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System:
MasterSystem
Genre:
Action
Publisher:
SEGA
Developer:
SEGA
Players:
-
Release date/year:
1990
Other systems:
-
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- E-SWAT: City Under Siege
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1990 SEGA - SEGA - MS
E-SWAT is a side scrolling game that is modeled after another Sega Master System classic, Shinobi. Putting you in a futuristic world, your duty is to track down the crime bosses, and kill them while trying to stay alive in the process. As the game progresses and you move through the different ranks, you値l eventually get to don the armor of a cybernetic badass that is more like Robo Cop than anything else. However, the moment you don that armor, you値l find that the game takes on a different tone and the challenge seems to go through the roof without fail!
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The Game Play
You duty is to kill the bad guys without taking too much damage in the process using nothing but your reflexes and your gun as backup. For the first couple of stages, you値l start out as a regular cop with nothing between you but some cloth and a gun that you have to use wisely in order to survive. As you take out different enemies and eventually bosses, you値l move up through the ranks and be allowed to use robotic armor that has a slightly higher hit capacity than your regular clothes. However, once you do this, the challenge ramps up, and after four shots, the armor disappears until you can have it replaced later on in the stage!
The further you get into the game, the better the challenge seems to get though. In the later stages of the game, you値l be scrambling to get through the stage without getting yourself wasted in the process. This type of challenge is a mainstay for the earlier Sega games, and there is nothing different here that you should expect. Some of the more intense battles are up against the boss characters, and you値l find that the game simply takes a steep swing for the worst when you池e pinned down by the enemy and they just keep coming at you!
Control really isn稚 much of a problem here, with the main feature having to do with run and gun action that requires timing more than anything. As enemies come at you, you値l have to duck, jump and fire, much like Rolling Thunder and you may have to find a moment to catch your breath. This is no easy feat, as the jumping from time to time requires you to time the shots coming at you with your answering shot. If you happen to miss, then you take damage and after too many hits, you値l end up dead.
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The Visuals
The visuals here have detail to them in the enemies and your character, especially when you move into the robotic part of the game. As you take damage, pieces of the armor will fly off and you値l be able to see your original self without much of a problem. The locations that you roll through are all huge and well detailed, though they have a tendency to seemingly repeat in some spots, a common occurrence in older arcade action games. However, the style of animation that you find here is extremely similar to Shinobi and you値l find that the simple, yet detail presentation is a treat for the eyes.
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The Audio
The overall theme of the game is effectively captured with the music that you hear, keeping the theme of the game with simple beats and tones. The different stage music does the game justice, though there is nothing terribly memorable to hear in the game, even with the ending sequence. The sound effects are your standard fare of gunshots, grunts and groans with some interesting explosions thrown in for good measure when your suit blows apart. All in all, it痴 effective without overdoing it, but it shows some of the limitations that the Master System has to offer with some of the more intense action games.
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The Verdict
E-SWAT is a good spin-off of Shinobi in the respect that you池e working with guns, robots and crooks rather than other ninjas and throwing stars. There is plenty here for the action gamer with platform jumping, and enemy killing all at the same time. The challenge is all there for those of you looking for the side-scrolling action game with plenty of things to blast. Solid visuals and decent sound make for a game that is well worth taking a look at if you have the opportunity to pick it up. With instances of Rolling Thunder, Shinobi and other well known action games, this is one of the classics that is well worth spending a couple of bucks on if you池e looking to step back into the earlier days of Sega action!
8/10
//KasketDarkfyre
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