|
|
| CORBIE'S BLOG <- REVIEWS <- CONTACT |
| Lords of Thunder Publisher: Sega Release Date: June 1993 Genre: Shooter     |
 Both versions of the game are fairly similar. In fact, the game and levels are pretty much spot-on identical. The first difference you'll notice is that the Sega CD version has some really outstanding voiced dialogue during the opening cinema and also a rather charming female voice working in the Item Shop. This may seem rather minor, but I really enjoyed it and wish the Turbo version of the game had the dialogue as well. The next difference is the difficulty. The Sega CD version, even on Normal, is still a little more difficult than the Turbo version. It generally takes quite a few more hits to destroy an enemy or boss in the Sega CD version. In Lords of Thunder, you take on the role of Duran, and you must fight your way through the many lands of Mistral in order to defeat the evil demon that's wreaking havoc across the land. Using special suits of armor, you fly through these areas shooting everything in sight in order to reach the end of each land where you get to go up against one of the super-beings in a boss fight. There's not a lot of storyline going on throughout the game, but it is a shooter, so who cares? Graphically, the Sega CD version doesn't feature nearly the amount of variety in color scheme, and loses a little detail in many of the backgrounds at times. This isn't really the developer's fault, as the Sega CD doesn't have nearly as many colors available onscreen at once as the Turbo CD systems. To be honest, you won't notice it too much unless you're staring at both versions of the game side-by-side, so it's really not worth complaining over too much. The Sega CD version of the game still looks quite sharp and detailed, and when you see the screen-sized mega-bosses, you'll probably be as impressed as I still am. This game might be a little step down from the Turbo CD version, but Lords of Thunder on the Sega CD is still one visually impressive 16-bit shoot em' up. It's going to be difficult to describe the differences in the soundtracks between the Turbo and Sega CD versions, but I'll try to make it as simple as I can. While both versions have basically the same music, the sound and variances of that music is vastly different. Sort of like a remix. The Turbo CD version's soundtrack sounds like Metallica recorded it and the Sega CD soundtrack sounds like Journey recorded it. Most people, including myself, prefer the Turbo version simply because it's so heavy, but there's something to be said about the Sega CD version as well. It might not hit you square between the eyes like the Turbo version does, but it's got a lot more bass to it and sounds a little more polished. If you haven't played the Turbo version, then you won't know what you're missing, but if you want to hear the soundtrack the way it was meant to be, track down a Turbo Duo system and crank it up. As I've said before, the games play the same, with most of your time flying through levels shooting off the various forms of firepower you have at your disposal. Lords of Thunder is one of the best shooters out there, so if you've never played this game, grab either version and at least give it a try. The Sega CD version is slightly more tame in musical styling, but does attempt to make up for it with the voiced dialogue and higher level of difficulty. I still prefer the Turbo version, but this one is still an outstanding game and one I'm sure I'll still be playing for years to come. |
| <- REVIEWS <- Sega CD logo and Sonic the Hedgehog are registered trademarks of Sega. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Screenshots & Reviews: Corbie Dillard (c) 2006 Corbie Dillard |