While the previous emulated titles offered by Sega have sold really well, there has been an underlying feeling of disappointment from many gamers due to the poor performance of both the controls and actual game emulation. Recently, Sega has updated this emulator after working hard to optimize the performance and tighten up the controls. Virtual buttons may not be ideal for fast-paced arcade style games like these, but after playing both titles today I can safely say that they perform much more admirably than previous games have in the past.
Altered Beast Originally a popular arcade title, Altered Beast was ported to the Genesis to show the capabilities of the new 16-bit system in bringing a similar experience to the living room. For those not familiar with the game, Altered Beast is a side-scrolling beat em up where you play as a warrior who has been resurrected from the grave in order to rescue Zeuss daughter Athena from the evil demon Neff. Youll fight a slew of eveil creatures, and can collect orbs that will incrementally beef up your hero into stronger and stronger variations, culminating in a powerful werewolf type creature.
Altered Beast is a classic to be sure, but time has not treated the gameplay very well. After the evolution that the beat em up genre went through during the 90s, Altered Beast feels pretty dated. Its still quite a bit of fun, and has a strong nostalgia factor. It plays surprisingly well in Segas updated version of their iPhone emulator, and I was amazed that I could actually make it to the first levels end boss and defeat him. Its a shame that this port isnt the superior arcade version of Altered Beast, but if you enjoyed the Genesis version then you will likely enjoy this one as well.
Gunstar Heroes One of the most revered developers of the past two decades is Treasure, who are famous for creating such classics as Dynamite Headdy, Radiant Silvergun, and Ikaruga. Their first title though was Gunstar Heroes for the Genesis. Similar to Contra, Gunstar Heroes is a side and vertical-scrolling run and gun shooter. It is mostly remembered for the intense amount of frantic action you would be subjected to at any given time, as well as the interesting weapons and intense battles with humongous bosses.
Also similar to Contra, Gunstar Heroes requires precision controls and quick reflexes in order to not meet your end. The lack of tactile feedback with virtual touch screen controls usually makes games like this nearly impossible to play, but after trying out the game today I was actually really impressed with how well it works. Im not going to say that its perfect, but certainly as close to perfect as a touch screen will allow for this type of game. Gunstar Heroes is tough as nails, and virtual controls wont make it any easier. But its still very playable, and more importantly quite a bit of fun, especially if you enjoyed the original game. Controls aside, there are likely many players that will be grabbing the game just based on the fact that its Gunstar Heroes, and Ill admit that it will be very cool to have such a classic available in my pocket to play at any time.
What is really interesting is that both the titles shown today were originally 2-player co-op games, and this functionality has been preserved in the iPhone iterations via bluetooth. Since one of the biggest allures of both Altered Beast and Gunstar Heroes was teaming up with a buddy to play the game, its nice that this will still be possible on the iPhone. Additionally, Sega is planning on updating some of their previous iPhone Genesis titles with bluetooth multiplayer, although no specific games were mentioned. Both Altered Beast and Gunstar Heroes were looking pretty good in action, and you can expect to see them released sometime this fall.
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