Revolution X
Encyclopedia
Revolution X is a arcade
rail shooter game developed and published by Midway
, featuring the rock band Aerosmith
. The game features gameplay similar to Midway's earlier Terminator 2: Judgment Day
. Although it is often referred to as a light gun
game, the original arcade version uses a positional gun that works like an analog stick to control a visible on-screen cursor.
n version of 1996 where an alliance of corrupt government and corporate military forces have taken control of the world in the guise of the "New Order Nation" (NON). The NON, with their vampish commander Head Mistress Helga (portrayed by Kerri Hoskins
), have declared war on youth culture (anyone aged from 13 to 30) and have banned all forms of music, television, magazines, and video games.
The player first travels to "Club X" in Los Angeles
to see Aerosmith perform live, but the band is captured by NON troops and hustled off the stage (only shown when the player reaches inside the theater). From here, the player enters the band's dressing room and watches a videotaped message from Steven Tyler
before escaping the building (by shooting the mirror). Next, the player flies an NON chopper across the city in order to destroy a second, heavily armed chopper and find the band's car. The player must then destroy three key NON facilities in the Amazon jungle, the Sahara Desert, and the Pacific Rim, and collect Aerosmith wings before traveling to Wembley Stadium in London
for a final confrontation with Helga, who morphs into a claymation monster who can fire machine guns and rocket launchers with its hands and feet. If the players have collected all five sets of wings by locating the members of the band, once the Helga/monster is destroyed, they become honored guests at the Aerosmith concert.
, the Middle East
and Pacific Rim
. Finally, the players advance to Wembley Stadium for the final battle with Helga and the surviving NON forces.
Throughout the game, boxes constantly drop containing Power-Ups like Health-Up shakes, CDs, the more powerful Laserdiscs, Super Guns, Skull Bombs and shields. Players can find bikini-clad female hostages, and free them throughout the game for extra points.
!" in a high-pitched voice in reference to an easter egg
in Mortal Kombat II.
The first release labeled Proto 5.0 (5/23/1994) is lacking several speech samples spoken by members of Aerosmith, a shorter Pacific Rim level and the old Aerosmith logo. Revision 1.0 (6/16/1994) restored the missing speech samples and has the complete Pacific Rim level and completed the both new crosshair in P2 and P3 and the current Aerosmith logo.
Revolution X was released as upright two player and deluxe three player arcade units and as a conversion kit for existing Terminator 2: The Arcade Game and Alien 3: The Gun units.
", "Sweet Emotion
", "Toys in the Attic
" and "Walk This Way
". A Muzak
version of "Love in an Elevator
" plays in the elevator part of the Amazon Jungle level. The soundtrack was featured in the CD Offer during attract mode.
The console versions included loops of "Rag Doll
" for the attract screen, main menu, and score, "Fever
" for the Middle East level, and "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
" for the ending.
to several home video game consoles and to computers running DOS
. The Super NES
, Sega
Genesis/Mega Drive
, Sony
PlayStation and PC
versions were developed by Rage Software
while the Sega Saturn
version was developed by Software Creations
.
None of the home versions is light gun
compatible. The Super NES and Sega Genesis ports tone down the blood and the exotic dancer
s (also played by Kerri Hoskins) who were showing off their thong
s have been turned around so they are facing the screen. CD-based console versions feature more blood, but the dancers are still facing the screen.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
rail shooter game developed and published by Midway
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
, featuring the rock band Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
. The game features gameplay similar to Midway's earlier Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (arcade game)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the name of an arcade game released by WMS Industries in 1991. The game is loosely based on the film of the same name...
. Although it is often referred to as a light gun
Light gun
A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games.Modern screen-based light guns work by building a sensor into the gun itself, and the on-screen target emit light rather than the gun...
game, the original arcade version uses a positional gun that works like an analog stick to control a visible on-screen cursor.
Plot
The plot concerns a dystopiaDystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n version of 1996 where an alliance of corrupt government and corporate military forces have taken control of the world in the guise of the "New Order Nation" (NON). The NON, with their vampish commander Head Mistress Helga (portrayed by Kerri Hoskins
Kerri Hoskins
Kerri Hoskins is a former glamour model and video game actress.Hoskins is best known for portraying Sonya Blade in several incarnations of the game beginning with Mortal Kombat 3. She toured the United States and Europe portraying Sonya Blade in the Mortal Kombat: Live Tour, appearing at venues...
), have declared war on youth culture (anyone aged from 13 to 30) and have banned all forms of music, television, magazines, and video games.
The player first travels to "Club X" in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to see Aerosmith perform live, but the band is captured by NON troops and hustled off the stage (only shown when the player reaches inside the theater). From here, the player enters the band's dressing room and watches a videotaped message from Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'", due to his high screams...
before escaping the building (by shooting the mirror). Next, the player flies an NON chopper across the city in order to destroy a second, heavily armed chopper and find the band's car. The player must then destroy three key NON facilities in the Amazon jungle, the Sahara Desert, and the Pacific Rim, and collect Aerosmith wings before traveling to Wembley Stadium in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for a final confrontation with Helga, who morphs into a claymation monster who can fire machine guns and rocket launchers with its hands and feet. If the players have collected all five sets of wings by locating the members of the band, once the Helga/monster is destroyed, they become honored guests at the Aerosmith concert.
Gameplay
The game is a standard side-scrolling rail shooter in which the player has to shoot targets including NON soldiers and vehicles, with the ultimate goal of rescuing the band. The five members of Aerosmith are hidden in secret locations throughout the game, and all must be found in order to see the real ending and have access to collecting high-value Mammy Awards. Players start the game at Club X in Los Angeles, then commandeer a NON chopper for a flight across the city. They may then play three more levels in any order: the Amazon jungleAmazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim refers to places around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The term "Pacific Basin" includes the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean...
. Finally, the players advance to Wembley Stadium for the final battle with Helga and the surviving NON forces.
Throughout the game, boxes constantly drop containing Power-Ups like Health-Up shakes, CDs, the more powerful Laserdiscs, Super Guns, Skull Bombs and shields. Players can find bikini-clad female hostages, and free them throughout the game for extra points.
Development and release
Mortal Kombat II features an advertisement with the old Revolution X logo that arcade operators could toggle on and off. Occasionally after a large in-game explosion, Steven Tyler can be heard saying "ToastyDan Forden
Daniel "Dan" Warner "Toasty" Forden is an American sound programmer and music composer, and was the lead programmer on several high-profile arcade and pinball games...
!" in a high-pitched voice in reference to an easter egg
Easter egg (media)
Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
in Mortal Kombat II.
The first release labeled Proto 5.0 (5/23/1994) is lacking several speech samples spoken by members of Aerosmith, a shorter Pacific Rim level and the old Aerosmith logo. Revision 1.0 (6/16/1994) restored the missing speech samples and has the complete Pacific Rim level and completed the both new crosshair in P2 and P3 and the current Aerosmith logo.
Revolution X was released as upright two player and deluxe three player arcade units and as a conversion kit for existing Terminator 2: The Arcade Game and Alien 3: The Gun units.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack consists of several Aerosmith songs continuously looped, including "Eat The RichEat the Rich (Aerosmith song)
"Eat the Rich" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Jim Vallance. It was released as the second single from the band's 1993 album Get a Grip. The song had success on rock radio, peaking at number five on the Mainstream Rock Tracks...
", "Sweet Emotion
Sweet Emotion
"Sweet Emotion" is a song by American rock band Aerosmith, released by Columbia Records in April 1975 on the album Toys in the Attic and was released as a single a month later on May 19th . The song began a string of pop hits and large-scale mainstream success for the band that would continue for...
", "Toys in the Attic
Toys in the Attic (song)
"Toys in the Attic" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, it is the first song and title track from the band's third album Toys in the Attic, their bestselling studio album in the United States. The song is three minutes, five seconds long...
" and "Walk This Way
Walk This Way
"Walk This Way" is a song by American hard rock group Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the 1975 album Toys in the Attic. It peaked at Number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1977, part of a string of successful hit...
". A Muzak
Muzak
Muzak Holdings LLC is a company based in metro Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1934, Muzak Holdings is best known for distribution of background music to retail stores and other companies....
version of "Love in an Elevator
Love in an Elevator
"Love in an Elevator" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith, written by Steven Tyler and guitarist/backing vocalist Joe Perry. It was released in August 1989 as the lead single from their third album with Geffen Records, Pump, released in September...
" plays in the elevator part of the Amazon Jungle level. The soundtrack was featured in the CD Offer during attract mode.
The console versions included loops of "Rag Doll
Rag Doll (Aerosmith song)
"Rag Doll" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It is from the 1987 album Permanent Vacation. It was released as the final single from the album in 1988...
" for the attract screen, main menu, and score, "Fever
Fever (Aerosmith song)
-Content:Brooks' country rock-generated version featured altered lyrics, describing a rodeo star addicted to his profession . The cover was included on his album Fresh Horses. That album's second single, it peaked #23 on the U.S...
" for the Middle East level, and "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
"Dude " is a song by United States hard rock band Aerosmith. It was released as the first of three singles from the Permanent Vacation album in 1987. It reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, #41 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, #4 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and peaked at #45 on the UK...
" for the ending.
Ports
The arcade game was later ported by AcclaimAcclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
to several home video game consoles and to computers running DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
. The Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
Genesis/Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation and PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
versions were developed by Rage Software
Rage Software
Rage Software or Rage Games was a British video game developer. Formed in Liverpool in 1992, its games were marked by an emphasis on graphical effects with arcade gameplay....
while the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
version was developed by Software Creations
Software Creations (UK)
Software Creations was a video game developer based in Manchester, England, first established in 1987. They are primarily known for their video games based on movie and comic licenses like Marvel Comics, Cutthroat Island, Disney's Beauty and the Beast and original titles Solstice and the sequel...
.
None of the home versions is light gun
Light gun
A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games.Modern screen-based light guns work by building a sensor into the gun itself, and the on-screen target emit light rather than the gun...
compatible. The Super NES and Sega Genesis ports tone down the blood and the exotic dancer
Exotic dancer
The terms exotic dancer and exotic dance can have different meanings in different parts of the world and depending on context. In the erotic sense, "exotic dance" is a often used to refer to practitioners of striptease...
s (also played by Kerri Hoskins) who were showing off their thong
Thong (clothing)
The thong is a garment generally worn as either underwear or as a swimsuit in many industrialized societies around the world. It may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions such as sumo wrestling...
s have been turned around so they are facing the screen. CD-based console versions feature more blood, but the dancers are still facing the screen.
Settings
- The language rating can be set to G or PG-13.
- The CD Offer can be adjusted to ON or OFF.
- The High Score settings can be turned on or turned off so there's no table display.
Reception
The release of the arcade game was a success and proved to be a very popular arcade game and was well received by critics and fans alike. However, when ported to home consoles, most versions suffered from lackluster sales due to receiving mediocre review scores and being released at the dawn of the 32-bit era.External links
- Revolution X at arcade-history