Global Gladiators
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| Global Gladiators | |
|---|---|
 Packaging for the PAL Mega Drive version. | |
| Developer(s) | Virgin Games USA |
| Publisher(s) | Virgin Games |
| Designer(s) | David Perry |
| Composer(s) | Tommy Tallarico, Matt Furniss |
| Platform(s) | Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, Amiga |
| Release | 1992 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Global Gladiators is a 1992 platform game published and developed by Virgin Games, originally programmed by David Perry (who at the time had already moved to the United States and was located on the recently formed Virgin Games USA development studio) for the Mega Drive/Genesis and eventually ported by other Virgin Games teams in Europe (with the help of Graftgold and Krisalis Software) to the Master System, Game Gear and the Amiga. A Super NES and an NES port were also in development but were never completed for undisclosed reasons, though a ROM image has since surfaced. The game is based on the McDonald's fast food chain and has a strong environmentalist message.
The game is a spiritual successor to the NES game M.C. Kids, another McDonald's-themed game that also featured Mick and Mack as its playable characters.
A Game Boy port of the title was also fully developed (by Damian Stones, of Climax) but was never released for the same legal reasons as the Super NES version.
In the single-player game, the player controls Mick or Mack through four worlds; Slime World, Mystical Forest, Toxi-town and Arctic World. Each world has several sub-stages where the character must collect a certain number of Golden Arches to advance.
They are guided in their quest by Ronald McDonald, who appears at the beginning and the end of the game. The characters are armed with a Super Soaker-type gun that shoots gooey projectiles.
The game engine is the same used in other Virgin Interactive games such as Cool Spot and Disney's Aladdin, as all of them (Mega Drive/Genesis versions) were handled by David Perry's programming team, which eventually turned into Shiny Entertainment.
See also
- M.C. Kids
- McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure
- tUME The Universal Map Editor, One of the tools used in the creation of Global Gladiators[citation needed]
Reception
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 75.00% (GEN)[1] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Sega Master Force | 86%[2] |
Sega Pro magazine gave an overall score of 93/100 noting the game’s challenging difficulty, praising the games graphics stating “brilliantly animated sprites and characters give this game a very polished feel” and the game’s sound as “very much geared to the rave style with a few rocky tunes for good measure” and concluding “A great game that will keep up till the wee hours, a definite purchase for all of you seeking a big challenge.”[3]
References
- ^ "Global Gladiators (Genesis) - GameRankings". Retrieved 19 November 2015.
- ^ "Sega Master Force Issue 2" (2). September 1993: 10. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Global Gladiators Review. Paragon Publishing. March 1993. p. 27.