Friday, January 24, 2014

A few photos of my latest PC Engine pick-up, Atlus' Mesopotamia

Those of you who've managed to wade through the latest episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever already know this (well, if you paid attention from beginning to end), but for those of you who haven't: since the holidays, I've gone on a bit of a gaming shopping spree.

Although the bulk of my Christmas cash was spent on a stack of Japanese DS games (I'll publish a post on them as soon as all of the have been delivered), I also bought a couple of GameBoy Advance, Game Gear and PC Engine titles.

One of the three PC Engine games I picked up is the one seen in the photos below: Atlus' wackadoodle Mesopotamia (aka Somer Assault).



I call this HuCard "wackadoodle" because it stars what can only be described as an armed pink Slinky. Actually, here's one of the absolutely adorable illustrations of said Slinky that can be found on Mesopotamia's cover art (as well as inside its instruction manual):


Anyway, you control an armed Slinky while playing this 1991 release. Oh, and you guide him through 12 maze-like stages in an attempt to track down the Zodiac-themed bosses that reside within. Wackadoodle, no?


I've got to be frank: although I've always respected and even appreciated Mesopotamia's off-the-wall protagonist and premise, I've never been much of a fan of its tough-to-come-to-grips-with gameplay. Until recently, I mean. I'm still not very good at it, but I enjoy it a lot more than I did in the past.



That said, the main reason I picked up the copy showcased above now rather than later is its cover art. Sure, it's about as wackadoodle as the rest of the game, but that's part of its charm, don't you think?

I especially like those googly-eyed illustrations of its protagonist. In fact, without them, this import probably would've lingered on my lengthy "to buy" list for a few more months (if not years).

Attention "Manual Stimulation" fans: I'll be publishing another installment of that vaunted column next week and it will focus on Mesopotamia's black-and-white-but-still-fabulous instruction manual.

14 comments:

michaelstearns said...

I heard that there's a lot of ruins in this game.

thegaygamer.com said...

Yes, you could say that. It's not exactly the most ... varied game out there in terms of visuals, that's for sure. Still, I think it's a nice, unique game.

michaelstearns said...

Aww, nuts! I've been waiting for you to mention it again for weeks just so I could say that! xD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymmqisvThhk

Really it's a game I've wanted to try out too, the wall-crawling movement struck me as being pretty interesting. Does the manual have a story in it?

thegaygamer.com said...

Ah, how could I have missed that one? Ha ha!


As for the manual including a story... hmmm, let me check. OK, I checked and ... I'm not entirely sure. I know the game itself features a bit of background/story, though.

michaelstearns said...

Guess I'll have to wait for the Manual Stimulation! :) It's a little surprising that on the cover of this one, they really emphasize the slinky as a "character," but in the game that only comes out when it's taking damage, right?



Also, I have to express disappointment that the US title didn't play on the "Mesopotamia" theme and call it "Sumer Assault!"

thegaygamer.com said...

The 'Manual Stimulation' devoted to this game's manual should be published next week, Michael, so at least you won't have to wait long :)


I don't think there's much mention of the game's back story in it, though--or at least there doesn't appear to be. The manual pretty much just "gets right to it," if you know what I mean.


Also, yes, the slinky only shows any "character' in game after taking damage, which is kind of strange, especially given the, er, grittiness (I guess?) of the rest of the game's graphics.


Personally, I think they could have done without the in-game reactions, although I certainly don't mind that they're included!

Justin Difazzio said...

It's very interesting to get the artist's viewpoint on these pieces. I'm interested to see the women since I haven't seen a single one of those yet.

thegaygamer.com said...

Check out the links I included here, Justin. They'll point you to some of the female portraits. I didn't include any of them here because I was worried the breasts could cause problems for some folks (being kind of NSFW and all).

thegaygamer.com said...

You should check it out sometime, Igor!

TheGameroomBlitz said...

Speaking of all things weird and Turbografx-y, one of my faves on the system is Gomola Speed by Universal Playland. They made a name for themselves with oddball games, but this is their strangest- and best! - ever. Imagine Gauntlet with slightly more open levels and an alien snake that loops around its foes to kill them, and you've got a pretty good idea of what to expect.

(I get the feeling you already know about this one, though!)

diaglyph said...

Had a look at a playthrough on YouTube. What a dangerous slinky LOL

thegaygamer.com said...

Ha ha! Yes, you've got it watch it around a Slinky that can shoot, IMO :)

Sean said...

Interesting looking game, I will have to try and find a copy of this one. The idea of a slinky based game involving difficult controls for some reason appeals to me! It will be a good excuse to get my PC Engine out of storage too, I haven`t played it in a year and a half or so.

thegaygamer.com said...

Yes, track it down, Sean. And if you do, let me know what you think of it. I think you'll like it once you come to grips with its controls.