Pack-in Game Battle 1989

Time for another "year battle" poll. This time it's for the pack-in games for the North American launches of the TurboGrafx-16 and Genesis. Both games were criticized for being less than ideal inclusions and were later replaced with better games.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ater/Keith.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ter/Keith1.gif
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ter/Keith2.jpg


http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...edBeastbox.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...eredBeast2.gif
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...eredBeast1.gif


I'm probably one of the few people that liked both games although neither one was great. Altered Beast was the superior graphics showcase but I liked Keith more for the gameplay particularly in the nova suit parts.

I won't touch either one these days, but back in the day I at least got some enjoyment out of Altered Beast. I've never really had any fun with Keith Courage.

I loved both of these games, but if I had to decide it would be Altered Beast. The golden wolf on the last level was badass.

P-POWER UP! RRRRAAAAAAAWWWRRR!

A friend and I played the shit out of Altered Beast. Maybe we really liked it, or maybe it was the only game he had to play.

WISE FWOM YO GWAVE!

Keith Courage was the better game overall, as it was more complex and had better gameplay, but Altered Beast was hella impressive back in the day. It was a graphical showcase for what the console could do, and it was extremely close to the arcade version.

My friend had the Altered Beast Genesis.
I had the Turbo with Keith.
We played Beast the most, but the fact that it was two player had a lot to do with that.
Personally, I prefer KC. I would sit as certain spawn points and collect massive amounts of money, so my bombs and shit were always maxed.

isn't it the last boss in KC you can get stuck and not have to worry to defeat? i know there's one, just can't remember which.

Can I vote neither? :p

I'd have to go with Altered Beast; It was at least an arcade hit, while KC was just the lesser eye candy of the 2.

YOU FILTHY GRAPHICS WHORE!

Neither. I have some good memories of the arcade Altered Beast, but by the time it came home I lost interest.

I loved both of these games when they came out. Keith Courage has the better gameplay, but I'm giving the nod to Altered Beast for its two-player feature. It was cool to be able to play with a friend right out of the box.

Like a few others got my fill of Altered Beast in the arcade. Really enjoyed the adventure aspects of Keith Courage and the warped enemy design. Limited visiblity in spotting spikes sucked though. *-neo

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Originally Posted by Melf

WISE FWOM YO GWAVE!

Keith Courage was the better game overall, as it was more complex and had better gameplay, but Altered Beast was hella impressive back in the day. It was a graphical showcase for what the console could do, and it was extremely close to the arcade version.

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If by close to the arcarde version you mean hold down right and push punch, then I concur.

I gotta go with Keith. Could have something to do with the fact that I had a launch-year Turbo and didn't get a Genny until 7 years ago...

I hated the grinding, but it still played much better. The walking revolvers were baddass too. :D

Didn't legendary Axe become the pack in for the later life Turbo? Or am I mistaken?

At the time, Altered Beast - but I think that may have aged worse than Keith. Keith's platform sections were floaty and lame though. I've said this before, but it felt like two completely different games had been pasted together.

Altered Beast, hands down. Awesome graphics, sound and even voice, pick up and play game play, arcade conversion (a big deal at the time), two player, and well designed. I had only played it once before in the arcades, so it was still fresh.

I only played Keith Courage a little bit, but I didn't find anything done particularly well. I need to pick it up some time and see if it improved from the early levels.

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Originally Posted by Biff

Didn't legendary Axe become the pack in for the later life Turbo? Or am I mistaken?

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I never saw it as a pack in (Bonk seemed to be the most common post-Keith Courage one from what I remember) but it wouldn't surprise me as I did see a few different early titles included as extras in later discounted packages.

I can't seem to remember if mine came with legendary axe as a pack in or not. I got it later life after borrowing my buddies for about a year :)

I was gonna vote Altered Beast until I remembered that I hated it. It was pretty shit. Keith Courage, on the other hand, had dece gameplay. Plus, I enjoyed it immensely.

The only reason I'd ever play Altered Beast again today is because of nostalgia. And sometimes I want to. I don't think that makes it any better of a game than Keith Courage, but KC is probably the least-played hucard I have, so I have to go with AB. The fact that I only got KC during the 32 bit years probably affects my opinion of it, but there are plenty of Turbo games I enjoy so I don't know how much that has to do with it.

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Originally Posted by Brisco Bold

pretty shit

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I'm hearing this more and more all the time. What happened to shitty? It's never going to sound right to me.

Altered Beast was awesome back in the day. "Rise from your grave!!"" just made it over the top. keith courage sucked even back then, so this is no contest.

The real answer is, of course, Tetris for the Nintendo Game Boy.

/thread

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Originally Posted by YellerDog

The real answer is, of course, Tetris for the Nintendo Game Boy.

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If the question was "What was the best pack in game of 1989?", then of course yes. That would suck as a poll (or maybe it would be more interesting to see who would vote against it).

I would, never really cared for tetris. After 5 minutes it's a snoozefest.

KC doesn't have nearly enough big gay guys with tiny heads, so it fails.

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Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater

... (or maybe it would be more interesting to see who would vote against it).

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MarkRyan.

Edit: And Biff.

Altered Beast is a cancer on gaming history. Outside of the funny quotes, it's a clunky, awful mess and I hate it like the murderous goat that mangled my okra. I've had more fun picking scabs.

I've never played Keith Courage, but it gets my vote anyway.

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Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater

If the question was "What was the best pack in game of 1989?", then of course yes. That would suck as a poll (or maybe it would be more interesting to see who would vote against it).

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Ohhhh so what you want is 'Console Pack-In Game 1989' then. ;)

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Originally Posted by YellerDog

Ohhhh so what you want is 'Console Pack-In Game 1989' then. ;)

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More like "Battle of the shitty Pack-In games 1989."

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Originally Posted by Rem

KC doesn't have nearly enough big gay guys with tiny heads, so it fails.

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This is why I love the 80's. What other era could possibly have "big gay guy with tiny head" as its go-to hero?

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Originally Posted by YellerDog

Ohhhh so what you want is 'Console Pack-In Game 1989' then. ;)

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Sure, I could have labeled it more specifically. My intention with the year battle polls was always just to have two or three games that match up well rather than to try and include everything that meets the category. That’s why I left out Gunstar Heroes and other games from the Action-Platformer Battle 1993 poll. I thought Keith Courage and Altered Beast matched because they were both considered weak pack ins by a lot of gamers.

You guys are making me want to give Keith Courage another chance. Damn you all to hell.

Judging by the cover, Keith Courage is at least 400% radder than Altered Beast, which causes it to win 1989 by default.

I had no fun with Keith Courage. Altered Beast is incredibly dumb but still engaging enough to play and laugh at. It gets my vote.

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Originally Posted by Grave

I'm hearing this more and more all the time. What happened to shitty? It's never going to sound right to me.

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Would you prefer "quite shit"?

"Pretty shit" makes no sense though. You can't polish a turd.

It could be shit vs Altered Beast and I'd choose shit.

Altered Beast is a horrendous game.

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Originally Posted by Grave

I'm hearing this more and more all the time. What happened to shitty? It's never going to sound right to me.

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It's a UK thing, but don't ask me why a Canadian is doing it.

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Originally Posted by PBMax

It could be shit vs Altered Beast and I'd choose shit.

Altered Beast is a horrendous game.

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It's still a lot more fun than playing with shit! Don't forget to wash your hands.

I'd rather staple a huge bag to my ballsac, slide across a bumpy field picking up large amounts of buffalo poo with it, set the bag on fire and huff the fumes than playing either of these games.

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

I'd rather staple a huge bag to my ballsac, slide across a bumpy field picking up large amounts of buffalo poo with it, set the bag on fire and huff the fumes than playing either of these games.

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Even back in 1989?

Altered Beast was never good...I remember the stores having Sonic and Altered Beast as playable games and even Sonic was 5000x better.

Play might give this game an 8 in an upcoming retro review section

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

I'd rather staple a huge bag to my ballsac, slide across a bumpy field picking up large amounts of buffalo poo with it, set the bag on fire and huff the fumes than playing either of these games.

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Ladies and gentlemen, the Angry Video Game Nerd!

The slow part of KC is way, way slower than the slow part of AB. AB wins.

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

I'd rather staple a huge bag to my ballsac, slide across a bumpy field picking up large amounts of buffalo poo with it, set the bag on fire and huff the fumes than playing either of these games.

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Hey Joust, it's okay. These games weren't made my Nintendo, so you can relax.