Cosmic Carnage 32X

Here we are again. One escape pod, height mutant warriors and one great reason to fight - survival. Cosmic Carnage is the first fighting game for the 32X and there is plenty of room for improvement. On the positive side, there is blood, special moves, eight unique characters, finishing moves, optional armor, and the screen scales in and out (similar to the arcade version of Samurai Shodown). However, blood, special moves, and finishing moves aren't new and none of them are any better than in previous 16-bit fighters. The scaling screen is a testament to the power of 32X, but when the screen scales in close all you see is pixely, poorly-detailed characters, which is a testament to the rush-job quality this game has.

As for the armor, that's the one good thing about this game. Four of the characters can choose what level of armor they want to use. The heavier the armor is, the less mobile and more powerful the characters are, and vice versa (low armor = faster, weaker). And during battle the armor can be knocked off, changing the entire complexion of the fight, since some special moves can only be pulled off while wearing full armor.

So how does Cosmic Carnage compare to 16-bit faves MKII and SSFII? Honestly, Cosmic Carnage isn't even in the same league as the others. The backgrounds are motionless and could've been done on a Game Gear, the characters are so pixely you'd think they were drawn by the blind in crayon, and the fighting is sluggish and totally uninspired.

Doom, Star Wars Arcade, and Virtua Racing Deluxe showed great promise for the 32X, and despite Cosmic Carnage's many flaws it shows enough to keep hopes high for the future of 32X.

A Second Opinion

It's not every day that a hit fighting game is released, and Cosmic Carnage is a prime example. I think that the game is actually a little better than Mike says, but there's no denying that the first 32X brawler is a disappointment. On the plus side, I was impressed by the smooth-moving characters and the armor feature, but finally the game offers nothing more than a bland versin of what you already have on your old systems. But fighting fans, take heart - 32X MKII is on the way! - Chris

A fighting game that could use quite a bit of improvement. The graphics are a bit crude and the sound effects are overly dramatic and somewhat out of place. The ability to choose your armor and to knock off your opponent's armor is a plus.

For a change of S W pace, fight in space. That seems to be Cosmic Carnage's message as it stages its futuristic off-world 32X fisticuffs. However, the challenge is strictly down to earth.

Your Space or Mine?

In Carnage, you play with galactic criminals who are desperate to escape a damaged prison ship. But despite the outer-space set-up, Carnage is familiar fighting stuff. It puts you in command of eight renegade fighters.

There are five difficulty levels, but no speed settings or handicaps. KB The fighters look like the usual suspects in small, medium, and large sizes. However, Naja is an interesting serpentine creature with a nasty boa-constrictor choke hold.

Carnage and Combat

Carnage's combat system is basic, featuring a four-button arsenal with regular and fierce punches and kicks, as well as a throw. However, there's a nice assortment of special attacks, with between four and eight specials per fighter- if you can find them. Fatalities also pop up periodically. Executing the specials requires a combination of controller motions and button presses, but you're hard-pressed to pull off some of them.

You can outfit your character with two classes of armor for arms, chest, and legs. Armor adds an interesting tactic to your fighting strategy since heavy armor slows you down but provides you with " maximum protection. During matches, you can blast off an opponent's armor and then attack that weakened appendage.

Fighting With weighty armor and in outer space's low-gravity conditions puts the cosmic combat in a pseudo slo-mo mode that takes some getting used to. In fact, you're likely to find Carnage on the slow side overall.

High-and Low-Tech

At least the 32X paints a pretty picture. The graphics scale in and out during rounds, and the fighters sport unusual sci- fi styles. The brilliantly colored backgrounds are out of this world but relatively static.

The sounds are strictly low- tech. The music tries hard to rock and almost succeeds. The effects are minimal, however -- you are fighting in a vacuum, after all.

Science Friction

If you hanker toadda32X fighting game to your track record, go for Carnage. If not, there are more exciting Genesis fighters around...and by now you know who they are.

Cosmic Carnage (aka Cyber Brawl) was a video game published in 1994 for the Sega 32X.

"Bone-Crushing Inter-stellar Battling against 8 of the most punishing and weirdest warriors possible. Customize your armour - you'll need to - and zoom in for close-up carnage as you unleash endless attack variations.. but who's the alien?"

Cosmic Carnage is a one-on-one fighting game set in outer space. The game story begins as a prison barge is hijacked by it's cargo in an escape attempt. The resulting chaos caused the barge to crash into a military cruiser. The impact caused extensive damage to both ships.

There were only 8 survivors, 4 from each ship. What's worse, there's only one escape pod. You control one of the 8 survivors, and have to finish off all the others to escape with your life.

Fighters can be customized with different armor combinations, allowing them access to different special moves.

Fighters:

• Tyr: A Silver Surfer Clone
• Naruto:A Black Shadow figure
• Cylic: A Beetle head, half human figure
• Zena-lan: A Woman with Burning Hair
• Talmac: A Tall, Dark Sinister Fugitive, with razor claws
• Naja: A Serpentine Siren (half snake/ half woman)
• Yug: A Gorrila-like Humanoid, with powerful arms
• Deamon: A Alien/predator like figure, with a scorpion sting attached to the back of its head