Summary
A particularly good conversion of a particularly bad arcade game.
The Good
I must say that the PC version of Altered Beast is by far the most fun of all the versions of Altered Beast I ever played, the arcade version included. The original arcade game was
terrible. Aside from great graphics, it had absolutely none of the elements that make a good game: terrible controls (playing this game with a joystick is next to terrible) and stupid, non-varying gameplay.
However, I must give credit where credit is due: the PC version is that much more fun than the arcade version. Despite the hardware inferiourity, the CGA graphics (not to mention VGA if you had it) were really terrific and the game was fast and fun. Not having to pay for the game has its merits, and the frustration of wasting money on dumb, unforgiving gameplay is gone here, which makes the PC version of Altered Beast what it is: a simple, fun-to-play platform game.
The Bad
Admittedly the ridiculous plot from the arcade remains; however, the horrendous gameplay does not.
The Bottom Line
Just goes to show that superiour hardware does not necessarily translate to a better game. For another example, see
Laser Squad.
