A hidden gem from the latter years of the Sega Genesis. General Chaos is one of those insanely fun co-op games that often flies under the radar and is one of few Sega Genesis games that can be played with four players. Although I have never attempted a four person Chaos marathon, the game is great with just two players as well. The ultimate goal of the game is to control the opposition's capital city, Viceria. You lose if your capital, Moronica, is taken. To reach the capital, you must win a sequence of small battles. Each battle represents an area on a regional map. If you win the battle, you can attack the next set of regions closer to their capital and if you lose, the enemy does the same on your side of the map. In each individual battle (with the exception of a special single player mode), you fight five on five. It doesn't matter if members of your team die, just so long as you wipe out the other team.
At the start of the battle, you get to see which units the enemy will use in the battle and you can choose your accordingly. Possible roles to choose from are: Machine Gun - infantry specializing in mid-range, low damage machine gun fire. The most well-rounded unit in my opinion. Dynamite Man - infantry specializing in low range, high damage, easy to dodge explosives. He throws a pack of dynamite and then stands and covers his ears until it explodes. Easily the worst unit. Rocket Man - infantry specializing in firing high damage, low to high range bazooka rounds. Carries a small chance of instantly killing an enemy with no chance of healing. One of the best units. Grenade Man - infantry specializing in low to mid range, medium damage grenades. Not great in close quarters, but otherwise a very strong unit. Flame Thrower Man - infantry specializing in high damage, low range flame throwing awesomeness. This unit often takes a great deal of damage getting close to the enemy, but when close, can cause complete destruction to a group of enemies.
If your unit gets too close to an enemy, you often engage in hand-to-hand combat, where all of the other action stops until the fight is resolved. You have the options of kicking, punching, or blocking, with the punching and kicking having the additional options of high medium and low. Trying a strategy has never worked for me in these battles so I usually resort to button mashing. In single player mode, you control all five characters, telling them where to go in real time and when to fire. You can opt to play single player with only two commandos, making it increasingly more difficult to win, but the controls are way better. You control one person but can switch between the two easily. This is how multi-player functions.
The battles are quick, only lasting a few minutes. You grow attached to certain characters and when playing with a buddy, it is always a chore to decide who gets who. Certain maps have bonus objectives, usually involving blowing something up or protecting something. Additionally, you can call medics for near death commandos should you have medics. You only get a set number of these and although you do gain a few more as the game progresses, you can easily burn through them, so use them wisely. The gameplay here is easily the highlight of the game. The graphics are great for a Sega game and the battle system is engaging. You might have to jump over obstacles, swim through a river, etc. to gain better ground and the game takes a fun, comical view on war and battles. Machine guns often jam at the worst possible moments, and it is always funny to see the dynamite guy throwing dynamite no where near anyone else. Where the game stumbles in its scaling difficulty and close combat. Should you take the capital, the game restarts with increased difficulty. After one restart, it is damn hard to win any close combats so avoiding them is a must. The close combat system is a bit bizarre to begin with. I like the idea, but every once in awhile when you are pummeling a dude and he is about to fall, he pulls a gun and shoots you. I have not found a way to prevent this gun draw nor have I found a way to pull the gun myself.
In terms of real-time battles, this is a great game from the Genesis archives. It is one of those games that is good for 15-45 minutes of intense fun, especially multi-player, but does get a bit repetitive thereafter. It might be a bit slow for the younger crowd that grew up on more modern systems, but for those with a fine appreciation for the oldies, General Chaos is a must play.
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