The people of Los Angeles are going wild. Is the heat wave or drugs to blame? Or something more sinister? Call Lieutenant Mike Harrigan. He has all the answers...

It was a fairly hectic day in Game Freak Alley. The phone hadn’t stopped ringing all day. This call, however was a little bit different... ‘Hi, Mike Harrigan here, Los Angeles Police Department. I’m tacklin’ my toughest case yet. Rival Columbian and Jamaican gangs have turned these streets into a war zone. Drugs are rife. Too many good people are being poisoned.

‘I’ve bin sniffin’ around. Gettin’ the word from grass roots level. There’s talk of Voodoo-related sacrifices and alien Predators livin’ deep under the city. This ain’t talk — this is for real! I know it!

‘Though the guys at FBI don’t think I know. They want me off the case. No way! Too many LAPD officers have been taken hostage by these gangs, and if I don’t get my butt into gear, the Predators are gonna get the lot of ‘em, period.

‘I’m on my own. The pressure’s taking it’s toll. What does a man do? Whoa! Hang on there! Maybe you guys could lend a hand? What d’ya say?’

You take the role of Mike Harrigan, cleaning up the streets of LA. At the start of the game, you’ve four lives to your name. There are seven levels of mayhem. Shoot the drug barons, destroy their hypodermic needles and rescue the hostages.

Of course, the bad guys shoot back! This zaps your life force. A bar at the bottom of the playing area shows your supply of energy. Grab extra lives, rifles, shotguns and grenades en route to aid your task. Use button to select a different weapon.

While blasting everything to pieces, a Predator watches over you. Keep an eye out for his gun-sight. When it starts moving, you can bet your last dime it’s gonna track you down. Move from the section you’re fighting in as soon as you can. That may mean rescuing a couple more hostages before a door opens, or barrier crumbles.

But you’re up to it! You’ve got the best felony record in the history of the LAPD. Not even a Predator can outwit you... or can it?

Ade muses... ‘NOT BAD FOR A GG GAME’

Well, let’s be honest, I didn’t much care for the MD version. It was hardly star-bursting material, both in the visual and gameplay departments.

Acclaim have done a sort of Sonic 2 job with the 8-bit versions and completely revamped ‘em, and that’s no bad thing. As a GG game, Predator 2’s not bad.

Don’t expect to be startled. The format’s not original, a ‘race around ‘n’ blast then tackle the end-of-level bast’ affair, but it’s fun for a while.

Let’s face it, this isn’t a colourful romp, so the visuals have to be a bit dull and gloomy! The sprites move around at a good rate and are quite nicely animated. Sound FX are fair, with plenty of blast and boom noises and a good in-game theme.

My major gripe is it could be a touch easy for hardened gamesters. The passwords make H even easier! I’m worried, too, that the action soon becomes samey.

if you’re a fan of shooters/ rescue ‘ems, GG Predator 2 ain’t a bad game to have.

ADE 67%

SF Rating

Presentation

61% - Fair front end. Password system and high scores, no options or two-player mode

Visuals

65% - Not outstanding but fairly atmospheric. Sprites are a little flickery in places. Scrolling’s okay

Sonics

62% - Good intro and in-game tunes. Plenty of blast and bomb FX

Playability

65% - Shoot-’em-up fans should find it above average. Gets a little boring

Lastability

67% - Pretty easy to begin with. Level 5 gets tough. Good blaster for a rainy day!

66%

Not bad Game Gear shoot-’em-up. Gameplay tends to be samey

Producer

Acclaim

MD

Out

MS

Out

Memory

256K

Players

1

Price

£27.99

Rating

66

Reviewer

Sega Force magazine

Region

UK

Scans

Sega Force - Issue 14