Revolution X is about the ol' Rock & Roll. There is an evil nation putting the youth down and banning our beloved rock music. Who you gonna call? Aerosmith! With the help of Aerosmith, the player must shoot his/her way through enemy infested levels, (light) guns blazing, collecting power-ups and releasing hostages. Almost all of the graphics are digitized and Aerosmith themselves are too! There are also lots of fmv videos.
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How the hell this cruddy game ever came into my possession as a child, I will never know. I can say for damn sure I never asked for it. I'm pretty confident my mom found it in some sort of Blockbuster discount bin and figured it would make a good cheap gift at the time. Revolution X was one of those many weird, obscure licensed games that would get churned out back in the 90s, so it's not really all that unique; but it is still a bit of an oddity, and I can't help but wonder why in the hell did this game ever even get created, and how in the world did it become associated with Aerosmith?? I know I could probably find out with a simple Google search, but I'd rather it remain a comedic mystery for me. Other than the chuckle I get from thinking about Revolution X, I can't help but feel disappointed that I spent any time amount of time playing this when there are so many heralded Genesis titles that I missed out on at the time.
If it wasn't for the Aerosmith this game is just Duke Nukem the light-gun experience. And I mean that as a full compliment. It's cheesy to the point of near unbelievability, the bosses are bullet sponges while the enemies are comically weak canon fodder, and everything is either horny, "radical", or gory. It was an absolute blast, I just hate Aerosmith SO much.
Played on June 19th, 2023
Cleared on July 7th, 2023 (SEGA Genesis Challenge: 17/160)
Revolution X is an Arcade On-Rail shooter where you go on a mission to lead the Revolution against the New Order and rescue... The Aerosmith band...
Honestly, I'm not really sure what Aerosmith and On-Rail Shooter have to do with each other. Is there some kind of in-joke that I'm not getting? I've heard a few Aerosmith songs; I'm sure you have without even realizing it, but I haven't actively looked into the band itself.
The game is good pick for an arcade round. As an on-rail shooter, there's nothing particularly out of the ordinary here. You just shoot what you can. Shoot glass to collect CDs, shoot enemies, fling CDs at enemies for an extra projectile, and shoot hostages to free them somehow.
What makes this game really stand out is the aesthetic. The game takes place in a dystopian future where this tyrannical school teacher has taken over the world and had kidnapped Aerosmith, and it's up to you to save them. And this game has you doing wild things like shooting a slime monster to prevent mind control, shooting a school bus to save kids from being reprogrammed, and just shooting a bunch of roller skate weirdos in masks. It's bizarre.
If I have to guess why it's the way it is, it's because of the time period it came from. The 90s, from what I hear, is the era where the kid/teen rebellion was a major trend, so the idea of making a shooter game that paints the teacher as the bad guy while saving a band they most likely listen to, as ridiculous as it may sound, did appeal to that trend and from what I've researched, it was a critical and commercial success... well, the Arcade version is, anyway.
Now I don't have access to the Arcade version and have only played the Genesis version so far, but I'll just say that if you can access the Arcade version, it would be the ideal version because of the visuals and music, and with the emulator, you can have as many chances as you need compared to the console versions forcing only 20 chances. But the Genesis isn't terrible. Granted, the d-pad/joystick aiming can be seen as detrimental, but given the game released at all on the system, it is possible to beat the game.
July 7th Update: Well, even for somebody like me, it actually is do-able. Once you realize what's at stake, start actively shooting glass to find shields and health pick-ups, and spam CDs at the enemy, you can play a lot better and be able to conserve your continues to be able to take on the final boss. Even though you would still die on occasions, the fact that it doesn't feel impossible is enough to bump it up in score from 3 stars to 3.5.
Cleared on July 7th, 2023 (SEGA Genesis Challenge: 17/160)
Revolution X is an Arcade On-Rail shooter where you go on a mission to lead the Revolution against the New Order and rescue... The Aerosmith band...
Honestly, I'm not really sure what Aerosmith and On-Rail Shooter have to do with each other. Is there some kind of in-joke that I'm not getting? I've heard a few Aerosmith songs; I'm sure you have without even realizing it, but I haven't actively looked into the band itself.
The game is good pick for an arcade round. As an on-rail shooter, there's nothing particularly out of the ordinary here. You just shoot what you can. Shoot glass to collect CDs, shoot enemies, fling CDs at enemies for an extra projectile, and shoot hostages to free them somehow.
What makes this game really stand out is the aesthetic. The game takes place in a dystopian future where this tyrannical school teacher has taken over the world and had kidnapped Aerosmith, and it's up to you to save them. And this game has you doing wild things like shooting a slime monster to prevent mind control, shooting a school bus to save kids from being reprogrammed, and just shooting a bunch of roller skate weirdos in masks. It's bizarre.
If I have to guess why it's the way it is, it's because of the time period it came from. The 90s, from what I hear, is the era where the kid/teen rebellion was a major trend, so the idea of making a shooter game that paints the teacher as the bad guy while saving a band they most likely listen to, as ridiculous as it may sound, did appeal to that trend and from what I've researched, it was a critical and commercial success... well, the Arcade version is, anyway.
Now I don't have access to the Arcade version and have only played the Genesis version so far, but I'll just say that if you can access the Arcade version, it would be the ideal version because of the visuals and music, and with the emulator, you can have as many chances as you need compared to the console versions forcing only 20 chances. But the Genesis isn't terrible. Granted, the d-pad/joystick aiming can be seen as detrimental, but given the game released at all on the system, it is possible to beat the game.
July 7th Update: Well, even for somebody like me, it actually is do-able. Once you realize what's at stake, start actively shooting glass to find shields and health pick-ups, and spam CDs at the enemy, you can play a lot better and be able to conserve your continues to be able to take on the final boss. Even though you would still die on occasions, the fact that it doesn't feel impossible is enough to bump it up in score from 3 stars to 3.5.
Aerosmith sucks
Although I can appreciate aspects of this game, it was overall just kinda weird and boring. Funny concept, though.
Not sure why this game's rating is so slow. Playing this game in the arcade was a highlight. I'm sure it suffered on consoles though, as all railshooters did.