Demolition Man was the action blockbuster of 1994. Well, at least one of them. Honestly that was a pretty stellar year for action movies with the likes of True Lies, Speed, and the Professional in theaters. But unlike schlock like Street Fighter Demolition Man still holds up today. With such an awesome premise that seems tailor made for a video game this should have been an easy slam dunk. Yet somehow Demolition Man isn’t as great as it could have been. While the action is solid it is let down by confusing level design and frustrating mechanics.
There were two versions of Demolition Man released. There was a version for the Sega CD, Genesis, and SNES and a separate but pretty cool looking multi-genre mashup for the 3DO of all systems. Thankfully the 16-bit game is not a cut down version of its 32-bit cousin. This is a separate adventure that actually reminds me of Akklaim’s Judge Dredd , released the following year. But that probably has more to do with the dystopian setting than anything. Of the three the Genesis and Sega CD versions benefit from the wider field of view and have better music, such as it is. The SNES version has a separate button to stand in place and fire but in this case I would say the Sega versions are the way to go.
As an action game Demolition Man uses two viewpoints. The primary is a side-scrolling action game along the lines of Contra. For the most part the levels follow the flow of the movie leading up to the final confrontation with Simon Phoenix. John Spartan has access to a variety of weapons although they are all too similar to distinguish from one another. One aspect you’ll have to live with are your bullets; they are practically invisible and so aiming relies on gauging enemy reactions. I have to be honest; even up until the game’s conclusion this was frustrating to deal with. You can adapt but it shouldn’t even be a requirement to enjoy the game.
These levels are fast and dynamic, both in their pacing and Spartan’s movements. In fact John Spartan might move a little too fast, which is a problem as the terrain is just as deadly as the bad guys. For the most part the controls are solid except for his jump. The animation isn’t rotoscoped like Prince of Persia or Out of this World but some of your actions have that same deliberate cadence, which is problematic and will lead to cheap deaths. Platforming plays a big role in the majority of the game and almost never quite feels right. Once again its serviceable but should have been better.
I like how massive the levels are as they are filled with hidden nooks and crannies that reward exploration. At the same time I would trade some of that space for tighter design. For as large as the stages can be they are also bogged down by confusing design. Foreground objects obscure your vision, hazardous objects blend into the background, and the path forward isn’t always clear. Even the more impressive set piece moments such as Zipline are ruined by a confusing and repetitive layout. Half the time I wasn’t sure I was going the right direction and simply hoped for the best. Yet even though the game made me mad at points I still found it fun.
Aside from side-scrolling Demolition Man has a few overhead levels. Here John Spartan is tasked with rescuing civilians in a given location on the way to the exit. These levels play like Smash TV or Gauntlet on steroids. There is a relentless onslaught of enemies at every turn and they almost never stop spawning. Lingering in one spot will almost always result in death. These are the most action heavy stages in the game, to its detriment. You literally don’t have time to breath and frankly they are a bit bland compared to the rest of the game. Mercifully they are a short diversion from the main action.
I mentioned the relentless number of enemies and that word perfectly sums up the difficulty: relentless. The enemies never stop coming, from every direction and angle. They respawn quickly, and it isn’t uncommon to see one spawn right beside you! Someone must have recognized how ridiculous the game gets as there are health packs everywhere. They don’t help much seeing as you’ll take damage every few seconds. Between the cheap deaths due to the level design and frequent pot shots from off screen enemies Demolition Man should be infuriating. Yet instead it is merely frustrating, in that with a little balancing it could have been better.
In Closing
This is a tough one to judge. Demolition Man has clear flaws yet I still found it to be solid. It’s a good action game but you’ll have to accept some jank to appreciate its good points.
