Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City

Last updated

Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City
MjordanSNES boxart.jpg
North American SNES box art featuring Michael Jordan
Developer(s) Electronic Arts
Publisher(s)
Producer(s) Jim Rushing
Designer(s) Amy Hennig
Programmer(s) David O'Connor
Chuck Sommerville
Simon Freeman
Lisa Ching
Composer(s) David Whittaker
Murray Allen
Marc Farley
Don Veca
Platform(s) Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Release
  • NA: November 1994
  • EU: 1995
Genre(s) Action, platformer
Mode(s) Single-player

Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City is a side-scrolling action video game developed by Electronic Arts and published by Ocean for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was released in North America in November 1994 and in Europe in 1995. A Sega Genesis version was planned, but never released. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Gameplay

The game played much like other two-dimensional platform games of its time, collecting keys and defeating enemies with a variety of different techniques. The player controls Michael Jordan on a quest to save the rest of the players for an All-Star charity game, who have all been kidnapped. The player attacks enemies using different basketballs, each with its own ability; for example, the freeze ball can freeze the ground and create a slippery surface, the bomb ball makes a large explosion, and so on. The player must find keys throughout the game to unlock different doors and rescue teammates. Michael can also slam dunk for a secondary attack. This is also used to activate power-up baskets and various checkpoints along the way.

Plot

A little before the Scottie Pippen charity game, Michael Jordan's teammates are abducted by mad scientist Maximus Cranium. The protagonist must save them before it is too late.

Development

Reception

GamePro gave the game a positive review. While they acknowledged that the blatant product placement is annoying, and criticized the controls as extremely difficult, they gave the game a positive recommendation based on its varied gameplay and "intense, complex levels". [4] Nintendo Power commented on the game stating that "Michael has some cool moves" and noted the game's "good graphics" and that the "play control seems loose at times" and that it had "generic platform game enemies with simple AI". [5] A reviewer for Next Generation gave it two out of five stars; although commending its concept, the magazine was critical to its backgrounds as "redundant" and that the mazes are "repetitious". [6] Super Play gave the game an overall score of 83/100, praising the game for having many levels and sub levels despite noting its bizarre plot. [7]

In September 1997, Nintendo Power had 12 staff members vote for the ten worst games of all time, with Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City placed at seventh worst. The article said the game was not too poor, but was a waste of a license. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Earthworm Jim</i> (video game) 1994 video game

Earthworm Jim is a 1994 run and gun platform game developed by Shiny Entertainment, featuring an earthworm named Jim, who wears a robotic suit and battles the forces of evil. The game was released for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, before being subsequently ported to a number of other video game consoles.

<i>Sonic & Knuckles</i> 1994 video game

Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog or Knuckles the Echidna in their quests to save Angel Island; Sonic tries to stop Doctor Robotnik from re-launching his orbital weapon, the Death Egg, while Knuckles scuffles with Robotnik's minion, EggRobo. Like previous Sonic games, players traverse side-scrolling levels at high speeds while collecting rings and defeating enemies.

<i>Ecco: The Tides of Time</i> 1994 video game

Ecco: The Tides of Time is an action-adventure video game developed by Novotrade International, published by Sega, and released for most of Sega's then-supported gaming consoles in 1994. It is the second game in the Ecco the Dolphin series. The Tides of Time continued the story of the first game and featured similar gameplay with a few new additions.

<i>Primal Rage</i> 1994 arcade video game

Primal Rage is a fighting game developed and released by Atari Games for arcades in 1994. The game takes place on a post-apocalyptic version of Earth called "Urth". Players control one of seven prehistoric beasts, that battle each other to determine the planet's fate. Matches feature many of the conventions of fighting games from the era, including special moves and gory finishing maneuvers. Ports were released for home video game consoles and personal computers. Efforts to perfectly emulate the arcade original have been unsuccessful due to the use of an unusual copy protection method. Toys, comics, a novel and other merchandise tie-ins were produced. More than 1.5 million copies of the game were sold.

<i>Shaq Fu</i> 1994 video game

Shaq Fu is a 2D fighting game published by Electronic Arts for the Sega Genesis and Super NES on October 28, 1994. It was developed by Delphine Software International. Versions for the Game Gear, Game Boy, and Amiga followed in 1995. Former professional basketball player Shaquille O'Neal is the player character.

<i>Mickey Mania</i> 1994 video game

Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse is a 1994 platform video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Sony Imagesoft for the Super NES, Sega Genesis and Sega CD. In the game, the player controls Mickey Mouse, who must navigate through various side-scrolling levels, each designed and based on classical Mickey Mouse cartoons. The game was later released on the PlayStation in 1996 as Mickey's Wild Adventure in PAL regions by Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Imagesoft's successor. A second game, Mickey Mania 2, was intended to be released, but was cancelled due to Traveller's Tales focusing on other games.

<i>The Jungle Book</i> (video game) 1994 video game

Disney's The Jungle Book is a series of platform video games based on the 1967 Disney animated film of the same name. The game was released by Virgin Interactive Entertainment in 1994 for the Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, Master System, Genesis/Mega Drive, Game Gear, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and MS-DOS. While gameplay is the same on all versions, technological differences between the systems forced changes – in some case drastic – in level design, resulting in six fairly different versions of the 'same' game. This article is largely based upon the Genesis version.

<i>The Lion King</i> (video game) 1994 video game

The Lion King is a platform game based on Disney's 1994 animated film The Lion King. The game was developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment for the Super NES and Genesis in 1994, and was ported to MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Gear, Master System, and Nintendo Entertainment System. The Amiga, Master System, and NES versions were only released in the PAL region. It is the final licensed NES game worldwide. The game follows Simba's journey from a young cub to the battle with his uncle Scar as an adult.

<i>Barkley Shut Up and Jam!</i> 1994 basketball video game

Barkley Shut Up and Jam! is a basketball video game originally developed and published by Accolade for the Sega Genesis on North America in March 1994 and later in Europe in April 1994. The game is the first entry in the Barkley Shut Up and Jam series, featuring former NBA MVP Charles Barkley prominently and as one of the playable characters.

<i>Slam City with Scottie Pippen</i> 1994 video game

Slam City with Scottie Pippen is the first FMV basketball video game. It was developed by Digital Pictures for the PC and CD-ROM-based video game consoles such as the Sega CD. Scottie Pippen stars in the game, and performed the theme song. Ron Stein, who had previously directed the video footage for Prize Fighter, directed the video footage for the game. A 3DO Interactive Multiplayer version was announced but never released.

<i>The Adventures of Batman & Robin</i> (video game) 1994 video game

The Adventures of Batman & Robin is a series of video game adaptations released between 1994 and 1995 featuring the DC Comics characters Batman and Robin based on Batman: The Animated Series. The games were released for numerous platforms, with the Genesis, Game Gear, and Sega CD versions published by Sega while the Super NES version was published by Konami.

<i>Waterworld</i> (video game) 1995 video game

Waterworld is a series of video games released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Virtual Boy, MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows and Game Boy, based on the film of the same name, along with unpublished versions for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Saturn, Atari Jaguar, 3DO and PlayStation. These games were produced by Ocean Software. The SNES and Game Boy games were released only in Europe in 1995 and the Virtual Boy game was released exclusively in North America in November 1995. It was released for PC in 1997. The game received widespread negative reviews and the version released for the Virtual Boy is generally considered to be the worst game of its 22 releases.

<i>The Pagemaster</i> (video game) 1994 video game

The Pagemaster is a platform game released in conjunction with the 1994 film The Pagemaster for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, and Sega Genesis. It was developed by Probe Software, published by Fox Interactive and distributed by FoxVideo.

<i>True Lies</i> (video game) 1994 video game

True Lies is a top-view run and gun video game based on the 1994 film True Lies. The game was developed by Beam Software and published by Acclaim Entertainment. Four different versions of the game were released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Game Gear, and Game Boy. The home versions and portable versions are drastically different from each other, but have similar play mechanics.

<i>MechWarrior 3050</i> 1996 video game

MechWarrior 3050, also known as BattleTech in its original Sega Genesis release and in Japan as BattleTech 3050 (バトルテック3050), is a 1994 mech-based video game developed by Malibu. The first BattleTech based game to be released for the Sega Genesis, it was later ported to the Super Nintendo by Activision as MechWarrior 3050. The Super Nintendo game was localized and published in Japan by Ask Group.

<i>Mighty Morphin Power Rangers</i> (video game) 1994 video game

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is the title of five different video games based on the first season of the television series of the same name, one for each of the following game platforms: Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Game Gear, and Sega CD. The Nintendo versions of the game were released by Bandai, while the Sega versions were published by Sega itself and the production of the cartridge versions was carried by Banpresto, a pseudonym of Bandai. The Green Ranger is only playable on the Genesis and Game Gear versions of the game.

<i>Vectorman</i> 1995 video game

Vectorman is a 2D action platformer video game developed by BlueSky Software and published by Sega. The game was released for the Sega Genesis in late 1995 in North America and Europe. It was considered a critical and commercial success, achieving its dual goal of retaining interest in the aging Sega Genesis platform in face of the increasingly popular new technology of the next generation of video game consoles and providing competition to industry competitor Nintendo's popular Donkey Kong Country video game. In subsequent decades, the game was re-released across many Sega-themed video game compilations, and on its own across the Wii Virtual Console, Steam, and the Sega Forever line of mobile game releases. A sequel, Vectorman 2, was released in 1996, but despite several abandoned attempts at making an Vectorman 3, no further games have been released.

<i>Bubsy 2</i> 1994 video game

Bubsy 2 is a platform video game, the sequel to Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, and the second game in the Bubsy series. It was originally released by Accolade in 1994 for the Sega Genesis, Super NES, and Game Boy, and re-released for Windows through Steam on December 17, 2015.

<i>Fun n Games</i> 1994 video game

Fun 'n Games is a compilation video game developed by Leland Interactive Media and released for the Super NES and Mega Drive/Genesis platforms in 1993 and 1994. In 1995, an updated, redeveloped version of the game was released on the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer and MS-DOS by Williams Entertainment Inc. The North American Super NES version of the game is considered to be one of the more rare games released for the console.

<i>Time Trax</i> (video game) 1994 video game

Time Trax is a 1994 action-platform video game developed by Malibu Interactive and published by Malibu Games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is based on the television series of the same name, which aired from 1993 to 1994. The story follows police Captain Lambert as he tries to stop criminal fugitives from changing history and gaining control of the future, with aid from his supercomputer assistant. The player controls Lambert across eight levels, apprehending enemies using a stunner weapon capable of sending them back to the future. The player can also use martial arts to defeat enemies, or use a time ability to slow them down.

References

  1. "Sneak Peek - Genesis: Jordan Shoots Against Off-Court Menace - Michael Jordan In Chaos in the Windy City". Sega Visions . No. 20. IDG. August–September 1994. p. 72.
  2. "News - Front Page: TimeLine". Game Players . No. 45. Signal Research. October 1994. pp. 8–12.
  3. "News: Jordan Adventure". Mean Machines Sega . No. 24. EMAP. November 1994. p. 14.
  4. "ProReview: Chaos in the Windy City". GamePro . No. 65. IDG. December 1994. pp. 130–132.
  5. "Now Playing". Nintendo Power . Vol. 67. Nintendo of America Inc. December 1994. pp. 104, 107. SNES: Graphics and Sound: 3.4 / 5, Play Control: 3.2 / 5, Challenge: 3.2/5, Theme and Fun: 3.3/5. NES: Graphics and Sound: 3.1 / 5
  6. "Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City". Next Generation (3). Imagine Media: 102. March 1995.
  7. Frank O' Connor (March 1995). Michael Jordan Chaos in the Windy City Review. Future Publishing. p. 59.
  8. "100 Best Games of All Time". Nintendo Power . Vol. 100. September 1997. p. 97.