Altered Beast, for better or worse, was the pack-in title for the Sega Genesis at launch. Remember when a game came with the console, an actual full game – not a demo? If you started gaming with the PlayStation you missed out. We are not talking about the greatest arcade game here. Nor was it the most recognizable name. Sega went with it anyhow for their newly launched 16-Bit console, the Sega Genesis. This game did what it needed to do. It showed how closely the Genesis could handle arcade ports and that impressed gamers.

Altered Beast beat God of War by decades

Before God of War made ancient Greece and its mythos famous, Altered Beast ran rampant in this realm. You play as a nameless centurion who is brought back to life by Zeus. Hence the title of this article. You are tasked with rescuing Athena (why can’t gods and their daughters save their own butts?). The designer of this one went onto design Golden Axe. That game is another Sega mainstay through the years.

Side scrolling arcade action

Altered Beast is a side scrolling brawler similar to Vigilante and not so much like Golden Axe. Here you are limited to one plain of gameplay. No going up and down the screen to avoid enemies and collect power ups.

Ports upon ports

Altered Beast hit a ton of platforms, not just the Sega Genesis. Most are computer platforms on both sides of the pond. It also appeared in multiple re-release compilations such as Sega Smash Pack and Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection.

Arcade fans had to have this game in their collection when the Genesis launched. Not just because early consoles featured it as a pack-in title, but because it was THE benchmark game.

For a copy of Altered Beast, we have collected links here:

Amazon
eBay
iTunes
Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo Wii Virtual Console
Playstation Network
Xbox Live

Carl Williams

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