Mad Dog McCree

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Mad Dog McCree

System(s): Sega Mega-CD

Publisher: American Laser Games

Developer: American Laser Games

Original system(s): Arcade Boards

Peripherals supported: Menacer, Sega Mouse, The Justifier

Genre: Shooting

Number of players: 1-2

Release	Date	RRP	Code
US	1993	$54.9954.99^[1]	T-111015

Non-Sega versions

Mad Dog McCree is a light-gun game for the Sega Mega-CD. It uses full-motion video, produced in the style of a contemporary Western movie. It was released in North America in 1993. The game supports the GameGun, Justifier, and Menacer as well as the Sega Mouse.

It was followed by Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold in 1994.

Story

A stranger rides into an unnamed Old West town and is approached by an elderly prospector, who appeals to him for help. He tells the stranger that the mayor and his daughter have been kidnapped by a gang of outlaws led by the notorious "Mad Dog" McCree. When the sheriff tried to stop them, they locked him up in the jail.

Gameplay

Showdown

The game is a light-gun shooter set in the American frontier. It uses full-motion video shot from a first-person perspective. Each stage consists of multiple scenes in which outlaws appear and must be shot within a short time window before they can shoot the player. Though the stages can be attempted in any order, some of them cannot be completed without completing a prerequisite stage. The player occasionally collects clues from townsfolk to learn which stages to complete first.

The player is armed with a six-round revolver (which is upgraded to twelve rounds in the latter half of the game). Shooting a cow skull gives the player extra bullets, potentially in excess of the usual six (though reloading reverts back to six). Using a control pad, the D-Pad moves the targeting cursor around the screen and fires. The player can move the cursor around the screen faster by holding for double speed, for quadruple speed, or + for octuple speed. The pistol can be reloaded at any time and any number of times by moving the targeting cursor to the bottom of the screen to "holster" it and shooting with . Using a mouse, moving the mouse aims and clicking the first button fires. Reloading is similarly done by moving to the bottom of the screen and firing. Using a light gun, pulling the trigger while pointed at the screen shoots and pulling the trigger when aimed away from the screen reloads. Some stages contain brief non-interactive scenes that can be skipped by firing.

The player has three lives. The player loses a life and returns to the stage selection screen if an outlaw shoots the player or if the player shoots an innocent bystander. The game ends if the player runs out of lives.

Occasionally, the player must complete a "showdown," a fast-draw duel. While the arcade version was equipped with a specialized light gun that could detect whether or not the player had properly lowered the light gun at the beginning of the duel, the home versions simulate this mechanic by having the player's gun unloaded and not allowing it to be reloaded until the start of the duel.

There is a two-player mode where two players take turns playing, but there is no simultaneous two-player mode.

Stages

After finishing the Practice stage, the player can choose to play the Corral, Saloon, Sheriff's Office, or Bank stages in any order.

Once these stages have been completed, the player can choose to play the Prospector, Mine, or Hideout stages in any order and then plays the last stages afterwards. The player's revolver is upgraded to twelve rounds in this part of the game.

	Practice
	The first segment consists of shooting bottles for target practice. If the player saves the prospector in the second segment, he informs the stranger that One-Eyed Jack holds the keys to the jail and is in the Saloon.
	Corral

	Saloon
	The stranger fights One-Eyed Jack and obtains the keys to the jail. If the bartender survives the gunfight, he informs the stranger that Mad Dog wears a bulletproof vest.
	Sheriff's Office
	The stranger releases the sheriff from jail, but he is shot by Mad Dog's goons. Before dying, the sheriff tells the stranger to find the map to Mad Dog's hideout in the mine and to talk to the prospector first. If the player has not gotten the keys from the Saloon first, the sheriff cannot be rescued and the stranger is ambushed upon leaving.
	Bank
	The bank hostage warns the player not to approach Mad Dog's hideout from either the front or the rear (randomized on each playthrough).
	Prospector
	Mad Dog lights a barrel of TNT to blow up the prospector. The player must shoot the fuse to stop it. Shooting the TNT blows it up. After rescuing the prospector, he tells the stranger that two items must be shot in order to enter the mine (the first is always a lantern and the second is randomized on each playthrough).
	Mine
	The mine entrance is booby-trapped. In order to enter the mine, the player must shoot two items in the correct order (as told by the prospector). If the player fails to shoot the right items in time or shoots the wrong items, the mine explodes and the player loses a life. After obtaining the map to the hideout, the player plays a bonus game in which the prospector throws bottles into the air to shoot for bonus points. The location to Mad Dog's hideout on the map is randomized on each playthrough.
	Hideout
	The player must follow the map to shoot the right directions on the signposts in order to make it to Mad Dog's hideout. If the player shoots the wrong direction (or has not obtained the map to the hideout from the mine), the stranger is ambushed by Mad Dog's gang. Upon arriving at the hideout, the player must choose the correct entrance (front or rear, depending on what the bank hostage said). The player must shoot the chimney on the building and then shoot the outlaws who run out of the building (but not the mayor, who runs out last). The mayor asks the stranger to rescue his daughter from inside the building, but once inside, the stranger only finds a note from Mad Dog saying to meet him in town.
	Town

	Final Showdown
	The showdown with Mad Dog is played similarly to the other showdowns, with the player starting with an unloaded gun. Because Mad Dog wears a bulletproof vest, the stranger must shoot him in the head.