Universal Soldier
From Sega Retro
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System(s): Sega Mega Drive | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher: Ballistic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Developer: Rainbow Arts, Factor 5 The Code Monkeys | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Licensor: Carolco | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genre: Action | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of players: 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Universal Soldier is an action game released for the Sega Mega Drive in 1992. Though the game was sold in stores, it was not licensed by Sega.
The game is essentially a reworking of Factor 5's Turrican II to act as a tie-in for the 1992 film Universal Soldier. The game gives no credit to the original Turrican II staff in any form, with the exception of Turrican creator Manfred Trenz.
Contents
Story
Luc Deveraux, a former U.S. Army soldier who was killed in the Vietnam War in 1969, has returned to life following a secret military project called the "Universal Soldier" program. Though his memory was erased, he finds out about his past and has to face his former superior officer, Sgt. Andrew Scott, who had lost his sanity in the Vietnam War and become a psychotic megalomaniac. Scott is intent on killing Deveraux and leading the Universal Soldiers.
Gameplay
The game is a side-scrolling run-and-gun played as the soldier Luc Deveraux. It plays similarly to Turrican. Levels are large and maze-like. Deveraux moves with and
and kneels with
. He jumps with
or
; he jumps higher if the button is held for longer. Some enemies can be damaged by jumping on them. He fires his rifle with
, which does not have rapid-fire. There are three special weapons that are equipped by collecting their icons in the levels. Deveraux has a special "lightning whip" weapon, a long energy beam that damages enemies continuously, that is activated by holding
. The lightning whip can be rotated in a full circle around Deveraux with
and
.
Deveraux can transform into a "buzzsaw" form where he curls into a ball and rolls along the ground with +
. This can be used to attack enemies or fit into small spaces. He is invulnerable while in this state. Unlike the other Turrican games for the Mega Drive, this ability can be used an unlimited number of times in this game. While rolling, he can drop mines with
. Mines are also unlimited. Deveraux exits the rolling form by jumping.
Deveraux has two special screen-clearing attacks. The "power line" weapon, used with , sweeps the screen with two tall energy pillars. The power line can only be used a limited number of times, but the player can find items that allow for more uses. He bounces around the screen in his invulnerable ball form while firing his weapon and dropping mines with
+
+
. This attack can only be used once per level.
Deveraux has an energy meter that depletes as he takes damage from enemies. He loses a life if he runs out of energy and revives in place after a moment if the player has extra lives remaining. Since Deveraux does not have a moment of invulnerability after taking damage (as is customary in platforming games), he can take a large amount of damage in a short span if the player is not cautious. Levels are timed, and the player loses a life if time runs out as well. The game ends if the player runs out of lives, but it can be continued if there are continues remaining. The player earns an extra life for every 100 crystals collected in the levels. The game has a password system for continuing.
Weapons
Normal | |
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The starting weapon. Shoots energy bullets forwards. | |
Multiple Shot | |
Fires a conical spread shot. | |
Laser | |
Fires a large, powerful shot that penetrates through targets. | |
Bounce Shot | |
Fires a large energy ball that explodes into smaller balls, which ricochet off solid surfaces, after hitting something. |
Items
Item Container | |
---|---|
Shoot to release an item. The item container damages Deveraux if it touches him. | |
P | |
Fully restores Deveraux's energy meter. | |
Multiple Shot | |
Equips the Multiple Shot weapon. | |
Laser | |
Equips the Laser weapon. | |
Bounce Shot | |
Equips the Bounce Shot weapon. | |
Lightning Whip | |
Increases the length of the lightning whip. | |
Shield | |
Makes Deveraux temporarily invulnerable. | |
Power Line | |
Gives Deveraux another power line. | |
Bomb | |
Destroys all enemies on the screen when collected. | |
Crystal | |
Collect 100 to earn an extra life. | |
1-Up | |
Gives the player an extra life. |
Worlds
World 1 | |
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World 2 | |
World 3 | |
World 4 | |
Versions
Universal Soldier replaces the three shoot-'em-up levels in Turrican II with three new levels of standard gameplay with completely different sets of graphics and using the same music as the discarded levels. Aside from that and a reordered sequence of the levels, the gameplay in the whole game is left mostly intact. New additions compared to the original also include a password system and selectable difficulty. A couple of bosses were edited to resemble the antagonist in the film, Sergeant Andrew Scott (portrayed by Dolph Lundgren).
A version of the game was released for the Game Boy. A port of the game was developed for the Super NES but not released.[5]
Production credits
- Produced by: Chris Bankston
- Programmed by: The Code Monkeys
- Programming: Colin Hogg
- Aided by: Elliot Gay, Mark Kirkby
- Graphics by: Joe Lewis and Manfred Trenz
- Musicians: J.D. Rogers and Paul Kenny
- Game Testers: Steve Graziano, Robert V. Daly, James R. Kucera
- Technical Advice: Chris Bankston, Tim Wilson, Russell Shiffer, Dave Rogers, Natalie Healy
- Produced by: Chris W. Bankston
- Programmed by: The Code Monkeys
- Graphics by: Joe Lewis
- Music by: J.D. Rogers, Paul Kenny
- Tested by: Robert Daly, James Kucera, Steve Graziano
- Special Thanks: Al Miller, Bob Whitehead, Charlotte T. Skeel, and many others
- Original Music and Sound Effects: Chris Hülsbeck
Magazine articles
- Main article: Universal Soldier/Magazine articles.
Physical scans
Sega Retro Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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68 | |
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Based on 20 reviews |
Mega Drive, ES |
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Mega Drive, CZ (Datart) |
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Technical information
ROM dump status
System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
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✔ |
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1MB | 1992-10 | Cartridge (US/EU) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 GamePro, "January 1993" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 64
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sega Zone, "November 1992" (UK; 1992-10-28), page 9
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "December 1992" (UK; 1992-11-xx), page 147
- ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 57
- ↑ https://snescentral.com/article.php?id=0839
- ↑ File:Universal Soldier MD credits.pdf
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 254
- ↑ Consoles +, "Décembre 1992" (FR; 1992-1x-xx), page 102
- ↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 366
- ↑ Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 113
- ↑ Game Power, "Febbraio 1993" (IT; 1993-0x-xx), page 68
- ↑ Joypad, "Novembre 1992" (FR; 1992-1x-xx), page 170
- ↑ Joystick, "Décembre 1992" (FR; 1992-1x-xx), page 164
- ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 56
- ↑ Mega, "January 1993" (UK; 1992-12-17), page 46
- ↑ MegaTech, "December 1992" (UK; 1992-11-20), page 62
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "January 1993" (UK; 1992-12-28), page 60
- ↑ Play Time, "1/93" (DE; 1992-12-09), page 88
- ↑ Sega Power, "January 1993" (UK; 1992-12-03), page 44
- ↑ Sega Pro, "December 1992" (UK; 1992-11-12), page 36
- ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 68
- ↑ Sega Zone, "December 1992" (UK; 1992-11-xx), page 16
- ↑ Sega Force, "January 1993" (UK; 1992-12-10), page 68
- ↑ Todo Sega, "Julio 1993" (ES; 1993-0x-xx), page 66
- ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 27
Universal Soldier | |
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Main page | Comparisons | Maps | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Reception | Region coding | Technical information | Bootlegs |
Turrican games for Sega systems | |
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Turrican (1991) | Universal Soldier (1992) | Mega Turrican (Director's Cut) (1994) |
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- EU Mega Drive games
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