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Altered Beast  Hot
Virtual Console Reviews Sega Genesis
Written by Dave   
Saturday, 21 April 2007
Editor's rating
3.2
out of 5
 
     
Published By: Sega
Players: 1
Genre: Action • Platformer •
Wii Points: 800
When Zeus, the legendary Greek God, brings you back to life, you set forth on a mission to rescue his daughter Athena from the underworld. Along the way, you collect the Spirit Balls dropped by enemies to increase your strength, and to transform into a variety of mythical creatures with powerful attacks.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Overall rating (weighted)
3.2
Presentation
4.0
Graphics
3.0
Sound
2.0
Gameplay
3.0
Emulation
4.0
Originally released as a pack-in game during the Sega Genesis' 1989 launch, Altered Beast is a flawed port of a great, classic arcade game. You play the role of a centurion who has been resurrected by the Greek god, Zeus. Your objective is to fight off demons and other creatures in order to save Zeus' daughter Athena from the clutches of an evil god named Neff.

The graphics in Altered Beast were considered extremely good for an arcade port in 1989, however when compared to it's arcade counterpart, the Genesis port has many glaring differences. The color and detail in the backgrounds is dull due to the Genesis' low color palette, and the sprites are much smaller then the arcade version due to processor constraints, and slow-down is often seen throughout the game. The sound is also lacking. The music and sound effects lack the full impact of the arcade version, the game's few voice clips are extremely low quality.

The gameplay in Altered Beast was unique for a side-scrolling beat'em up. As you progress through the game, dead enemies often release flying orbs. These orbs are power ups that your character can collect. As you gain strength, your abilities increase until you reach the point where your character will transform into a beast – a werewolf, dragon, bear, or tiger. The game's five levels are not very long, and most players will finish the game in no time at all.

Overall, the Genesis port of Altered Beast was great for it's time, however by today's standards this game just doesn't hold up in comparison to the arcade original. That said, many of us have fond memories of this game, regardless of it's quality. I can only hope that one day the Virtual Console will expand to include arcade games, so that we can enjoy Altered Beast in it's original form.
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