Insector X Platform: Mega Drive Other Platforms: Arcade, NES Developer: Hot-B Publisher: Sage's Creation/Hot-B Released: 1990 Genre: Shoot-em-up - Horizontal Players: 1

Behold, the second shortest review on Gaming Hell.



Insector X for the Mega Drive looks totally different from its arcade counterpart, and not necessarily for the better. The cute, vibrant graphics are replaced with more realistic ones, which also affect the game itself- your character is now bigger and has an awkward hit-box. There are a few other changes, though- rather than having to choose between anti-air and anti-ground weaponry, picking up the special weapon item lets you switch between both at any time, you can hold a bomb and use it when you like, the general difficulty has been toned down, and some of the odd 'filler' screens- usually shoehorned in front of a boss- are removed. It's a more refined game as a result, with some of the fat trimmed and the odd touch-up here and there- in other words, it's the game the arcade version should've been.



Unfortunately for Insector X, these changes don't magically change the game into a shooter you absolutely have to play. It's still all the same at its core, and while the bits fixed/trimmed help the game quite a bit- they make it feel a little tighter- it's still not enough to bump the game up in my estimation. And that stupid rank system is still there, ready and willing to be systematically abused. So picking between the arcade and Mega Drive games is a simple case of which one you prefer the graphics of. The arcade game may be a little more annoying when it comes to difficulty, but there's hardly anything in it, really, so it's either cute or realistic. Your call.



For its rather odd attempt at fixing an average-at-best game, Insector X (MD) is awarded...

In a sentence, Insector X (MD) is...
Proof positive that you can't polish a turd. (Aw, that sounded mean.)

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