting gallery where you blast ridiculous looking zombies as they scale towards you. The on-screen target cursor is unbelievably laggy and inaccurate to the point where luck often replaces skill; in fact, it's so bad that you could be fooled into thinking you have a defective CD! The Sega Menacer light-gun is advertised as being compatible, but seriously, don't bother as it's wildly unreliable. The video quality is on-par with other Sega CD FMV titles with a low frame-rate, washed out colours and lack of detail due to the heavy compression; the latter is a bigger issue here than in the upgraded Sega 32X-CD version, as the graininess makes it hard to judge when projectiles are being thrown towards you. The gameplay is not without some merits though, and I do like the non-linear approach that allows you to choose where to battle next from a map screen. Also, you can save your progress at any point, as well as retreating when health / ammo is low, meaning some strategy is involved; it's just a shame that the rest of what's presented here is so unpolished and monotonous.

Corpse Killer has few redeeming qualities and its shallow gameplay highlights some of the FMV genre's limitations throughout the early-mid 1990s. There's barely anything to do throughout the entire 2-3 hour campaign, and unless you're a glutton for punishment I'd advise you to steer well clear of this abomination.

Random trivia: The game was also ported to the Panasonic 3DO (1994) and the Sega Saturn (1995).

Corpse Killer (Sega 32X-CD review)

Developer: Digital Pictures
Publisher: Digital Pictures
Released: 1995

Corpse Killer is a Full Motion Video (FMV) game that was also released on the Sega CD in 1994.

Airdropped onto the tropical island of Cay Noir, your mission is to rescue four comrades and stop the evil Dr. Hellman from releasing hordes of zombies onto the world. Your normal gun can be upgraded with powerful armor-piercing or datura-coated bullets (necessary when facing certain zombies), and antidotes can also be obtained to restore your ever-depleting health. The action is repetitive and when you're not watching the endless cut-scenes and looking around the map screen the only thing to do is occasionally take part in a shooting gallery where you blast ridiculous looking zombies as they scale towards you. The on-screen target cursor is unbelievably laggy and inaccurate to the point where luck often replaces skill; in fact, it's so bad that you could be fooled into thinking you have a defective CD! The Sega Menacer light-gun is advertised as being compatible, but seriously, don't bother as it's wildly unreliable and utterly broken. The FMV quality is the worst I've seen in regards to 32X-CD games with dull, grainy backgrounds, heavily pixelated zombies and an extremely low frame-rate. To top things off, the audio constantly cuts in-and-out while you're firing, and the same SFX plays ad nauseam after you've killed a zombie. The gameplay is not without some merits though, and I do like the non-linear approach that allows you to choose where to battle next from a map screen. Also, you can save your progress at any point, as well as retreating when health / ammo is low, meaning some strategy is involved; it's just a shame that the rest of what's presented here is so unpolished and monotonous.

Corpse Killer is a shallow title and the fancy FMV footage is a misguided attempt to fool you into thinking its gameplay is more substantial than it really is. After the first ten minutes you've seen and experienced pretty much everything it has to offer and there's nothing in the way of variety to keep you coming back.

Random trivia: Dr. Hellman was played by Vincent Schiavelli, who also featured in the 1992 Batman Returns movie as the Organ Grinder.

Sewer Shark (Mega CD / Sega CD review)

Developer: Digital Pictures
Publisher: Sony Imagesoft
Released: 1992

Sewer Shark is a first-person rail-shooter that was later ported to the Panasonic 3DO (1994).

Piloting an Exterminator Class Sewer Shark vehicle, your job is to wipe out vermin that are running amok below Solar City. The A button fires your Gatling gun, B allows you to turn 90° at specific points, and C shoots hydrogen flares when your gauge is in the red. Energy can be topped up by visiting Recharge Stations, and you must also listen to your navigator who will call out numbers to guide you through the sewers (e.g. "3, 6, 12" correlates to Right, Down, Up). The gameplay has more depth than a typical shooter, as succeeding relies on you remembering the required co-ordinates to take the right path; it's similar to Simon Says and this deeper approach grows on you the more you play. The action is intense and there's always a non-stop onslaught of enemies to blast away using the responsive controls. A simple, yet clever mechanic is how some are deadlier than others and once you've learnt their specifics you can quickly monitor your surroundings and make split-second decisions on which ones to target first. I also really like how the later levels ditch the usual 'call-out' navigation and instead rely on you following a bird while firing off flares when the hydrogen level is red; it's challenging to memorise and multitask here (especially with Recharge Stations to find as well), but oh-so worth it when you do. The game's main weakness is its single life approach and lack of checkpoints which could switch players off; it's appalling that there's no way to continue your game until you reach a certain section 25 minutes into a 40 minute game, and even then, this is only achieved by entering a secret code after dying!

Sewer Shark is a terrific shooter with surprising depth, and if you're looking for a game that adds a new twist to the genre you should definitely try this. As far as FMV games go, it's one of the best and it has just enough meat on its gameplay and story arch to keep you invested until the end credits.

Random trivia: Sewer Shark was a launch title for the Sega CD console in North America.

Night Trap (Sega 32X-CD review)

Developer: Digital Pictures
Publisher: Sega
Released: 1994

Night Trap is a Full Motion Video (FMV) game that was also released on the Sega CD in 1992.

Your mission takes place at a lakeshore winery house and the objective is to protect a group of teenagers from incoming perpetrators. To do this, you need to constantly switch between eight surveillance cameras, snoop on conversations to find clues, hunt for bad guys and set off traps when necessary. These traps can only be activated when the sensor metre is in the red (otherwise your control will be temporarily locked) and you must also listen out for the ever-changing access code in order to actually use them. Unfortunately, despite an upgrade in quality compared to the Sega CD version, it's possibly the worst looking Sega 32X-CD game due to the low frame-rate and grainy video. The gameplay involves lots of trial and error, as the scenes don't follow any logical pattern; it's not always clear what to do or which room to switch to next, and you're always bound to miss something important when choosing to either follow the story or capture criminals. Finding a good balance between gameplay and story is tough, as while flicking through cameras like a madman is partially effective, you'll likely miss a change to the access code, resulting in a quick Game Over. (in my opinion, a simple hint option would have been extremely beneficial to give newcomers at least some guidance). This does mean that lots of replayability is on offer, but how much enjoyment you get from the gameplay depends on how patient you are. At least the cheesy B movie style murder scenes are humorous! The HUD is also neatly condensed onto the lower part of the screen and the camera load times are brief.

There's no doubting that Night Trap is an ambitious concept, but its rigid gameplay and severe trial and error results in an aggravating experience that's unlikely to hold your attention for too long. Truth be told, there's barely any depth to its gameplay and the memorisation requirement will be a turn-off to all but a select audience.

Random trivia: In 2017, the game was remastered and published on Microsoft Windows and the PlayStation 4.