DESCRIPTION

Marvel Comics' premiere superheroes cross paths in Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge for the Sega Game Gear. Assassin and amusement park operator Arcade has trapped the X-Men in his maniacal fun fair, a place of dangerous games, inescapable traps and deadly rides. Spider-Man must rescue the mutant team from a grisly fate.

In order to infiltrate Arcade's chamber of horrors, Spider-Man must first make it past a labyrinthine entrance that is being guarded by robotic security forces. The security system is replete with security eyes that are in place at various points throughout the platform-laden area. The eyes must be touched in the order that they flash. If you can help Spidey manage this feat, the game will progress to the point where you can choose from any of the five different characters: Spider-Man, Wolverine, Cyclops, Gambit and Storm.

Arcade will put each of the unwilling superhero contestants through two grueling events that are designed to test their strengths and weaknesses. You can select any character in any order, but the first event for each hero must be completed prior to your engaging in the second. To win the game, you must help all five superheroes survive both of their torturous tasks.

Cyclops, who is the leader of the X-Men, is equipped with an optic blast. You must help him survive a ride on a perilous mine cart roller coaster, the tracks of which are electrified. Watch out for bomb-dropping droid orbs, fire from stun guns and radiation-emitting robots. His second mission pits him against spawn of the Master Mold, a high-tech giant whose obsession is to rid the world of mutants.

Storm's mutant gift is controlling the weather. She can even fly on the winds, create lightning storms and fire deadly lightning bolts. Arcade has trapped her in an underwater maze, a place where flying is hardly an option and breathing is never taken for granted. You must assist Storm in keeping a steady supply of air while warding off and avoiding metallic squids, sea mines, piranha and harpoon-firing scuba divers. First destroy all the underwater hatches, then find and smash the glass spheres of Arcade's hydro electric power plant.

Gambit, a Southerner with the ability to charge playing cards (or any other ordinary object) with kinetic energy, must use his renowned agility to outmaneuver an unstoppable, super-sized, steel-spiked doomball. Evil chess pieces, such as grenade-throwing knights and rocket-powered queens, will add danger to the mission. In the second stage, he must make it to the top of a building without getting nailed by falling pieces of roof or breakaway sections of the floor. If he makes it to the apex of the level, he must face the Black Queen, a super strong supervillain with the ability to control inorganic matter.

Cranky Canadian Wolverine, he of the famed adamantium claws, is trapped in a funhouse. He must hack and slash his way through bayonet-carrying toy soldiers, machine gun firing Jack-in-the Boxes, exploding building blocks and other nutty enemies and obstacles in order to reach Apocalypse. Robot replicas of Obnoxio also make the scene. The second stage has Wolverine going head-to-head with the slow, but enormous Juggernaut. Wolvie must slash ropes supporting the anvils and one-ton weights above Juggernaut's head.

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, who uses his webs for swinging and shooting at bad guys, definitely needs your help. At the scene of a deadly "de-construction site," he must go up against Spider-Slayers, welding droids, the Shocker, N'Astirh, Carnage, Rhino and other super and not so super nuisances. Then, as if that were not enough, Spidey must battle hoards of Arcade duplicates before facing a gun toting' Arcade himself.

Throughout the game, you can pick up a variety of helpful items that give you extra energy, bonus lives and other perks. Some of the items are character specific. For example, power blasts enable Cyclops to take out any villain with a single optic blast. Other than Wolverine's claw slashing maneuver, there is no traditional hand-to-hand combat in this game (such as punching or kicking).

Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge is a one-player game. Doubters (as opposed to "True Believers") need not apply. EXCELSIOR! ~ Brett Alan Weiss, All Game Guide