Developer: Black Pearl Publisher: Malibu Release: 11/93 Genre: Action
I loved Smash T.V., both in the arcade and at home on the SNES. That was in spite of the fact I was terrible at the game until the home port. The fact that I was still willing to pour quarters into the machine only to die within seconds says volumes about its quality. With that in mind Total Carnage, the loose sequel to that hit, should be right up my alley. Yet there are numerous aspects about the game that I do not like to say nothing about the quality of the SNES port. Total Carnage is a disappointment and not worth your time.
In the year 1999 a Middle Eastern dictator named General Akhboob suddenly closes off his country to the rest of the world. Reporters from all over flock to the nation in hopes of a scoop but one unlucky journalist discover Akhboob’s army of mutants. This unfortunate incident prompts the general to kidnap everyone and declare war on the rest of the world. Like any cheesy action cliché two lone soldiers named Captain Carnage and Mayor Mayhem are sent to prevent World War III.
Despite the serious sounding plot the game maintains the same goofy yet violent tone of its predecessor. Total Carnage released around the time of the Gulf War so the comparisons are unavoidable. Just imagine Saddam Hussein as a gap toothed hillbilly dictator. Aside from Akhboob’s mad ramblings there is not much humor otherwise. Despite releasing a year or so after Smash T.V. Total Carnage was not as popular. This SNES port certainly did not do it any favors either. This is a subpar version of a middling game that could and should have been better.
Total Carnage moves the action away from lavish TV studios and places it on foreign soil. This is now a scrolling shooter along the lines of Commando and Soldiers of Fortune with the game spanning three distinct zones rather than a series of rooms. Yet despite this change most of the gameplay elements carry over. The dual stick controls are identical with the face buttons managing your firing direction. The same power-ups also return and along with two flavors of flamethrower and land mines. The land mines in particular are probably the most important new addition as the invincibility frames they grant is invaluable. Exploit the hell out of it!
Despite the game being linear it suffers from a lack of focus at times. Without a strict level by level structure it feels as though you are wandering aimlessly. Each zone is essentially one long level with numerous stops along the way. Occasionally you will find a portal that transports you to a bonus level or skip ahead, although it is ambiguous when this happens. More importantly without the diversity the game show theme provided in terms of enemy variety and environments you are left with a repetitive fight against legions of enemies in overly long “stages”. Don’t get me wrong there are plenty of new enemies but not so many that it doesn’t grow old fast.
Like its predecessor the game is tough but not always for the right reasons. Weapons seem to last even shorter here and honestly they should have been permanent. The game loves to spawn groups of enemies suddenly and the regular machine gun does not cut it. I especially hate the homing missiles and time bombs; you have seconds to deal with them or you will die. The protracted boss battles of Smash TV are even longer here, sometimes taking as long as fifteen minutes which is nuts. The final boss battle is absurd; there are no less than seven forms and the game throws one last middle finger that leads to a bad ending. Limited credits mean you will see the game over screen regularly. This is surprising as the arcade game had passwords that let you skip around.
Unfortunately Sculptured Software did not return for Total Carnage and the game is a technical mess. The overall color palette is shockingly low and grainy, making awful use of the system’s capabilities. Enemy sprites across the board are significantly smaller and lacking detail. The game tries to match the arcade’s intensity but unfortunately there is heavy slowdown once the screen crowds. Compared to how great Super Smash T.V. turned out as a first generation effort this is sad in comparison. The system is capable of better than this.
One odd facet that was introduced is censorship. Not that the arcade game was raining the red stuff but it could be bloody, mostly when taking apart bosses. All blood is either missing or colored green. I guess it works in the sense that technically you are fighting mutants. But it is incredibly lame especially in light of what Acclaim got away with a year prior. The General is cartoonier in this version due to the censorship! I will not spoil it but the final boss battle was also changed somewhat too. I guess I should not have been surprised; Mortal Kombat suffered the same cuts.
In Closing
Even if Black Pearl had done a better job Total Carnage would still be flawed. Take away the game show trappings and you have a shallow and repetitive shooter that has none of the charm of its predecessor.
