Mad Dog McCree

The Good
The full-motion video, I guess. But that's about it.

The Bad
Mad Dog McCree was already an awful game in the arcades, but this PC version is truly the cream of the FMV crap crop, mostly thanks to the terrible conversion from the arcades to the PC. Since there is no lightgun, like in the arcade version, you have to "click" on the bad guys to kill them. Couple that with wimpy sound effects, and you simply don't get the sensation that you're firing a weapon in this game. And even if you do have a lightgun hooked up to your PC, the aiming is so terrible that it hits random spots on the screen no matter where you aim it.

Unsatisfying action aside, the game manages to put you to sleep even more by providing almost zero challenge whatsoever, even when you play on the hardest skill settings. The acting is absolutely awful, with the bad guys reacting in an ultra-exaggerated fashion when you shoot them. The video is of low quality even for 1990 standards. And, to top it all off, the game features absolutely no variety in gameplay mechanics, environments, and bad guys. Jeez, can it get any worse?

The Bottom Line
It's really hard to believe that this garbage was made by the same people who made Dragon's Lair. If you spend your quarters (or $10 for the PC version) on it, don't blame me.

The Good
I liked the whole western-style theme, although this is more of a personal quality than anything to do with gameplay.

The PC conversion is a faithful adaption to the arcade version, so if you liked the arcade version but were lousy with the laser-gun (like me) you might have better luck with the mouse.

There's also a save/load feature and unlimited continues, so even if you get killed a hundred times you can still keep playing right to the end (very useful considering the difficulty of some scenes).

I also liked not having to shell out 2 quarters a game. Hehehe.

Say what you will about everyone else in the game, but I thought the undertaker was damn funny. Especially when you went around gunning down innocents.

The Bad
The video quality was just plain awful, making the game almost unplayable in some scenes because you couldn't see the bad guys until they actually shot you.

The shot-detection is a little flawed in some scenes, making gameplay a bit frustrating.

The Bottom Line
This game really isn't worth the price of a retail buy. No, correct that, it is ABSOLUTELY NOT worth the price of a retail buy. However, if you can get it for a dollar or two at a garage sale or online auction, it is good for a few hours of fun blowing away redneck cowboys. And it'll save you a whole bunch of quarters.

The Good
Nothing. Nothing what-so-ever.

The Bad
The acting is HORRIBLE (I would've done a better job than any of the so-called "actors" in this thing). The control system is somehow horrible and the mouse behaves terribly erratic, the scenery isn't very good and the game isn't fun. The video engine is simply terrible (especially in light of The 7th Guest, which came out earlier the same year).

The Bottom Line
Stay way from it, it reeks.