I almost bought this game. I saw an ad for it in a gaming mag, but it looked like an over head shooter from what I remember. I don't remember it having this depth and the visuals and sound are stunning for a genesis game! Hell, it looks and sounds like it could pass for a computer game a times. I think it's bad marketing that hurt, plus, 1994 was a big year in gaming so it must have faced some stiff competition. Wish I did buy it, would like to see it remade on XBLA.
Yeah, I still hardly believe it even knowing the tricks they used. The frame rate is always consistent no matter what is going on. It uses no special chips - I don't get it.
@BigBangBlitz Well, The Follins Brothers were able to compose batshit insane music on the NES and SNES without special chips, so what the hell is this wizardry?
Me either. This actually manages to look better than a lot of PS1 games due to it's much cleaner graphics (no texture "peeling" here) and the sound aint bad either, especially on a Model 1 Genesis like the one I play on. Even crazier is the stuff they did with Batman & Robin, they did stuff like TRUE TRANSPARENCY effects in that one, something that no one has been able to figure out on the Saturn. The music in that one is also Jesper Kyd's best work on any game.
Technically this can be the most impressive game i had ever seen for the Megadrive/genesis. That indoor part is just incredible, and thinking that this was achieved only by software (the genny doesn´t have any mode7 hardware capabilities, unlike the Snes) made it even more amazing.
Enjoyed this game back in the day, it was a great challenge and very brutal. These days such games would be too demanding if it isn't osme dumbed down shooter that holds your hand all the way through.
Same team did Sub-terrania. God did that game ever piss me off. This on the other hand looks playable and has some of the best genesis music composed next to games like "Elemental Master" (I am obsessed with that game I think).
I know damn right! I loved Elemental Master... I think other then the SNES port of Capitan Commando it's the only game I finished on all difficulties. The challenge is perfect along with control. Very sad the gaming world didn't notice the gem when originally released.
@warc9 Zyrinx were a really, really talented team. I heard they didn't have a conventional Genesis kit when they made hames; they hacked up their own. So they really pushed the Gen to its limits. Not in a particularly flashy way, but in a subtle, progressive way. They shoulda made more than two games for the Genesis...
For those interested, Red Zone was originally entitled 'Hard Wired,' and existed as a demo/preview which is available out there as a ROM file. This demo has a slightly different opening FMV and, although I'm not certain, I believe there may also be different music tracks. That, or a few of the track names had been changed for the official release...Anyway, Zyrinx were the kind of forward-thinking developers that don't make video games anymore. Truly this was an era unto itself.
Memories! This game was so incredible. I rented it on a whim, not knowing what it was, and loved it. I didn't want to take it back. It is pretty hard but I love the challenge.
i had this game when i was 8. very difficult at that age to figure out exactly what your meant to be doing but i remember i gave it a good go.
looking back at it im actually kind of amazed i was able to play this game that young. I dont think they generally make games that difficult anymore with it also being fair at the same time.
Very impressive. With some nice tricks (parallax projected sprites and flat polygons maybe?) it gives the impression of true 3d. I have heard that a group from the amiga demoscene was originally involved in the making of this game but I don't remember which one right now.
Wow, this game has a lot of similarities with Sub-Terrania. I know they're made by the same company, but I was surprised that the font, the title, and the music looked/sounded similar to ST.
This game looks pretty good. Had I the chance I'd download and play this.
The two games (Red Zone and Sub-Terrania) were basically developed by the same 7 guys, one year after the other. Helps explain the similarities in style :)
They even developed Sub-Terrania on their own non-Sega-approved development kit, which goes to show how much raw technical talent that small group of guys had! A different age of gaming, to be sure.
I think it's funny he did this song here and no one noticed but when he did Blood Money everyone was like OMFG BEST SONG EVAR!!!11 There is a lot of amazing music for earlier consoles that few took notice of.
Agreeed. Listen at 3.40 onwards. Thats pretty much jesper kyd signature right there. Sounds exactly like an ingame soundtrack for one of the levels in silent assasin.
HAHA crimanally overlooked games XD, I love that name. BUT MAN... is that REAL 3D I see or do my eyes decieve me? is that textures I see? dammit what the hell, superFX chip my ASS the genesis was the shit.
Kyd has been know to revisit and enhance his older works in later games. Like Unreal Tournament for example, some of the tracks closely resemble the work he did in The Adventures of Batman and Robin. Whether this is intentional or not, I cannot say.
Do you know if this game had some sort of special chip in it or something? That is some awfully impressive faked (I assume) 3D for the Genesis. Not to mention the FMV.
Really, the thing that looked like was holding the game back the most to me was the ultra zoomed-in view. If they would have made everything a bit smaller so you could see more of the ground I bet it would have been more fun to play.
So you can't just Brute force hack your way to the end (yes people did do this, it's how they found the hidden asteroids game). It's not really that long and only consist of 3 possible characters anyway.
I almost bought this game. I saw an ad for it in a gaming mag, but it looked like an over head shooter from what I remember. I don't remember it having this depth and the visuals and sound are stunning for a genesis game! Hell, it looks and sounds like it could pass for a computer game a times. I think it's bad marketing that hurt, plus, 1994 was a big year in gaming so it must have faced some stiff competition. Wish I did buy it, would like to see it remade on XBLA.
Daemonocracy 2 months ago
Am I the only one who thinks this game's villain looks like Fidel Castro?
StarFoxAutobot 4 months ago
@StarFoxAutobot Joseph Stalin
Daemonocracy 2 months ago
A picture is worth a thousand words and a video goes beyond ...
How to avoid conflicts? ... not take out the grace of the game, is the most entertaining ... face all of that difficulty is this game special
dami1489 4 months ago
This......This is a GENESIS game!?
O.o
BigAlUpdates 5 months ago
Yeah, I still hardly believe it even knowing the tricks they used. The frame rate is always consistent no matter what is going on. It uses no special chips - I don't get it.
BigBangBlitz 5 months ago
@BigBangBlitz Well, The Follins Brothers were able to compose batshit insane music on the NES and SNES without special chips, so what the hell is this wizardry?
BigAlUpdates 5 months ago
@BigBangBlitz
Me either. This actually manages to look better than a lot of PS1 games due to it's much cleaner graphics (no texture "peeling" here) and the sound aint bad either, especially on a Model 1 Genesis like the one I play on. Even crazier is the stuff they did with Batman & Robin, they did stuff like TRUE TRANSPARENCY effects in that one, something that no one has been able to figure out on the Saturn. The music in that one is also Jesper Kyd's best work on any game.
AFreakinProblem 5 days ago
Technically this can be the most impressive game i had ever seen for the Megadrive/genesis. That indoor part is just incredible, and thinking that this was achieved only by software (the genny doesn´t have any mode7 hardware capabilities, unlike the Snes) made it even more amazing.
ramiro2500 8 months ago
Enjoyed this game back in the day, it was a great challenge and very brutal. These days such games would be too demanding if it isn't osme dumbed down shooter that holds your hand all the way through.
Fun game, very challenging. Needs a revival.
ReinaHW 9 months ago
Same team did Sub-terrania. God did that game ever piss me off. This on the other hand looks playable and has some of the best genesis music composed next to games like "Elemental Master" (I am obsessed with that game I think).
TheDemoniusX 1 year ago
@TheDemoniusX elemental master is one of the greatest and most underrated games of all time.
neobogard 1 year ago
@neobogard
I know damn right! I loved Elemental Master... I think other then the SNES port of Capitan Commando it's the only game I finished on all difficulties. The challenge is perfect along with control. Very sad the gaming world didn't notice the gem when originally released.
TheDemoniusX 1 year ago
@TheDemoniusX If you feel Sub Terrania is hard, be prepared to throw your Genesis out the window with Red Zone.
gamingsnds 10 months ago
The music sounds like Hitman because Zyrinx is still around as IO Interactive who make the Hitman series.
Atomicskull 1 year ago
A lot of great games on the Genesis were largely overlooked and underrated.
D313370r 1 year ago
sound like batman and robin tas music from genesis sounds kinda similar
bestwon1 2 years ago
Same guy.
BigBangBlitz 2 years ago
man i loved that batman game :)
izosity 1 year ago
Wow, graphically this game is very impressive, considering it's a Genesis game released in 1994. The indoor parts of the mission look like GTA1
BdR76 2 years ago
this looks like a ps1 game
warc9 2 years ago 12
@warc9 Zyrinx were a really, really talented team. I heard they didn't have a conventional Genesis kit when they made hames; they hacked up their own. So they really pushed the Gen to its limits. Not in a particularly flashy way, but in a subtle, progressive way. They shoulda made more than two games for the Genesis...
ultramegaunknown 1 year ago
YES! I'd play that for a while to take my mind off the stress of the game.
Drunkenher0 2 years ago
For those interested, Red Zone was originally entitled 'Hard Wired,' and existed as a demo/preview which is available out there as a ROM file. This demo has a slightly different opening FMV and, although I'm not certain, I believe there may also be different music tracks. That, or a few of the track names had been changed for the official release...Anyway, Zyrinx were the kind of forward-thinking developers that don't make video games anymore. Truly this was an era unto itself.
ilJuicescribeRolo 2 years ago
Unique and non-linear. Ahead of its time
soopahsoopah 2 years ago
Memories! This game was so incredible. I rented it on a whim, not knowing what it was, and loved it. I didn't want to take it back. It is pretty hard but I love the challenge.
GrieferMadness 2 years ago
nice sound track
Sambucacat 2 years ago
Asteroids, yes. It was probably better than the cut rate release of the real asteroids in the classic games compilation too.
BigBangBlitz 2 years ago
i had this game when i was 8. very difficult at that age to figure out exactly what your meant to be doing but i remember i gave it a good go.
looking back at it im actually kind of amazed i was able to play this game that young. I dont think they generally make games that difficult anymore with it also being fair at the same time.
THEREALghostlaced 2 years ago
I was 8 too when I got this on the megadrive. IT beat me black and blue -Pure torment.
I'll bet though since you put this down you've never been beat by another game since?
I owe my skills to this game!
Drunkenher0 2 years ago
Very impressive. With some nice tricks (parallax projected sprites and flat polygons maybe?) it gives the impression of true 3d. I have heard that a group from the amiga demoscene was originally involved in the making of this game but I don't remember which one right now.
Optimus6128 3 years ago
Wow, this game has a lot of similarities with Sub-Terrania. I know they're made by the same company, but I was surprised that the font, the title, and the music looked/sounded similar to ST.
This game looks pretty good. Had I the chance I'd download and play this.
Panzermanathod 3 years ago
The two games (Red Zone and Sub-Terrania) were basically developed by the same 7 guys, one year after the other. Helps explain the similarities in style :)
They even developed Sub-Terrania on their own non-Sega-approved development kit, which goes to show how much raw technical talent that small group of guys had! A different age of gaming, to be sure.
Betsix 3 years ago
After the work I can see that went into the game, I gotta give these guys props.
Panzermanathod 3 years ago
holy shit! the music is awesome
Jegudiel21ZX 3 years ago 8
If you listen carefully you can hear music that was remixed and used a decade later in Hitman: Blood Money.
Kyd put a lot of work into this soundtrack and it shows. Most of the tracks are 10+ minutes long without repeats!
BigBangBlitz 3 years ago 3
Jesper Kyd made a fan for life with me via the music for this game. That man is a GENIUS. The only game soundtracks I've purchased are done by him.
Wish there was a way to pay him directly for this music, since I already own a Red Zone cartridge!
Betsix 3 years ago 2
I think it's funny he did this song here and no one noticed but when he did Blood Money everyone was like OMFG BEST SONG EVAR!!!11 There is a lot of amazing music for earlier consoles that few took notice of.
Neopergoss 2 years ago
Agreeed. Listen at 3.40 onwards. Thats pretty much jesper kyd signature right there. Sounds exactly like an ingame soundtrack for one of the levels in silent assasin.
Drunkenher0 2 years ago
@BigBangBlitz Yep, good stuff! And the beginning overworld theme would be used in the first land mission in AMOK as well!
gamingsnds 10 months ago
The FMV at the beginning was impressive enough. I don't think i saw anything close on SNES
gigosai 3 years ago 4
I don't think the SNES was fast enough to handle the FMV the way the Genesis could.
philiptwood 2 years ago 2
Seems to have elements of Metal Gear, Guerilla War, and Bionic Commando.
IggyHazard 3 years ago
HAHA crimanally overlooked games XD, I love that name. BUT MAN... is that REAL 3D I see or do my eyes decieve me? is that textures I see? dammit what the hell, superFX chip my ASS the genesis was the shit.
VoidKeeper 3 years ago
There's a little tune when the helicopter sequences occur that reminds me of Hitman's 'Apocalypse' tune.
marcoasalazarm 3 years ago
Kyd has been know to revisit and enhance his older works in later games. Like Unreal Tournament for example, some of the tracks closely resemble the work he did in The Adventures of Batman and Robin. Whether this is intentional or not, I cannot say.
BigBangBlitz 3 years ago
Do you know if this game had some sort of special chip in it or something? That is some awfully impressive faked (I assume) 3D for the Genesis. Not to mention the FMV.
Really, the thing that looked like was holding the game back the most to me was the ultra zoomed-in view. If they would have made everything a bit smaller so you could see more of the ground I bet it would have been more fun to play.
emailtj 3 years ago
All the effects were done with the software only. The game has a standard pcb. Same thing with the other Zyrinx game Sub-Terrania.
You're right about the ground. The game was hard enough as it is without having perspective problems.
If it was more zoomed out like Soldiers of fortune it would have seriously helped.
This whole game feels like a missed opportunity.
BigBangBlitz 3 years ago
y the passwords so long
SamuralPrince 3 years ago
So you can't just Brute force hack your way to the end (yes people did do this, it's how they found the hidden asteroids game). It's not really that long and only consist of 3 possible characters anyway.
BigBangBlitz 3 years ago