Altered Beast

The Good
In Altered Beast, you play a human, who is resurrected by Zeus to rescue his kidnapped daughter Athena. To do this, you need to go through five stages, defeating zombies, both air- and ground-based, with your punches and kicks. On your travels, you can obtain power-ups that are left behind by pumas. Get three of these power-ups, and you transform into a wild beast that has strength needed to defeat the boss at the end of each stage.

The beast that you turn to depends on what stage you're on. For instance, the first stage has you turning into a werewolf. Subsequent stages include a were-dragon, were-bear, and were-tiger. Out of all these, I enjoy playing as were-dragon, since you are not confined to the ground the way the other beasts are. But although most of the beasts can jump high in the air, this isn't the same.

Out of all the versions of Altered Beast that I have played so far, the Genesis version of the game looks and feels like the coin-op version. Similar sounds are played between the two. My favorite sound would be when your character says “Power Up”. It makes him sound like Thor. The graphics come just as close. The environments that are portrayed in the last three levels are well done. The controls act like they should.

The Bad
Unfortunately, the music doesn't even come as close to that of the coin-op version. The music in the Genesis version sounds as if the person who composed it only used one finger. The coin-op version has much better music, which blends in with the next piece very well. A thing missing is the Continue option, which lets you continue the game after you lose all your lives.

The Bottom Line
The Genesis version of Altered Beast has graphics that come close to the coin-op version as possible. The Genesis version is the best of the other versions that I have played so far. The only complaint about the game is the music, which sounds crap when it is compared to the coin-op version. If you have a Genesis, or a Genesis emulator, then Altered Beast is worth a look.