It may come up short than its predecessor but Lethal Enforcers II is still a fun trip through the Wild West as long.....
Game Title: Lethal Enforcers II Gunfighters
Platform: Mega Drive/ Mega CD
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Light Gun Shooter
Age Rating: BBFC: PG, ESRB: M, VRC: MA-13
Release Date: Sega Genesis/MegaDrive: NA May 11th 1994 , PAL 1994 Sega CD/Mega CD: PAL November 23rd 1994, NA November 24th 1994, JP November 25th 1994
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Game Score: 7.0/10
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Summery:
It may come up short than its predecessor but Lethal Enforcers II is still a fun trip through the Wild West as long as you're equipped with the Konami Justifier.
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Lethal Enforcers takes you into the days of the Wild West to face off against outlaws that are causing havoc and this setting makes the game have nothing to do with the vents from the first game. It was released in the arcades until it makes its way to the Mega Drive and the Mega CD with absence of a release on Super Nintendo.
You can chose to play it either alone or with a friend using either the controller or using the Justifier Light Gun Controller that are released separately instead of being released together in a single box which means that you'll have to buy either a used gun that hopefully works or by getting the original title for the Mega Drive or Mega CD. The game consists of 5 stages with a a quick bonus stage which plays after 2 Levels, the practice stages simply get you shoot bottles within a Time Limit and also shooting down Bottles thrown in the air. Stage 1 takes you through "The Bank Robbery" where the bad guys try their best to rob a bank, Stage 2 takes you to "The Stage Holdup" where there's Carriages being assaulted by Indians as well as more outlaws, Stage 3 is where you go in to clean up The Saloon in "The Saloon Showdown" as well as having a quick draw at the end of the level, Stage 4 has you fending off outlaws in "The Train Robbery" and then finally the final level where you clear out "The Hide-out" before you tackle the final boss. Each stage lasts for about 8 minutes of gunfights before you'll have a boss to fight at the end. With only 5 Levels available you can clear the whole game in about 45 minutes. There sadly isn't any Training Modes to be found here.
The Gameplay will feel familiar to anyone who played the original Lethal Enforcers or Virtua Cop in the Arcades. You use the Justifier or the standard controller to shoot down groups of Outlaws that appear from behind cover and you have to react quickly otherwise you'll get shot. You got to watch out for unarmed Townspeople which will pop out occasionally to take the enemies bullet which becomes a problem when one are in the way of an Outlaw that's about to fire so you have to be accurate when this situation comes up. You'll also find power-ups which will help you on your way; these include Double Barrel Shots for your main gun, Rifle shots, Cannonballs and also the Gatling gun. These weapons become useful when more than 2 or 3 fill the screen quickly but each time you get shot you'll lose a power up that you got and you switch back to your regular gun again. You get a set amount of Credits for 9 and 5 Lives when you start the game and whenever you get 1000 points then you'll get an extra live to make your job more easier. All enemies die in about 1 hit but bigger enemies take more bullets to be put down, sometimes when you're shooting a regular enemy he can survive the first shot even to his chest which makes the one hit kill process really random. Other than that issue there's also the quick draw showdown at the end of the Third Stage where 3 guys appear and you got to shoot them down quickly before one fires on you. It's simple and boring that it doesn't properly simulate the Quick draw experience, it's only used once which is also a shame. Lethal Enforcers is a simple shooting game that is simple and easy to pick up and play and even if the game is quite short it's more fun when you have a second player with 2 Justifier guns. You'll have to deal the same mailing and searching on the internet stuff again to get the second player gun.
Lethal Enforcers II is impressive to the eye with its digitized actors, it's well animated for the most part and it's very detailed in every angle but the sprites can sometimes be suspended in odd places. The game does a great job of handling the Wild West environment but the game shifts from one area to another without using any animations in even doing so. Yeah this is due to game limitations of both arcade and console hardware but however the scaling animations are amazing during when the arrows come closer or during the boss fight on the second level. It's the same detail structure on both the Mega Drive and on the Mega CD. The soundtrack is once again primitive on the Mega Drive version but the sound effects fare much better and the voice clips are good but however not all the voice clips were recorded. On the Mega CD the music track is improved and the voice clips are much better and there's a bit more as well but still not all were recorded. If the Sound is what makes the Mega CD shine for this game then this could be it but it's still not a better reason why you'd want to buy the CD add-on for the Mega Drive since the game is already available on cartridge and the CD release is the same as the cartridge release.
Lethal Enforcers II on the Sega consoles is not the sequel that you must own in your collection but the game overall is about as enjoyable as the original was. If you enjoy Light Gun games for the fun of it then hopefully you kept the original game along with that Revolver then you got yourself a decent price for the sequel. It may come up short than its predecessor but Lethal Enforcers II is still a fun trip through the Wild West as long as you're equipped with the Konami Justifier.
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The Good Points:
1. Impressive Digitized acting with impressive voice work
2. Practice Levels can be fun for a brief moment
3. Simple gameplay that's easy to pick up and play and challenging
4. Most fun with a friend
The Bad Points:
1. No Training mode
2. Poor Quick Draw segment
3. Same Light Gun mailing issue for the second player
4. Random One Hit Kills
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Reviewed by: Anthony Hayball (BlaZer91)
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