ETERNAL CHAMPIONS CD

iiO 4 M E G A C D P R E V I E W

A tier three patchy yeurs of Mega-CD releases,many owners may be forgiven for showing little anticipation of another Megadrive to CD conversion. Many of the previous titles which have token this route show little improvement on their cartridge counterparts, despite £200 worth of additional hardware employed. With Eternal Champions CD, Sego are making a real effort to break that chain. The strategy for the Eternal Champions characters is destined to extend beyond this second title, with a Saturn or 32X game completing the 'trilogy' later this year. Sega ore • pushing the Champions brand like no other since Sonic himself. At its most basic the CD game is a side-viewed one-on-one beat 'em up like its prequel. According to the dramatic plot, a preternatural force — the 'Eternal Champion' has rescued 13 characters out of time, at the point each faced a horrible death. The crew encompasses individuals as diverse as a Chicago cat burglar and a mythical Atlantean warrior. By saving them for battle in the Eternal Champions contest, he's darning the fabric of time. Something like that, anyway. In amongst all the philosophy is an excuse for a good rumble. Each character has a staggering amount of special moves, few of which will be revealed in the manual. Some of these look like the dragon punch or missile attacks of MKII or SRI, but many exercise the imagination, with characters morphing into animals or using magic. So much more is crammed into the game — cinematic sequences depicting each of the characters' lives. These are assembled from beautiful Silicon Graphics' renderings. There ore almost as many secret characters as official ones (including a yappy little dog and a chicken called 'Crispy'), and so many gut-wrenching ways to die. Eternal Champions is surely the most adapted CD game that Sega hove produced, and we shall give it serious attention in next month's review.

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BRINY ENTERTAINMENT

Eternal Champions CD is the first on a new Sego label called 'Deep Water'. Originally a US idea. Sego confirm the strategy will be used here. Games on the label ore firmly aimed at the adult market As Eternal Champions features lots of grotesque deaths and some sick sequences besides, the new label allows more extravagant violence without reproach from parents. The special intro sequence depicts some holidaymakers being mauled in their pedollo by a shark off Alicante beach.

DIM!! AGAIN

Death features time and time again in Eternal Champions, with some excessively cruel ways of dispatching foes:

MENUS

The most dramatic deaths, and very hard to pull off, The vanquished is sent to the evil Champion and annihilated in full rendered animation.

VENDETTA

Akin to 'death moves' Vendettas are used to finish off unfortunate foes. They range from ripping out hearts to a frenzied stabbing attack.

OVERKILLS

The novelty here is the backgrounds come to life to finish off the loser. Watch flesh-eating monkeys drag off and devour unfortunates.

SU DEATHS

Simi overkills, but these may be ;nflicted at any point, even on healthy players. Throw your victims into roaring fans or neon signs.

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