Matrix Runner
From Sega Retro
Matrix Runner |
---|
System(s): Sega Mega Drive |
Genre: Adventure |
Number of players: 1 |
Status of prototype(s): Unreleased |
Peripheral(s): Sega VR |
This short article is in need of work. You can help Sega Retro by adding to it.
Matrix Runner is an unreleased Sega Mega Drive first-person adventure game for use with the Sega VR headset. The game, alongside Nuclear Rush, was once considered for the Sega VR’s pack-in game.[1]
Plot
The August/September 1993 issue of Sega Visions magazine described the plot as allowing "play [as] an elite superhacker in this unique cyberspace voyage. You have to explore the dark, winding databanks of the Matrix to solve the mysterious disappearance of your colleagues, knowing that you might be the next victim. In your travels, you will collide with strange semi-humans and vulture-like beings."[2]
History
Announced alongside the Sega VR at Summer CES 1993, the game was a cyberpunk adventure game with polygonal 3D graphics, where the player must solve a murder mystery by entering a cyberspace called the Matrix. It was reportedly inspired by Hideo Kojima's Snatcher.[3]
Legacy
Matrix Runner‘s attempt at visualizing a cyberspace called the Matrix in turn appears to anticipate The Matrix.
It is unknown if Matrix Runner is related to the unreleased Sega Saturn game Free Runner. As little information on the project is preserved, the only known connections appear to be a similiar premise and name.
Images
The screenshot used in Sega of America’s 1993 trade catalog.[4]
Videos
Sega VR at 1993 CES with Matrix Runner featured in a promotional video
1993 CES presentation featuring Matrix Runner in the same promotional video
Promotional material
References
CollapseSega VR | |
---|---|
Topics | Technical specifications | Magazine articles | Promotional material | Ono-Sendai Corporation |
Games | Iron Hammer | Matrix Runner | Nuclear Rush | Outlaw Racing |