The Lawnmower Man (Mega Drive)

For the Sega Mega-CD game, see The Lawnmower Man (Mega-CD).

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The Lawnmower Man
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Time Warner Interactive, Atod
Developer: Teque London
Supporting companies: Beeline Group (manual design)
Distributor: Ecofilmes (PT)
Licensor: Big Red Trading, Allied Vision, Sales Curve Interactive
Original system(s): Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Sound driver: Teque London/Peter Hennig
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code US 1994-11 T-48336 EU 1994 T-48336-50 PT 1994 MDJ48336 UK 1994-09 £44.9944.99 T-48336-50 AU 1994-11 $99.9599.95 FLAW00SMC
Non-Sega versions Game Boy Super NES

The Lawnmower Man is an action video game based on the movie of the same name. The game features a mixture of 2D action platforming segments and pseudo-3D first-person virtual reality segments. This version of the game was released for the Sega Mega Drive, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Game Boy, with a different game being released for the Sega Mega-CD and IBM PC computers.

Curiously this game was originally announced as The Lawnmower Man II, many years before the film sequel was released. The numeral was eventually dropped.

A Sega port of a sequel called Cyberwar was announced but never materialised.

Story

Jobe

Dr. Lawrence Angelo is a scientist working for Virtual Space Industries (VSI) in "Project 5," a secret research facility that attempts to increase the intelligence of primates using psychotropic drugs and virtual reality (VR) training. Dr. Angelo is reluctant to use the research for military purposes, and after one of the chimps escapes and shoots a guard, Dr. Angelo is given a forced vacation. While taking notes on the need for experiment with a human subject, he discovers Jobe Smith, a man with an intellectual disability who makes his living by doing odd jobs such as mowing the grass. Angelo takes in Jobe, subjecting him to VR treatment. The first experiments quickly increase Jobe's intelligence, but after an accident, Dr. Angelo stops the experiments. The Shop, a secret agency overseeing Project 5, reinserts the drugs responsible for Jobe's violent behavior into the program and speeds up the treatment. As Jobe develops telekinetic powers, he starts to take revenge on those who abused him before he began the treatments and plots to take over all of the computers in the world.

Gameplay

Players take control of either Dr. Angelo or Carla Parkette (the mother of Jobe's best friend). Gameplay is split between side-scrolling run-and-gun levels and Virtual Reality sections, which are entered by portals in the platforming levels. Players visit several locations from the movie, such as Harley's Gas 'Er Up and the VSI headquarters. There is a two-player mode, where the side-scrolling levels are played simultaneously but the players take turns playing the Virtual Reality segments. There are three difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, and Hard).

The goal of the run-and-gun levels is to explore the area for a portal to provide access to a Virtual Reality world. Along the way, characters must shoot various enemies and fight bosses. Characters move with and , duck with , and jump with . Characters fire their main guns with . The guns fire a tall spread of bullets. They are also armed with "bit stream weapons," a more powerful shot that can be charged by holding and fired by releasing. The characters collect weapon upgrades or data discs by shooting enemies and certain objects in the levels. Though enemies require multiple hits to destroy, a character loses a life when hit only one time, whether by a weapon or by contact with the enemy. The character respawns immediately if the player has extra lives remaining. Once the player has collected a number of data discs, the discs morph into a Virtual Cyber Suit that gives the character protection from one hit. Falling into bottomless pits in the warehouse levels causes the character to respawn on the nearest platform without costing a life.

The Virtual Reality segments are 3D segments based on the CG sequences of the movie. Players have no control over the forward momentum of their characters in these sections, with the D-Pad used to move in any direction. There are three different types of Virtual Reality segments. The Virtual World uses a first-person perspective, and the objective is to dodge obstacles such as trees and arches to get to the exit. Cyber War is similar to Virtual World but stops at set points to shoot "battle chimps." Cyber Run and Cyber Tube are set in the third person and involve fast travel through a VR environment and occasional shooting of obstacles. Shooting is done with , , or . In all segments, players have a limited number of hit points and lose a life and restart the section upon losing all of them.

Players start the game with three continues with three lives each. There is no penalty for using a continue (characters restart from the same point as if they only lost a life, and the player's score is not reset).

Items

These items are found in the platforming levels.

	Compact Disc
	Increases the Data Encryption level (a gauge seen next to the player's lives). Once the gauge reaches the green section, the discs morph into a Virtual Cyber Suit that protects the character from a hit.
	Extra Life
	Gives the player an extra life.
	Energize
	Temporarily grants the character invincibility and causes the character's gun to disintegrate enemies.
	Increase Firepower
	Increases the damage and density of the character's weapon fire.
	Homing Bullets
	Changes the character's weapon to a shot that seeks enemies.
	Pulse Weapon
	Changes the character's weapon to a shot that resembles a digital signal.
	Rear-Firing Bullet
	Changes the character's weapon to a shot that shoots to the rear.
	Rover
	Changes the character's weapon to a large, ring-shaped shot. The rings close in on enemies upon contact.
	Smart Bomb
	Explodes in a radius that destroys any enemies it touches.
	Score Multiplier
	Adds to the player's score multiplier (seen in between the Data Encryption gauge and the score). Any points earned are multiplied by this number.

Objects

These objects are found in the platforming levels.

	Portal
	Ends the platforming level and enters a Virtual Reality section. Shoot to change from "Access Denied" to "Access Granted," then enter by pressing when standing over it.
	Computer Terminal
	Provides access to a mini-game that awards power-ups if successfully completed. Enter by pressing when standing in front of it.

Levels

	Industrial Zone
	Suburbia 1
	Virtual Atlantis
	Suburbia 2
	Cyberwar Zone 1
	Suburbia 3
	The Cyber Run
	VSI Warehouse 1
	Cyber Dusk
	The Roof
	VSI Warehouse 2
	Concrete Jungle
	Cyberwar Zone 2
	VSI Warehouse 3
	Cyber Office
	The Shop 1
	Cyber Egypt
	The Shop 2
	Cyberwar Zone 3
	The Shop 3
	Cosmic City
	The Shop 4
	The Cyber Tube
	Cyber Jobe

Computer terminals

There are several computer terminals found in the platforming levels that can be entered to play a mini-game, resembling an IQ test. The tests require completing a pattern of shapes or numbers in the top row by selecting a tile on the bottom row (using and to choose a tile and , , or to select it). The tests are timed; choosing correctly adds more time while choosing incorrectly costs time. There are five tests in all.

If the player is successful, the character is returned to the platforming level and the terminal is destroyed, releasing a cache of power-ups (including an extra life). Otherwise, if the player runs out of time, the test ends with no reward given.

Shapes 1

Shapes 2

Numbers

Production credits

• Game Designer: Simon Pick
• Programmers: Kev Brady, Chris Nilsson, Kevin Parker
• Graphic Artist: Rob Whittaker, Porl Perrot
• Original Music and Sound Effects: Allister Brimble
• SEGA Music and Sound Effects: Teque London
• Producer: Sean Kelly
• Executive Producers: Jane Cavanagh, Rob Henderson
• Play Testers: Chris Lipscombe, Matt Sansom, Mike Wolliston, Rob Boone, Nick Ryan
• TWI Producer: Ken Humphries
• Manual Editing: Jon Mongelluzzo
• Manual Design: Beeline Group

Source:

US manual

Magazine articles

Main article: The Lawnmower Man (Mega Drive)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #65: "December 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
also published in:

• GamePro (US) #66: "January 1995" (199x-xx-xx)

Print advert in Mean Machines Sega (UK) #26: "December 1994" (1994-10-28)

Print advert in Velikiy Drakon (RU) #33: "xxxx xxxx" (1997-08-07)
also published in:

• Velikiy Drakon (RU) #34: "xxxx xxxx" (1997-09-01)
• Velikiy Drakon (RU) #35: "xxxx xxxx" (1997-10-18)
• Velikiy Drakon (RU) #36: "xxxx xxxx" (1997-12-07)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 70 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 58 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 60 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 70 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 75 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 75 Games World: The Magazine (UK) 67 Hobby Consolas (ES) 65 Joypad (FR) 83 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 65 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 47 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 73 Play Time (DE) PAL 35 Sega Magazin (DE) 58 Sega Power (UK) PAL 68 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 74 Todo Sega (ES) 66 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 74 Video Games (DE) PAL 52 VideoGames (US) NTSC-U 80

	66
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The Lawnmower Man (Mega Drive)

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, PT
Cover

Mega Drive, PT (alt)
Cover
Cart Manual EU Manual

Mega Drive, AU
Cover
Cart Manual

Technical information

Main article: The Lawnmower Man (Mega Drive)/Technical information.