The Ooze

From Sega Retro

n/a

<div class="bobtransform" style="transform:scale(1,Expression error: Unexpected < operator.); transform-origin:0% 0%; !important;"> <div style="width:320px; height:Expression error: Unexpected < operator.px;"> 320px

The Ooze
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Sound driver: GEMS
Genre: Action

















Release Date RRP Code

The Ooze (ジ・ウーズ) is a Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game created by STI in 1995.

The Ooze is based on an algorithmically-generated cellular automaton. As such, the main character can be split apart and reformed like a viscous liquid. The gameplay is reminiscent of The Bitmap Brothers' game The Chaos Engine (called Soldiers of Fortune in the US). The art style evokes a cartoony (necessitated by the constraints of the medium) H.R. Giger. The story recalls The Toxic Avenger. The development team included people who later worked for Blizzard North on Diablo and Diablo II, including designer Stieg Hedlund. Some of the programming was fairly advanced for a 16-bit system; for example, the speed powerup effect was actually created by decreasing the viscosity of the character.

The game takes place from an overhead view. The main character is a puddle of ooze with a head. He can move around and has two attacks. One is stretching out a steerable pseudopod of ooze whose length is only limited by how much ooze he currently has to attack (A), and it can also be guided around with the control pad. He can also spit gobs of ooze (B), although this takes off a bit of his puddle. Enemy attacks can cut off a bit of the ooze, and the player will die either if his puddle of ooze is reduced to a very small amount or if his head is attacked directly.

The game's status as a cult classic is confirmed by its inclusion in the Japanese version of Sonic Mega Collection and in all versions of Sonic Mega Collection Plus. It is unlockable in two ways: In the Xbox and PlayStation 2 version, it can be unlocked if you have a Sonic Heroes save. In all versions, it can be unlocked by playing any game on the disk for 30 hours.

Production credits

Producer: Michael Wallis
Concept & Lead Programmer: Dave Sanner
Art Directors: Robert Steele, John Duggan
Artists: Alan Ackerman, Stieg Hedlund, Dean Ruggles, Joe Stephenson, Craig Stitt, Tom Tobey, Marte Thompson
Design: Jason Kuo, Stieg Hedlund, Dave Sanner
Intro & Ending Artwork: Tony De Zuniga, Tom Tobey
Music & Sound Effects: Howard Drossin
Boss Programming: Robert Morgan
Lead Tester: Rey Alferez
Testers: Timothy Spengler, Todd Slepian, Mike Benton, Nelson Chiu, Alfred Dutton, Steve Fallas, Richie Hideshima, Michael Ironside, Dylan Manger, David Paniagua, Sean Potter, Jeff Sanders, Stan Weaver, Michael Wu
Programming & Technical Thanks: Scott Chandler, Jason Plumb, Mark Cerny
Special Thanks: Roger Hector, Sheri Hockaday, Emi Kawamura, Sue Ortlip, Paul Sears, Dean Lester, Michael Kosaka, Hoyt Ng
Created by: Sega Technical Institute
Presented By: Sega & Sega of America

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
39
64
70
79 №39, p66-68[1]
82 №62, p100
81 №53, p37
70 №78, p17
Sega Mega Drive
69
Based on
7 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
60
[2]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
39
[3]
Game Players (US) NTSC-U
64
[4]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
43
[5]
Joypad (FR)
70
[6]
Mega Force (FR) PAL
84
[7]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
79
[1]
Next Generation (US)
50
[8]
Player One (FR) PAL
82
[9]
Power Up! (UK)
75
[10]
Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J
61
[11]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
81
[12]
Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL
70
[13]
Tricks (RU)
78
[14]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
80
[15]
VideoGames (US) NTSC-U
90
[16]
Sega Mega Drive
69
Based on
16 reviews

The Ooze

Mega Drive, US
TheOoze MD US Box Back.jpgTheOoze MD US Box Spine.jpgTheooze md us cover.jpg
Cover
Theooze md us cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, EU
Theooze md eu cover.jpg
Cover
TheOoze MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, JP
Theooze md jp cover.jpg
Cover
TheOoze MD JP CartTop 600.jpg
Theooze md jp cart.jpg
Cart
Ooze md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Theooze md jp innercover.jpg
Inner Cover
Mega Drive, AU
TheOoze MD AU Box.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, BR
Ooze MD BR cover.jpg
Cover
Ooze MD BR Cart.jpg
Cart
  1. 1.0 1.1 File:MeanMachinesSega39UK.pdf, page 67 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega39UK.pdf_p67" defined multiple times with different content
  2. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 156
  3. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "September 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 35
  4. Game Players, "Vol. 8 No. 10 October 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 46
  5. GamePro, "November 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 80
  6. Joypad, "Mars 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 43
  7. Mega Force, "Mars 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 72
  8. Next Generation, "October 1995" (US; 1995-09-19), page 125
  9. Player One, "Mars 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 100
  10. Power Up!, "Saturday, February 17, 1996" (UK; 1996-02-17), page 1
  11. Saturn Fan, "1995 December" (JP; 1995-11-08), page 70
  12. Sega Pro, "January 1996" (UK; 1995-11-30), page 29
  13. Sonic the Comic, "24 May 1996" (UK; 1996-05-11), page 17
  14. Tricks, "Vypusk 8" (RU; 1996-xx-xx), page 27
  15. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 130
  16. VideoGames, "October 1995" (US; 1995-09-19), page 80