Chase H.Q. II

Chase H.Q. II arrived on the Sega Mega Drive in 1992, carrying Taito's arcade cop-chase formula onto the 16-bit console. Like the original Chase H.Q., the premise is pure adrenaline: you play a police pursuit driver racing down open highways to catch a fleeing suspect, then slam into their vehicle repeatedly until it's wrecked and the criminal is forced to surrender. A countdown timer and turbo boosts keep the tension high, turning every stage into a frantic sprint against both the clock and the traffic.

What set the Mega Drive version apart from a straight arcade port was the option to tackle chases in more than one type of vehicle, giving the game a bit more variety than the coin-op. The into-the-screen pseudo-3D road, the aggressive ramming mechanic, and the arcade-style presentation make it a good example of the fast, uncomplicated driving games that filled console libraries in the early 1990s. It has none of the depth of a modern racer, but as a quick burst of chase-and-crash action it still delivers the straightforward thrills it was built for.