Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters

This game is absurd. Lethal Enforcers II is the typical old school first person arcade style shooter where the enemies come to you, not the other way around. This game was loads of fun in the arcade and it just made sense to purchase it when it came out for the Sega Genesis. I much prefer the wild west setting over the modern urban setting of the original Lethal Enforces and just like the arcade, you can team up with a friend for some wild two player action. The game is divided into stages where each stage requires you to fight through a series of screens. Enemies will pop out from obstacles and shoot or throw something at you and at the end of each stage is a stage boss that always has an ungodly amount of hit points and takes dozens of rounds of ammunition to bring down. As you blast your way through a host of bad guys, you will come across various wild west weapons; dual pistols, shotgun, chaingun, etc. You have a set amount of hit points yourself and once an enemy appears, a short timer starts. Once the timer ends, the enemy shots and you loose life. Not too complicated.

Logistic problems as well as game play issues became apparent quickly after starting. Mixed in with the barrage of bad guys you have to neutralize, there are civilians that you should avoid shooting. Killing a civilian results in life decrease. This a standard issue in stationary first person shooters and does take a bit of time to get used to and perhaps even a few plays to get used to where and when civilians pop up. The second issue is by far the biggest complaint I have about this game. Lethal Enforces II allows you to play with the standard Sega controller. However, you control a point on the screen that you can move around and tells you where the bullet will hit if you should fire. Your point is very slow moving and should you play with the control pad, single player is almost impossible; even two players is incredibly difficult and requires great teamwork to advance beyond even the first few stages. There is a gun for the Sega Genesis called The Justifier. However, unlike the gun for the Nintendo, the Sega Genesis gun is a bit hard to come by and was not standardly released with the system or with Lethal Enforcers 2. The Justifier did come with the original Lethal Enforcers.

Even without the gun, the game does have its positive moments. Co-op play is fun and the level resetting quirks of the original Lethal Enforcers is corrected here giving you free liberty to shoot first and ask questions later - if you pass a stage, you pass that stage. No questions asked. After you beat a level, you are awarded a rank. The early Sega voicing is great, especially when your rank is announced at the end of the level. This rank is largely determined by your accuracy and kill count. A fun shooter but almost unplayable without The Justifier.