Lethal Enforcers (1992 Video Game)
10/10
Shoot Em Up Enforcers
8 October 2020
This is one of my favorite video games and light gun games of all time. The game was a bit slightly revolutionary for it's time, in a way really helped make the light gun genre not just shoot with higher caliber but also become a permanent genre to stay.

As a kid from the 90s, this game just blew me away, I've seen some in the past but never one like "Lethal Enforcers" as there really hasn't been like it before. Also at the time I wasn't totally into the "Light Gun" genre at the time because I wasn't all that good at it, but after seeing this game I decided to give the genre a chance and start learning to develop my marksmen ship, so I can play the game. So this game did three big things for me which is part of why it's so special, it helped me become a marksmen for the games but also it brought me into the genre and become a fan.

At the time this game was considered one of the most violent video games of all time, though looking at it now it really doesn't look all that bad compared to what we have; but you have to realize when it comes to certain video games that came out at certain times and decades, things were a lot different and we saw things a lot differently.

By its nature the game is pretty much a shooting gallery but it's coated with a whole different set of paint and detail. The graphics are very solid, for its time they were considered cool, looking at them now I still think their really good for serving its purpose for the time and the nature of the game.

The game was one of the introductions of photo realistic presentation which was a new thing in the 90's, this is something you would recognize in other games most notably "Mortal Kombat". It really was something else seeing a game that didn't look like a Saturday morning cartoon, having backgrounds and characters that looked like what you see in the everyday world or a live action movie and TV show.

This added to the suspense of the game as it helped in creating that sense of jeopardy and danger feel just a little real. Ok, not totally as most of the baddies are ridiculous bad guy archetypes like the bosses which I'll get to in a minute. But the mere fact that the bad guys look like your every day people pointing guns at you, you really felt like you were fighting not just to save the day but yourself in the process.

Really like the designs of the baddies who are pretty much all the arctitypal and stereotypical bad guys you would see from action films and TV shows. Including the bosses who are I'll admit a bit over the top comic book villain types but I don't mind and fits with the game.

Even like that there was a little bit of voice acting in places, like the bad guys saying some of the clichéd lines like "Eat Lead" or "You can't shoot me" (yes I can) when ever I hear them I can't help but snicker a little; despite sounding threatening you can't take them too seriously as their the kind of lines you've probably heard a hundred times in an action or TV show; nor are you really suppose to which helps remind the players this is just a game.

There are several things that makes the game stand out that really helped in making the light gun shooters we have now, one of them is the reload feature. This game was the first that ever had that which I thought was neat because, because it solved the fundamental problem of the constant worry of empty ammo, I wouldn't say this takes that worry away totally as you still have to but at least the worry is at a minimal level.

You pretty much reload by shooting off screen or even if you want just to cover the sensor with the palm of your hand and you have all the chambers fully loaded again. As I said you still have a bit of that worry because thought out the game you are constantly shooting, which means your chambers will be emptied quickly and in most situations you need all your bullets. So, reload every chance you get because you may not get another.

Another is the fact that you have other kinds of weapons in the game. Throughout the levels there are different kinds of weapon that are displayed on places of the screen, each of them has their strengths and weaknesses. My favorite is always the grenade launcher as that just obliterates just about everything on the screen, though you don't get this weapon till near the end. I really like the layout of the levels which are like scenes from an action movie or TV show.

Each level is cut up into scenarios which keep the game fresh as well as give the game a constant moving pace where you literally can't afford to take a breath. The scenarios are always different like there are some where you're in an ongoing vehicle, or even going simply one direction or another. Even like the fact you can do some damage in the environment which was cool and reminds you of the impact the bullets have.

Bad guys just like the targets in the shooting gallery are always popping up in all directions and you must nail them quickly before they nail you. Even like there are boss battles in the end of the levels, which aren't really that hard in fact you might be able to beat them without a hit once you know their pattern of attack.

But word of warning never hit any of the unarmed civilians who stupidly pop out of cover. When you hit them, it can affect your ranking system which can affect whether you've passed the level or not, so shooting civilians a big no no.

Also, at the end of the levels there is a bonus game which is a shooting range gallery, that's always fun as it's a way to rack up extra points, also an opportunity to jump up in rank, but most importantly test and sharpen your aim and reflexes.

But to me the other highlight of the game is it just has that fun energetic action fueled atmosphere. The game just has the feel of the old 80's action TV shows like "Miami Vice". Whenever I play this game sometimes, I imagine myself as Sunny Crockett on the scene of a crime in progress and just taking them down. Even the music in the game which is the final highlight, sounds like the kind from an episode of that show, this game has some of my favorite music tracks of all time, each of them are just sing out action.

If your interested in vintage light gun games, then this game like any well-polished and tuned up antiquity gun is worth a shot. "Lethal Enforcers" is a classic that hits the mark.

Rating: 4 stars
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