Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Underappreciated"

The good: Awesome beat;em-up game-play, graphics and sound were good at the time
The bad: Somwhat inferior and slow to the arcade version
Game-play: 9/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Tilt: 10/10
Average Score: 8.6/10

Altered Beast on the Genesis is highly ridiculed by critics, but if they looked closer, they'd see a great game in this. Yes, it's kind of inferior and slow to the arcade version, but it's just as fun. Back in 1989, I didn't think the Genesis could handle these graphics.

Basically, you a a guy who shall "rise from your grave" to save this god's daughter from the lord of the underworld. Immediatly, zombies, ghouls, and dogs come to attack you. Blue dogs have power ups, so shin kick them like crazy. If you get 3 powerups, you'll turn into a beast. From dashing cats to dragons with electrical powers, this may seem like a gimmick at first, but this truly makes the game addicting and fun.

The bosses make sure you're "welcome to your doom", and boy, are they challenging. A multi eyeballed monster can launch a bunch of angry eyeballs at oyu, a huge ogre can throw a bunch of heads at you, and the final boss can shin kick you like crazy. (repetetive line) The games graphics and sound are amazing for the time, although the voice samples are scratchy and forgettable nowadays, they were great back then.

Altered Beast is overlooked, and that shouldn't be. Because this is a beast you nedd to to get out of your grave to get.