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One of the chief criticisms people aim at Sega when they talk about the Mega CD is why they never released any of their classic Super Scaler coin-ops for the add-on. With it’s hardware scaling chip the Mega CD seemed like it was designed for games like Outrun, After Burner, Space Harrier and Galaxy Force. While it didn’t get any of these big hitters it did get one game from the iconic arcade hardware, After Burner III. Confusingly this game is actually the sequel to G-LOC and was known as Strike Fighter in the arcades. The core gameplay is pretty similar to the previous games, both After Burner and G-LOC, and basically involves flying around shooting at stuff. The missions involve shooting down both ground-based and flying enemies. They also see you switching between both a cockpit and third person view, each with their own advantages. In cockpit mode it’s actually easier to shoot down enemies thanks to the crosshair but you can’t see enemies sneaking up behind you. In the traditional third person view you can see more of the screen around you but aiming is not as precise. Afterburner III makes good use of the Mega CD hardware with its fast, smooth and well-drawn graphics. It also has a brilliant soundtrack combining both original tunes and remixes of classic After Burner music too. It seems that this game has been given a lot of stick over the years and received some very low scores in the magazine of the day. But in my opinion this was just the sort of game the Mega CD needed more of. It can get a bit monotonous at times but AB3 sure is a lot of fun in short blasts.

Although the title has been expanded, this game is actually a CD update of the cartridge game known simply as Spider-Man. You might think “aww what a con, I thought this was a different game” but put that disappointment on hold because Spidey Vs. Kingpin is a significant improvement on the cart version. For those who might not have played the original this is side-scrolling fighting game with platform and adventure elements where the player controls Spidey in his battle against his mortal foes. These super villains include Doctor Octopus, Sandman, The Lizard, Hobgoblin, Vulture, Mysterio, Electro and Venom. The primary object of the game though is to obtain the keys needed to disarm a nuclear bomb that the Kingpin has not only framed Spider-Man for stealing but plans to detonate within 24 hours. Just to add insult injury, as you are playing through the game Mary Jane Watson is also kidnapped by Venom! As I already alluded to the Mega CD version features a number of significant improvements over the cartridge game. Firstly they have used real voice actors to tell the story along with brand new comic book style sequences. The game also adds two new levels, extra combat moves, the ability to collect reproductions of famous Spider-Man comic books and an original musical score by the Mr. Big rock band. This isn’t all though! The game also now much less linear, allowing you to move around the city as you wish and also features alternate endings too! This game shows exactly how a CD update should be done, the extra features vastly increase the enjoyability of what was already an excellent game and make this a must have title for Sega’s much maligned add-on.

Out of all the cartridge game updates for the Mega CD Batman Returns has to be the best one of the lot. You get the whole of the platform style arcade adventure complete with a new soundtrack, which let’s face it is a pretty poor game. But to make up for this we get a whole new game too, yes you get two different games on one CD! Both games can be played together, with the level alternating, or play each one on its own. Now for those who don’t know, the second game on here is an absolutely stonking driving game with some of the best scaling effects you will see on a 16-bit machine. The driving parts play much like Taito’s classic Chase HQ with you racing through Gotham City ramming and shooting the criminals off the road. At the end of each set of stages you get a boss who is much harder to take out than the regular roads users. Each stage must also be completed within a time limit too, also like the Taito game. Gotham City looks absolutely wonderful in this game, the backdrops and the building that’s scale towards you are beautifully drawn. The bosses are vibrant and detailed like they are straight out of a comic book and the whole thing retains all the moody atmosphere of the movie. Nice little touches like the intro sequence and bat sign that appears in the sky over the city just add the icing to an already tasty cake. Batman Returns also has a brilliant soundtrack too, terrific rock anthems are the flavour of the day here. As crap as the platformy bits are the driving parts make up for every little bit of it and as you can just play the driving sections on their own there is no need to even remember they are there. If you own a Mega CD then you simply must own Batman Returns, no ifs, buts or maybes, just get it!

It’s the year 2085 and all is not well on the mining planet of Mandelbrot. The artificial intelligence controlling operations on the planet, called MOSES, has been infected with a virus causing machines to turn against humans and making the entire planet a giant enemy fortress in the process. It’s your job, as a veteran of the Battlecorps, to do what you always do, sort shit out! The Corps have given you their state-of-the-art Armadillo class Bipedal Attack Machine (BAM), a huge battle-mech armed with all sorts of weaponry, to help complete your mission. Your BAM is equipped with a shield, which can be recharged at specific recharging points dotted around the levels, and several different weapons including twin cannons, mortars, missiles and a flamethrower. Most of the weapons come in limited supply and are only replenished at the start of the next level so use them wisely. Battlecorps is basically an update of the classic Atari arcade game Battlezone that uses the wonderful scaling engine from another Core Design game, Soul Star, to great effect, making it one of the more technically impressive games on the machine. Battlecorps is pretty much a non-stop blast fest, there always something to blow up and this game will definitely please those who suffer from an itchy trigger finger. The game is quite tough but once you learn to stop shooting everything in site and be a bit more tactical with your approach you will begin to progress. The graphics look fantastic throughout and move incredibly smoothly. The sound consists of the usual effects and a pretty generic rock soundtrack, nothing to write home about but fits along with the game nicely. If you have a Mega CD then you should probably own this, if you don’t then you might want to consider getting one to play games like this!

The sequel to Heavy Nova, Black Hole Assault was one of the very first games to be released for the Mega CD and a launch game in Europe. It was one of a stream of early games that was heavily criticised for being a CD game. Much like Sol Feace and Wolf Child, it showed nothing that warranted it being on the format and just seemed like it was done so Sega’s machine would have some exclusive games for its release. The game is a one-on-one fighter featuring eight different robots set in space. Mostly it’s a pretty generic affair but does have a couple of unique features. First of these are the atmospheric conditions that effects fights, these include severe gravity, fire and also ice. There are also field traps on some stages that will trap your mech for a short time. Between levels there are short animie FMV sequences that attempt to tell some sort of story but will just end up being skipped. Another unique feature is that your energy will regain if your robot is left alone for a short amount of time, but in a fighting game that isn’t very easy. The move sets of the characters are pretty unexciting and limited. They don’t really differ very much from robot to robot either. Graphically the game is fairly good, some of the backgrounds are nice and the robots are nicely designed. There is some atmospheric music and sound effects to match the action. But when it comes down to it Black Hole Assault is just a really dull game. On a system that has so many great fighting games there really is no reason to even give Black Hole Assault a second glance.

Cobra Command is a game that I absolutely loved back in the day, I will never forget when my neighbour bought his Mega CD and we popped this game in first. We were blown away by the graphics and sound, we thought it was pretty much the best thing ever. However it’s not aged well and in the cold light of today it doesn’t seem all that great. This game was first seen in the arcades courtesy of Data East and was one of the first games to utilise, at the time revolutionary, laser disc technology. Like other laser disc based games of the time this also means that it was all about the movie like graphics and sound and less about the actual gameplay. That said it is still a lot better than dross like Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace. You are the pilot of a Super Cobra helicopter and are out to stop a terrorist force from taking over the world, or something like that. You don’t actually control where your ‘copter goes, your course is totally pre-determined. It’s up to you to gun down the enemies as they appear on screen or by pressing the right direction when instructed to perform an evasive manoeuvre. Graphically the game is really good, the animie style graphics work incredibly well and due to their style don’t look grainy at all unlike the more realistic FMV on the Mega CD. The sound, as you would expect, is also excellent. Cobra Command can be fun for a while but some of the cheap deaths are very irritating and the game is exactly the same every time you play it so the replay value is pretty low. Fans of “interactive movies” might dig this but the rest of you will probably get bored of it very quickly.