In addition to having a cool looking Light Gun, Lethal Enforcers is a fun Light Gun Shooter.
Game Title: Lethal Enforcers
Platform: SNES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Mega CD/Sega CD
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Light Gun Shooter
Age Rating: BBFC: PG, ESRB: M, USK: 18+, VRC: MA-17
Release Date: Sega Genesis JP December 10th 1993, NA June 25th 1993, PAL 1993 Sega CD
JP October 29th 1993, NA 1993, PAL 1993 Super Nintendo JP March 11th 1994 NA January 1994 PAL 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game Score: 7.5/10
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summery:
In addition to having a cool looking Light Gun, Lethal Enforcers is a fun Light Gun Shooter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lethal Enforcers is a Light Gun Shoot em up developed by Konami in 1992 for the arcade it developed a bit of controversy over its animated violence and use of drugs. Much like Midways Mortal Kombat series Lethal Enforcers focuses on its digitized actors. It translates quite well onto the home on the Super Nintendo, Sega Mega Drive and the Mega CD add-on.
In Lethal Enforcers you're a police officer who is sent to 5 different locations in order stop the criminals from robbing the Bank, a Chinatown, an Airport, a drugs factory and finally a chemical facility. You may not know who they are or know what they want but only one thing that you must know is that you have to shoot them all down.
Lethal Enforcers is a Light Gun On Rails Shooter where a second player can jump in and the credits you start with are shared. You can play the game with a controller but the game is much easier with the Light Gun which comes included inside the box. A second gun used to be bought by mail but however now you can only be lucky enough to find a second a gun which that one is pink while the first gun is blue. The main game pits you into 5 levels which in the home version you can choose what levels you want to play in order or you can play the Training mode where you have to shoot down different targets during each round. Each round lasts for 60 seconds and your goal is to shoot down as many targets as possible. There's a variety of different targets in each round such as bull's eye targets, cardboard human targets, round targets, and small targets. After you complete one round the next round gets harder but by increasing the accessory needed to qualify and also decreasing the time needed to shoot down the targets on screen. This makes the next training levels reasonably challenging and intense you get higher and higher.
In the main game you use the Light Gun (Standard Controller is optional) to shoot down armed gangs that appear from behind cover before they shoot you. You'll find power ups along the way such as high powered magnum bullets, shotgun, machine gun, rifle and the grenade gun which are powerful then your standard pistol. However whenever you get shot you'll lose a life and also that power up that you got which will leave you with the pistol again. You also got to watch out for unarmed hostages that will run past you and if you hit them by mistake you'll lose a life, 5 lives lost and you're done and you use a credit to continue playing. This makes the game very challenging since the game rewards you for precise shots and perfect timing and of course you can share credits with a friend to jump in on the action. The second player can ether use the controller or by finding the pink Light Gun which connects to the bottom of the gun and it can be used on both Super Nintendo and Sega Mega Drive systems. The problem is that the second gun can only be bought through mail order or through auctions on the Internet which is really rare which makes it a pain to get your hands on. At first the game is enjoyable but on the Sega versions if you shoot unarmed hostages the game will force you to restart the level all over again which seems pointless since you want to simply want to get the game over and done with. Once you do beat it properly, you're lucky to have any lives or credits left the beat the rest of the game with but at least every time you get 2000 points you earn an extra credit which helps by this design while on the SNES version 2000 points gives you an extra life. At the end of each stage you'll rank up depending on your performance but you'll rank down if you shot any hostages in the Sega versions or letting a bad guy escape on the SNES version. Lethal Enforcers is a challenging Light Gun shooter that forces you to watch what you shoot and you'll have more fun once that blue and pink Justifier gun arrives on the scene.
Lethal Enforcers is packaged in a big box which holds the game cartridge, the manual and of course the gun itself. The gun has a a Trigger that's easy to pull back and is very thin and also has a start button on the left side. The gun itself looks really cool but it spawns controversy for the fact it's shaped like a revolver but still it looks really awesome to have for a controller.
Since its release on the Arcade the game still looks nice in 16 bit detail. The game uses digitized acting where all the animations are done by real actors. At first it seems controversial because you're pointing a gun and shooting at real life people but however it looks amazing especially when Mortal Kombat was amazing enough to utilize this technology before. The areas are also detailed nicely as well as adding a few destructible objects like windows and signs and the sound effects are pretty good as well as the music. Those are the pluses for the SNES version, the details on the Mega Drive version look a little badly pixelated and the sound effects are quite weak and it's a shame that the Mega CD version doesn't improve on this issue what-so-ever. The Mega CD version does have a remixed tunes that are well done and sound close to its arcade orginal. If you're looking for better details then you're better with the SNES version.
Lethal Enforcers is a fun Light Gun shooter that's fun to pick up and play along with the gun package. Sure you can't use the Justifier with many other shooting games on both the SNES and the Sega versions but in the end you'll that the Justifier is way more accurate and easy to use unlike the Superscope and the Menacer. If you like Light Gun shooters and was disappointed the Superscope and Menacer offerings then you yourself a deal and a cool assignment in putting dealers behind bars.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Good Points:
1. A very cool looking Light Gun boxed with the game
2. Entertaining Training Mode and challenging gameplay
3. Impressive graphics and voice acting
The Bad Points:
1. The Justifier Gun can't be used on any of shooting games
2. Mega Drive and Mega CD versions force you to replay missions which is pointless
3. Getting another gun is a pain to get your hands on
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reviewed by: Anthony Hayball (BlaZer91)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------