Developer: Punk Development Publisher: Razorsoft Inc. Released: 1992 Genre: Action
Let it never be said that crude marketing is not effective. Death Duel caused a little bit of a stir when it released due to its violence and gore. The advertisements touted that the game was allegedly banned in certain countries and whether that was true or not I will never know. But it was enough to pique my interest at the time. What I found was a game that was very interesting. Behind the blood and guts lies a solid game that, while it has a few warts, is still pretty good overall.
In the future interstellar disputes are settled by death matches. Nine alien races have blocked all of the Federation’s trade routes, effectively grinding their operations to a halt. As a champion of the Federation you must battle each of the alien’s chosen champions in a duel to the death for glory and peace.
Death Duel is a first person battle against a single opponent in an enclosed arena. Your mech has three weapons that correspond to the face buttons: left, middle, and right. In between bouts you can use the currency you’ve earned (Phaelee) to buy new weapons for each of your armaments. There is a wide selection, from your standard machine gun to missiles, grenades, and lasers. You will also need to save some cash to repair your mech between bouts; any lingering damage will cause you take extra damage when hit. And in this game you need every edge you can get.
Each of the nine opponents is some manner of alien freak that you can dismantle piece by piece to claim victory. There is a heavy tactical element to Death Duel that is not immediately apparent. Every alien has specific behaviors that they follow. Kuros Tizrak is incredibly aggressive if she senses your movement and will unload her full arsenal at a moment’s notice. But she will never seek cover if in danger. This is the direct opposite of Borb Eubistapcia, who can regenerate limbs and has no qualms about hiding if you are slow. Some are very mobile and to avoid frustration you can take out their legs. Others have dish out punishment but removing their weapons will give you a fighting chance.
Exploiting their weaknesses is key as every fight has a time limit. You also have to worry about running out of ammo as well. If either run out you automatically lose and must continue. Both can and will occur frequently. When buying new weapons and ammo you are largely guessing what you will need for the next match. If you pick a weapon they are immune to then you are screwed. The hit detection is not the greatest which will also lead to wasted ammo. But the worst is your opponent’s tendency to hide behind walls or the corner of the screen where you cannot target. There is nothing worse than having them close to death only to see them waste time behind a wall for twenty seconds and run out the clock. I guess you could say it is strategic on their part of the AI but it sucks.
But as frustrating as it can be when it all works Death Duel is great. Each boss is radically different from the last and your approach needs to change for each one. While the standard approach is to take out the legs to reduce their mobility that does not always work. In some cases it gets even worse if you do so. I generally try to dismantle their weapons first which worked up until I ran into Karl Borgas, who can reattach severed limbs. Everyone will probably take a different approach to defeating each boss. The only downside is that once you beat them there is little replay value. The road to beating the game is long however as Death Duel is extremely difficult.
The difficulty curve starts out high and becomes ridiculous by the end. The trial and error involved in preparing for each match is rough. If you blow all your cash on weapons they are immune to it is over. Credits are limited and you will go through them in short order. Even though you have ninety seconds for each match it is barely enough even if you know what you are doing. Combined with the suspect hit detection and the game can be aggravating at times. You are going to work to finish this one.
In Closing
Death Duel is a solid game in spite of its few faults and one that I recommend. There are few like it on the Genesis and its good points outweigh the bad.
