RETRO REBOOT | General Chaos (Sega Genesis)

It’s amazing in hindsight how some games served as litmus tests for bigger projects down the road as well as setting modern-day standards that are often overlooked in games today. NBA Live 95 and NHL 94 redefined sports games into a more simulated structure, encompassing seasons modes, real rosters, realtime stat tracking. The 3D0 version of Road Rash included the first soundtrack featuring licensed musicians’ cuts on the game. And then there is General Chaos, probably the first real-time strategy on a major console that layed down the groundwork for Command & Conquer and Dune.

Available only on the Sega Genesis, General Chaos was developed by Game Refuge and published by Electronic Arts. The premise pits two opposing armies against each other on a single screen battlefield with a top-down view. The overall presentation is physical comedy, which is a giveaway when looking at the box art, and the first thing that might cross your mind is Hogan's Heroes crossed with the stole of early 90's Saturday morning animation.

The art was provided by Brian Colin, with the game design handled by Jeff Nauman. Their credits include Rampage World Tour, the outlaw basketball game, Arch Rivals, and Blasted. I remain a little surprised that 3DO turned Army Men into a franchise, but Electronic Arts let this game be a one-off. Granted, its satire style may have aged itself out by the edgier mid-90's.

The single player and two player coop modes focus on defeating enemy forces and taking control of a region before taking down their city’s capital. The battles can become a tug of war as it gets harder, and it determines who you decide to go into battle with. You can select four different five man teams with varying degrees of attack and defense, depending on your preference. The commandos are probably best to select for a two player coop game, as you have free control over the combatants as opposed to the point and click.

Speaking of the point and click, it’s all resorted to one button. It is simple and accessible enough, with only five soldiers to select from, it’s not that big a deal. Perhaps I am spoiled by more sophisticated RTS games, but I would’ve preferred to be able to select said soldier with my cursor and move as opposed to pressing the C button four more times to get my man out of danger. Yes, it only takes about a second or less, but that second could mean life or death.

Time for the Rundown of your motley crew:

Gunners: Standard grunt soldiers that have decent attack range and speed. If used in a swarming fashion, they can be dangerous. A must to have on the team for a well-rounded attack.

Chuckers: These guys hurl grenades and can attack over obstructions. The grenade can be slow, but its range and damage can make up for it as long as they are protected.

Launchers: General Chaos’ equivalent of snipers can attack from across the screen. They do massive damage but have a slow reload time. Best to put a Gunner or a Flamer near them for protection.

Flamers: The most deadly combatant on the field, Flamers have a low attack range, but they do serious damage if they get in close. They are also great for blowing up side mission targets.

Blasters: Area control; They have shorter range than the Chuckers, but their dynamite has a wide blast radius. They have to be constantly protected as well, the trade-off can be beneficial.

I found the CPU to be a bit too easy the first time around, but replays after the first victory over General Havoc increases the challenge considerably. It mostly comes down to trial and error, depending on the team you go into battle with. Medics are used to save downed soldiers, but be careful, there’s only so many times you can do this throughout the game. You can find icons, which gives you an extra medic, but nothing hurts more than when a man is down and you desperately click over his head to see that you are out…..and you’re outnumbered 4 to 1.

At certain points, two opposing units will collide and engage in hilarious hand to hand combat. The punches, kicks, and blocks all have a slight delay, so you can’t just mash the buttons and hope for a victory. It has a science to it, so master that timing.

The animation moves smoothly enough and the action can be pretty easy to follow. Each stage has various obstacles and obstructions to plan your battle strategy accordingly. Nothing ever felt too cluttered or restrained, and despite the field taking up one screen, you can really move around. The five soldiers are well-marked, so telling your crew apart isn’t an issue. when the action picks up, there is some notable slowdown, which can get annoying. Character animations are great, with downed soldiers dazed and loopy to getting blasted into a skeleton from a critical rocket blast (drives me nuts). The wacky comedy adds some levity to ease the carnage. There’s some great attention to detail as well, like when you Flamer trudges through the water and emerges, his flamethrower shoots bubbles temporarily.

Sound-wise, this is just one of those games I would not want to hear on the SNES. While there may not be music during gameplay, that Chaos theme will be looping in your head for hours. On field sounds, exploding grenades and grunting soldiers, are crisp and clean coming out of the good old Genesis.

If you have some buddies to play with, look for a Sega multitap and you can all go in and defeat Havoc together or war against each other!! General Chaos is a game that is at its best as a two player. General Chaos is lost gem on this console and is a wildly entertaining game, single player or coop. I strongly recommend adding this one to your Genesis library. Its comedy and high replay value makes this an easy play for retro gamers.