Body Count

Body Count, released for the Sega Mega Drive in 1994, is one of the small number of games built for the Menacer light gun. That fact explains how it plays: this is a shooting gallery in which your character advances automatically and your job is purely to aim and fire.

Development came from the British team Acclaim Studios London, and the catalogue credits publication to Tec Toy, the Brazilian company that represented Sega in South America and independently published a range of titles for that market. The Menacer never established itself, only a handful of games were released for it, and consequently each one carries real value for collectors.

Light guns of that era worked on a principle that no longer functions. They detected a flash pattern drawn on a cathode ray tube, which is why they do not work at all on modern flat panels. Emulation solves this by mapping aiming onto a mouse or a touch input, which paradoxically makes these games easier to play on current hardware than on the original equipment.

In play, expect a fast tempo, the need to distinguish targets from bystanders, and a difficulty curve built on precision rather than reflexes alone. The visuals lean on the Mega Drive's sprite capacity, since the screen has to hold enough targets to keep the player occupied. You can play it directly in your browser on OldGame.cz, with no emulator to install.