General Chaos Review by: Eirinn - 7.2/10
One of the Genesis best kept secretsReady for explosive military gaming action, riddled with humor and arcade style gameplay? Because General Chaos is here, and he's brought his brother, General Havoc, and together, they're going to serve up plenty of zany war action for your enjoyment.
The concept behind General Chaos couldn't be any simpler: pick a crew and destroy your enemy on the battlefield. The controls --though potentially daunting at first, are simple enough to learn. The D-pad moves your cursor around the field, the B button sends the highlighted soldier to the area your cursor is hovering over, the C button switches between soldiers, and the A button orders the entire squad to attack. Get too close to an enemy? Look out, it's time for a brawl! Press A to punch, B to kick, and C to block. But don't spam one attack (use the same move excessively), or your downed foe will pull out a handgun, and blow you away (Hey, you were the one that wanted to cheat, right?)! This control scheme proves simple enough to learn quickly, but complex enough to take a while to get fully adjusted to, let alone master. These are the basic controls of General Chaos, however there is a bit more to it than that, but we'll save that for later.
The game is crazy at best, and it means to be just that. This one definitely isn't for someone that's looking for a serious game, but if you're looking for light hearted fun, and quick, simple gameplay, you just might like this one.
Graphics: 8/10
Exceptional.
There really isn't much explaining that has to be done here, just take a look at some of the battlefield screenshots, and you'll see why I say these graphics are so good.
The sprites aren't bad, they aren't realistic by any means, but then, they aren't intended to be. They look like a comic book came to life, which, now that I think of it, makes sense, given the story of the game. Serious or not, they're smooth, and just fun looking hand drawn sprites that look great.
The backgrounds and battlefields are also great, they're well illustrated, and have a great comic-like feel to them. The art here is beautiful and immersive, and engages the players senses with plenty of well
selected and well placed colors, and a certain sense of humor that fits the game perfectly. Nothing quiet like chucking a grenade or stick of dynamite at an enemy soldier, against a backdrop of light hearted humor, am I right? After all, blowing people up should be fun, not a chore! Yeah...moving on.
The effects are also pretty enjoyable as well. They're varied and also cartoony, and work well with the rest of the graphics, to present a fun, and humorous approach to war gaming. With explosions, flames, and gunfire galore, you'll be sure to appreciate the special effects not being bland, or even attempting to be realistic. Humor seeps from every pore of the game, and the effects are no exception to that.
Highlights:
- Cartoony effects that let you blow your best friend into five hundred pieces, and never have to feel bad about it.
- Beautiful Comic-like scenery to kill people in.
Sound: 7/10
Very Good.
I know some will disagree with me, but I love the music here. It may not be the smoothest sounding stuff, but it includes actual instruments, and hearing drums in a game's music, instantly wins it my vote. The only real downside with it is that there aren't many tracks, in fact, I can only think of maybe four or five, and they're all similar.
The sound effects are nice and clean. They're all clear, and really well done. There really isn't anything bad to say about them, other than there isn't much asked of them, but can we criticize the sound effects because there was no need for more? They do what needs to be done, and do it well, so they lose no points there, but they don't gain any extra for variety.
Highlights:
-Very nice music, that uses actual instruments
-Spot on sound effects
Story: N/A
The game itself doesn't include a story, but I remember reading it in the instruction manual as a child. As I recall, it involved a childhood rivalry between the two brothers, stemming from a comic book they fought over, which ended up getting ripped during the struggle. Perfectly legitimate reason to wage an epic war against your brother, right? I could be somewhat mistaken here, as it's been around fifteen years since I read the story, and unfortunately the game doesn't include the story, so without the manual, you get nothing. Too bad, because I actually enjoyed the story quiet a bit, since it was light hearted and didn't attempt another "Save The World" plot like most games do. But with no in-game story, this one gets passed over in this category.
Depth: 7/10
VeryGood.
This is actually rather surprising for an arcade style game, but the good people at Refuge Games managed to find a way to put some actual depth to the gameplay of an Arcade style game, which is no easy feat!
The first stop on the tour of General Chaos' depth rating, is the mode
selection. We are offered four modes: Single player, Multiplayer head to head (competitive), multiplayer Side by Side (co-op), and Boot Camp (an extensive tutorial of the gameplay and controls).
The single player mode and two player co-op mode simply have the player trying to outwit and outfight the enemy, in battle after battle, as they make their way from Moronica (General Chaos' base) to Vicera (General Havoc's base), to try to conquer their foe once and for all.
Multiplayer Competitive has the players pitted against each other, one as General Chaos and his blue army, and the other against General Havoc and his red army.
Next up is the gameplay. This is surprisingly detailed, and somewhat deep for a game of this nature. It could easily be played as a button masher, but it could just as easily be lost. This one calls for strategy, but it doesn't give you time to think. Kind of like speed chess, only...fun. You can pick your squad before each battle, and plan your strategy there, but you never know what squad the foe has chosen, so if you pick a squad full of Blasters and Scorchers (both short range), you might find yourself in a tough spot when you start a battle and find your enemy has chosen a squad of Launchers and Chuckers (long range). So choose your squad wisely, and formulate something of an attack plan before heading to the battle, and once you're on the field, adapt as necessary, and station your troops quickly and effectively.
Then there are the medics. Each army gets a set amount of units to call in and save wounded soldiers, but you can't save all of them, or you'll run out of medics quickly! So it comes down to one of the most difficult decisions that a general could face: which soldiers do I save, and which do I let lie on the field and die? Make an informed decision, and make it quickly, because the action won't stop so you can think. It's fast paced action/strategy blends like this, that make General Chaos a game that you won't soon forget.
Add to all of this the fact that some units can instantly kill an enemy soldier, thus making it impossible to revive him; certain types of terrain can trip you up (literally and figuratively), and the bonus objectives that some scenes offer you, and you have an odd, almost organized sort of chaos on your hands.
Highlights:
-Three modes of play, to keep it interesting
-Great focus on strategy
-Well thought out battle system
Addictiveness: 7/10
Very Good.
General Chaos somehow manages to be simple, yet complex at the same time. The gameplay mechanics, relatively easy to learn controls, simple concept, straight forward approach to the battles, strategy elements, and fast paced action, make this one a game that just about anyone can pick up, as well as challenge them and their gaming style.
I first found this game when I was only ten or eleven, and I instantly loved it, and now, fifteen years later, I still love it. I don't play it everyday, but I do come back to it relatively often, and I suspect that you'll come back to it as well. General Chaos will pull you in, and bring you back a few times at least.
Difficulty 5/10
Average.
This one can be challenging at times, and you will lose some, but all in all, it isn't too difficult. It's relatively easy to learn controls, and simple concept make up for any difficulty that the computer throws at you. So while General Chaos can be a challenge, it won't leave you throwing your controller at the wall (or if you're like me, beating your leg until it's sore. Poor leg), and it never goes beyond what the average Genesis game will throw at you by way of difficulty.
Overall: 7.2/10
Very Good.
With great graphics, impressive artwork, good sound quality, plenty of action, a fair amount of strategy, a balanced difficulty, and humor aplenty, General Chaos is a great title on the Genesis, and one of those games from it's time, that you will never forget. It's a shame that it didn't go farther than it did. It really earns a place as one of the best titles from the nineties, I would say.
In conclusion, General Chaos is a great game that's worth the time and Viz (or money) that it takes to play it, and then some; no Genesis highlight reel is complete without it. I would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys humor, parodies, or just good retro action, as well as anyone who likes games that are refreshingly different, or funny. In fact, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone. In short, General Chaos is probably one of the Genesis' best kept secrets, and I suggest you go find out that secret today.
Graphics
8 Sound
7 Addictive
7 Depth
7 Difficulty
5
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