Playback: Volume 4
A look back at some memorable shills.
Article by TNL Staff (Email)
February 13th 2006, 06:20PM
Mick & Mack: The Global Gladiators
One of a string of releases during Virgin's heyday on the Genesis, Global Gladiators actually manages to be fun, despite its sometimes pretentious environmental theme (bonus levels centered on recycling?) Platformers are a dime a dozen on the Genesis, and while no one really played them for their storyline, Global Gladiator's story has special meaning. I seriously doubt anyone believed that McDonald's was really that concerned with pollution, but hey, some games manage to overcome their initial advertising stigma. Tight and responsive controls and decent visuals are in no way hampered by the cheesy plot. It may not hold up too well today and the term "two-dimensional" rings true for the gameplay in more ways than one. Still, kids tend to like Mickey D's, and both Virgin and industry darling David Perry both scored a hit with this one.
··· Kenneth Horowitz
McDonald's Treasureland Adventure
The second of the Genesis/McDonald's collaborations is largely considered to be a step down from the first. Even with fan-favorites Treasure at the helm, Treasureland Adventure still comes off like so many soggy French fries. A laughable premise and uninspired gameplay are enough to put it in the "what happened?" category of Treasure's sometimes checkered history. One must wonder how the house that made the incredible Gunstar Heroes mere months before could have had a hand in something so terribly mediocre. To be fair, the visuals were decent, and you could see that the attempt was made to make something worthy out of the license, but in the end it just came up short. You have to give them credit though. There's only so much you can do with Ronald McDonald that can be considered attractive to anyone over the age of ten. In hindsight, that is perhaps the biggest flaw with Treasureland Adventure. It was released at a time when the Genesis was truly coming into its own and was dealt a horrible release date. Forever lost in the shadow of Gunstar, it never really had the chance to carry out its intended purpose and is instead remembered mostly as a failed marketing ploy.
··· Kenneth Horowitz
