Rolling Thunder 2

Last updated
Rolling Thunder 2
Rolling Thuner 2 game flyer.png
Arcade flyer
Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s) Namco
Composer(s) Ayako Saso
SeriesRolling Thunder
Platform(s) Arcade, Sega Genesis
Release
Genre(s) Run and gun
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system Namco System 2

Rolling Thunder 2 [lower-alpha 1] is a run and gun arcade game developed and released by Namco for the Namco System 2 hardware in 1991. The game is the sequel to 1986's Rolling Thunder , retaining the same gameplay of its predecessor but adding cooperative gameplay for two players and improved graphics. Unlike the original, which was based in 1968, Rolling Thunder 2 has a more contemporary setting to go with its more futuristic design, as well as an optionally playable female character. A port for the Sega Genesis was released the same year. Both the Mega Drive port and the original arcade game were released for the Wii Virtual Console on December 4, 2007 and October 27, 2009 respectively.

Contents

Gameplay

Set in the 1990s, the Geldra organization, thought to have been eliminated during the first game, returns and is destroying several of the world's satellites in outer space. As in the original Rolling Thunder , the players must take control of a member of the WCPO's Rolling Thunder task force.

Two players can now play simultaneously, with Player 1 as female agent Leila and Player 2 as male agent Albatross. Even though they possess different external appearances, including different handguns, the two characters have identical abilities (much like Yūichirō Tomari and Sunday Chin from Namco's own Ordyne , which was released two years earlier and is also a Namco System 2 game). As with the original game, both Leila and Albatross can only take two physical hits from the enemies - and a hit from a bullet or other projectile such as a laser will result in an immediate death. Both are armed with a default pistol that has only limited ammunition; when bullets run out, their guns fire a slow "chaser" bullet instead. Players can also upgrade to a submachine gun (based on a Walther MP from the artwork) by entering marked doors - and when entering one of these marked doors, a counter appears indicating the number of remaining bullets left to be picked up, allowing one player to leave ammo for the other. Unlike in the original Rolling Thunder , pistol and machine gun ammunition is not carried over at the end of each level and players always start a new level with the minimum pistol rounds only.

The graphics are noticeably improved over the previous game and have a decidedly more futuristic look to go along with the game's modern setting; the game's main enemy characters, the Maskers, who were previously designed to look like hooded terrorists (or Foot Soldiers of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game) are now cyborgs. Likewise, the game has more varied stage designs, with the first four stages taking place in a seaside resort in Florida, and the last four in a pyramid in Egypt; both locations actually being camouflaged Geldra bases.

Reception

The home version of Rolling Thunder 2 was well received. Its mostly highly positive review scores included 92% from Computer & Video Games , [3] 23/25 from GamePro , [4] 85% from Mean Machines , [5] 90% from MegaTech , [6] and, retrospectively, 8/10 from Sega-16. [7] Reviews of the Virtual Console release were often more critical, including being rated 6/10 by GameSpot, [8] 6.5/10 by IGN, [9] and 8/10 by Nintendo Life. [10]

Complex ranked Rolling Thunder 2 85th on their "The 100 Best Sega Genesis Games" list. [11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: ローリングサンダー2, Hepburn: Rōringu Sandā Tsū

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light gun</span> Video game pointing device

A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol.

Shoot 'em ups are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character movement, while others allow a broader definition including characters on foot and a variety of perspectives.

<i>Sonic the Hedgehog</i> (1991 video game) Multidirectional scrolling platform game

Sonic the Hedgehog is a 1991 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Genesis/Mega Drive. It was released in North America on June 23 and in PAL regions and Japan the following month. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog, who can run at near supersonic speeds; Sonic sets out on a quest to defeat Dr. Robotnik, a scientist who has imprisoned animals in robots and seeks the powerful Chaos Emeralds. The gameplay involves collecting rings as a form of health, and a simple control scheme, with jumping and attacking controlled by a single button.

<i>Altered Beast</i> 1988 video game

Altered Beast is a 1988 beat 'em up arcade video game developed and published by Sega. The game is set in Ancient Greece and follows a player character chosen by Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena from the demonic ruler of the underworld, Neff. Through the use of power-ups, the player character can assume the form of different magical beasts. It was ported to several home video game consoles and home computers. It was the pack-in game for the Mega Drive when that system launched in 1988.

<i>Virtua Racing</i> 1992 racing game

Virtua Racing or V.R. for short, is a Formula One racing video game developed by Sega AM2 and released for arcades in 1992. Virtua Racing was initially a proof-of-concept application for exercising a new 3D graphics platform under development, the "Model 1". The results were so encouraging that Virtua Racing was fully developed into a standalone arcade title.

<i>Sunset Riders</i> 1991 video game

Sunset Riders is a side-scrolling run and gun video game developed and released by Konami as an arcade video game in 1991. It is set in the American Old West, where the player(s) take control of bounty hunters who are seeking the rewards offered for various criminals.

<i>Gunstar Heroes</i> 1993 video game

Gunstar Heroes is a run and gun video game developed by Treasure and published by Sega. It was Treasure's debut game, originally released for the Sega Genesis in 1993. The game's premise is centered around a pair of characters, the Gunstars, in their efforts to stop an evil empire from recovering four powerful gems. The characters can fire guns and perform a series of acrobatic maneuvers to fight enemies across each stage. There are four weapons in the game which can be combined with one another to create different shot types.

<i>Pac-Attack</i> 1993 puzzle video game

Pac-Attack, also known as Pac-Panic, is a 1993 falling-tile puzzle video game developed and published by Namco for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. Versions for the Game Boy, Game Gear and Philips CD-i were also released. The player is tasked with clearing out blocks and ghosts without them stacking to the top of the playfield — blocks can be cleared by matching them in horizontal rows, while ghosts can be cleared by placing down a Pac-Man piece that can eat them. It is the first game in the Pac-Man series to be released exclusively for home platforms.

<i>Streets of Rage 2</i> 1992 video game

Streets of Rage 2, known as Bare Knuckle II In Japan, is a 1992 side-scrolling beat 'em up video game published by Sega for the Genesis/Mega Drive. A sequel to Streets of Rage (1991), the characters Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding return while the game also introduces two new characters: Max Thunder, and Eddie "Skate" Hunter, the younger brother of Adam Hunter from the first game.

Namco Museum is a series of video game compilations developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for home video game consoles. The first title in the series, Namco Museum Vol. 1, was released for the PlayStation in 1995. Entries in the series have been released for multiple platforms, including the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and Xbox 360. the latest being Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2, released in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menacer</span> Video game accessory

The Menacer is a light gun peripheral released by Sega in 1992 for its Sega Genesis and Sega CD video game consoles. It was created in response to Nintendo's Super Scope and as Sega's successor to the Master System Light Phaser. The gun is built from three detachable parts, and communicates with the television via an infrared sensor. The Menacer was announced at the May 1992 Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago and was released later that year. The gun was bundled with a pack-in six-game cartridge of mostly shooting gallery games. Sega also released a Menacer bundle with Terminator 2: The Arcade Game.

<i>Burning Force</i> 1989 video game

Burning Force is a 1989 third-person shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan. A home conversion for the Sega Genesis was released worldwide a year later. The player assumes control of the woman space cadet Hiromi Tengenji, a pilot training to become a member of the Space Force, who must complete each level by shooting down enemies with her airbike and avoiding projectiles. Gameplay is similar to Space Harrier, featuring a fixed camera position behind the player and having similar mechanics. It runs on the Namco System 2 arcade hardware.

A side-scrolling video game is a game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling graphics during the golden age of arcade games was a pivotal leap in game design, comparable to the move to 3D graphics during the fifth generation.

<i>Road Blaster</i> 1985 video game

Road Blaster (ロードブラスター) is an interactive movie video game developed by Data East featuring animation by Toei Animation, originally released exclusively in Japan as a laserdisc-based arcade game in 1985. The player assumes the role of a vigilante who must avenge the death of his wife by pursuing the biker gang responsible for her death in a modified sports car. The game would later be ported to a variety of home formats such as the MSX and Sharp X1, Sega CD, LaserActive, PlayStation and Sega Saturn. The Sega CD and Mega-LD versions were released outside of Japan under titles of Road Avenger and Road Prosecutor respectively.

<i>Super Thunder Blade</i> 1988 video game

Super Thunder Blade (スーパーサンダーブレード) is a combat flight simulation shooter game developed and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. It was one of the two launch titles for the console in Japan, as well as being one of the six launch titles for the console for its U.S. launch. It is a follow-up to the 1987 arcade game Thunder Blade.

<i>Rolling Thunder 3</i> 1993 video game

Rolling Thunder 3 is a 1993 run and gun video game published by Namco released for the Sega Genesis. It is the third and final game in the Rolling Thunder series after Rolling Thunder and Rolling Thunder 2.

A cover system is a video game gameplay mechanic that allows a virtual avatar to hide from and avoid dangers, usually in a three-dimensional world. This method is a digital adaptation of the real-life military tactic of taking cover behind obstacles, for purposes of attaining protection from enemy ranged or area effect attacks, such as gunfire or explosions.

<i>Rolling Thunder</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Rolling Thunder is a run and gun video game developed by Namco in Japan and Europe and released in 1986 as a coin-operated arcade video game using the Namco System 86 hardware. It was distributed in North America by Atari Games. The player takes control of a secret agent who must rescue his female partner from a terrorist organization. Rolling Thunder was a commercial success in arcades, and it was released for various home computer platforms in 1987 and the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989. The original arcade game has been included in various classic game compilations as well. It influenced later arcade action franchises such as Shinobi and Time Crisis, which borrowed mechanics such as taking cover behind crates.

References

  1. ↑ Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) (in Japanese) (First ed.). Japan: Amusement News Agency. ISBN   978-4990251215 . Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  2. ↑ "Rolling Thunder 2 Gamerankings review score". Archived from the original on 2019-03-09.
  3. ↑ "Computer and Video Games Magazine Issue 122" . Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  4. ↑ GamePro 29 (December 1991), pages 64-65.
  5. ↑ "Rolling Thunder 2 - Sega Megadrive - Mean Machines review". Meanmachinesmag.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  6. ↑ "Out-of-Print Archive • Mega Drive reviews • Rolling Thunder 2". Outofprintarchive.com. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  7. ↑ "Sega-16 – Rolling Thunder 2". Sega-16.com. 2004-07-26. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  8. ↑ Shau, Austin (2008-01-16). "Rolling Thunder 2 Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  9. ↑ "Rolling Thunder 2 Review - IGN". Uk.ign.com. 2008-01-14. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  10. ↑ "Rolling Thunder 2 (MD) Review". Nintendo Life. 8 December 2007. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  11. ↑ Concepcion, Miguel (April 11, 2018). "The 100 Best Sega Genesis Games". Complex. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.