Comix Zone

Another of Sega’s back catalogue finds itself re-issued on the Arcade. Comix Zone is a beat-em up with a twist, but is this comic-book styled adventure worth collecting, or should you have a quick flick through it before you stuff it back on the newsagent’s shelf?

The story of Comix Zone is simple. An evil criminal mastermind has escaped from a comic and managed to trap you in its pages. It’s up to you to fight against all manner of drawn enemies, moving from panel to panel to defeat your nemesis – a man who bears an uncanny (and slightly sinister) resemblance to Jamie Hyneman from Mythbusters.

Comix Zone’s comic panel-based gameplay adds a neat little twist to this title as you’ll occasionally rip through the border between panels to find yourself in a new situation. This is, pretty much, the only twist to be found in the title, which is otherwise just your standard beat-em up affair, albeit a superior one. As you fight your way through the comic you’ll find items to collect which can aid you in battle – ranging from knives and explosives to, rather bizarrely, your pet rat who will help you with switches and the like. Along the way you’re helped with advice from Alyssa, a General who believes you to be the “Chosen One”, who will occasionally pop up at the top of a panel to give you a warning or hint, all presented in the comic-book style of the game.

Graphically, this isn’t a bad looking title with a few neat touches, such as the hand occasionally drawing enemies in front of you but it’s still nothing special – we are, after all, looking at a game that was first released in 1995. That being said, it was widely praised on original release for it’s gameplay which is still as good today – better, in some respects, than quite a few of the modern Arcade titles you can part with points for.

The game is short – there are three episodes, each of which has two pages (levels), but it more than makes up for this by being fricking hard in places – it took me an absolute age to get off the first level!. But, again, as with many of the Sega releases on the Arcade, the game is also available on the Sega Mega Drive: Ultimate Collection, which should set you thinking about whether you want this is a stand-alone title or would prefer to immerse yourself in more, disc-based, Sega goodness for a few pounds more.